Specno

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder of Zafapp, a social media integration platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Specno?

We hired Specno to guide us through the early stages of founding a business by proving us with a strategic and data-driven approach to follow coupled with expert guidance. We ultimately sought to validate that our business side is worth pursuing. They accomplished this and so much more.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I contacted Specno's sales team, and was pleasantly surprised at how knowledgeable and experienced Specno was in the start up and incubator ecosystem and ecoculture. This knowledge, experience, reviews, personality, enthusiasm, and willingness to achieve were my deciding factors.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Understanding the problem: The Specno product team consultant guided us to focus on the problem to be solved first. We understood the problem from the user’s perspective and conceptualized our initial value proposition in response to this problem.

Business modeling: Using the Lean Canvas, we were guided through the mapping out of our business model, refining the model, and distilling it into separate testable business models. We then identified risks that are still embedded in the business model due to assumptions made. Testing the business model for its desirability, viability and feasibility.

Market research: After understanding the importance of speaking to users we received a clear framework that we can use to conduct user interviews with. The learnings from these interviews were captured and interpreted to give us insights into the experienced problems of our users as well as how they are currently solving the problem. This was coupled with comprehensive competitor research and analysis.

Establishing an offer: After adapting our business model and value proposition to include and account for the learnings during the market research we went about crafting an offer to take to market. This included ideating on the 5Ps of an MVP and embedding our offer in a story pitch. We were provided with a wireframe prototype to demo during our product pitches. Coupled with this phase thorough research was done into the relevant technologies that will enable the implementation of our solution.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I worked very closely with a product team consultant throughout the Concept Validation project which provided expert insights during the process. There was also some collaboration with the account manager that checked in on a regular basis to ensure that the project is measuring up to our expectations and enquiring if there is anything that Specno can improve on.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Specno surprised me with their knowledge and willingness to help and provide guidance on every aspect of my business idea, never hesitating to go the extra mile to provide us with more value. The project organically grew and adapted its direction to our project’s specific needs. The value and insights gained and connections formed from this project are immeasurable.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The product team consultant met up with us bi-weekly, to discuss the next steps and to follow up on any work that was done since our previous meeting. These regular consultations gave us clear direction in terms of our own actions every step of the way. We communicated with Specno using Slack, phone calls, and email. Each deliverable was communicated well and completed on time.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Specno’s ability to fully empathize with us as founders and really buy into our project almost just as much as the founding team. Specno paid attention to the feedback I provided and added a lot more value than anticipated.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

We wish we had more time with them. The entire process was immensely valuable and exceeded our expectations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

iSolvRisk Inc. is a company that is developing an app to make risk management easy. As a founder, I came up with the idea before the beginning of my senior year in college. This idea quickly manifested into a dream, and I have been chasing it every second of every day for the past two years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Specno?

I hired Specno to design my MVP for development. My previous developers were not cutting it, and I agreed to partner with Specno for their design and development capabilities.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Another fellow entrepreneur recommended the vendor to me as they designed and developed his application, College Savvy. Impressed by their craftsmanship, I went on their website to reach out and inquire about their services.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The project was simple: take what I had and bring the product to life. Using initial designs as an inspiration, Specno worked with me throughout these past six weeks to produce an impeccable product. They were energetic and responded great to feedback. The stages of the development were very structured. We first had an introduction meeting to discuss the general scope of the product. Then, in the next few weeks, we met with the design team to provide them with direction. Finally, they presented us with a style choice and then the full Ui rollout.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

There were three members of Specno - Tristan our product owner, and Ross and Jenna the two designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The Specno Team exceeded expectations. They were well organized and responded tremendously to feedback. It was a pleasure to work with them and I can not wait to continue the partnership through the development phase.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

10/10. Effective and responsive communication. Problems and concerns were met with many solutions, and the teams came together effectively to figure out the best possible course of action.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their responsiveness to feedback and criticism was impressive. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

nothing. Would do it all over again if I had the pleasure to. I recommend this service 12/10.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Spiralsoft Enterprise, a software company. We develop POS and accounting software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Specno?

I wanted Specno to design and develop a prototype of a booking and payments mobile app for the beauty industry.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Specno helped us design the UI/UX prototype of a completely custom mobile app tailored to our needs. Initially, we provided them with the app’s specifications and described what we wanted. Then, they created the frontend prototype. We had to put the project on pause for the development portion, but once we finish developing the app, Specno will likely take charge of its ongoing maintenance.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Jenna, Jodi (UI/UX Designers), and Michael (System Analyst) on this portion of the project.

How did you come to work with Specno?

I found them on Google.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around 150,000 rands (approximately $8,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2022, and Specno delivered the frontend prototype in October 2022. Unfortunately, we had to pause the project for the development portion due to funding constraints.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The feedback on Specno’s designs has been absolutely phenomenal. We’ve shown the prototype to colleagues, friends, family, and people in the industry, and everyone has given us fantastic reviews. They’ve said that this product will be a successful addition to the beauty industry.

How did Specno perform from a project management standpoint?

Specno’s performance was spot-on; they managed the entire design process to perfection. We met every week on Google Meet and communicated regularly via Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Given that both companies are South African, we understood each other and our culture very well, and we were very relatable. This aspect made it very easy for us to communicate with them and for them to understand exactly what we wanted, which was very important. Sometimes, it is very difficult to explain something to someone who doesn’t understand our culture. Additionally, Specno proved to be a brilliant company, so I look forward to working with them again.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, their work was absolutely fantastic. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Understand what you want from your project. Come in with a business plan and a clear vision of how the product should work and look. Additionally, understand your client’s desires and needs for that product. If you have a clear understanding of all those points, the process will be seamless.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Delivery Tribe - a SAAS company that specialises in the logistics of last mile fulfilment for industries that require rapid, time sensitive deliveries to the customer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Specno?

Although our apps worked well, they did not have the professional polished look and feel, and this gave a negative impression about our SAAS. We wanted to redesign our UX so that our customers would love using the product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I researched a number of vendors specialising in UX design. I found Specno on the Internet. After our first meeting, I grew confident in their abilities as they listened well, and it did not appear that they were trying to get as much out of it for themselves as they were interested in solving my problem. They seemed to get a good grasp of the challenges I faced, and their pricing was keen. I also discovered that a very respected friend of mine was actually the father of one of the founders which sealed the deal.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The Specno team listened carefully to the issues we had with our software interfaces, and the problems our customers were experiencing as well as our own concerns about the existing user interfaces across the products. They asked for a sandbox environment in which they could really get to use our existing products, so that they could understand fully the functionality of our products, and the limitations with the existing design.

Only once they got a thorough understanding of the landscape, did they put together a new UX experience for our customers, making the app look polished, professional, user friendly and intuitive. It was not long before we got a prototype that we could play with. We had several meetings going through the UX, where we were able to provide detailed feedback - and using an iterative approach, we got to a point where we were thoroughly happy with the final design outcome.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

My team worked with four staff members from Specno - the Lead Designer who was also involved in research, a Branding specialist, and UI/UX specialists.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We are currently working on the new version of our app and portal that incorporates all the new UX that Specno designed for us. We are confident that the new user experience will create a positive impact in the marketplace, and our marketing can get fully behind the product.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We used a combination of Slack, phone calls, emails and video conferencing to interact with Specno. It was highly effective, with screen sharing an important part of progress.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their ability to listen instead of "telling us" what to do. We were impressed with their ability to deliver on time and their affordable cost structure.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No suggestions - we were very happy.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Product Manager for a SaaS company in Johannesburg.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Specno?

We hired Specno to create a crystal clear path to value for potential customers and design a more seamless onboarding experience. We also needed overall system appearance improvement.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were selected before I joined the organizations, their knowledge, experience, reviews impressed our executive team. Their enthusiasm, and willingness to achieve seemed to have been considered as part of the decision making..

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Design Foundation Phase: Exploration, analysis, and gaining an understanding of the current system. Deliverables included:

1. Research & Analytics (Onboarding research, Hotjar & Mixpanel analysis)
2. User Personas & Journey Mapping
3. Competitor Analysis 
4. Mapping of Current System UX/UI

Audit: The Specno team conducted an in-depth audit of the system. This phase included a Usability Heuristic analysis, an audit of UX-best practices and an analysis of existing UI component, as well as annotated screens with specific user experience and interface notes. This ended with the formulation of a system hypothesis - a final statement that summarised the findings and recommended plan of action.

Wireframe Phase: Designing the page structure, layout, user flows, and functionality of the system without color, graphics, and styles. This was completed within Figma. There are numerous feedback and review sessions during this phase. The designers really took the time to understand the process which we wish to facilitate with the system and ensured that it would be able to effectively do so.

Design Phase: Specno provided a style test that mocks various different styles, colors, and other design elements so that we could choose the style that best suits their taste and goals. Each mockup within the style test was very aesthetically pleasing. It is actually quite difficult to choose an option. Once a style is chosen the rest of the system screens have this style applied to them. After that the designers provided extremely in depth documentation for our developers - setting them up for success with a scalable design system.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with 2 designers from Specno during the different phases of the project. One lead designer whose role was to take lead during meetings as well as the general direction of the project. The supporting designer assisted by splitting the volume of workload and also ensured all admin related tasks were handled

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Specno provided me with their great insight throughout the project. Great communication. The team was investment in our company’s goals and this was clearly reflected in their work. They were able to provide guidance on every aspect of the business, well outside of the contracted work. The value and insights gained and connections formed from this project surpassed our expectations.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The design team were easy to communicate with and provided frequent updates on the status of the project. They were also collaborative with our internal teams. We communicated using Slack and email. Each deliverable was communicated well and completed on time and allowed our teams time to review and provide feedback.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Specno paid attention to all the feedback we provided and added a lot more value than anticipated. The team was able to deliver additional work to help us make the most of the designs.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No. I think the team were able to take us on the journey and help us discover where we can make the most of the redesign.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO of Quicket, an online self-managed event ticketing platform that allows anyone running an event to sell tickets to their event online.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Specno?

We hired Specno to understand our business goals, conceptualize, design, and develop a system that achieves our goals. They accomplished this and so much more.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We contacted Specno's CEO, Daniel, and were pleasantly surprised at how knowledgeable and experienced Specno was in the software design and development ecosystem and ecoculture. The knowledge, experience, reviews, personality, enthusiasm, and willingness to achieve were my deciding factors.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

• Requirements gathering, research, analysis, and conceptualization Phase: Exploration, analysis, and ideation to conceptualize our new system, depicted via user flows. Specno gathered all the necessary information from us and other sources to ensure the user journeys were accurately depicted.
• Wireframe Phase: Designing the page structure, layout, user flows, and functionality of the system without color, graphics, and styles. This was completed within Figma. There are numerous feedback and review sessions during this phase. The systems analyst and designer really took the time to understand the process which we wish to facilitate with the system and ensured that it would be able to effectively do so.
• Design Phase: Specno provided a refreshed style which paid homage to the original Quicket designs. The designs were packaged as a playable prototype in Figma and prepared for development by Specno in the form of a Style Guide & Component Kit.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I worked with various team members from Specno during the different phases of the project. During the Research and Analysis phase, I was mainly in touch with Specno’s System Analyst and Design Lead. During the Design phase the collaboration with the above team members continued, but I was also introduced to and collaborated with Specno’s design team together with the other members.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Specno surprised me with their insight and eagerness to gain an in-depth understanding of the business goal. They were able to provide guidance on every aspect of the business, well outside of the contracted work. The value and insights gained and connections formed from this project surpassed our expectations.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The team at Specno went out of their way to make sure they slotted into our workflow. This made it feel like their team was working along side ours at all times which was very valuable to us.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Specno truly understood the product goal and the business need which the system aimed to meet, this enabled Specno to conceptualize, ideate, and design the most aesthetic system with a good user experience. Specno paid attention to all the feedback I provided and added a lot more value than anticipated.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We develop a two-sided online marketplace and logistics solution for restaurants and suppliers to connect, enabling restaurants to purchase their supplies and receive consolidated deliveries across suppliers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Specno?

As we have grown, we needed to invest more heavily into a good user experience and improved UI. We hired Specno to help us refactor the end-to-end shopping experience.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We did an extensive search considering skills, timezone, previous project and agile working methods. Specno hit the sweet spot.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We collaborated extensively on understanding existing competitors and their solutions. We then worked through selected major user journeys and refactored the screens for each of these, creating initial principles, then wireframes, then final styled designs. We tested these internally and revised. Finally we developed a components kit.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

2 resources: a design lead and a UI designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Really good internal feedback on the designs and user experience.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The Specno team were highly collaborative and responsive. We had one full-time individual from our team working closely with Specno.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They were willing to go above and beyond to complete the required scope. Brought some useful suggestions to the design based on previous experience.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Clearer reporting on timeline management.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and founder of a mobile app loaded with detailed pre-written emails and a resume builder aimed towards college students to help maximize the overall success rate of their undergraduate career.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Specno, and what were your goals?

We hired Specno to understand our business goals, conceptualize, design, and develop a system that achieves our goals. They accomplished this and so much more.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Specno was highly rated by a friend. I contacted Specno and was pleasantly surprised at how knowledgeable and experienced Specno was in the software design and development ecosystem and ecoculture. The knowledge, experience, reviews, personality, enthusiasm, and willingness to achieve were my deciding factors.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Requirements gathering, research, analysis, and conceptualization Phase: Exploration, analysis, and ideation to conceptualise our new system, depicted via user flows and activity diagrams and written explanations within a formal report.

Wireframe Phase: Designing the page structure, layout, user flows, and functionality of the system without colour, graphics, and styles. This was completed within Figma. There are numerous feedback and review sessions during this phase.

Design Phase: Specno provided a style test that mocks various different styles, colours, and other design elements so that we could choose the style that best suits their taste and goals. Each mockup within the style test is very aesthetically pleasing. It is actually quite difficult to choose an option.

Once a style is chosen the rest of the system screens are designed and the designs are either packaged as a downloadable deliverable from Figma, or prepared for development by Specno. In this case, the designs will be organised within Figma to prepare for the development of the system.

Technical Assessment & Development Roadmap Phase: This document will be informed by the research conducted and the size of the system mapped out in the Wireframing and Design Phase. The Technical Assessment is an estimate of the amount of time and resources that will be required to develop the proposed system.

Specno encourages that the system is developed in an agile manner by releasing a minimum viable product instead of a fully designed system. The advice received and formulated approach has greatly reduced the estimated time to market for the system.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I worked with various team members from Specno during the different phases of the project. During the Research and Analysis phase, I was mainly in touch with Specno’s System Analyst, whilst during the Design phase, I collaborated with Specno’s design team. I was in constant communication with Specno’s system analyst and management team during the project

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Specno surprised me with their knowledge and willingness to help and provide guidance on every aspect of my business, well outside of the contracted work. The value and insights gained and connections formed from this project are immeasurable.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The system analyst and design team were easy to communicate with, and provided frequent updates on the status of the project. We communicated using Slack, Whatsapp, phone calls, and email. Each deliverable was communicated well and completed on time.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Specno’s ability to conceptualise, ideate, and design the most aesthetic system with a good user experience. Specno paid attention to the feedback I provided and added a lot more value than anticipated

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of Imenyu - a digital delivery and collection application for family-owned restaurants

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Specno, and what were your goals?

Specno was hired to help me go from ideation to launch. The goal was to deliver a solution within budget before the year

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I spent a lot of time researching different companies online. This was not my first venture and I had used a different team before this. Specno was the first to offer venture building as a service and taught me about lean and agile development. I also like how they shared in my passion for the solution.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

They took me through a planning and prototyping process where we spent a few weeks designing the solution before actually building it. During this phase they spent the time to understand the problem and solution, as well factor in my go-to-market strategy. Once in the build phase they used agile delivery teams to build the solution week on week. They used Angular on the frontend and Firebase on the backend.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I worked with their CTO and creative director on coming up with the solution. From there I worked with a product owner, as well a team of developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

I was always impressed by how quickly the team could respond to bug tickets, make the changes, and then release them. It was great seeing the lean process being followed so well with each sprint building a better product.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The team likes to make use of product owner to work between the client and the development team. They work in sprints where you can see what is coming next on the development roadmap and plan your features according to the feedback you are getting. The team was open to meeting face-to-face or remote. They used slack and figma to make it a collaborative remote process.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The team is young but very talented. I have been following their progress on linkedin for a while and am always impressed by how passionate they are and how well they know the tech industry.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

The team could do more to push post-launch marketing and sales support, or partner with a company that offers this service.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of FinMeUp, a financial ed-tech platform that aims to educate, equip and enrich people in order to take control of their finances.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Specno, and what were your goals?

FinMeUp had developed version 1 of the ed-tech platform however, that version was not professionally appealing and lacked a sense of community, gamification, and overall direction. Specno was hired to conceptualise, and design a new, improved version of the FinMeUp platform that encompassed a sense of community, gamification, and professionalism. An environment that provided users with a satisfying user experience.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Specno was highly rated by a friend. I contacted Specno’s CEO, Daniel, and was pleasantly surprised at how knowledgeable and experienced Specno was in the software design and development ecosystem and ecoculture. The knowledge, experience, reviews, personality, enthusiasm, and willingness to achieve were my deciding factors.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

• Requirements gathering, research, analysis, and conceptualistion Phase: Exploration, analysis, and ideation to conceptualise the new FinMeUp system, depicted via user flows and activity diagrams and written explanations within a formal report.
• Wireframe Phase: Designing the page structure, layout, user flows, and functionality of the system without colour, graphics, and styles. This was completed within Figma. There are numerous feedback and review sessions during this phase.
• Design Phase: Specno provided a style test that mocks various different styles, colours, and other design elements so that FinMeUp may choose the style that best suits their taste and goals. Each mockup within the style test is very aesthetically pleasing. It is actually quite difficult to choose an option. Once a style is chosen the rest of the system screens are designed and the designs are either packaged as a downloadable deliverable from Figma, or prepared for development by Specno. In this case, the designs will be organised within Figma to prepare for the development of the system.
• Technical Assessment & Development Roadmap Phase: This document will be informed by the research conducted and the size of the system mapped out in the Wireframing and Design Phase.  The Technical Assessment is an estimate of the amount of time and resources that will be required to develop the proposed system.

Specno encourages that the system is developed in an agile manner by releasing a minimum viable product instead of a fully designed system. The advice received and formulated approach has greatly reduced the estimated time to market for the system.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I worked with various team members from Specno during the different phases of the project. During the Research and Analysis phase, I was mainly in touch with Specno’s System and Business Analyst, Max, whilst during the Design phase, I collaborated with Specno’s design team. I was in constant communication with Specno’s system analyst and management team during the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Specno surprised me with their knowledge and willingness to help and provide guidance on every aspect of my business, well outside of the contracted work. The value and insights we gained and the connections we formed from this project are immeasurable.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The system analyst and design team were easy to communicate with and provided frequent updates on the status of the project. We communicated using Slack, Whatsapp, phone calls, and email. Each deliverable was communicated well and completed on time.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Specno’s ability to conceptualize, ideate, and design the most aesthetic system with a good user experience is impressive. Specno pays attention to the feedback I provide and adds a lot more value than anticipated

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Develop good user serveys to send out for feedback gathering