Spiria

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a tech start-up from Montreal with the goal to offer at home services with help of technology.

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

We hired Spiria Digital Inc, to build an really simple App for our customers to be able to book appointements for the services that we offer and subscribe to a membership if wanted, they was also supposed to create an Admin and employee plate-form for us to manage the requests and the technology.

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

We searched online for a few days then we end up on their google Ads, we called them since they are from our area and did some projects with businesses that we heard of before.

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

We talked about the technologic needs of our company and then planned to develop the UX,UI in first place, once this step done they were supposed to create the Data base (Admin) plate-form plus the IOS and Android side of the technology. Once everything ready we were supposed to Beta-test the app then summit it to Google and Apple, the project was estimated to last 20 weeks at most.

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

Spiria created a team of 6, the project manager, the UX-UI designer, the back-end developper, the IOS developper, the Android developper and the Q&A member.

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

They published the App on App Store and Google Play, the app is not working at all the user cannot even create an account on the plate-form at this moment... There are a lot of basic functions that have never worked.

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

Their project management style is horrible, they change the project manager on my project one month and a half after the project started, which creates a lot of delays for her integration, they did it also for our UX-UI designer 3-4 months in since he wasn't productive enough and delayed our project of over 30 days then they changed the back end developper also 4 months in the project since he wasn't capable of getting the job done.

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

Nothing at all.

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

Of course they should make sure that their employees have the knowledge and the experience to take on some app development projects before accepting the contract and the money from their potential customers. They should keep an eye open on projects that shows a lot of problems in the progress and should accept when something is too hard to do for them without pushing the client to keep paying for their faith to just maybe make it happen.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the test automation manager of Lightspeed HQ, an e-commerce software company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Spiria?

We had a surge of work and needed help. We want to find a third-party vendor that could support our in-house team. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a developer from Spiria help with test automation. They used Python, Pytest, and Selenium. They also helped the CI/CD pipeline with continuous integration and delivery pipeline. CircleCI was used in the CI process to do automatic launch of testing suites. They also did QA, including creating test cases, planning, and some work in Jira and the backlog tasks that we needed to be done.

We had our internal test automation framework that only had the capability of doing API testing. We didn’t have the option to do end-to-end tests using UI components like a web browser. They helped us to develop the capability to do UI testing with Selenium.

What is the team composition?

There were three people including a team lead, who was my main point of contact. We also worked with the director who joined some of the meetings and did assessments if we needed more people.

How did you come to work with Spiria?

When I joined the team, we were already in negotiations with them. They were a referral from our VP who had used them at one of his previous jobs.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April 2019–May 2020.

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

They were on par or above the expectations we have of our permanent employees.

How did Spiria perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was very good. They were very accommodating to changing priorities. They gave great granularity in the monthly reports of the work they’ve done. We track the work in Jira. We communicated a lot on Slack. The bug tracking was done on TestRail.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very good in terms of service, follow-up, and making sure that we are satisfied with their work. They’re flexible. I found them to be very open to discussion and very good at tracking the work of their team and doing a follow-up.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The quality is there and we get what we pay for, but the cost was a bit high for us compared to other companies. However, the quality was the best I’ve had with an external company.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make your expectations clear on the project and the type of support you want.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm VP Product Management at Power Factors, a Renewable Energy IoT SaaS company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Spiria?

We worked with Spiria to design and develop a brand new iPhone mobile app.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to increase engagement on our Drive platform by Solar and Wind asset managers.

How did you select this vendor?

We were interested in working with a local vendor who could collaborate closely with our PM & UI staff. We received proposals from a couple vendors. We chose Spiria because of their technical knowledge, prior experience with our sister company, and willingness to meet our aggressive timeline while staying within our budget.

Describe the project in detail.

The project was split into three parts. The first part was UX design of the mobile app. This was based on the home page of our current web application but optimized for mobile navigation. We iterated on several mockups before finalizing the UI. The second part was agile sprints to develop the application. At the end of each sprint, we received a demo of the sprint deliverables and discussed scope for the next sprint. Finally after approving and making any last minute changes we were able to test and deploy the app to Apple App Store.

What was the team composition?

We were fortunate enough to work with their Director of Mobile Development who personally created our app. We also had a project manager who managed the sprint backlog and any administrative aspects including time & costs.

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

Our app has been downloaded and used on a regular basis by asset managers at several of our key customers. We also leverage this app for marketing purposes at trade shows and sales calls.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The entire team was extremely responsive and their communication very clear. Since we are also a software company the development process was well understood which led to a smooth collaboration.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their breadth of experience goes beyond mobile app development. We are now working with them for additional .NET software work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We did run into an issue during the last major iOS upgrade. However, the team responded quickly to resolve the issue. Overall, they were a pleasure to work with and we look forward to continuing & expanding our partnership.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of BookJane.

What challenge were you trying to address with Spiria?

We were looking for a technology development partner. My company wanted to create a solution that would enable our customers to book caregiving services in real-time.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Spiria developed a market platform for J360, an on-demand caregiving services system. My team provided the details and requirements, and we also designed the UI. Spiria developed a web app using React and a mobile app using Ruby on Rails.

What is the team composition?

We had a project manager and worked directly with about seven developers.

How did you come to work with Spiria?

I had a pre-existing relationship with Spiria. It took me about a year to decide to hire them; I looked at their work, how they worked, and their team dynamic. They were more of a strategic partner than a development shop, so it made sense for us to work with them. The partnership was a win-win; they generated revenue, and we got quality work.  

How much have you invested with them?

My company spent over $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from January–September 2018.

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

We measured their performance by the platform’s usability and stability.

How did Spiria perform from a project management standpoint?

Spiria met deadlines and followed compliance. We communicated via Slack, phone, email, and weekly in-person meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Spiria has a high-quality team with a lot of experience. They understood our requirements and executed strong QA. They were very customer-centric.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve their budget management practices.  

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the principal research engineer of the building and infrastructure division at Autodesk, Inc. We’re a software corporation that makes software services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries.

For what projects/services did your company hire Spiria?

We hired Spiria to help with the development of a UI for a research prototype to present to customers and management.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals were to have a highly functional prototype that can be used for evaluation and user research.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project started with one C++ developer from Spiria, who worked together with me to create a UI (using Qt) and a graphic visualization (using VTK) of some of my research algorithms. Spiria's work included the development of complex shaders and GUI elements such as custom treeviews.

What was the team composition?

At first, there was only one senior C++ software engineer from Spiria. At a later stage in the project, another C++ engineer joined us to take over the Qt part of the UI. The original developer then focused entirely on the visualization aspect.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The presentation of the prototype to select customers was a tremendous success. Their overwhelming positive feedback resonated so much with management that a full new product will be launched based on the prototype.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

As we were a small team, we embraced a fairly agile approach. We used Trello to write down and manage user stories. We didn't follow formal sprints, but had a grooming at the beginning of each week. Our only time constraints were monthly beta builds that had to be released. The close collaboration enabled us to move very quickly and prioritize on the go.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Our request to Spiria came at a time where most of their C++ developers were already fully engaged. In my entire career in the software industry, I’ve never encountered a large consulting company like Spiria where an executive-level manager would roll up his sleeves, jump in hands-on, and show the best of his software engineering skills to satisfy the customer’s needs. For me, this showed me how deeply committed Spiria is to their customers. I had the chance to meet other Spiria employees and can confirm that the high motivation and positive attitude towards their customers’ goals is alive at all levels.

Are there any areas for improvement?

As this was a very agile project, we had a short period where we onboarded new developers and the quality was affected. As Spiria is very responsive to any concerns, we were able to resolve these issues promptly.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the marketing director for the Canadian Digestive Health Foundation (CDHF), a nonprofit organization that provides resources for individuals with digestive disorders ranging from IBS and Crohn's disease to colon cancer, as well as for those seeking preventive and proactive health strategies. As the Foundation of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology, we are directly connected to Canada's leading digestive health experts, physicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals.

For what projects/services did your company hire Spiria?

We hired Spiria to update CDHF's mobile app, Gi BodyGuard, which was developed more than five years ago. Because we rely on donor funding for projects, we had had no secured funding until this point for updates. The reviews for the app were great, but we were starting to receive complaints about bugs and improper functioning.

What were your goals for this project?

The app was originally built with the purpose of improving physician-patient communication. However, it's lack of data collection capabilities was proving to be a major setback for us. We wanted to integrate data collection as well as improve usability. We also wanted it re-skinned with an entirely new look to complement our recent rebrand. Finally, we wanted the app to potentially generate revenue via paid ads and insights. 

How did you select this vendor?

We met with Spiria a few years ago through a connection with our CEO and their founder. We intended to update the app, but the funding did not line up, and the project was postponed. When we reconnected with them, Spiria immediately set us on the right path. They understood our vision and offered ideas to make it even better, all while remaining cognizant of our budget limitations. 

Describe the project in detail.

What began as an update became a full-blown rebuild. We held an initial discovery meeting to clarify everything we wanted and didn't want in the app update, but in a subsequent meeting, one of their team members proposed that we build a completely new app. After seeing her drawings, we decided to do just that and began a broader phased approach.

The app will be developed first for iOS, then Android. Nearing the prototype stages, “sneak peeks” from the team have confirmed a design we already love. When the first phase is complete, we will continue to work with Spiria as more funding comes in.

What was the team composition?

We have been working with three of Spiria's team members—the senior director of business development, one project manager, and the director of digital product and strategy. They have been actively involved in every step of the process, from conceptualization to the build.

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

The project is ongoing, and we expect to have the prototype within the next two weeks. However, we have been so happy with the process thus far that we have retained Spiria for our website development as well. 

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our project manager is amazing. She is very easy to reach, and we have connected frequently both in-person and via email. We also use Smartsheet to track work progress. The best thing about our workflow has been their responsiveness to our feedback and concerns. As a small charity, we value and appreciate their willingness to listen and take action.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

This entire experience has been collaborative and positive, and working with a vendor who did more than the bare minimum was a breath of fresh air. The team at Spiria didn't just check off our list of requirements or dismiss things as outside their scope, like a lot of other companies would have. They took the time to consider every request thoroughly. 

Also, the team’s extensive knowledge and digital expertise have made our brainstorming sessions a powerful learning experience. We are unfamiliar with this space, so they have presented ideas we had never considered before.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. This has been a positive experience for us from the start, and we highly recommend them to anyone looking for mobile app or website development.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO and owner of nForm Solutions. We create integration and content solutions for enterprise software and its users.

For what projects/services did your company hire Spiria?

We hired Spiria to develop our web application and its APIs from end to end.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to create an MVP to start sales and eventually invest in further development.

How did you select this vendor?

I was looking for a vendor with experience, a good track record, and an Agile philosophy. The vendor had to be proficient in all layers of development.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We came in with a design and improved it together via functional sessions. All their developers helped to document our stories and start a technical analysis. This allowed us to avoid technical pitfalls and cut future costs. Spiria then provided the UI, analyst, and programming staff to complete the sprints and deliver stories as expected. They also provided QA and testing consulting and training. Finally, they arranged cloud-based hosting.

What was the team composition?

I worked with an account executive during the contractual phase and then transitioned to a project manager. They also provided 2–4 analysts/developers, a UX/UI designer, when needed, and a QA/testing specialist, when needed.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

I have a great product that’s much easier to use than a typical MVP is. It’s professional and modern and will deliver lasting value to our company, allowing us to go to market with confidence.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project manager acted as our main point of contact. They also identified our priorities and assigned tasks during sprints. Being a project manager myself, I find their level of involvement just right, although I don’t receive the expected/promised reports on most occasions, or they’re very late.

Their team uses Jira and GitHub to manage and deliver the code, and I have access to Jira to enter new stories, manage my priorities, and read comments. This has been a textbook Agile collaboration.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I’ve been impressed by how passionate they are and their creative, cost-sensitive approach to finding solutions. Their level of documentation and detail in communication is also amazing. They know what they know, and they don’t pretend to understand something they don’t. If they lack knowledge in a certain area, they’ll ask for the funds to investigate it. I call this ethical IT.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Their project management reporting and reaction time could be improved. For instance, it would be good to know what to expect, when. Regardless, it’s a minor issue and has had little impact on product delivery. When providing estimates to clients, they ought to always include the overhead, not just pure development time. Unit testing should be performed on the client acceptance testing environment before releasing the test to the client. Failing to do so creates false bugs.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

BroadSign is a software company developing products for the advertising industry. We provide a software-as-a-service system which allows companies to publish content on digital screens located on highways, train stations, airports, and so on. I am the chief operating officer of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Spiria?

Spiria works as an extension of our team, and we have worked with them on numerous projects.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have an Agile software development process. Spiria has augmented our resources, depending on our needs.

Spiria has provided embedded Android work, web application development, C++ development, quality assurance, and UI/UX design. Some of their developers have been working with us for the last 3 years within our current product line.

How did you come to work with Spiria?

I have known one of Spiria's owners for a long time, and I have used the company within different organizations I've worked for.

How much have you invested with Spiria?

We use Spiria for team augmentation, on a per-hour basis, so it would be hard to provide a figure. They have been working full time on some of our projects for 3 years, while others are restricted to 1-2 months of work.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Spiria for almost 3 years.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Spiria has provided strong candidates, out of which we've kept the best. There have been instances of someone not being suitable for a project, but we've had open discussions with Spiria and have been overall satisfied.

I have been working with Spiria for a long time, and they've offered a type of service which is hard to find anywhere else in the consulting field. We're a software outfit ourselves, so we don't use Spiria to develop turnkey solutions (although I've heard good feedback about them from others in this regard), but rather for augmenting our teams. It's a question of the quality of candidates brought to the table by Spiria. They have brought some very good senior people from the start of our collaboration, which helped improve the way in which we did development. Three years ago, we had a waterfall approach. I am familiar with Agile development, but I cannot oversee everything happening in the organization, so Spiria was tasked with moving our team to a new methodology. This has been a big help for us.

How did Spiria perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management is mainly done on our side. Spiria is integrated into our day-to-day work, supplying individual contributors for development and quality assurance.

What did you find most impressive about Spiria?

Having a developer who would disappear for 3-4 months while the work was done would not work for us. I appreciate Spiria's ability to augment our team and become a part of it. Our software development approach is based on this flexibility. When we receive a new contract, we are able to quickly augment our team and plan ahead. I have been using Spiria for this purpose ever since their company was created 10 years ago.

Are there any areas Spiria could improve?

Spiria has a lot of resources, but we need to plan for them. If this isn't done, it's possible that Spiria may not be able to provide us with the resources we need. We pay them only for the time spent working on the projects, so Spiria cannot have developers simply waiting for us. It's simply the nature of our activity, and not necessarily something to improve.

Spiria has tried to keep its employees working within the office as much as possible, in order to build a company culture. That can be a good thing because it frees up space in our own company, but we are not as integrated as possible. Spiria's team has come to our office, but not all the time.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

SGSco is a collective of companies offering design and packaging services. I am the CIO.

What challenge were you trying to address with Spiria?

A part of our value proposition was to be able to take digital assets from manufacturers and get them to the requesters of the information through a flexible and dynamic platform. We created a design for it and needed a team to develop it in a timely fashion.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Spiria developed a platform which allows us to dynamically configure routing and content of the digital assets to retailers, which our company produces and manages. We mandated a specific technology stack, for which Spiria had deep capabilities. We extended a legacy system, rebuilding it from scratch.

During a prior collaboration with a different company, Spiria offered much more strategic services around a legacy technology. They managed and built many aspects of a mobile platform which was deployed to around 30,000 people. Spiria was influential and critical to our success.

How did you come to work with Spiria?

I had used Spiria in the past for a different company and respected their ability to deliver on time, and on budget. I reached out to Spiria, and it turned out that they had the right skillset and availability for our project.

How much have you invested with Spiria?

Confidential.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I'm very satisfied with Spiria so far. They've been able to interpret our requirements, building the platform in the right timeframe.

How did Spiria perform from a project management standpoint?

Spiria was on-track in managing the work, and they were transparent in terms of relaying progress.

What did you find most impressive about Spiria?

Spiria performed critical work for my last company, which was a multi-billion-dollar company with 30,000 remote associates worldwide. Spiria was better than any other technology provider which I worked with and were able to not only understand the technology, but also its business use, aligning systems and applications appropriately. Many of the 30,000 users of the platform were not technically-adept. They performed retail-centric work at physical stores. They were able to leverage the technology and use it in a timely and reliable fashion. It was a win-win for everyone.

Are there any areas Spiria could improve?

There's nothing of the top of my head. We didn't run into any issues and challenges with Spiria's work. As a company, we've had dozens of concurrent projects at any one time, so there's a large pool through which we can compare Spiria. They were always exceptional.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a small health information coding support services and outsourcing company in Canada. We operate primarily in Ontario but have worked nationally as well. We've been in activity for 15 years. 

I am the Chief Executive Officer and president of the company. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Spiria?

We came upon a challenge for one of our clients, which brought with it an opportunity to develop some software. We're not a development company, so we looked for someone who could be contracted.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Spiria developed the first of 3 modules for our platform and is working on the remaining 2. We acted as subject-matter experts, as well as the designers of the concept. Spiria worked based on our specifications and collaborated with us throughout the process.

How did you come to work with Spiria?

We found Spiria through a consultant in Ottawa. Spiria had all the resources required in order to take a project from idea to completion.

How much have you invested with Spiria?

The total cost of our project with Spiria has been in the 6-figure range.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Spiria 2 years ago and have an ongoing relationship.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We didn't have a waterfall-type project. Spiria initially created prototypes, which made us realize that the solution would not work effectively. We went back to the drawing table and started from scratch. It wasn't an Agile project, but we worked together throughout the duration, either by phone meetings or in-person at Spiria's offices in Ottawa.

How did Spiria perform from a project management standpoint?

The deliverables were met on-time throughout the project, and any significant delays came from our side. There were some design decisions which weren't being made in a timely manner.

Spiria used Jira as an issue-tracking tool, both at a production and software level.

What did you find most impressive about Spiria?

We mainly appreciated the fact that Spiria was quite responsive. When we went into beta testing, Spiria facilitated a team which remained on standby for us. Whenever we dealt directly with beta sites, Spiria made sure that they had people available. There were no real issues, but it took us a while to get across exactly what we needed, given that the healthcare field is quite specialized. Spiria had a learning curve, but they provided excellent service after that.

Are there any areas Spiria could improve?

I've had to negotiate pricing with Spiria. They had a bit of upselling at the beginning, trying to add features which didn't really need to be there. This may not be a good term to use, because of its negative connotations, but getting on the same page took some time.