SPOT. digital made simple

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the consumer business unit director at Photosì; and I’m the product owner of our app. We’re a printing company that prints photos, photobooks, and products that come from the images on a phone.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SPOT. digital made simple?

We needed help with development for our Android application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had already developed the iOS application, but we wanted to deploy an Android app. We asked them to recreate the experience we had in our iOS application. They not only duplicated the app, but they also created a new frame and logic inside the product so that it was more scalable.

Recently, we’ve been working with them on developing a new app, both for iOS and Android with a totally new architecture. They’ve provided us with project management services, frontend developers for iOS and Android as well as architecture consultancy for the mobile apps.

What is the team composition?

There are six people working with us including a project manager, architect, and two Android frontend developers.

How did you come to work with SPOT. digital made simple?

There weren’t many companies here in Italy that could help us develop an app from scratch. SPOT. had all the competence and knowledge that we were looking for. We found out that we are located in the same region which made it easier to meet them in person. I also received good reviews and feedback from their previous clients. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them towards the end of 2016, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work is quite high. I would say that the best thing has been the number of crash-free users on our Android app. It is 98% customer crash-free. Android is much more difficult than iOS because there are so many devices and operating systems so having such a low rate of crashes is a good indicator of high-quality work.

How did SPOT. digital made simple perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Trello and Jira to create boards in an agile methodology. We have two-week sprints where we deliver the activities and tasks that should be done. Our project manager oversees all of this. The team has always been on time in delivering tasks. Where there were problems that came up, we shared them together and found the workarounds and new solutions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very open to new ideas. I also like brainstorming with them in order to find new functionalities and solutions to problems. They’re very good at sharing information and knowledge.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can work on being more flexible on the project management side and being more receptive to changes.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Always be very clear about your goals. They’re proactive in finding a solution, so don’t use them only as a vendor – they’re a partner. It’s also important to share as much information with them as you can.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Project and Product Manager of the digital software solution platform that we offer our customers. Our company is a world leader in the design and production of solutions for painting, decoration and digital printing of countless materials and types of substrate in sectors going from wood and wood derivatives to glass, plastic, fibre cement, composite materials and metal. Currently the company has around 2000 employees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SPOT. digital made simple?

Our idea was to develop a web-based application designed to enhance the business of our customers by acting on various aspects with a tailored mix of expert consultancy and digital tools to be able to gather data from our machines all over the world and provide advanced technical support.

What were your goals for this project?

Transparency, simplicity, support in everyday work were the essential requirements to successfully deliver a new low-cost software product to our customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected this vendor from an initial scouting with four others competitotrs. The name arrived to us because they already successfully collaborated internally in our company in the past. Experience, flexibility, the young team and a close location were the characteristics that led to choice them.

Describe the project in detail.

The aim was to develop in a cloud base platform reading data from a third parties gateway and provide scalable mobile interfaces with UX/UI expertise.

What was the team composition?

The main team of the vendor is composed by 7 people that range from UX/UI, DB, Backend, Frontend, mobile app development skills. I usually speak with one Project Manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The success of our product is measurable not so much by the increased turnover it generates on its own, but more by the increase in the number of technical assistance packages required, and therefore turnover for the Service area, which use this tool as an 'enabler'.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Trello and Slack are the main tools used to support our communications. The Project Manager is always available and really reactive.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The flexibility to change developments in real-time. They're able to find a suitable solution for every purpose.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing, except to involve them in the marketing part and more in-depth knowledge of the machines we produce.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're a medical company based in Genoa (Italy). Our field of interest is robotics applied to rehabilitation within the fields of orthopedics, neurology, geriatrics and sports.

My role is Head of R&D Software Development

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SPOT.?

We have a robotic system designed in response to a clinical need for objective evaluation and rehabilitation treatment tools that support doctors, physiotherapists, and patients throughout the course of treatment and recovery.

The product consists of two robotic platforms, a monitor for the user interface and a tablet for the operator interface. The project with SPOT. consisted of designing the new operator interface with web based technology.

What were your goals for this project?

The aim of the project was to provide our solution with a cross-platform web interface (operator side) that could be installed on any device.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We have selected SPOT as a supplier for its experience in developing web based apps in the fitness and healthcare fields.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We can split the project in two steps:

- Analysis (joint teams) of user behavior, study of the interactions and the graphical interface of the app

- Analysis, design and development of the PWA Angular for the communication between the tablet and our product

What was the team composition?

The development team is formed by:

Our side:

• 1 Project Leader
• 1 Software Architect
• 4 Software Developers

SPOT side:

• 1 U/UX Designer
• 1 Project Leader
• 3 Software Developers
• 1 Quality Control engineer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The impact was significant. Moving to a web based solution will allow us to be able to transfer part of the software to the cloud and take advantage of the amount of data acquired, thanks to the use of machine learning techniques, with the aim to improve the rehabilitation service offered.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project follows the software development flow regulated by IEC62304. The project was divided into two phases. The first phase of requirements analysis involved our whole SW team and the SPOT person dedicated to UX/UI.

Once the requirements were defined, the development was divided between the BACKEND and FRONTEND components. The FRONTEND was entirely managed by SPOT with our internal person dedicated to the management and integration. The BACKEND was developed exclusively by us.

This approach has allowed for better management of the entire life-cycle and faster issues resolution.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

SPOT. has a great ability to analyze the requirements, and they're speedy when providing impressive solutions. Their professionalism and competence made it possible to achieve all the project's objectives.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I think at this moment it could be useful to develop more skills in the field of machine learning and AI to further complete the services offered by SPOT.