Stateside Agency

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I've used Stateside at two locations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stateside Agency?

I needed to build out a web component and wanted an agency to help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did UX, visual design, implementation, and testing for a mapping component. The frontend was built with JavaScript, and I believe the backend was built with Python. This component was designed to integrate into our existing website.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a team of between 5-10 individuals, led by a project manager and a delivery director.

How did you come to work with Stateside Agency?

I brought them on at a previous company, after working with one of their lead engineers when he was at a different agency. We had a good relationship, so I hired them again when this need arose.

What is the status of this engagement?

I worked on this project in 2018. I've since left the company, but I believe the project is done.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We didn't track any KPIs or data-driven quality metrics, but the main sponsor of the project was very excited by the work they did in the end. There was some ambiguity surrounding the requirements, but they worked through everything and flushed out the specifications.

How did Stateside Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They were on top of everything and managed the project well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their time zone is close to ours. I've worked with other offshore vendors that were more challenging. They're also culturally similar to us. They were available and easy to work with, and they had a similar sense of humor to ours.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ensure that your requirements are as flushed out as possible.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the former product manager for LegalShield. The company provides legal plans for individuals and small businesses so that they can pay a monthly premium and have access to a law firm for all of their legal needs. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Stateside Agency?

We had many needs for Stateside Agency’s staff augmentation services, but one of the trickier challenges was leveraging their great offshore talent to help grow the internal developers. 

What were your goals for this project?

Stateside Agency helped us complete portions of significant initiatives. For example, they led efforts to redesign and develop the LegalShield corporate site.

SOLUTION

Describe the project in detail.

Once we selected Stateside Agency, the scope for staff augmentation was monthly. Stateside Agency let us leverage their offshore talent to grow our internal team of developers. They also helped our internal resources move at a pace that they lacked experience with. Stateside Agency assigned developers to teams based on various needs. We did no internal vetting of these resources, but they always turned out to be fantastic additions to our workflow.

What was the team composition?

We started with three developers and added more to teams as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Stateside Agency’s expert resources allowed us to focus on high-level goals. Needless to say, we met those goals, and that would not have been possible without the help that Stateside Agency provided.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Surprisingly, I never had to worry about excessive overhead with the workflow. Stateside Agency’s developers jumped into our team and were ready to work from the get-go.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their depth of talent stood out most and allowed us to develop a great working relationship. Stateside Agency does a great job of making sure the human relationship element is not lost. That inevitably makes for a more successful partnership.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Honestly, I can't think of anything.