Stellar Elements

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of a company that’s building a career-focused alumni engagement platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fresh Tilled Soil an ADK Group Company?

They built us a clickable prototype.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

One of the challenges of an early business is being able to explain the vision of the company and product beyond PowerPoint decks. They helped us articulate our vision by creating a prototype environment for us to demo our product as a means of explaining what we do. We’ve been using their prototype with many potential partners and stakeholders. 

Their team also provided strategic feedback on user identities. However, the purpose of the engagement was the prototype build. They used InVision to create the product.  

What is the team composition?

We worked closely with a team of designers, an account executive, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Fresh Tilled Soil an ADK Group Company?

I had past experience working with their company and enjoyed those past engagements. I’ve found them to be professional and accountable. Because of those positive past experiences, I had a high degree of confidence that they could provide what we were looking for. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from November–December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were upfront with their approach and allowed us to review their work throughout the engagement. We were very pleased with what they build and received positive feedback from others, validating our satisfaction.   

How did Fresh Tilled Soil an ADK Group Company perform from a project management standpoint?

We met with them regularly to provide feedback in this iterative process. They met our deadline and were extremely responsive throughout the engagement. Their communication was excellent, and they were highly accountable in sticking with our tight timeline.   

What did you find most impressive about them?

They produced what we asked for but were also willing to take a strategic approach to drive toward our outcome. Our project had a defined outcome, but they took a comprehensive approach that showed they care about our success. They’re a reliable team.   

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’d highly recommend them and know I’ll be working with them again. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more background information and content you can provide, the better they’ll be able to understand goals and accomplishing them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the project manager for the IT department of a government agency in Massachusetts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fresh Tilled Soil an ADK Group Company?

We’ve been migrating our technology from a legacy client-server platform to a web-based solution for many, many years. We now needed assistance in optimizing the solution’s UX/UI to support our users’ decision-making processes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fresh Tilled Soil took on two tasks. They first conducted in-depth UX/UI research for us, where they did user testing to identify the best UX/UI decisions we could make. We held discovery sessions, and they interviewed end-users. They then came up with design prototypes in an iterative process.

They were also responsible for designing the UX/UI for a small module within our enterprise-level solution. Our system has hundreds of screens, but they worked one of the specific, smaller functions within it.

What is the team composition?

We worked primarily with a project manager and two UX/UI designers. There were others working behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Fresh Tilled Soil an ADK Group Company?

I believe we found them through a web search and talking to colleagues. I’m sure we called them, along with other agencies, after being impressed by their online portfolio.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost around $90,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted between March – May 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The designs aren’t live yet, since we’re responsible for developing and implementing them. So, we can’t assess the end-user impact at this time. However, we’ve gotten very favorable feedback based on internal reviews of their designs. Overall, we’ve extremely satisfied with the quality of their work. They did a great job of enhancing our existing materials and taking us to the next level of human-centric design.

How did Fresh Tilled Soil an ADK Group Company perform from a project management standpoint?

I thought they performed exceptionally. They used a variety of tools, like Base Camp. They were very diligent at tracking issues and following up on items. I was definitely impressed with their PM capabilities.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their design-thinking was excellent. They did a stellar job of hearing what the users had to say. They excelled at asking the right questions to get the underlying message behind the answers, which they would translate into actionable designs that still operate within our framework. It’s their ability to listen and to enhance — not replace — our work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If we had more time, it would have been good to get the designs back in front of the end-users again. We ran out of time and chose to prioritize other aspects of the project. Otherwise, I don’t have anything bad to say, nor do I have a direct basis for comparison.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what your key goals and objectives are. Think about how resource-intensive you can be on your end because that will affect the scope of work you’re likely to go with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director at Wasabi Technologies, a hot cloud storage company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ADK Group?

We made the decision to upgrade our website to resemble an enterprise-class company, so we could start recruiting enterprise-class customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ADK gave our website a complete facelift from a design perspective. They added a ton of new content as well, making sure it was all SEO friendly. We underwent a website audit and compared industry terms we weren’t ranking for. From that, we identified some low-hanging fruit and got to work on creating appropriate content. Every couple of weeks, ADK provides us with several new glossary terms to add to the site. The team also provided analytics.

We have a unique and proprietary cost estimator on the site, as well as a cost comparison tool, which the team helped build out. 

What is the team composition?

We have a day-to-day contact, Michelle (Project Manager). Sam (Lead Marketing Technologist) handles the SEO and analytics project.  

How did you come to work with ADK Group?

ADK was originally commissioned to build our website before I was even on board at the company. We contacted them again when it was time for the revamp.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in October 2018. The work is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

ADK is really pivotal in helping us maintain an optimal conversion rate. We’re averaging 20%–30% growth month over month, and a huge part of that is the conversion process on our website.

How did ADK Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform really well. Michelle, our project manager, is excellent. We use Slack quite a lot, so it’s easy to go back and forth from a communication perspective. From a project tracking perspective, it’s fairly traditional: we use spreadsheets and email. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re really good partners. ADK will do whatever it takes to help us. They can handle any task and any timeline, and they go the extra mile to make sure they deliver. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s a very small criticism, because I’ve noticed that unless I give a firm date of when something needs to launch, some of the projects can linger because we have a lot of day-to-day tasks. It’s not really a big deal, but it could be improved a bit.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have one point of contact with ADK, who will be responsible for all the communications and web projects. Also, give them the full scope of the project and have feedback from key stakeholders before you begin.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of a mobile application targeted at the construction industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ADK Group?

We needed help building our mobile application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did design, architecture, iterations, development, and deployment of our mobile application. They used C++ with a .NET core, all on AWS.

What is the team composition?

I worked with 6–8 people from ADK.

How did you come to work with ADK Group?

I knew their Jon (CTO), and was familiar with his immense capabilities.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent north of $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2017, and we wrapped up in May 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve exceeded our expectations, and everything we asked for was delivered on time.

How did ADK Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They were exceptional. The team was forthcoming with any delays or bugs, and they performed really well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Jon’s leadership was great. The designers and developers were also amazing to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to hire them. You don’t need to look anywhere else.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CTO of Escher Group. We provide customer engagement platforms for our customers around the world. We have retail counter point of sales systems, self serve kiosks, and mobile handhelds that clerks might use in the store.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fresh Tilled Soil an ADK Group Company?

Since customer experience is important to us, the UI/UX of our products are important to us. We hired Fresh Tilled Soil to help with that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We've actually used Fresh Tilled Soil twice. The first time was towards the end of 2018 for a bespoke product, where we allowed our customers to customize everything, including UX. The product didn’t even have a standard UX — every user workflow was built custom for each client.

From the ground up, with Fresh Tilled Soil, we designed the end to end UX for the clerk on the point of sale terminals, and we did the UX for the customers on the customer display units for the point of sale terminals. They interviewed members of our team as well as customers. 

We then migrated that onto the customer experience for mobile and most recently, we have done the customer experience for self-serve kiosks. They’VE designed the visual language and the customer experience for all the user interfaces for all of our channels.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Dan (Senior Strategist & New Business Director) who was more of the sales guy. We probably had a team of five people for about eight months over the last two years.

How did you come to work with Fresh Tilled Soil an ADK Group Company?

One of my colleagues brought them on before I joined the company. I don’t know if he found them through a referral or internet search.

What is the status of this engagement?

We are started working with them in December 2018 and we're still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure in a couple of ways, one of which is the ability for us to get projects out quickly, and I think it has also helped us in our sales process that we have. Our customers also appreciate the speed and efficiency of workflows, absence of errors, and intuitiveness. If the client has 6,000 retail stores and probably 25,000 employees, training them on a new system would be quite expensive and with our solution, the training is actually pretty minimal.

Throughout the project, Fresh Tilled Soil has listened to the customer’s requirements and needs, they work with our team, come up with mock-ups, and present the mock-ups to the customers, and then get their feedback. So, for everything we did with them, they not only had our input but had our customer’s input. On all three of the projects, we did that.

How did Fresh Tilled Soil an ADK Group Company perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very professional, and they are very engaged. They keep things on track and make sure that they have what they need and make sure that they show progress every week. It is very convenient for me because they just do what they are supposed to do. 

I think of Fresh Tilled Soil as an extended part of my team. They're very talented. I trust them to do a good job, and I don’t have to review ahead of time what they are going to show the customers. I know they listen to the customers and know what we are doing. 

The team also takes the time to really understand our business and understand what it is we are trying to accomplish. We are not a B2C site; we are mostly providing workflows for the operators and clerks. It is a very different user interface and user experience than a consumer mobile app.

We use InVision to keep track of all the prototypes which makes it very easy for the developers to actually implement what they have done. We use Zoom or Teams for conferencing. In the early days, they would come to the Boston office every now and then and we were getting to know each other, but of course, now we all do everything remotely.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think the most important thing Fresh Tilled Soil does is listen. They don’t come with a solution; they listen, they make sure that they understand the problem they are trying to solve and then they come to a solution for our problems. They don’t assume that they know the answer when they start.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I think they are pretty easy to do business with and pretty easy to contract with. They do a good job. These aren’t skills we have in-house and we rely on them heavily to do this. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a solution brief and make sure you are clear about the scope and context, and what problem you are trying to solve. Make sure that you have them talk to the end-users as well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive director of Boston School Finder. We’re an online platform and nonprofit organization that helps families in the Boston area navigate our school choice system.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ADK Group?

ADK helped us create our online platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an initial discovery session, where we talked about our needs and vision for the platform, all of which was augmented by a UX research phase. ADK also provided user testing services to assist in their development.

After the designs had been iterated and tested, the team developed the data structures and technology platform using Drupal 8 and React. The site is designed to be mobile-friendly, so we have all the functionalities of our desktop site on mobile devices. 

On top of the web development services, the team has also helped us with our SEO efforts.

What is the team composition?

There were about four of five people working on our project.

How did you come to work with ADK Group?

I was looking around for a web designer, and I was actually referred to ADK by another web designer.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since July 2018. Our organization is evolving, but they’re still our tech partner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Over the last few years, we’ve had over 16,000 families use our website. It’s been huge; we hit numbers we never thought we’d hit. Their expertise really helped us. ADK brought ideas to the table we never would’ve thought of. They really understood our mission as a nonprofit, and worked with us to make sure the product served our users as best as possible. 

How did ADK Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re amazing. It feels more like we’re a team than a client-vendor relationship. We’ve been to one another’s offices several times. They’re very communicative, organized, and transparent. There’s never been a time when we didn’t know what was going on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Both how seriously they take their job and how much they care about their clients is what stand out to me most. They were really engaged with the success of our project, and they understood our mission as a nonprofit, so they worked with us to make sure the product served our users as best as possible. ADK took the time to understand what we needed, and it shows in the product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, I’ve been really pleased with the work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You don’t have to be a tech expert, but you should come prepared with an idea of what you want to do. Let them talk you through different processes and options, and don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Beeyonder, a virtual travel aggregator and provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fresh Tilled Soil an ADK Group Company?

We’re in the very early stages of our startup, and before going any further with the idea, I felt that a professional market research company should come in to validate some of the ideas we had for the company. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fresh Tilled Soil conducted user interviews at the outset about various things that might be important to our customers, trying to validate certain assumptions we were making. We took that information to build a user interface design for several pages that we felt were most important for our company’s success in terms of our website. 

Then, they conducted additional interviews, with a new set of people, to test that design. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, a strategist, a UI designer, and a developer.

How did you come to work with Fresh Tilled Soil an ADK Group Company?

Fresh Tilled Soil was recommended to us by a friend of a friend.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent a little over $15,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June–July 2020. It was a three week engagement, and we’re currently working together again to develop a scope of work and quote for the development of the MVP.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s only been a couple of weeks since our project ended, but the feedback from the users in the second test was great. The pages Fresh Tilled Soil created will definitely be used in the development of the MVP for our website. 

Their work has given me peace of mind that people are interested in what we have to offer. I feel comfortable moving forward with our company into the next phase.

How did Fresh Tilled Soil an ADK Group Company perform from a project management standpoint?

The process was really smooth. Fresh Tilled Soil had a schedule in place and really stuck to it. Throughout the process, there was a lot of feedback and discussion in place.

In terms of communication, our initial discussions were done via Zoom, due to COVID-19 concerns. Once materials were developed or drafted, they would be sent through email, and I would review them and give feedback.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to stay on schedule was really impressive. Aside from their work, which was fantastic, it really stood out. It can be very difficult to get vendors to stay on track and meet deadlines, but Fresh Tilled Soil was excellent. Their availability to tell me when things were going to be finished and meet every deadline was great, because it allowed me to plan properly. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything, and I’ve tried. I thought it went really well. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be engaged with the team and provide as much feedback as you can as quickly as you can. That will allow you to get the most out of your engagement, because Fresh Tilled Soil really takes what you have to say in consideration.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a program coordinator for Riverside Community Care. I work in a subdivision called the Riverside Trauma Center. We’re a nonprofit agency that serves behavioral health needs across the state of Massachusetts. I’m currently running a suicide prevention program.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ADK Group?

The main focus was the redesign of the program’s website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ADK Group did a lot of discovery work, going through our old website to see what needed to be updated. Then they redesigned and developed the website and saw it through its official launch. They rebuilt a completely new website on WordPress. We migrated the content and videos but the platform was built from scratch.

Our team gave them flexibility in creativity. They brought us a couple of different options, and we worked together to give feedback about what we liked and didn’t like. Their design team brought ideas to the table, and we worked collaboratively to fine-tune it.

What is the team composition?

The team composition changed throughout the project. I came into the project in the middle of the timeline. I worked with two people closely and three altogether.

How did you come to work with ADK Group?

My organization has worked with ADK Group on previous projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from May 2019–July 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, the website has received positive feedback from everyone I’ve shared it with. It’s easy to use, well-organized, and looks great. We’re a state-funded program and have received positive feedback from those stakeholders as well.

How did ADK Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management went well. They worked in phases and the last two phases — redesign and development — were great because they moved along quickly. However, prior to that, there was a definite lull in the initial stages. Again, I don’t have the full picture because I joined the project in the middle, but there was definitely a delay during those stages.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team worked really well together. There are so many pieces that go into building and designing a website, and they did it seamlessly. I never had to worry about anything getting done.

No, I’ve been really pleased. There’s nothing else apart from what I mentioned before. Communication got better as the project progressed.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Set up a weekly call to have a consistent meeting where you come together to make sure the project is moving along as it should.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and VP of a company that runs three distinct construction, development, and property businesses. I run these businesses with three of my brothers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fresh Tilled Soil?

Initially, we brought Fresh Tilled Soil to build our brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, they developed our website and optimized it with ad copy and digital marketing. We’ve updated that site a few times, but there was a major overhaul 2–3 years ago, where we added a fresh outlook.

In addition to that site, Fresh Till has helped us with several other sites. All of our development projects also had websites that they helped design and implement. It’s like they’re part of our team. Their design, web, and ad-copy teams work together to make sure our messages are properly being put out into the marketplace.

What is the team composition?

Dan (Senior Strategist & New Business Director) is our main point of contact and account manager. We also work with Alex (Senior Experience Designer & Strategist) and at least 4 other people from their team.

How did you come to work with Fresh Tilled Soil?

They came as a referral.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $50,000 on that last major overhaul. My hunch is that we’ve spent at least $100,000 over the last 11 years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2009, and we’ve been with them ever since.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Having a strong web presence is crucial since that’s the first place people will look. They’ve been able to guide us over the years in what we’ve needed to stay relevant and look professional. For example, they’ve let us know that having our site display on mobile has become just as important as on a desktop since a lot of people look us up on their phones.

How did Fresh Tilled Soil perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been excellent. All but one of their project managers have set a budget and have been very professional to work with. As far as organizational skills, and coordinating all of the groups that have to provide data and content, Fresh Till does a great job. We communicate mostly via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The websites that they put together are very user friendly in a way that just makes sense. There are some sites I’ve been to where it’s a hassle to find information, and I don’t experience that on Fresh Till’s site. The sites they create are intuitive and easy to use.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think I have any suggestions off-hand.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to get your messaging correct about what you want to say about your business, and what brand you’re trying to project, as well as what actions you want from the marketplace. Organize yourself clearly so Fresh Till can help you achieve those goals.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The Greenway Conservancy has sole responsibility for managing all aspects of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, including horticulture, programming, public art, maintenance, and capital improvements. I am the Creative Services Manager for the Greenway Conservancy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire ADK Group?

We worked with ADK Group to develop a redesign of our Conservancy and Park website, ensuring the new site was user-friendly, responsive, and accessible on all desktops and devices.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to bring our web assets into compliance with modern development standards and practices, and to have our site better reflect the unique park experience of The Greenway in both design and performance.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After an open RFP process, we selected KHj Brand Activation and ADK Group to design and develop our new website. The selection criteria included factors such as overall scope and vision, budget and in-kind services for nonprofits, prior portfolio projects, and speaking with references.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

ADK Group developed and implemented the design conceptualized by KHj Brand Activation. This included many unique elements specific to our complex needs as a Conservancy. As changes or deviations from the original scope were needed throughout the process, ADK was flexible and work with us to meet these needs. Following completion and implementation of the website, we continued to work with ADK to migrate it to an AWS server, where it will be maintained under an ongoing agreement with ADK Group.

What was the team composition?

The project team had ~10 people working in stages during the project, overseen throughout by a Project Manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This was the final element in an overall rebranding effort, which now feels complete when looking at the landscape of our visual identity and brand elements. This site has also increased our capacity to communicate with our stakeholders and the greater public in an aesthetic way, and has made it easier for those users and visitors to access the information.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was complex given the extensive internal stakeholders in both our organization. We worked with ADK to continue advancing the project despite competing unrelated tasks and responsibilities of our organizations.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

ADK had a knack for translating our needs as an organization into modern web development solutions and tools.

Are there any areas for improvement?

More standard and regular updates would have been helpful during the process, to better understand how progress was being made and how we could have assisted in it from our end.