What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
They added a number of useful functionalities. Their architectural decisions made it much easier to maintain the software and significantly increased its usability. I had a solution to implement, but they pushed back with a different strategy that ended up working much better. Their solution enabled me to track the workflow of the software in a completely different fashion and solve many of the problems inherent in my architecture.
I’ve worked with outsourced software services for at least 10–15 years, before sites like Upwork were available. I’ve never come across someone this reliable, especially in India. I genuinely believe that they’re very good—always on-point and very skillful. And that’s not simply to give them a good review. I’m an engineer myself, so it’s easy for me to measure their code quality and work ethic.
I’ve connected them with friends and other companies I know. They’ve used Successive’s services and have also been very happy.
How did Successive Software perform from a project management standpoint?
They are responsive. Even after the project was done and we hadn’t talked for a month, one of their employees let me know that he would be unavailable 10 days in advance. He didn’t need to report to me, but he wanted to make sure I knew in case something came up. That’s a level of care I don’t normally see even from full-time staff, let alone from an external provider who was done with the job. It demonstrated a certain responsibility for their projects, which I appreciate.
We have 2 daily check-ins—one in the morning and one at night. At the end of each workday, they push the code to a domain repository, where I see how much they’ve completed. We communicate equally through Skype and project management software (JIRA in this particular case).
I don’t want to hold the time difference against them, but it’s not always pleasant to wait until 10 p.m. my time to have a conversation. It’s usually easier to interface with people locally than across the globe. At the same time, Successive has been more reliable than my in-house staff.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I’ve found them to be dependable—I paid for what I needed implemented. If 2 weeks passed and I found a bug or an issue I wasn’t happy with, they fixed it free of charge. Bugs happen to everyone, but their response times make the difference. Two or three times in the year I’ve worked with them, I’ve found a bug outside of office hours, and they’ve worked overnight to repair it by the next morning. That’s another example of the responsibility they take for their projects.
Their resources also got up to speed surprisingly quickly. I’m used to people needing a couple of days to become familiar with a project before they start coding. Every time a new resource joined the project, he’d start coding right away, and I’d begin to see implementations within the first day.
As a last example of their dedication, one of their engineers had a meeting in San Francisco. He actually flew to Los Angeles to meet with me just to sit down and have a cup of coffee. We’d been working together for a couple of months at this point, and he wanted to meet in person. This was a nice gesture, especially since it involved a cost on his end.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I can’t think of anything they could be doing better. In fact, working with them has actually given me more confidence to take on projects personally. I recently took on a pharmaceutical app with a scope that’s a bit bigger than I alone could deliver in the given timeframe. Without even checking with Successive, I knew I could use their resources and get the project done in sufficient time. I know that they can deliver and that I can work with them to achieve what needs to be done.
Do you have any advice for future customers?
Be aware of the time difference when engaging in a partnership of this kind.
Successive quickly resolved any coding issues, and their schedule was flexible. The app has been well-received by current users. Excellent service has resulted in a continued partnership.