Surf

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the CEO of a restaurant chain.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a fast-developing chain of urban modern restaurants offering Georgian cuisine to customers both in the restaurants and through delivery service

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Surf to accomplish?

• Assist us in developing our delivery service and building a modern and fast mobile application and website for our customers.
• Integrate our website, mobile application and internal management service (IIKO) in one efficient system, where an order easily transfer from a cusomer's device to restaurant’s frontend.
• Manage and improve the purchasing procedure to facilitate quicker online payments and the addition of promo codes.

SOLUTION

How did you find Surf?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select Surf over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Profound background in mobile application and web development for major brands.

How many teammates from Surf were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Surf commenced by conducting extensive research in order to comprehend our business niche; this included analyzing competitors, outlining the user journey, and searching for potential service integration decisions. Surf consolidated all of the data and presented it to us.

Our website and mobile application were upgraded and redesigned during the second phase. They completed the process in a few iterations: founded on market research, they developed an app prototype and provided a Flutter framework for the joint development of the application and website. Flutter was a convenient platform for us because our IT department could easily learn how to use it in the future, and we could make any necessary modifications to the mobile app and website with a single click. 

Apart from transferring our old application to the new framework, Surf has improved the backend through APIs and integrated frontend design prototypes.

Surf concurrently implemented our order management system (IIKO) across our website and mobile application. Their knowledge of various restaurant services was utilized to achieve the primary objective of accelerating everything. 

The Surf team conducted thorough testing of websites and applications at each stage, providing us with results to ensure that everything was functioning properly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Surf facilitated the integration of our business and IT systems, resulting in a twofold acceleration of business processes. The order system is now fully integrated into our work, and we have access to a modern, quick application and website: we receive all orders within minutes, have a streamlined inner workflow, get payments more quickly, and can see the precise outcomes of our reports. Every franchisee partner now receives a vital service from the organization thanks to the system.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Each member of the Surf team provides us with candid and expert feedback throughout our collaboration. They not only comprehend our objectives but also possess the capability to approximate time constraints and produce a flawless project that is simple to execute.

What was your primary form of communication with Surf?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We are very grateful to the Surf team for their keen insight into how important it is to meet our objectives by delivering exceptional outcomes; this insight was essential to the success of our project. The Surf team has proved to be an essential part of the project from the beginning to the end, adding a significant amount to its worth.

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

It was a pleasure working with the Surf team, and we can only hope that they continue to develop and support the same caliber of work and passion for what they do.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Bussiness director of Love Republic (MELON FASHION GROUP)

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

LOVE REPUBLIC is a part of MELON FASHION GROUP BRAND and manufacturer of women's clothing. Love Republic retail chain is represented in 4 countries and has more than 150 stores.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Surf to accomplish?

• Implement a more convenient logic of user interaction with the application.
• Avoid critical bugs in the old application.
• Implement the most necessary and convenient functionality that covers all needs

SOLUTION

How did you find Surf?

Online Search, Referral, Other

Why did you select Surf over others?

High ratings, Close to my geographic location, Good value for cost, Referred to me, Company values aligned

What was the size of Surf’s team?

2-5 Employees

What was your primary form of communication with Surf?

Virtual Meeting, Email or Messaging App

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The Surf team, using their experience in market research, made a number of adjustments to the logic of the app, thanks to which they were able to make user interaction with the app more flexible and logical. They tried to take into account all of the possible cases that users encounter in the app.

Despite the fact that integrating analytics into the app wasn't part of our initial plans, the Surf team managed to finish the task in a shorter period of time and released it.

The Surf team has always tried to help our backend team members from Love Republic, so that everyone involved in the development process moves in the same direction and meets the deadlines.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• In six months, the Surf team developed an updated app for Love Republic.
• We were able to keep business goals in mind and release an app for the all-important Black Friday for any e-commerce app, saving about 40% of the budget through the Flutter cross-platform.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The team was fully available to us, on a daily basis, with open and clear communication.They often organized intermediate demos and meetings as issues arose.

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

I appreciate their professionalism. By the way, they worked in a very organized way taking into account all our business needs. We completed the project on time thanks to quality services and management.

Are there any areas for improvement or something {provider_name} could have done differently?

It’s a great pleasure to collaborate with Surf. It’s been very efficient, and we can only wish the team to keep up the good work!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is one of the largest Financial startups. I working as top manager in this company and responsible for business and product development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We would like to create our own payment instrument for cross-border transfers with payment in cash. Surf has expertise in working with it. Therefore, we turned to Surf.

SOLUTION

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

Surf was ready to engage developers with the necessary skills and experience we needed. The key factors influenced our decision to collaborate with Surf was professionalism and quick estimation of the proposed project. The team was able to engage the project extremely quickly.

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

At the start of the project, we had several meetings with the Surf Team to detail all the business requirements, identify the nuances, and fix the development approaches. They launched several Agile processes in parallel. Established the process of identifying business requirements, preparing the terms of reference and layouts. They developed a float for authorization, and the customer deployed an additional two-factor authentication system.

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

My team worked directly with the project manager. Additionally, we mostly interacted with two lead front- and backend developers and analyst.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We got a ready solution (web-service) for partners' interaction with the money transfer system. Simple and clear functionality allows you to send, pay out money transfers and administer the functionality of the web-client for end users. The project envisages further scaling - expanding the functionality, increasing the number of sending directions and customizing the interfaces.

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

The project manager was easy to communicate with and provided frequent updates. We had both in-person meetings and phone calls, but most of the feedback was through email. Everything was delivered on time and we received ample warning if a deadline wasn't going to be met.

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

Surf is a pleasure to work with. They had a high level of expertise in different areas and offered many solutions and ideas to improve some functions. We also liked the fact that the team was proactive and showed high interest in the results of the project.

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

Nothing

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CPO of Burger King Russia. Burger King is the second largest fast-food restaurant chain in the world. Every day more than eleven million visitors come to BURGER KING restaurants around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We decided to update the design of our mobile app, improve its fault tolerance, as well as systematize the work with conversion and user experience. With these tasks we turned to Surf.

SOLUTION

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

The decisive factors for choosing Surf were:

• Extensive experience in developing mobile apps for major brands
• Readiness to allocate a sufficient number of high-qualified specialists to our project
• Price, timing and quality of development

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

Together with the Surf team, we implemented a new brand design concept in the mobile app. Now the Burger King sales channel has a much more modern and stylish design that reflects the current brand values. The Surf team solved several important tasks simultaneously: stabilized the app, developed features in the old version, implemented the redesign, and systematized work on conversion and user experience

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

My team worked directly with their iOS, Android developers, QA specialists, and the Project Manager as the key contact person

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Today, 85% of the company's sales are made on digital channels and during 2022, Burger King's mobile app ranked first in the food and beverage category on the App Store and Google Play with user ratings of 4.8 and 4.3, respectively.

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

In the work with Surf we would like to highlight a good understanding of the features of Android and iOS mobile platforms and excellent knowledge of the requirements for publishing mobile applications. Throughout the project all team members were available and promptly responded to business correspondence.

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

Surf showed a very good level of technical competence - they were able to implement the solution at a high technical level. The company's specialists showed the ability to be part of a team and to flexibly adjust to the needs of the project in a short time frame

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

We continue to cooperate with Surf and we really like the level of their professional competence and well-organized communication.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The company is engaged in the construction of shopping centers. We also have district centers with stores, places for entertainment and services for the population. I plated the role of IT Business partner for Marketing team

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The main goal was to develop the app as a full-fledged digital-communication channel, allowing us not only to attract customers, but also to connect all users for ex. register for upcoming events and stay up-to-date on what's going on in the community center, as well as reaching out to others in the community

SOLUTION

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

We searched online for the best mobile developers in our area and shortlisted 10. After interviewing them, we chose this vendor based on their requirements, experience of the agency and cost estimate.

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

We collaborate with the team in the preparatory stages of our projects. The team has proved to be highly professional and reliable in developing mobile applications. In this stage we clearly define the business metrics that the application will be focused on, and form a development budget for the project from investors. Surf also conducted a technical study and worked through the architecture of the project, taking into account loads and integrations with third-party services.

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

Project Manager, Art Director, Designer, System Analyst, Flutter Developer for consulting puproses

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As a result of Design phase we received: MVP Vision; a design concept; Integration and Functional Architecture; Back end architecture; a detailed cost and time estimation; backlog We were fully happy with the result. Many thanks to the team!

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

The team proactively shared new ideas and asked appropriate questions to clarify all the details. We regularly hold online meetings to synchronize and discuss current issues. Communication within the team was really well organized with chats and project management tools

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

I would like to mention their mobile app development skills and the ability to foresee potential risks to avoid delays in the project progress. The way they designed the App was great.

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

Fully happy, nothing to add

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the business project manager in charge of the development of a bank’s new mobile application.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Initially, we wanted to improve the native app we already had. Besides, we intended to implement test automation in the app and infrastructure for the tests as it reduces testing time and allows developers to fix bugs quickly.

During the detailed discussion of the project, we understood that it would be easier and less expensive to create a new Flutter application from scratch and lay the foundation for its further scaling than modify the existing one.

SOLUTION

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

Surf has a wealth of expertise in banking projects. In addition, we appreciate the level of their Flutter skills. Important was the fact that the company has a fully functional team covering all the roles we need: designers, PM, developers, analysts, and QA.

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

Within nine months of collaboration with Surf, we have developed a Flutter application with automated tests and infrastructure for them. The app is available for smartphones and tablets.

The first release covered a large set of features:

• 4 methods of authorization
• 2 ways to register
• Product review and management
• Setting up products: cards, accounts, deposits
• My Finances module allows you to understand your financial situation in terms of all banking products
• Payments and transfers
• Automatic payments
• Favorite payments
• Operations and activities history
• Expenses analytics
• Chat for customer support
• ATM and branches review
• Personal data management

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

1 designer,1 PM, 2 analysts, 4 Flutter developers, 2 QAs.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We successfully launched the first version of the app. Users like it and rate it highly. We have done a lot of work to update the design for the bank’s app:

• We brought the design up to date and adapted it to Flutter development.
• We improved UX: all solutions suggested by the bank were analyzed, taking into account Surf experience with banking apps.
• Some options were suggested, to make the app more user-friendly.

For example, improvement of the interface variant for small screens: to arrange the elements in a way that allows avoiding unnecessary scrolls. Now the app development continues, new features are released every month.

One more significant point is that based on the code of this app, Surf is currently developing an app for another bank, which is also a part of our group. It has a different design and set of features, but reusing the code will reduce the time and cost of the project to 70%.

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

Surf has efficient communication processes. They consider all wishes and comments, the stages are transparent, and it is clear what result is to achieve at each stage. The team is easy and ready to communicate, offers efficient solutions based on their experience, and proves them with reason. In general, I believe, in a short time, we have implemented a great scope of tasks.

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

I am impressed with Surf's expertise in developing solutions, both for banks and other industries. I like that the team strives to dive deep into the product, go thoroughly through each stage, and offer the best possible solutions. Surf's commitment to constantly improve the product is impressive: now we continue to work together on the app and improve it.

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

We continue to develop the project with Surf and we are satisfied with the level of expertise, proactivity, and well-organized processes in the team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Yotolab is a web & mobile app development company working with startups in the fields of robotics, neurotechnology, augmented reality, retail, foodtech, social media, and others. I am the CEO for Yotolab.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed an application for managing company personnel. We wanted to create a digital profile for each employee, where all information about them is collected. Based on this data, the manager or HR department can evaluate the employee, analyze their involvement and efficiency, and draw up development plans. And the employees themselves - to evaluate the possible directions of development, to undergo training, to present themselves from the best side.

SOLUTION

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

To speed up development, we wanted to create a cross-platform application on Flutter, and Surf has a lot of expertise in working with it. Therefore, we turned to Surf.

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

Each employee of the company has a digital profile: all information about their skills, role in the company, achievements, completed training is entered into it. HR can assess the level of each of the employees, offer them training, see when a person has already “grown up” to move to the next step in the career ladder. For the employees themselves, such a profile is also useful: they see the trainings that take place in the company and can sign up for something of interest. They can also declare their achievements by entering them in their profile. This data helps HR make the right career decisions, and helps employees develop in areas of interest to them.

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

1 analyst 1 designer 1 PM 2 Flutter developers 1 QA

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have just launched the application, so there are no quantitative indicators. But we expect that our turnover rate will decrease, the level of employee satisfaction with their development in the company will increase.

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

The process was fine-tuned. We had one entry point - PM, he perfectly translated “from technical to human”, so there were no complaints or misunderstandings during the interaction.

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

Surf is a pleasure to work with. They have a high level of expertise, they offer many solutions themselves. We also liked the fact that the team was proactive and showed high interest in the results of the project.

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

Everything was great, keep the same level.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Head of UX/UI division at Bank Zenit, finlab Tatneft. Bank Zenit is present in 45 cities of the Russian Federation with 11 branches and almost two hundred offices. The company is a subsidiary of PJSC TATNEFT and is rated among the Top 40 Russian banks in terms of net assets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Surf?

We needed to develop a unified UI / UX for the mobile banking app.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

It was a formal tender procedure. The terms were published in the public domain and Surf made the offer that fit best.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

It is a mobile banking app where a client can make payments and transfers as well as check the accounts, deposits and credits. They can also view their spending analytics or find an ATM or a bank office on the map.

The Surf team did research and put together a UI prototype based on our wishes and existing data and using the bank's corporate colors and unified design elements. Thanks to this, the application looks cool and organically integrates into the overall style of the bank.

All new features are also implemented in the same style. What’s more, the interface was integrated with the Fast Payments System. This is a project set up by the Central Bank of Russia in order to make transfers between clients of different banks. It is developed as a part of the Open Banking initiative endorsed in Russia. The Central Bank sets strict design requirements for this module, so it took considerable effort for the Surf team to do it.

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

Art Director and 2 designers from Surf

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project that Surf made is in line with our vision and expectations. Many clients of the bank use the application and like its user-friendly interface. Moreover, it has high conversion rates. The app is under ongoing development with new features constantly added to it.

Specifically, now we are implementing about 10 new features, such as requesting information about banking products (credits, deposits, etc.) via the application without having to visit the bank, push notification service, and personal offers.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our communication with Surf was quite productive. On a number of issues Surf showed their expertise and had some suggestions at hand on the best ways to implement a feature. Those suggestions were backed by analytics on user activity, thus boosting efficiency of the product and making it possible to make the right decisions at minimal risk of possible errors. Our cooperation has been going on for over two years, and that just speaks for itself - we have managed to build an effective workflow.

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

Development of a banking app is a complex and massive project. Surf has extensive experience in development and continuously impresses us with their expertise. The team has profound insights into the process. They offer interesting solutions and build on a number of similar cases in UI/UX development.

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

So far, cooperation with Surf fully meets all our expectations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Labirint is rated among the Top 3 bookshops in Russia and Top 25 online retailers on the Russian Internet. Dmitry Gordienko, lead backend developer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed to tackle a few issues considering our delivery service: - the service delivering our goods to customers had to become more structured, - order status had to be updated in due time, - optimal route had to be mapped out for deliverers, - status and contents of an order had to be changeable. If a client refused to accept an order we should have been able to note that and quickly adjust the route a deliverer is on.

SOLUTION

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

We had already been working with Surf: they built our core mobile app — an online shop — and were following up on it. That’s why we didn’t think twice about what contractor to pick for our delivery system.

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

Surf analyzed the existing delivery system. Based on that they figured out how to integrate the web service with our database of deliverers. Over the six months they had created an app with our corporate design and fully in line with our current business process. The system is made up of the following: - A mobile app for Android tablets our deliverers have, - An admin web panel where the tablets were authorized. Deliverers don’t need to log into the app — it connects to the system with a device ID. This is what user journey looks like in this app: A deliverer is sent a list of orders, based on which they plan their route. The app creates an optimal route and helps you follow it.

In the course of their work deliverers change the status of an order, mark orders as delivered or declined, and adjust the route. Within the app they can also change the delivery date, confirm rebate, and change their schedule. Deliverers have accounts where the number of orders delivered is specified along with Top 5 employees according to a number of deliveries made. This very app was also adapted to drivers delivering goods to pick-up points. It is currently under ongoing development.

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

When the project started Surf assigned the following experts: 2 Android developers 2 Backend developers 1 designed 1 PM 2 QAs

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The system has improved the performance of deliverers and turned out beneficial for our clients.

Pros for deliverers:
- The number of deliveries per employee has grown.
- We now have an incentive program for the deliverers.
- Less time is spent on support for the deliverers.
- Deliverers spend less time collecting the orders they need to deliver from distribution centers.

Pros for clients:
- Orders can now be paid by plastic card.
- Orders are delivered faster.
- Clients can now receive automated notifications on the status of their order.
- Deliverers can be tracked as they follow their route.
- Order mixups are now less frequent.

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

Since we were already working with Surf, we had established effective communication. The Surf team has actively engaged with our developers, speeding up our progress. Thanks to that, for instance, it took us less time to integrate information about deliverers. Moreover, Surf was often proactive, suggesting interface improvements as well as the format and process adjustments to the mobile interface.

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

It wasn’t the first app that the Surf team has built for us. This time Surf proved their team is just as competent in web interfaces as it is in mobile development.

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

Occasionally, as we were implementing the system, there came up bugs affecting the quality of the service. Sometimes it took several days to fix them. Having a 24-hour error control service would be nice.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on July 20, 2021.

Andrey Zakhartsev

Product manager, Labirint.ru

Retail

1,001-5,000 Employees

Moscow, Russia

$200,000 to $999,999

Feb 2015 - Jan 2021

Project summary

Surf developed an iOS- and Android-friendly mobile app for an online bookstore. The team integrated multiple payment and cashback functions and adapted a visual search method based on the SqueezeNet algorithm.

Feedback summary

Equipped with ample control of their expertise, Surf rewarded their client with a reputable app, which was recognized as one of the first Instant Apps in the world and deemed as the "Best Retail Application" for Android. They utilized a constructive approach, unfailingly yielding positive results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My name is Andrey Zakhartsev, I am head of mobile development and product manager of Labirint. Labirint is one of the three largest bookstores in Russia and one of the top 25 online retailers in Runet.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed to develop a mobile application for an online bookstore with a huge number of SKUs. We needed to realize in it different authorization methods, delivery and payment options, and a complex loyalty program.

SOLUTION

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

Surf has developed a mobile app for an online store for us. It is available for iOS, Android and there is a version for tablets. A huge number of SKUs are presented in the app. They are collected in a huge catalog with multi-stage nesting. In the card of any book, there is a block of actions for it, you can read a small fragment of text from it.

The application has a complex loyalty program. Users accumulate discounts that can be superimposed on each other. In addition, you can get cashback. There is a quick search for several types of content: authors, books, headings. In 2018, a visual search appeared in the application. After seeing a book in an offline store, the user can point the camera at the cover and find it in our catalog. Visual search is based on the SqueezeNet neural network, which Surf has adapted to work on mobile devices.

We were the first in Russia who used Instant Apps. The user can work with the app without installation until placing an order. Users have access to authorization by 8 social networks, phones, and other methods. The application implements several types of payment and 7 types of delivery. The application on both platforms is updated every 2-3 months, the expansion of functionality continues.

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

The Surf team included 3 Android developers, 3 iOS developers, 2 designers, 2 testers, and a project manager. After the first release, we decreased the team to 2 developers, a designer, and a tester. I led the project from the Labirint side and also 2 backend developers were also involved.

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

In order to find the most applicable company, we reviewed more than 20 top-rated developers in 2015. Surf proposed favorable terms and also it was highly motivated to complete the project on time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In 2021 our app became the top three eCommerce Checkout Rank from the leading rating agency Markswebb. The main rating criterion is the usability of ordering. In 2019, the application took 2nd place in the ratings of the Russian quality system. The result was based on research of Google Play and the App Store in Russia.

At Google I/O 2017, Labirint was the only app from Russia among the first 50 applications in the world with Instant Apps. In 2017, the application took 1st place in the Tagline Awards 2017 in the category “Best Retail Application” for design and development for Android. In 2016, the application took 1st place in the Tagline Awards 2016 in the category “Best Retail Application” for design and development for iOS.

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

The Surf team was proactive. They proposed a design concept even before the project start. Interaction with them was constructive and effective. All our comments were taken into account. During our long-term cooperation, the Surf team has proved to be a reliable partner, always ready to work for the result and striving to improve our application.

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

The Surf team has shown very high technical competence. Thanks to them, we were the first in Russia to implement Instant Apps. Also, we have got intelligent visual search based on machine learning. The Surf was able to fulfill all our requirements and set up a complex loyalty system, product search, and many other parameters. The application now even outstrips the web version of our store. The team is not afraid of difficult tasks and implements them successfully. They effectively built communication and took all our demands into consideration..

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

Our collaboration with Surf has been quite effective. However, due to the complexity of the application, as well as the certain turnover of staff in testing, sometimes there were quality problems.

Star Ratings

Overall rating: 5

Quality: 4.5

Cost: 5

Schedule: 4.5

Willing to refer: 5

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder at Kinescope - an ecosystem of video solutions for businesses of any size. We're a SaaS company focused on building video infrastucture for the web to to handle all things video for a wide range of customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Surf team to outsource the development of mobile video player SDKs for iOS and Android platforms. Due to a limited timeframe, we had to find a contractor experienced enough in mobile development and media applications to help us boost the project.

SOLUTION

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

We have been partnering with Surf studio before since we provided our cloud services for their customers. During such collaboration, we're happy both with the expertise level and communications. Taking into account a strong professional reputation we decided to hire Surf for our internal tasks.

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

We had a series of discovery meetings with Surf to determine overall workflow and decided to start with a Swift SDK. Julia was always easy-going and professional. We have provided a draft of the technical description and access to wireframes in Figma and together we Surf's developers we've shaped it and started the process. Surf team used the sprints approach and delivered the demo before the deadlines. They were always available in case of questions and help with implementation after testing was finished.

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

A project manager was assigned to our project and Julia covered all aspects of communication perfectly and was responsive. Additionally, we had separate contact for the financial aspect and direct chat with the developer's team so we felt like they are build-in into our team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within 3 months after release, we have positive feedback from our enterprise customers surprised with how fast we're able to roll out a set of SDKs for a range of platforms.

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

The project manager was amazingly available in case of questions and proactive. In the meantime, the benefit we appreciate is the development team directly accessible in the group messenger. Everything was delivered on time, both financially and legally. It was all in order and transparent as well.

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

Strong mobile development expertise, pleasant communications style, and support with the implementation.

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

Probably providing all financial and legal documents in a single point of access like Dropbox or Google Drive. In terms of communication and professional area, they deserve the highest ranking - just keep this level up to date.