Svitla Systems

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

They built us an online tool that is still used today. The tool notwithstanding, we do not see as much success from a sales perspective as we’d like, so I had to discontinue the team. But the software they’ve put in place is still being used.

How did Svitla Systems perform from a project management standpoint?

We used an agile methodology, which required daily stand-ups and weekly retrospectives using Zoom. I acted as the project manager. We’d hold our meetings at the end of their day and the beginning of my day. Communication throughout the day was on Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everybody I worked with from Svitla Systems was great. They have a team of smart people who want to do the right thing for their clients. We had an open dialogue to the point that they were comfortable challenging our ideas and presenting new ones.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it was a great experience. I was sad when I had to disband the team because we worked really well together. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d recommend that the client takes on the project management role. It’s hard to delegate that piece of it. Having a strong state-side project manager will go a long way.

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics or user feedback that you’ve received that would demonstrate the effectiveness of their work?

I can certainly share some user feedback. It’s been solid from my point of view and my employers enjoy the features that they build because it’s often for their own efficiencies. Not all team members are equal, of course. We’d received some constructive criticism as well but, on the whole, most of our users have been very satisfied.

When working with Svitla Systems, is there anything you’d consider unique about their approach or development methodology that distinguishes them from other vendors?

I haven’t had a ton of experience with other vendors in this same type of relationship where I worked with them so closely. We use a team extension model with them. It’s staff augmentation. We have several dedicated programmers working alongside our team. We talk with them daily. They chat with our internal developers on every task. They’ve really become an integral part of the team. I wouldn’t say that’s unique, but that’s one alternative of working with companies like this as opposed to a more project-based requirement and deliverables approach. It’s nice to treat them as members of our team. They deliver some high quality work. Other companies allow a team extension type model as well and they go for that. That’s one feature that we definitely enjoy. It helped my decision to go with them, I recall that, when we were evaluating various companies five years ago.

In retrospect, are there areas that you think they could improve on as a service provider?

Yes. For example, the consistent quality of material submitted, and level of testing that they’ve undergone on their own can always improve. That’s generally true with everybody. They’re a team extension so it could be our internal QA [quality assurance] processes that we ask them to use that can be improved. It’s the testing phase that could use the most work, in my opinion. Other than that, they’ve been great with us.