What was the scope of their involvement?
Swenson He was involved in early stage project planning and design. We spent about a month planning the project and another month designing the app with all its features and functionalities. We chose not to use any of the existing code because it was done in .NET. Also, the apps were built on a hybrid platform that's not supported anymore. We decided to completely redo the app’s backend to enable future scaling of the business.
They developed native apps for iOS and Android. They advised that native apps would best utilize the capabilities of each device and provide the experience we wanted. It's a massive project, but the main feature they're adding is an optical character recognition (OCR) software development kit (SDK) into the app that allows the system to start reading customer receipts. This is a vital component because it enables customers to claim their cashback by scanning the receipts and uploading them into the app. Before engaging with Swenson He, someone had to manually read every receipt and input that information to issue cashback. The OCR currently reads the date, time, and amount. However, they're already integrating technologies to get the process completely automated.
Other integrations include Google logins and an extensive amount of third-party apps for data analytics and other functions. Such additional integrations include Stripe, Paypal, Twilio, Plaid, and Pushwoosh. Pushwoosh allows us to send out notifications to users on both platforms and can even target notifications to specific areas. One of the more significant integrations is with Algolia, which is a search API that gets plugged in with storable data and creates high-speed search capability.
Swenson He is also developing our backend dashboards for merchants, organizations, and our sales team, account managers, and corporate administration staff. This allows organizations trying to raise funds through the app to log in and track how much has been raised and who donated. They developed around 125 admin dashboard panels, individually.
What is the team composition?
About 14 people work on the project. We communicate directly with the project manager.
How did you come to work with Swenson He?
As a result of our previous experience, we were very hesitant about letting another vendor take over development. We interviewed 20–25 local development companies and laid out the state of the project. We wanted a firm that had insight into new technologies and could give us feedback to further improve the app.
Swenson He was found via Clutch and they were the second group we interviewed. They exuded a pleasant atmosphere and intended to do everything in-house. It was hard to compare everyone else to them because they were on every point we needed.
How much have you invested with them?
The whole project is costing about $540,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in December 2017 and the project is ongoing.
Swenson He worked within a tight timeline and delivered a great product. Throughout the partnership, they were very communicative, keeping the internal team abreast of all the changes that were being made. Their receptiveness to feedback and friendliness also made for a positive collaboration.