Tactis

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

My organization is a large accounting firm.

What is your position?

I am a manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Blue Water?

We had won a project with a federal client who needed to build a series of web applications, and we realized pretty early on that we would need help from an outside company that understood marketing and design. We specifically were seeking out someone with expertise in the design and user experience aspects of product development.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

We've been working with Blue Water for three and a half years on this contract. They have three full-time employees that support us, two developers, and one quality assurance tester. They also provide us with a user experience specialist on an as-needed basis, and I interact directly with a project manager.

How did you come to work with Blue Water?

We were looking for a partner that had a strong presence, strong brand, and design capabilities. We were very impressed with the work that Blue Water had done for a mutual client, and we invited them to participate in our RFP [request for proposal]. They and two other companies bid to join the project, and they won.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Their subcontract to us is $250,000 and above.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Blue Water in 2013, and they continue to be an important part of our team. We have gone through several iterations of this contract with the same client, and we are currently slated to go through July 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

My team has marketed what we've done for our client internally, and we've received very positive feedback from that. Many people comment on how professional our web applications look, which is a testament to Blue Water's skill level. They have brought us some good ideas and great designs that have caught the eyes of both our clients and other people within our company.

How did Blue Water perform from a project management standpoint?

They use Basecamp as their project management tool, which has worked out well. They also provided a project manager for the engagement who is ultimately responsible for the overall quality they deliver. We have a standing meeting every week where we talk about how the team is doing and feeling. From a project management standpoint, they certainly know what they're doing, and they've done all the right things.

What distinguishes Blue Water from other providers?

The talent that Blue Water has on the design side of the house is their specialty. They have some folks who understand visual appeal and how to pull out a professional website or web application. Their user experience side has some very talented people that have brought us good ideas, and they've helped us add structure to how we approach engaging our users. They have a formal process that they use, Rapid UX, which we have since adopted ourselves. They have brought a lot of value to how we deliver to our clients.

Is there anything Blue Water could have improved or done differently?

They are a smaller business, so occasionally there are challenges with staffing. If we need an additional resource from them without giving several weeks' notice, it can be problematic. If they could operate in a way that allows them to deliver resources more readily, that would be helpful. That's the only thing that comes to mind, otherwise, I've had a very positive experience with them.