TechSparq

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I'm an executive at JLL

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

One of the largest commercial real estate firms in the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Product strategy
• Executive alignment

SOLUTION

How did you find TechSparq?

Referral

Why did you select TechSparq over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from TechSparq were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We asked TechSparq for a deep analysis of our existing offering, the current positioning, how we could improve in a variety of areas, including stakeholder alignment and how we should proceed beyond the analysis. The scope of the project included the following: 

• Analysis of the existing offering. 
• Stakeholder positioning 
• Identification of key areas of improvement, including recommendations on platform/technology. 
• Recommendations on business strategy & product strategy 
• Recommendations on driving stakeholder alignment Issue remediation and go forward plans

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We asked TechSparq to parachute in and give an unvarnished outside view of our entire marketplace offering. With their deep experience in e-commerce development and strategy they were a great choice to tell us where we stood in relation to the market and where the market was moving. TechSparq came in with an extremely professional and skilled team and quickly diagnosed the situation. 

The spent time with all the key stakeholders, doing detailed interviews and finding several places where the team was completely out of alignment. The spent time with our product team as well as our outsourced technology vendors to make sure they had a comprehensive view of the current state before making recommendations. 

They unwound the Gordian knot that was our technology and offering, legacy business issues, feature velocity, and market positioning. Then, TechSparq synthesized all the information we delivered, sprinkled in their deep understanding of the space, and gave us a comprehensive plan to move forward and accelerate the business into an expansive future. 

Their recommendations were considered and actionable, including identifying and pointing out how our lack of alignment internally was probably the biggest drag to the business.

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

Their project management was spot on. Everything was delivered on time, and they were extremely responsive to the few minor change requests we made.

What was your primary form of communication with TechSparq?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting

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

The level of talent TechSparq brought to the project was exceptional for a boutique firm. Everyone assigned to our project had a long history in technology and inherently understood the nature of our complex issues. This allowed the TS team to cut through to the root causes quickly and efficiently. Speed and power are a unique and exceptional combination from a consulting partner.

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

No. Any issues that cropped up were related to our inability to deliver data efficiently or get availability from people on our side. The TS team was accessible, and professional and delivered outstanding results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director, Program and Product Management of Empower Global

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

E-commerce platform

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build an Immersive E-Commerce Experience

SOLUTION

How did you find TechSparq?

• Online Search
• Other

Why did you select TechSparq over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from TechSparq were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Techsparq was hired to be our eCommerce agency, implementation team, but most importantly partners.They stepped in to provide full-scale technical support from consultation and delivery to architecture and build. As we worked to build an in-house support team, Techsparq also was part of the hiring and review process giving us feedback, conducting interviews, and developing a roadmap for hiring needs.

As we have moved from full-service to consultancy, Techsparq assists our team with the day to day management of the site as well as with aligning with leadership on new features/product adds, improvements, and best industry practices. EG also required a a visually stunning, headless website that was had a multi-cloud implementation with Salesforce.

We worked with multiple partners for shipping/returns, tax calculation, payment, reviews, and other critical pieces to build out features and funcitonalies to make our site a game-changer in the eCom space.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team delivered a marketplace built on enterprise level software. This was an collaboration. They believed in what we were building, consistently going above and beyond to truly deliver and be strong partners.

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

Claudia, John, and Boyd were instrumental in keeping this project on time, in budget, and expectations met. Techsparq team is immaculate with their processes, documentation, and communication style. Any issue was escalated immediately and their proactive approach helped us prevent many other issues.

They consistenly went above and beyond expectations putting in extra hours, working on weekends, and even attending a several day off site with our team to work on problem solving, white boarding, and product roadmap. In essence, they are some of the most knowledgeable and professional team that I have ever worked with

What was your primary form of communication with TechSparq?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

This team is very unique in their working style and the level of care that they provide to their clients. The involvement, attention to detail, and willingness to not just come in and do the work but show up in so many other facets sets Techsparq apart from all other partners we talked to.

They also aren’t afraid of being honest, even if it means that it may go the opposite direction of where you want to head. I appreciate that they are fearless in calling out improvements and push the teams they work with to think beyond the short term

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

Overall, our team was very pleased with the work completed by Techsparq. With any relationship, we had moments of learning different working and communication styles but both sides worked to improve our interactions as we brought new team members on and previous left.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

 I am the Program Director responsible for managing complex, cross functional Global programs and projects at a global consumer good company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechSparq?

We hired TechSparq to work on new capabilities in our $14-billion e-commerce platform. They were able to bring in more resources and expertise to help us bridge  gaps we had in skill sets.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The platform is on PHP and they helped us rewrite foundational infrastructure software in support of  new technology that we were rolling out. We were implementing brand new technology for our B2B partners. The platform is our global sales website where our partners have access to all of our products. It also manages claims and returns along with order management, POS, etc. All the integration across the entire landscape of our company downstream used SAP.  We redid the software in a technology called JBoss. TechSparq was very instrumental in rewriting all of the additional projects for our capabilities.

They’ve worked on the project separately from our team, but with oversight. They’ve also worked with our application engineers, data architects, and portfolio management teams on creating new capabilities,  solution designs, and aligning with stakeholders on our functional requirements.

What is the team dynamic?

On the isolated project, they had their own project manager, Dedrick [Co-founder and Principal]. He interfaced with me as well as the rest of the management team in global sales. They had other team members that reported with various project managers at the organization. TechSparq's developers had deliverables and accountability similar to our own full-time resources.

How did you come to work with TechSparq?

I’m very familiar with Dedrick and his team and the work they do. I found them originally when I was asked by a colleague to participate in a survey to provide feedback about service offerings and performance.  

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $500,000 and $1M per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked with them from 2006 to 2012.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

TechSparq delivered  several million-dollar projects on time and budget. They went above and beyond and did more scope than we originally outlined in the contract because they were able to find efficient ways to help us implement the solution. We got a greater value from them than we had originally planned.

How did TechSparq perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very interactive and we had great communication. They gave us timely updates on issues and escalated quickly where needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a boutique style. They’re not a big vendor like we sometimes use. I think that lends itself nicely to be able to integrate within company cultures. They could hit the ground running and could bring people up to speed a lot easier because they have people that have worked in this environment before. We leverage tons of consulting companies. A lot of times they’re not competitive with pricing and we end up paying more than what we would pay a company like TechSparq.  They’re super motivated and easily assimilate into the environment they’re working in. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I encourage them to continue to stay connected in the digital space given the changing dynamic that we’re living with today with more consumption coming through online channels. They should stay current in the digital landscape and the direct to consumer landscape so they can be competitive.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was working for a software solutions company. One of our clients was a Bitcoin derivative Chinese startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechSparq?

Our client was trying to build a multi-level marketing mobile app and website for a Bitcoin cryptocurrency alternative. We ended up subcontracting some of the work out to TechSparq and used their resources for the project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

TechSparq was building the mobile app to support the product. This included everything, from the social aspect of creating friends and managing your Bitcoin wallet to being able to purchase products from the website.

A lot of the development was on REST web services, which allowed communication between the web page and mobile app for the backend wallet management. The wallet, in this case, meaning the public key for users. Users could add to their wallet, pay for things with their wallet, and transfer funds from 1 wallet to another wallet.

We contracted 3 resources from TechSparq to run the project for us and be our guys on the ground. A project manager and 2 developers were working at our client’s office. TechSparq assigned a tech lead resource and a more senior consultant resource. We worked with them on a day-to-day basis. We used to have a project manager from our side who was touching base, but we no longer have any consultants working directly with TechSparq.

How did you come to work with TechSparq?

I actually worked together with Dedrick Boyd, one of the founders of TechSparq, directly on some projects several years ago. That’s how I was aware of him. When I started working for my current company, we were looking for partners to work with some of our projects, which we would then finish internally. I knew of Dedrick and the quality of his work. I assumed the quality of the resources he would hire would be similar or better, so I reached out to him to see if he was available.

How much have you invested with TechSparq?

For the duration, we paid more than $90,000 or $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I believe the project was from July to December 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

From a project tracking standpoint, they were using an Agile approach. Stories were created every 1–2 weeks, and the team would complete these stories. Since the project was so long ago, I can’t share the number of stories completed. There weren't really that many metrics for measuring the success of the project.

How did TechSparq perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management on their side was fine and on-site with the client. They were keeping track of everything that was going on. We had regular updates from TechSparq to make sure that we were in the loop on what was happening daily. The client was happy with the communication, and we were happy with the management and outcome as well.

What did you find most impressive about TechSparq?

They had good technical skills, which we see in a lot of partners. They also had a high level of professionalism. Some of our other partners were flaky, but TechSparq's people were very reliable and good at communication.

Are there any areas TechSparq could improve?

I can't think of anything that popped up. I know Dedrick pretty well, so I had pretty good communication with him at all times. If there were any issues, I can't remember there being any. And if there was, I had a direct line to the senior manager, so it wasn’t a problem.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I was the director of engineering for the scalable APIs team of about 50 people that powered a lot of our consumer facing, mobile, and web applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechSparq ?
When I joined, we had a lot of low performing contractors, and TechSparq stepped in to help me transition the organization and bring on more high performing coders and engineers, rather than MIS/enterprise IT people. I run a pretty flat organization, no matter where I am, and I wanted people embedded on the team who were part of the agile process and worked with the full-time engineers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
It was soup to nuts. I worked with them [TechSparq] in a general consulting role. They helped source high-caliber talent and brought them into the organization and then coached and developed them off site. If we needed a Scrum team with a certain skill set, TechSparq helped me craft what that team would look like. They provided that level of expertise as a partner and then helped source the talent.

One of the things that really impressed me was their strong pitch to some recruits who were with other firms, either not getting paid much or without benefits. They captured a lot of people from these other firms, brought them in to us, and then helped develop their skills on the side. They customized their coaching for what I needed and where I was going.

It was all about career development with their people, so TechSparq gave them the option to convert to full-time employees as long as I gave 90 days notice. If I had the headcount, I could convert these people to full-time, which I did for several of them.

All in all, we had 7 TechSparq contractors plus 1 of the heads of TechSparq embedded on my team.

How much have you invested with TechSparq?
The yearly budget I probably paid them was about $1.2 million.

What is the status of this engagement?
I used them from October 2013–October 2014, and then I hired them again from February–October 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?
Although I did keep sprint metrics, I can't tell you exactly what those metrics were because this was years ago. I can tell you for a fact that because of the higher caliber developers TechSparq sourced, their story point, closure rate, and ticket resolution rate, was, generally speaking, much higher than other contractors sourced from other firms on the team.

They were extremely resourceful and scrappy. They roll up their sleeves. If you work with other firms, they have a thousand rules: you can't convert our people, you have to give us notice on this, you have to follow our methodology, or we can't put them on site so they have to work remotely at our office. TechSparq was completely flexible. For staff augmentation, they asked me, "How do you see the world?" and then provided their input. But whatever I decided on, they worked with me.

I worked with 7 vendors for staff augmentation, and TechSparq was the best along with one other. Honestly, I always favored TechSparq. They treat their employees very well, and I could tell the engineers were much happier being on the TechSparq team.

How did TechSparq perform from a project management standpoint?
My goal is to minimize project management because there comes a point where there's just so much communication overhead. Because they were embedded on my team and physically with the agile team in the headquarters office, we didn't have to pay for a project manager. The existing project managers already on our team as full-time employees worked with them, so I don't have any opinion either way as far as their project management ability goes because we used our own.

What did you find most impressive about TechSparq?
The founder, Dedrick, is a remarkably talented engineer. When you talk to a lot of these firms, you often talk to the business managers or the business development people. They really have no idea what you're talking about. They take a few buzzwords you tell them, and then they go and search on LinkedIn and try and match up those words, trying to recruit whoever has the highest match.

Dedrick already has a network. He personally vets every single engineer hired by TechSparq, so he knows how to build high-caliber teams. He knows what goes into a great engineer, and he understands what a culture fit is. I think that's what sets them apart: you are working directly with somebody who understands how to build a high-capacity, high-performing technology organization. I felt like I spoke the same language when I talked to him.

Are there any areas TechSparq could improve?
No. I was very pleased with them. The only issue I might see is that they're headquartered in Atlanta and Portland, which are decent tech cities but they’re not San Francisco, New York, or Seattle. Maybe the available talent pool to them is not as deep, but that just happens to be where they're located.