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BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior manager for innovations and analytics for a large American brewing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WillowTree?

We engaged WillowTree to build a responsive web application to replace an existing system. The app allows our company, competing brewers, wholesalers, and retailers to plan shelf sets in a collaborative digital space. The previous tool was built on the incorrect platform and suffered from poor performance.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The web application allows retailers to choose a brewer. The brewer builds a plan for a shelf set and then uploads it to the platform, where other brewers, wholesalers, and retailers can review it and provide comments. The retailer can then use that diagram for their scheduled reset.

WillowTree provided full design and development service. They were given a blank slate to design the frontend. We then agreed on the design and made a unified list of requirements in our kick-off meeting; we ensured that their proposed solutions matched our architecture boards and procedures. Once they received the go-ahead, their team then built the tool from top to bottom—from the frontend to the server to the database structure.

What is the team composition?

We adjusted the size of the team to comprise 10–12 people. We work with a project manager, frontend specialists, backend specialist, and UX people.

How did you come to work with WillowTree?

We put together a request for proposal complete with our vision and budget requirements. Our architecture team then reached out to six vendors; WillowTree was one of them. Their team and portfolio demonstrated a great deal of expertise, so we chose them to complete this project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent just under $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started worked together in June 2018, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

WillowTree improved the app’s overall performance. The previous app architecture limited us to making 300 accounts per project; the new tool allows us to add unlimited accounts. We can more easily collaborate with big-name clients who need thousands of accounts. Also, new product uploads take ten minutes instead of 3–5 hours. Lastly, at our most recent sales and marketing convention, the updates had an overwhelmingly positive reception. Ten wholesalers signed up for our tool on the spot.

How did WillowTree perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager is excellent. They are highly organized and transparent about progress and potential delays. We have the right number of touchpoints per week, and they always follow up and attend in-person meetings when necessary.

WillowTree uses an internal project management tool integrated with email. We’ve onboarded them into Jira for documentation and scheduling. They’ve adapted on the fly to our internal procedures and project management technologies, such as sign-on tools and API managers like MuleSoft. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

WillowTree goes above and beyond the statement of work. No requests fall through the cracks, and they focus on the big picture. As a result, they’ve become a trusted partner for future development. We’ve now assigned them our crown jewel application—an inventory and ordering tool that needs bug fixes and a performance upgrade. We look forward to starting that project with them soon.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I couldn't have asked for a better experience. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you know your future requirements. Provide them with as much information as possible, including goals, wireframes. A clear timeline will help guide how they allocate resources.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a division of 21st Century Fox. We make sure all our content is available to our viewers across multiple devices. I’m the vice president of technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WillowTree, Inc?

My team is responsible for the Fox Sports App, our flagship application for iOS and Android. We were rebuilding both native apps from scratch and needed to expand our team size to finish the iOS version.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve augmented our team since early 2017. Originally, we carved off features for them to assist with. They helped us with a native SDK that can be used across all Fox Sports applications. It allows users to sign up or create an account, choose favorite teams and leagues, and manage their user profile settings. They helped us build out our podcast feature and linked it to the app. Users can view any of our national studio shows, as well as highlights and clips.

We started working together actively during the Men’s World Cup in 2018. We started tackling large feature sets together, refined our processes, and changed a myriad of key pieces in our software development structure. They’ve helped us improve some of our software development processes, increasing our productivity. We do more code review and sprint planning postmortems thanks to their recommendations.

What is the team composition? 

We recently expanded the team size from two developers to four. We also have a full-time project manager and a full-time QA lead.

How did you come to work with WillowTree, Inc?

We were featured at a Microsoft Connect conference a few years ago. We spoke to our contacts there and asked for recommendations for consulting firms that specialize in Xamarin. They gave us three names, one of which was WillowTree. We ultimately decided on them after speaking with all three recommendations.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2017 and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were the highest-rated app in the App Store and Play Store during the World Cup. We could not have done that without their contributions. We consistently have ratings above four stars and we’re very satisfied with the work they do with us. We’ve worked with a variety of developers at different stages in their careers at the company but the relationships with them have always been good. They’re collaborative and easy to work with. They’re not afraid to make suggestions for improvements and do a lot of research on their own to find better options.

How did WillowTree, Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

We have one collective board that covers all the work on the app. We set the work we do on our side, and their project manager handles everything on their side. They have all the information they need and are very responsible. They make sure everyone on their team is aware of the project status and updates items regularly. They’ve always hit deadlines and we’ve never had an issue.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Every year, they have a summit at their headquarters. That’s where we really saw what made them unique. They focus on their staff and work on some great projects with a lot of different vendors. They are innovative in a variety of tech sectors and industries and the level of knowledge sharing among their specialists is really impressive. They look for new things to introduce and move beyond their role as just a consulting agency.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so. They’ve done a great job and follow through on their promises. We’ve had a great experience with them. They don’t push us to add staff members or resources and they’re a good partner.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend WillowTree to anyone. They’re a very talented group of software engineers, especially in the mobile space.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the IT director at a data science company. We conduct clinical trials for major pharmaceuticals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WillowTree, Inc?

We wanted to develop an app that would make our workforce more productive when working out of the office.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They took over the project from a vendor we were unsatisfied with. They examined the existing product and then conducted a series of targeted interviews and surveys to determine the pain points for our clinical research associates. WillowTree presented us with a journey map to simulate what a day in the life of a user would be with the new product. They developed the app for Android and iOS, and it allows us to remotely scan and share documents and other files to our master systems.

What is the team composition?

The team consisted of 10-15 people. That includes a project manager, an architect, a backend developer, several designers, and QA testers.

How did you come to work with WillowTree, Inc?

We found them in a Google search. After having a poor experience with another vendor, I knew what to look for when I interviewed WillowTree. I asked about their previous work and their timelines to complete apps. I was also able to attend their yearly customer event, where I spoke with several of their existing clients and hear about their experiences, and that confirmed that WillowTree was the right choice.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent more than $1,000,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in 2016, and we have ongoing projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app allows us to digitize what we would normally do manually, and we do not experience defects. They’ve done great work, and we are pleased with the app.

How did WillowTree, Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent communicators. They were reactive when needed, and they were proactive when they saw a way to improve our product. They met all of our deadlines, and they ensured that we were getting their best work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were collaborative and transparent throughout the project.

Any advice for potential customers?

Do your homework and try to get customer feedback for all possible vendors. If possible, give them a small project to determine their fit, and put them in situational environments to see how they respond.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a business systems analyst for the website and mobile apps of a retail business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WillowTree?

For the company’s initial introduction, we needed a vendor to create an online and mobile app presence. We have no in-house developers, and the work required a significant and knowledgeable team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The overarching aim of the website is to establish the company’s history, provide information to customers and vendors, and to provide a unified platform for marketing. WillowTree built our go-to-market website from the ground up, as well as both Android and iOS mobile apps. From UX design to both front- and back-end development, they were involved at every step of the process. The work was based on the brand agency-created concepts that we provided at the start of our engagement with them.

One clear benefit in their construction of the site is that when our marketing department needs to make changes to their website content, they can now do so in-house. Once the development work was completed, WillowTree also assisted with the strategic establishment of our online presence. Finally, they took the lead in the submission process for both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

What is the team dynamic?

Most of our communication went through our project manager, although periodically their engineers and developers would also be directly involved in discussions. In order to coordinate with our internal systems and generate data necessary for the development, they established a hefty infrastructure and middleware team.

How did you come to work with WillowTree?

A number of development shops vied for the contract, but WillowTree ultimately won.

How much have you invested with them?

Between $200,000 and $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged their services around Dec. 2015, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Due to the company’s introduction to the market still being in its early stages, we are still collecting and measuring the impact of our engagement with WillowTree. However, initial feedback has been positive about the website and app functionalities.

How did WillowTree perform from a project management standpoint?

Typically, our means of communication was via either email or conference calls. During the development process, we did do onsite visits to both our offices and theirs by our respective teams. Their team is very responsive, particularly when it comes to updating us on code or design issues and providing us an estimate for its repair. For any problem areas, they would give us detailed feedback on the issue itself, the cause, the means of repair, and an estimated length of time for completion. Throughout the process, they were consistent about providing executive status reports to both their and our internal times in a timely manner. Even though they were off-site, we always felt well informed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

WillowTree’s relaxed internal work culture was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise occasionally staid industry. They are constantly on the lookout for new features and advanced functionality that allows us to be a leader in our retail space and gives us a distinct technological advantage over our competitors.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Some of their cost and time estimates were overly conservative. Although their work was always completed in a timely manner, it would have benefitted our office to have slightly more accurate approximations for our scheduling and budgetary purposes.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Regal operates one of the leading theatre circuits in the United States, providing its patrons with a convenient and enjoyable movie-going experience. I am the VP of media. I oversee the strategy and execution of the company website, app, and social media channels.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WillowTree?

We had a mobile app which had been built by a partner company but made the decision to build our own version in order to have some independence in terms of features and functionalities. We hired a mobile agency for this and had a successful launch. As a result of this, our partner agency was bought by a well-known entertainment company and brought in as their in-house team. When that happened, we were left with an app on the market without anyone to manage and improve it. We reached out to a number of agencies and settled on WillowTree.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WillowTree was brought in to look at our app and make a decision between continuing to develop it, or destroying a few years of work and starting fresh. Many agencies prefer not to maintain apps built by other companies. We also wanted to determine if WillowTree had the skill sets to work on our existing app. They reviewed it and determined that the app had been built very well, so they were happy to manage the existing codebase.

There have been some cosmetic changes since that time, and the app has been rebuilt entirely on the backend. Our app is available on iOS and Android.

How did you come to work with WillowTree?

WillowTree was highly recommended by the company that built our initial app. We took that as a huge boost in confidence. Our executive team sat down with WillowTree's team, and it was apparent from that meeting that they were the company we wanted to move forward with.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with WillowTree at the end of 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The biggest success for us was having WillowTree take over the app. After that, they integrated our entire loyalty program into it, which was already the biggest of its kind in the movie industry.

Our second project was launched less than a month ago, and it involved native ticketing through the app's e-commerce capabilities. In the past, any click-to-buy ticket button would land users on our partner company's platform. WillowTree decoupled all connectivity and dependencies with it and launched our first foray into selling online tickets.

What did you find most impressive about WillowTree?

I was a part of starting a mobile agency in the past, and I appreciate the amount of work that goes into any project, from the discovery to the technical draw-outs, user-experience journeys, and the actual testing. There is a lot of heavy lifting which goes into even a standard build. There is no disconnect between what our company wants and what our fans want, which is the biggest thing for us.

Are there any areas WillowTree could improve?

While WillowTree is great at understanding our project needs and bringing them to life, I’d like to see them stay a little more ahead of emerging technology trends.  Identifying what’s new, researching the technology and pro-actively presenting recommendations where it makes sense.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide technology for companies which sell AVRs and speakers for movie houses. I am the senior director of enterprise app for the company. All the corporate apps that run the business are supported by my team, including SAP as our ERP [enterprise resource planning] system, and Salesforce as the CRM [customer relationship management]. We're a traditional IP organization that supports mostly backend CRM, ERP and HR systems. We also roll out small mobile apps, depending on the usage, which is how we came to know WillowTree.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WillowTree?

We're not good in terms of mobile app usability design, so we wanted to boost our mobile capability. We wanted to work with a company that was an expert in the field—someone who could give us a sense of what it was like to design and build a mobile app from the ground up. We generally take existing apps and produce mobile versions, but this time we wanted to start fresh.

Our IT department had hackathons through which groups try to figure out a project or problem that needs to be solved. This involved thinking out of the box, not just making processes faster or improving RMA [return merchandise authorization] fulfilment. The problem we identified was that whenever there was an issue with conference room equipment, people would complain about it but wouldn't report it. We thought that a mobile app would be a great way for people to report problems with videoconferencing or telephone equipment. It would help provide the status of other rooms proactively. Our team made prototypes and PowerPoint back-of-the-napkin mockups. One was chosen as the winner. We considered building it ourselves, but we decided to go to an external vendor.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WillowTree took our prototype and built a native iOS app based on it. It gave us all the bells and whistles of an iPhone, including the ability to take pictures and attach them to the ticket that was created automatically. You could do that just by hitting a button. At the end of the issue submission process, the user has the ability to call the helpdesk. We worked with two designers, a developer, a QA tester, a project manager, and an intern from WillowTree's team.

How did you come to work with WillowTree?

WillowTree was one of the presenters at a conference attended by our CIO. He really liked their philosophy and how they operated. WillowTree has a lot of interns, probably as many as our whole IT team. He wanted to reward a company which was looking ahead and giving something back, so he told me to have WillowTree build an app for us. Since we were doing our hackathon at the time, it was good timing. We worked on a crowdsourced project and were considering having the same approach here, but that project was a lot of work for our team. We needed to get 30 proposals down to 15, which was an arduous task. Our CIO liked WillowTree so much that we didn't even look at another mobile company.

How much have you invested with WillowTree?

The cost of WillowTree's work was around $100,000. The pricing was more expensive than we would have thought, but, considering the number of people who worked on it, it was worth it. We could have done the same work with two people instead of seven, but we wouldn't have gotten the same quality.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ended in October 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The executive admin organization is our most our most vocal critic, but also the first people who would tell us when we are doing a great job. We had them as the pilot group. They also took part in the prototyping and design. We tried to win them over, and they think it's an easy app to use. It was a big thing for us since we don't really build iOS apps internally. We might develop an HTML5 app, but that wouldn't give us all the functionality of a native one.

When IT rolls out tools, they do it from a technology standpoint. The questions being asked around our videoconferencing equipment were around problems with cables or the devices themselves. Our feedback was that people had no idea where the problem was; they just wanted to tell us what it was. When we figured that out through our design process with WillowTree, we realized that we'd been asking the wrong question, thinking from our perspective and not the users' point of view. We came up with an app that’s easy to use. It allows users to walk through and identify what the problem is. They've been happy since they only need to tell us what the symptoms are. We also have an out for people who do know what the specific cause of a problem is, allowing them to take a picture and create a ticket directly.

How did WillowTree perform from a project management standpoint?

It was a quick project using Agile methodology. That was another area where we wanted to gain more experience. It took 3–4 sprints to reach the end of production, so it was a very well-run project. The managers kept the project going and kept us informed. Not only does WillowTree have good designers and developers, their project management is tight.

What did you find most impressive about WillowTree?

The principles of the organization are relatively flat. WillowTree's VP of development came over and talked about their processes. I wasn't shielded from the management, and the people running the company are actually involved in the development. That was a huge benefit to me since I had direct contact with people who could make a difference in the company.

Are there any areas WillowTree could improve?

The process felt heavy at times since we were involving so many people from WillowTree's team. As we went through it, we saw that WillowTree was leaving room for contingency. That meant if a developer became sick, there was another person already piggy-backing on their work who could take over. I don't know if this could be done differently, but it felt heavy. That was my only issue with WillowTree.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an online auction site for firearms, hunting gear, and everything for the great outdoors.

I am the director of engineering for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WillowTree?

We have a lot of experience in the web world but needed to create a mobile presence for both iOS and Android. We have no real development skills in that space.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

This was our first launch into the mobile workspace, so the primary goal was to build solid apps which would allow some base functionalities for customers who wanted to search through our products and make purchases on their mobile devices.

WillowTree provided UI/UX [user interface/user experience] design for the mobile web side and app development for iOS and Android. Since we're an online marketplace similar to eBay, with four million registered users, we didn't have a need for market research services.

How much have you invested with WillowTree?

The cost of WillowTree's work has been between $200,000 and $1,000,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with WillowTree in 2013. We go back to WillowTree on a regular basis for work related to enhancing the apps, or for design in other areas.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were looking to build stable, solid products that could represent our marketplace well, that was the biggest thing. Any issues which came up were small and addressed immediately. WillowTree's work has created a good mobile presence for us that has been well received by our customers.

How did WillowTree perform from a project management standpoint?

WillowTree has gone through a couple of different project management solutions. We're currently using Basecamp for our communication, which seems to be working well. They try to stay close to the best-of-breed solutions for this kind of work. They know how to utilize them in order to get the most out of them for a project. I wish that some of our other vendors would use the same tools as WillowTree.

What did you find most impressive about WillowTree?

WillowTree brought together a multidisciplinary team of designers, technicians, and quality assurance specialists, covering the whole gambit of how the app needed to be designed, developed, and tested across devices and platforms, in order to be successfully implemented.

WillowTree brings together highly competent individuals which are experts in their field and can share their knowledge. They've taught us a lot about how things work in the Android and iOS spaces, which are different than what we're used to.

Are there any areas WillowTree could improve?

Our only shortcoming was with the first UX design project for the web. WillowTree delivered some base code which wasn't quite up to our expectations, and we should have done a better job of defining what those expectations were, in terms of structure and functionality.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

NeighborWorks America is a congressionally funded public non-profit organization supporting and funding over 250 other non-profits across the country, working in over 4,000 communities, developing them in a number of different ways. We receive funding from private sector partners, as well as from federal allocations.

I am the director of the sustainable homeownership project. It's focused on a subset of our non-profit members, helping them move from being social service agencies primarily funded by grants and philanthropy to social enterprises working at achieving a double bottom line of mission and profitability. My unit is focused on enabling moderate income families to become homeowners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with WillowTree?

As a part of my department's activity, I manage a very big tech project developing what we call the "Shop Tech Suite", which is a Salesforce CRM [customer relationship management] platform. It includes a customer-facing technology called Compass, which was developed by WillowTree.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WillowTree created our customer-facing technology in the form of a responsive website, accessible on both desktops and mobile devices. WillowTree handled the design work, developed a look and feel, while also helping us articulate a value proposition to customers. They maintained the technology, and as we grew and added new organizations, WillowTree ensured that everyone would adopt the technology.

It's a comprehensive system in that, for the first time ever in the 40-year history of our network, our NeighborWorks organizations now have a way of letting their members create accounts and engage in a virtual relationship with the non-profit's staff, as well as access products and services virtually. In essence, this saves a lot of staff time and it's much more cost-effective for the organization, ultimately allowing them to serve more families.

How did you come to work with WillowTree?

We went through a request for proposal process involving multiple firms. What set WillowTree apart was their attitude and approach to customer service. They had an obvious, deliberate intent to provide value to our organization, doing so beyond the financial arrangement. There have been times when WillowTree has had to make accommodations in order to provide us with the value we needed, putting their bottom line second.

How much have you invested with WillowTree?

The cost of WillowTree's work has been at least $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with WillowTree three and a half years ago. It's an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've set up each of our non-profits on Google Analytics, allowing them to see their traffic. One of the things which came out as a result of us working with WillowTree is a significant increase of about 70% in the number of new leads coming into the organization. This is a result of the technology built by WillowTree.

It's big for a non-profit to go from having a paper-centric environment where everything was being done in person, to leveraging technology and allowing a virtual relationship with the customer. That has been a breakthrough for our network of groups, and it's what will set the stage for significant growth.

How did WillowTree perform from a project management standpoint?

WillowTree's members are experts at what they do and have a deliberate approach to high-quality customer service.

What did you find most impressive about WillowTree?

Attitude is everything. WillowTree's willingness to go the extra mile and help us in a bind has been outstanding.

Are there any areas WillowTree could improve?

Not really. We threw a lot of urgent work at them, which created a shortage of resources on WillowTree's side. It was mostly because we weren't able to predict our needs, so the gaps in resources were mostly because our project was like a bullet train. We couldn't make the same predictions as many other companies.

As we grow bigger and bigger in our technology endeavor, I would only hope that the partnerships created with other tech firms will be as solid as the one with WillowTree.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're one of the largest member-owned credit unions in Illinois and one of the largest in the US. 

I am a program manager for the company's digital transformation initiative, which is a five-year program for shifting the majority of our business practices to the digital space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WillowTree?

We had a mobile app which had been purchased through a third party and wasn't customizable. It was a basic platform which we shared with many other financial institutions, and it didn't provide the flexibility and adaptability that we were looking for. We have some internal mobile development expertise, but we figured that partnering with an industry leader would be ideal.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WillowTree brought the expertise and guidance necessary for building our app from the ground up, based on our specifications. They've worked closely with us through a strategy and design engagement, during which we produced wireframes and prototypes which fit our needs. We worked with WillowTree in building a scalable solution.

Our technology group built all APIs and core backend connectivity, while WillowTree designed the frontend. We've worked together on a day-to-day basis, over numerous brainstorming sessions. WillowTree provided Xamarin development for both Android and iOS.

It was important that we would be able to take full ownership of the app for future development, so WillowTree positioned us in a way that would allow taking the work in-house.

How did you come to work with WillowTree?

We went through an exhaustive RFP [request for proposal] effort, meeting with over 12 vendors across the country in order to determine who the right partner would be for building our mobile app. Some of those options had financial experience, while others didn't. We also wanted to find a developer with Xamarin experience, and WillowTree is a preferred Microsoft partner. WillowTree responded well to our RFP, and we were impressed with their expertise and past projects. We narrowed them down to the final two and made a visit to their office. What set WillowTree over the edge was their hospitality; the company had a friendly and homely type of feel, and their culture worked well with ours. The amount of expertise they had on-staff was remarkable as well.

How much have you invested with WillowTree?

We've made a substantial investment in our mobile platform, but I can't provide an exact figure.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with WillowTree in the fourth quarter of 2015. We've had split design and development engagements, spending the first four months on the design. The development kicked off at the beginning of 2016 and ran for 9–10 months. The relationship is ongoing for continued development and refinements for the app.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

WillowTree's work conforms to our standards perfectly.

How did WillowTree perform from a project management standpoint?

We've had numerous site visits over our 14-month engagement in order to build our team dynamic. We had daily standups, and if someone dialed into the call, they wouldn't be able to differentiate between a WillowTree employee and one of our own.

We've brought WillowTree's team to Chicago for a visit and decided to have a team-bonding experience, so we went out to a Cubs game.

What did you find most impressive about WillowTree?

WillowTree's team is down to earth, knowledgeable, passionate, and motivated. We have like-minded principles and passions, and WillowTree felt more like an extension of our team than a vendor.

Are there any areas WillowTree could improve?

Ours was the first large financial services app built by WillowTree, and it would have helped for them to have a bigger background in this area, more importantly in the credit union space. Credit union products and services, while similar to standard banking, have many nuances. We could have spent a little more time in order to have WillowTree understand our intricacies in the backend, and make the design and development a bit easier. There were some glitches in the project, but we were able to work through them quickly, adjusting and adapting as necessary in order to meet the overall timeline and budget.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Synchrony Financial is the largest provider of private label credit cards in the United States and works to help businesses and customers finance major consumer purchases and elective healthcare. I work in the Consumer Bank, which is the Direct Bank with $37B in deposits and 500,000+ accounts. 

I am the digital leader for the Bank. I lead and manage our online channels, including the website and mobile platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WillowTree?

We needed to kick off our native app project. Our company as a whole is fairly new to this space, so when we were thinking about a partner who could help us think through these strategies and designs, we wanted to find someone who had experience in the area.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WillowTree took a look at our business and customer journey and incorporated our strategic vision into a roadmap for the native app. They proposed that we develop iOS and Android versions from the start since our customer data showed a 50/50 split between the platforms. WillowTree performed customer research for us, following this with a design phase which was started from scratch.

How did you come to work with WillowTree?

We researched a few options, going through an RFP [request for proposal] process involving three agencies. Each candidate was brought in, given a basic list of our needs, and presented an overview of their culture, style, and what they could bring to the table. We liked WillowTree because the company not only offered design and development, but also an upfront strategy piece. Even though we didn't specifically request this, WillowTree offered to help us with the initial process of determining what should and shouldn't be in the app based on industry trends and other data. 

How much have you invested with WillowTree?

The cost of WillowTree's work was between $50,000 and $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with WillowTree in August 2016. The design phase took three months to complete, ending in October. It was collaborative and fast. We have decided to develop the app internally, but have extended a new project to WillowTree for redesigning our website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everyone has loved not only the design itself but also how we came to make those decisions. There was a lot of research and data put together to substantiate those decisions, which is important, especially for a company like ours. We've appreciated the rigor and research done for understanding our space.

Everyone internally, all the way up to our CEO, has had high praises for WillowTree's work. We are working with them again and will continue to do so for a very long time. There are a few other teams in our organization using WillowTree, which goes to show what a great partner they are and the compatibility of our cultures.

How did WillowTree perform from a project management standpoint?

WillowTree has come to feel like a part of my team, even though we work remotely. We have calls twice a week and are a synchronized team. WillowTree's team is open and smart, always on the cutting edge of their field. I have a lot of trust in them, which was a key point from the start.

The strategy piece was tightly managed by one of WillowTree's lead user experience strategists. We had organized follow-ups, and everyone in the team was responsive. We used a tool called TeamSite, which I found to be useful and easy to use.

What did you find most impressive about WillowTree?

WillowTree's team is extremely collaborative and open to our opinions. They've taken our inputs and incorporated them in a way which made sense, but also pushed back when it was necessary.

Are there any areas WillowTree could improve?

I wish that WillowTree was closer to us, but we've made an effort to see each other in person. I know that this is impossible, but it would be great to work side by side. Also, the level of project management during the strategy side should be matched with that of the design portion.