Thoughtgrid Interactive Solutions LLP

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and director of CloudYuga. We provide online and offline training to different clients. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Thoughtgrid Interactive Solutions LLP?

We had built our platform around five years ago. We had built the platform using our own in-house UI team. It was working and things were going fine, but as we wanted to go to the next level, and we wanted support with UI and UX design.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave them access to our platform, and they provided a report with suggested improvements. We then gave them the full contract to revamp the entire thing for us. They did research with different platforms and came up with a new design. They took the features that we had and added more features. They basically started from scratch.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two people, including the CEO of the company. There were also people behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Thoughtgrid Interactive Solutions LLP?

I got a reference from one of my friends.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent several thousand dollars. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them for two months. The project started in August 2020 and was completed in October.

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

We have had some customers look at the website, and they love the design. Currently, it isn’t live yet, so we don’t have real-time metrics. 

Initially, the course section was difficult to access, but with the new design, the course selection has become much simpler and more organized. We used to have so many different tabs, but they put them in one place.

How did Thoughtgrid Interactive Solutions LLP perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated through phone, email, and we had twice-weekly calls where they showed us a demo, and we were able to provide them with feedback.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are very professional, and they delivered on time, which is important to us. Whatever they promised was given to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Maybe a bit more collaboration would have been good, but I don’t think that is a big deal because they delivered what they said they would.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would definitely recommend them if someone asked. Everything was positive from my side.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a product engineering company based in Bangalore, India. We focus on enterprise-level engineering for clients from the U.S., Europe, and India, working with a range of technologies, from the Microsoft stack to open-source languages.  

What challenge were you trying to address with Thoughtgrid?

We had difficulties sourcing good in-house UX [user experience] designers for our client projects.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were initially hired for UX work. They created Photoshop designs that we submitted to clients for approval. We then used their development team to convert those designs into HTML pages. They also provided mobile app design for one of our clients in California.

What is the team composition?

We usually interact with Ajith Kumar [Founder and Creative Director] and one other member of their team.

How did you come to work with Thoughtgrid?

They came through a reference from a friend.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work has been around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Thoughtgrid in 2016. Most of our UX work has been done by their team and the collaboration is ongoing.

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

They delivered everything to our expectations so far. Our customers have been happy with the UX work we’ve delivered. Our mobile app client has been especially impressed with their work, and they’ve come down to meet their team.

How did Thoughtgrid perform from a project management standpoint?

Most of our communication has been done through email. We haven’t used any project management tools. All formal communication with clients goes through us. At times, we’ve included their team in the conversation, for example, in order to address delicate areas.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate the vast knowledge held by their senior team. Many of their members have been in the industry for 18 or 19 years, which means that they have so much experience. They have comprehensive knowledge, including about emerging technologies. I have referred them to a couple of clients already.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’ve been happy so far.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Director of Application Software at a startup working on a medical device.

For what projects/services did your company hire Thoughtgrid Interactive Solutions LLP?

We needed to improve the UI/UX design for a software product that we create that accompanies our hardware.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a UI/UX design that is appropriate for the product, looks good, and is easily usable.

How did you select this vendor?

I have interacted with this vendor in a past role, and found them to be competent.

Describe the project in detail.

We provided initial requirements, demonstrated the current state of the software product, and provided input on where we wanted the UI/UX design to be. We then had regular meetings to show progress, provide feedback, and ideate. We were happy with the level of flexibility and openness in those discussions and we feel those really helped in clarifying the situation and requirements beyond what would have happened in a regular process.

What was the team composition?

We had the Creative Director managing the project and handling all support, and a UI and UX architect each (three people in total).

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We have only subjective feedback at present, but that has been quite good.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was quite effective. We had regular and useful communication. Our communication meetings were positive, interactive, and resulted in clarification, ideation and substantial value addition.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I am happy with their technical skills and ability to communicate. In all, I would rate them quite well.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not particularly