ToBeCode

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of Handbuilt Bicycle Guide. It's quite a large website, but a very small company. The website creates a promotional ecosystem for small businesses in the cycling industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ToBeCode?

I brought them in to audit work by the previous developer. There was a problem with the introduction of new modules which would cause the existing modules to break. I requested an audit of an independent company which ToBeCode performed. They identified some serious problems, one of which was that the contents of the database were showing up in the source code of the home page. I immediately let go of the existing company and started to work with ToBeCode to fix the existing problems, after one to two months, we decided it would be simpler to start from scratch and rebuild the website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It's a difficult and complex website to make. It wasn’t a WordPress site, but custom built. It's a three part website: there’s a news section, an industry directory, and the owner gallery. All three parts are connected so that the companies in the industry directory are promoted through the news section, where there are articles which contain links that direct back to the company profile in the industry direction. Then also, there are links from the owner gallery. We’ve been working on an automatic coding process for these links to occur automatically.

An owner can add their bike independently and by identifying the brand name of the manufacturer, a link to that bike will show up on the manufacturer's page in the industry directory. This enables prospective customers to quickly see their work. When you order a hand-built custom bike, it's a very different experience than going into a bike shop and picking up one off the shop floor. That's an already completed bike – it's take it or leave it. But with a custom bike, you get to specify everything. You can have an idea for a bike for a particular purpose. There's a fairly in-depth process of ordering the bike where you consult with the frame builder, and a lot of that a lot of that process is speculative so it's helpful to see what other people have done to solve particular problems. The integration of these 3 parts helps customers to do that, but it also gives the site so much programming complexity.

What is the team dynamic?

They’re a small company. It’s a single person manager and a relatively small number of programmers.

How did you come to work with ToBeCode?

I found them on Upwork. They’re the 3rd or 4th programming company that's worked on the site. For companies of my size – which is tiny – you have to rely on contract companies.

How much have you invested with them?

Between $15,000-30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in December of 2015, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website is still in development. However, the previous versions of the website were just not feasible propositions and the work they did has enabled the project to go ahead.

How did ToBeCode perform from a project management standpoint?

We primarily communicated through Skype. We've had video chats, a lot of screen sharing, and we also use Google Docs, Trello and glean testing. Overall, I’ve been happy with the level of communication.

Projects like this can suffer greatly from having too many programmers working on them. There is continuity in thinking and understanding the website, bringing in a new programmer is problematic and there's a long learning curve. The fact that ToBeCode is a small company has been not just helpful, but necessary for this project. There’s only been one project manager, Alex [Managing Partner, ToBeCode] and he's also done a lot of the coding which is important because his understanding of the website is complete from all aspects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have good English language skills, a strong commitment to the project, general knowledge of software, and very good problem solving. Their code seems to be pretty robust as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Ideally, I would be working with a company that operates in the same time zone. They are nine time zones ahead, so that's an issue.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme is a Bilateral Framework Agreement aimed at reducing economic and social disparities in the European Union. Switzerland is providing support to Bulgaria in areas such as security and justice; support to the civil society; integrating minorities and vulnerable groups; environment and infrastructure; promotion of the private sector; research and education as well as bilateral partnerships.

I am an external advisor for the Swiss embassy and for the programme in general, in relation to media, PR, and communication. I am also in charge of PR and communication for the DOMINO project (abbr. in Bulgarian of Dual Education for the Modern Requirements and Needs of Society), which focuses on the introduction of dual education in Bulgaria.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ToBeCode?

At some point—especially for the dual education project—we needed to have more visibility. We found out that we needed to hurry up and reach a large audience of students who might sign up for the initiative. We wanted to expand our outreach not only via social media—which is where we started—but also via the website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

As a journalist, it was important for me to find a partner who could understand our organization, and not build a website just as a business card. They needed to have ambition in making a website with a degree of involvement, rather than just providing coding work. The technical decisions came later, after we had several long talks about our project, aims, and target audiences. ToBeCode came back with several ideas which we accepted.

This included having an administrative system I could use easily. The site needed to be maintainable since I didn’t have a lot of time to work on the coding part. There was no need for resizing photos or work on other technical issues prior to posting.

In principle, the site’s main purpose is to inform the public, as well as to serve as a portal for teachers, companies, and students who want to learn more about dual education. More than informing, it also tries to involve everyone, from journalists to teachers, who can find required documents on it.

The site was built on WordPress with several custom improvements. It connects to our Facebook and YouTube channel and has integration with Google Analytics.

What is the team dynamic?

With previous experiences with other companies, the initial person I would speak to seemed excellent and made a lot of promises, but after the contract was signed, I would be assigned to someone who was new in the company, or not interested in the project. I asked ToBeCode to put me in touch with the person I’d be working with from the very beginning. They’re a small company, so I was only in touch with a main contact and a second person during development.

We had several face-to-face meetings in the beginning, with the principal of the company and the team leader. Afterwards, we mainly used Skype and phone for communication. I have considered using Slack as well, but it’s more for permanent teams.

How did you come to work with ToBeCode?

I’d had experience with some web design companies, but wasn’t very happy. We tried to find a new partner, and approached several of them. We received almost 12 offers, made a shortlist, had discussions with different partners, and chose ToBeCode based on their profile, website, and past work. We received 2 types of offers—for the current range of around €4,000, and for around €20,000. [$23,000] There were also companies who refused to work with us, considering it to be too small of a project.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of the project was approximately €4,000. [$4,500]. I found this very acceptable for the quality website the project got at the end. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with ToBeCode in March 2017 and finished in May. I have several projects on the table currently, and I’m considering working with them again. It was a very good and fruitful collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

ToBeCode created a friendly and easy-to-use website, so I don’t have to spend a lot of time on publishing something. Our team members and colleagues from the Swiss embassy and contribution office have been very happy with the website. In these cases, people will often like the work or not, and our site was accepted from the early stages.

How did ToBeCode perform from a project management standpoint?

All deadlines were met without any issues. They are professionals, and worked efficiently.

What did you find most impressive about them?

During the last 2 years, I’ve worked on 5 websites; ToBeCode was the first web design company which paid attention to details around what I wanted as a client, instead of technical issues. They were very helpful in this field.

No matter if a project is big or small, they will dedicate resources to it, and remain open to the client. I was asked for feedback about the concept behind the website several times—what I wanted to see more of, how I felt, and whether I had any new ideas. This was not the case with many other companies.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We received what we asked for, so it’s difficult to say. I have proposed to them that they start offering a bigger package to clients, including the general vision and content creation, not just the website, which is usually just a part of a larger publicity or marketing strategy.