Trigent Software

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior business analyst and project manager for Freight Forwarder; we work mostly with U.S.-based customers who import from overseas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Trigent?

We needed a partner to rebuild our customer platform. We have a small IT team, and the project was too large for them to handle alone, so we began looking for outside help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I managed the project and designed the requirements, and Trigent did about 80% of the development. The rest was done in-house. They rewrote our entire legacy application, implementing the new solution according to our specs. They moved the app to Java, using Angular for the frontend. We have a legacy DB2 database that we wanted to keep, so Trigent made sure that would work in the new app.

The entire app is for our customers to be able to track and trace their freight and access all sorts of other information. Trigent made the new interface similar to the old so that customers could easily transition, but they also implemented state-of-the-art technology to make maintenance easier. They integrated the platform with our database as well as our imaging system. We went live with the first version of the app in July and are currently working on the follow-up release.

What is the team composition?

We had a project manager with a team of about seven people.

How did you come to work with Trigent?

My boss found a few companies, and we interviewed two of them. Trigent made the best first impression and seemed to understand our requirements, so we hired them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in August 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re extremely happy with the quality of work. The product has few bugs, and our customers are pleased. The app looks better and works faster than the previous version.

How did Trigent perform from a project management standpoint?

They have phenomenal project management skills. They’re organized and fix bugs quickly and efficiently. We mainly use Jira, email, and weekly conference calls to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team performs incredibly well and asks thorough questions. They’ve been engaged throughout the entire project and are the best third-party partner I’ve ever worked with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It took a while to get the project off the ground in the beginning, but that’s because they were hiring new people.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I highly recommend working with them. I’d do a new project with Trigent in a heartbeat.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a business analyst at Quaker Special Risk. We are an insurance broker in Worcester, Massachusetts, that specializes in property and casualty insurance. I’ve been with the company for about 13 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Trigent?

We were using an agency management system that was developed by our in-house team about 15 years ago. The system was getting too old to accommodate our business needs, so we were looking to either upgrade or replace it. We considered a lot of different directions, both established shelf products, and custom-built options.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The engagement started with a five-week discovery process, where two representatives from Trigent visited our headquarters. We had meetings to analyze each screen and feature of our legacy system and determine how the new iteration needed to work. Following that phase, the team created an estimate and timeframe for the project.

Instead of a desktop application, the new system operates as a web app. The platform has an entirely new look, but a similar operative flow. We wanted to ease our staff into using the new app, rather than introduce them to a dramatically different system. Initially, we were just looking to rewrite, but with all of the improvements and changes we’ve made so far, it looks like a completely new platform.

The Trigent team used a .NET framework, with other current Microsoft technologies, to create the application. It’s supported by a Windows server. The platform streamlines our data entry processes. In the old system, we had to enter the same data in four different spots, in the new system, we only have to enter data once. The application is projected to launch in October. In the future, we plan to integrate new features.

What is the team composition?

In general, we work with a team of 10 from Trigent, with one acting as a project manager. Sometimes, we scale the team up or down to accommodate the workflow.

How did you come to work with Trigent?

I found them through a Google search for developers in our area with experience in the insurance industry. We spoke to a few agencies, but Trigent made the best first impression. Their team offered the flexibility needed to customize our application rather than being strapped to a specific plan, which is what we were really looking for.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent between $700,000–$750,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started in August 2016 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Currently, we’ re finishing up the project, but we plan to keep some Trigent staff on for future maintenance and enhancements. We used Bugzilla to document all the bugs that needed to be fixed, and the team has diligently handled all of those. We’re happy with the results we’ve seen so far and were very hopeful leading up to the launch. Internally, we’ll be able to operate with more efficiency. It is a very smooth, user-friendly, and well-designed platform.

How did Trigent perform from a project management standpoint?

Trigent’s team is very organized and consistently shares project updates to assure all parties are on the same page. For communication, we utilize multiple channels. We mainly stick to email and Skype, but we also use phone calls, GoToMeeting, and an Amazon-based tool to track the project. On occasion, we have team members on site, and we plan to have one come to our office to help with the system’s launch.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Trigent met each challenge I threw their way, they found a way to accomplish the most challenging tasks. They are dealing with a lot of insurance terminology that falls outside their industry, but I can trust they’ll develop a good understanding of what we’re looking for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were aggressive with their original estimates for the cost and completion date. I’ll also take part of the blame for that because we continued to make changes as we moved through the project.

Any advice for potential customers?

I recommend clients looking for this type of development hire Trigent.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and president WheresTheBus LLC. We provide GPS bus tracking for schools, and also have an app for parents to know when the bus will arrive.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Trigent?

One of our key developers was leaving to pursue another opportunity, so I needed to find another development resource.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Basically, Trigent's team handles all of our software development. We have a project lead in charge here in the U.S., but he works directly with the Trigent teams. We use two teams, a PHP and desktop application team and a mobile app team.

At the beginning of a project, we define the product and customer needs to them. However, if it’s more technical or we're wondering how to do a certain feature, they’ll collaborate with us and guide us through the technical concepts.

Our PHP team codes our backend cloud database. This team programs our real-time view, real-time reporting, GPS data, and UI. Our mobile team manages our app for Android and iOS apps, which are programmed to report bus schedules and times. The teams handle user testing and error corrections for their individual platforms as well. They also assigned a project lead here in the U.S. to relay information.

What is the team composition?

I started with them by just working with one of their developers. We quickly ramped up their services. We now work with six of Trigent's PHP developers, four of their mobile developers, and one of their project leads. We also work with two India-based project managers that oversee their work.

How did you come to work with Trigent?

We searched everywhere and eventually found Trigent online. It turns out that their senior executives were only 20 minutes away from me and met with them face to face. This U.S. presence, combined with their programmers overseas and capabilities, convinced me to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested $1 million in total thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in March 2012 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our product’s downtime, which is dependent on Trigent’s programming and our cloud service provider, is negligible. Our customers depend on us to stay up and running all the time. If the server crashes or there’s a technical issue, Trigent addresses it immediately.

Partly to Trigent’s ever-evolving work and consistency, we haven't lost a customer. They help us create innovative solutions and features that our customers depend on. Our customers don’t even think about switching to another service because of our products’ great functionality and performance.

How did Trigent perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is great. They have their own project managers who make sure everything is going well. They really care about quality, and we have a great relationship because of that. We conduct calls with the PHP team three times a week and calls with the mobile team two times a week. We use screen-sharing technology and stay up to date through a software tracking system, which updates tickets and reports nightly. Our overall experience with them, from low-level developers to senior managers, has been excellent thus far.

What did you find most impressive about them?

First, their ability to deliver what we need is excellent. We were a small company, and they fit our startup needs then. Now that we’re bigger, they can provide additional resources.

Second, their adaptability to project needs is great. If we need a new person or the scope changes, they’re seamless in managing their people and resources.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We do a great job of managing the time zone challenge, but it can get annoying. This is obviously not something they can control though.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work with Trigent to overlap knowledge between new and old developers. It can be difficult starting out with just one developer when you're growing quickly. Talk to their managers about building your development team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Software QA lead of a genetic information company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Trigent?

We wanted a team to augment the software testing function, both for manual and automated tests.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Trigent provides Software QA resources for helping feature test various applications depending on our need. In addition, they do automated and regression testing within our test framework.

​​​​​​What is the team composition?

Trigent team members work under a SQA Lead. There are application specific team member interactions when needed.

How did you come to work with Trigent?

When investigating different vendors, Trigent was very responsive to our requirements. They provided a team of SQA engineers with the necessary technical skills faster than some of the other companies we were talking to.​

​​​​​​What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2015 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Trigent team has picked up domain knowledge at a quick pace. They understand SQA and perform all aspects of the required work in a diligent and responsible manner.

How did Trigent perform from a project management standpoint?

Trigent manages their team members; however we do project management for our work. The interactions work out great in that Trigent team members perform their tasks efficiently. All team members are flexible and independent. For communication, we use Slack, video conferencing, Jira, and a test management tool. We interact multiple times per week and haven’t experienced any issues with communication.

​​​​​​What did you find most impressive about them?

Trigent has good SQA engineers and are responsive to our needs.

​​​​​​Are there any areas they could improve?

Trigent meets our expectations in all required areas. They approach us regularly for feedback and are constantly working to improve areas based on our discussions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a national nonprofit, serving over 35,000 teens nationwide. I am the senior director of technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Trigent?

We wanted to build out an enterprise web application to give our national network of partners necessary tools and resources to deliver our programming and collect data.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They joined us after our internal discovery phase, fairly early on in the project. We developed the scope and software requirements together before they built out the web application. The software is broken into several sections. We deliver programing to people in different municipalities and states. Those partners build out their resources from grant money or private funds. We then grant them access to the utility, which provides curriculum, exercises, and interactive forums. Teens can interact with their peers, and we can capture demographic and attendance data from each team. The app tracks the number of engagements each child participates in longitudinally, along with what occurs during those engagements. That data is then aggregated to set benchmarks and compile reports. This allows us to determine the impact of our programs.

The app is built on ASP.NET, and some of the components—like the forums—leverage existing .NET technologies.

What is the team composition?

I worked primarily with our project manager, Lingesh [Senior Manager, Trigent].

How did you come to work with Trigent?

Based on our internal discovery process, we created a request for proposal, which we circulated out to a number of different organizations. We had very strict guidelines, and chose Trigent for their documented experience and reputation. They were already established, and had a number of customers with similar projects. They also bid within our budget and original timeline.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started work with them in February or March 2015. Their participation just finished in December 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The code is reliable. We had a period built into our original timeline for bug fixes, and the app performs to our expectations. The system serves a number of people outside of our organization, and everyone is very complimentary of the finished product.

How did Trigent perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very responsive, and were flexible. We typically had morning meetings to avoid calling them in the middle of the night in India. In our principal development phase, we had weekly meetings, then we met daily during the period of bug fixes, before returning to weekly meetings.

Most of our exchanges were through Google Sheets. We considered Basecamp or Bugzilla, but both offered more complexity than we needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They provide very quick turnaround on simple coding requests.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they did very well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s always wise to scope the project properly. Recognize the importance of strong project management, or your productivity may flounder.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a software company that specializes in GPS tracking, fleet management, and hours of service solutions for the trucking industry. We work in information security as well.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Trigent?

We were looking for talented developers to essentially merge two systems into one GPS tracking and fleet management platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We communicated our design needs and introduced the relevant APIs. They integrated our existing PHP application with another data system using APIs on the backend. jQuery and Kendo UI were used to create the frontend. The platform allows users to pull information from another system and access it through our system. This allows management staff to quickly access vital information like driver hours of service, location tracking, or service violations.

What is the team dynamic?

The team consisted of one project manager and one developer.

How did you come to work with Trigent?

We were actively looking for developers when they reached out to us via email. Trigent always followed up and it became clear they had the right developers for our needs.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project lasted from August 2017–October 2017. We plan on hiring them for additional projects in the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered exactly what we designed, worked through any issues that arose, and made sure I was happy with the results. The platform actually works and we’re moving it into production soon.

How did Trigent perform from a project management standpoint?

We didn’t have frequent meetings after the scope of work was agreed upon, as the developer handled everything. The few meetings we did have went well and took place mostly through Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They figured out the solution and implementation with little management required. I enjoyed a hands-off role and felt confident in doing so. I didn’t have to tell them how to do things because they reliably figured it out on their own. Projects rarely go that slowly so I found it noteworthy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could benefit from integrating a project management platform into their process. Having detailed meetings over Skype can be a hassle. If they had a central place to collaborate and address potential issues the product would’ve been even better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a geotechnical environmental engineering firm. We have a national presence and close to 750 staff members. I’m the corporate health and safety manager; my job is to ensure that our staff conducts work safely. We’re involved in construction sites and environmental waste site clean-up. We don’t do the actual cleanup ourselves, but we design and recommend cleanup strategies from an engineering perspective. We do a lot of sub-surface work from a geotechnical perspective. We do the design, and we oversee the work as well. Part of that requires our staff to be properly positioned to execute the work safely, and a component of that is called a health and safety plan.

The health and safety plan encompasses information on emergency contacts, the scope of work, the associated hazards, and actions to mitigate those. We ensure that our staff understands those hazards and can appropriately manage them in the field. We define personal protective equipment needs and perform any monitoring requirements from an environmental exposure perspective. The health and safety plan needs to be generated prior to any work beginning. Staff is responsible for reviewing it, understanding the contents, and then signing off on that before the work is executed. That plan goes through an approval process to ensure it’s accurate and complete and then has to accompany them to the project site as well. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Trigent?

In the past, health and safety plans were created from a Word template. Staff would go in and generate these plans, and often information from previous projects would be included in the new plan, so it wasn’t accurate. The thoroughness of the plans wasn’t to the level we needed. As information was recycled, it lost the original intent. Staff would cut information out that they didn’t think was appropriate, and that information could get carried in the template to subsequent projects and not be accurate or reflect the intent of the health and safety requirements for that particular hazard.

To improve the way in which these plans were executed, we wanted to bring a systematic approach to ensure the content would not get diluted for a project or recycled over time. That way, we had some quality control over it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

From a corporate perspective, we did not have a handle on the number of projects going on at any given time. A year ago, I wouldn’t be able to tell how many health and safety plans had been generated for our company. Through the tool that Trigent has developed, we now have the ability to determine how many projects were executed in the last year. It also allows us to see the work being done at any particular time from an administrative perspective. I see everything that’s being generated through this tool.

The other component of this is that we changed the workflow so that corporate has final review and approval of these documents. Before, it was being done at a local or regional level, often by junior field staff who may not have a thorough understanding of the issues associated with that project. By changing that workflow, it added a significant amount of transparency to the work we do and ensured thoroughness and quality of the documents before they leave the office.

The previous model was one-size-fits-all. Recognizing that projects are dynamic and vary in scope and size, the tool allows us to expand or contract based on the hazards, the client requirements, the regulatory authority, and the scope of work. The document could be as small as 30 pages or as big as 100 pages, and the tool allows for that scalability. That was a critical component of the concept we implemented.

We spent a considerable amount of time developing the concept of what we wanted as well as functionality. Taking that concept and building from that is easier said than done. Once we had them on contract, we spent two weeks developing the wireframes and the functionality, so taking what was on paper and expanding on it considerably with Trigent’s involvement.

As they built out on the wireframes, they shared those with us and worked through any issues that required clarification. As we got further along, other items started to pop up that we hadn’t thought about during the initial design phase. We had a couple change orders about two-thirds of the way through the project due to an oversight on our end. Trigent’s flexibility and response to that was very helpful. They helped us work through thoughts we had for the functionality, what was feasible and what wasn’t.

How did you come to work with Trigent?

We interviewed three firms, one of which was Trigent. We learned of a couple firms through our IT department, who shared their thoughts on companies they’d worked with before. We wanted to do this on a SharePoint platform, which narrowed the field of programmers. We came across Trigent through an internet search, and I reached out to them. They gave their proposal to us based on their understanding of the scope of work and the concept we generated.

A considerable factor in choosing them was the cost. Although we had a concept, we recognized that it wasn’t an out-of-the-box tool. In developing a customized tool, we were going to encounter some challenges and issues as we went through the design and development process. So, having flexibility in cost really factored into the decision-making process.

We did our due diligence and contacted other firms they’ve work for, researching some of their previous clients, and reaching out to them to have conversations about the work. We made sure they were able to supply us with the end product.

How much have you invested with Trigent?

We spent about $110,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the design sessions with Trigent in December of 2015, and then the build-out began in earnest in mid-January of 2016. The original plan was somewhere around five months to build it out, but due to the change orders, it was finished in September of 2016. We were fine with that, recognizing the add-ons over the development process. We went through the user acceptance tests, and we went live in November of 2016. After that, we retained their services for troubleshooting issues through February of 2017. After we had a comfort level with the tool, we ended the relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The outcomes are as intended. As we’ve expanded the use of the tool throughout the company, we’re getting more and more feedback on how to enhance the tool. It’s working as designed, but there are some limitations that we didn’t initially consider. Staff is starting to provide that feedback, and we’ll probably build out some of the suggestions for the enhancement.

A key component was to make the tool intuitive, and that has been successful. Our staff has commented that it’s easy to use and navigate. The approval process in the tool is quite rigid, based on how we designed it, and staff has commented on that.

Our company has moved forward with a new enterprise system, but the initial rollout was not successful. As we rolled our tool out, the timing could have been much better. The level of frustration for our staff snowballed as they started to encounter some limitations of the tool. I think that’s due to the timing of the rollout. Overall, the tool has been successful. The feedback from our staff has given us some simple solutions to implement, and we look to improve the user’s overall experience.

We did some previous SharePoint programming with a local firm, which went relatively smooth. It was a much simpler project, so it’s tough to compare.

How did Trigent perform from a project management standpoint?

Our relationship with Trigent was all over the phone, as their team is from India. All the calls had to be done first thing in the morning due to the time difference, and I sometimes feel it’s better to work things out in person. Not having that option required some adjustment on my end.

What did you find most impressive about Trigent?

We had weekly calls, and sometimes bi-weekly calls, so the level of communication was certainly there. They were responsive to the issues we identified over the course of the development process. They had a bug tracker, which allowed us to see their progress on each issue. I liked the fact that this tool was available and allowed for easy tracking of these items to closure. We had a considerable number as we went through the different phases, and it really helped ensured we were always operating on the same page.

Are there any areas Trigent could improve?

The output would be a Word version, and once it was finalized, it would be generated in PDF format. When we were providing content, it sometimes had italicized or bolded language and there would be pictures. The thought was that because it’s on the SharePoint platform, we could easily manipulate information on the back end. What didn’t come up was that some of the language they had incorporated, all had to be done in HTML. Now, HTML is not that difficult, but that came up around 80% of the way through the project. So what I thought would be a simple cut and paste or erase ultimately had to be done in HTML. That was the only surprise for me. It ultimately doesn’t impact the tool itself, but may impact the administrative component on the back end.  

Do you have any advice or suggestions for potential clients?

We didn’t engage our IT department throughout the development process. Having an IT stakeholder involved, whether it be passive or active, to provide a reality check as you go through the various phases, I think is critical. I’m not a programmer, so having someone to translate the technical aspects at times would have been very helpful. IT may have caught the backend language issue. It’s important to engage the IT department early and keep them engaged throughout the process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an organization focused on cultural exchange programs between various places abroad and the United States. I'm the director of information technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Trigent?

Our organization outsources a substantial amount of its technical needs, development included. In this case, Trigent supplied the necessary resources to build our requested solution. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We used Trigent to develop and implement features on our existing website. We come up with the specs and review the scope with them before having their team build it. They're also involved in ongoing maintenance, things like bug fixes and related documentation.

How did you come to work with Trigent?

Trigent was an existing partner by the time I arrived, meaning I inherited the relationship. As far as I know, my predecessor had been very careful when it came to choosing suppliers. Trigent seems to be no exception. They already had a good track record when I joined the company.

What is the status of this engagement?

I would characterize the partnership as an ongoing success.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Trigent continues to work diligently for us and communicate well. They have a price tag that's more than reasonable, especially compared to what we'd be paying if we were to hire a domestic supplier of similar quality.

What did you find most impressive about Trigent?

I've been impressed with the professionalism their leadership team brings to the table, too. You don't always expect such a high level of service from offshore providers, but they've been able to come up with something that works.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is a credit union based in New Jersey. I am a network administrator for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Trigent?

We needed to upgrade our Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 to Foundation 2013.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Trigent modernized our site. We use SharePoint as a repository for internal documentation. Trigent performed the migration to Foundation 2010 as an intermediary step and then to SharePoint Foundation 2013. We had one initial point of contact from Trigent as well as a project manager and a software engineer working for us. We interacted directly with each of them.

How did you come to work with Trigent?

I Googled SharePoint migration companies and found a chart listing the top 10 ones. We considered one other company but chose Trigent because of their response time.

How much have you invested with Trigent?

The total cost of our project with Trigent was approximately $11,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Trigent through the month of September 2016. Including the initial meetings, the project took 4 weeks to complete.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The data was migrated without any issues. Once the new site was up and running, we kept it in a test mode, and worked directly with Trigent's software engineer, tweaking it to our needs. This was done easily, and there were no issues.

How did Trigent perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly calls with Trigent. Our project manager put together a task list featuring resources and completion dates. As we went along, those dates were met on time. Our initial rep put together a nice proposal explaining Trigent's plan. It was a professional process, and it gave an indication that Trigent did this for a living.

What did you find most impressive about Trigent?

I've only dealt with SharePoint in a limited capacity and have only been part of one migration, so it's hard to have a comparison point. I deal with a ton of vendors and, compared to them, Trigent is excellent. They're responsive, made sure we were happy and worked many additional hours in order to accommodate our needs.

Are there any areas Trigent could improve?

There was a miscommunication early on regarding the hour interval during which Trigent would be working because of a time zone difference between our companies. It was something that was unclear on both of our sides, but it was quickly hammered out.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're in the litigation support business, helping lawyers in their day-to-day practice and interactions with the courts. A large part of our business now consists of process services, but we also offer publishing, couriering, and other services helping lawyers do their daily work. I am the chief information officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Trigent?

We use technology as a way of enabling our operations, so we don't see ourselves as a technology company per se. We had been developing using consulting resources from various places, and decided to offshore the process at one point.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We've used Trigent to develop Windows applications. One of our modules is a courier program running on handheld Windows devices.

We are in charge of the design and most of the project management, in a true Agile structure based on the actual manifesto. We needed a company that could provide us with independent developers who were able to think for themselves. We maintain high-level direction for projects with small scopes, interacting with developers on a daily basis. Trigent assigned a project lead who served as a middle person, but we rely on developers working independently for each of the 5-6 projects we're running with Trigent at any point. Any escalations are done to the owner of the project on our own team.

At peak capacity, we've used 12 developers from Trigent and we maintain a team of around 10. We always interview the developers being taken on and monitor them closely for 30 days. After this, most of our developers will last on the team for 5 years or more.

How did you come to work with Trigent?

We looked at a few companies in the offshoring space and were a little hesitant regarding how a developer could work with us, as a smaller organization. One of my employees at the time had worked for Trigent and served as a reference. We called them, liked what we heard, and invited Trigent to work with us. We also spoke to 5-6 other companies, both small and big, onshore and offshore.

How much have you invested with Trigent?

I cannot provide a figure, but we've used an average of 10 developers from Trigent over the course of 10 years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with Trigent for around 10 years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The fact that we've been using Trigent for consistently such a long period speaks volumes. If we were not happy with their performance, we would not continue using Trigent. Our company offers multitudes of services and Trigent has developed all of those offerings.

How did Trigent perform from a project management standpoint?

We monitor our projects closely and consider this operation to be an enablement of the core business. We have used Clarizen for project tracking, but we have so many open projects at any time and have a flat organization, so using tools of this kind didn't lead to efficiency increases.

What did you find most impressive about Trigent?

Trigent was flexible enough to work with our own established business practices. Like my colleagues, I'm a hands-on manager, covering business decisions and regular operations. Trigent has the ability to work with our project management leadership in an interactive manner and determine what the end-product should be based on requirements. I didn't see this flexibility when reviewing other companies. Since I am offshoring my work across the world, I need the confidence that the person assigned to it will offer a professional result in efficient time. The common belief is that a 30-60% efficiency is very good when offshoring, but our team from Trigent is more efficient than the local one.

Are there any areas Trigent could improve?

Trigent has had some growth issues, and we've changed the way in which we work, but the important thing was that they were able to remain flexible and make the needed adjustments. The good absolutely outweighs the bad. I have very few negative things to say about Trigent, and I would recommend them to people in a similar situation.