UPDIVISION

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of KOGAYON

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Kogayon is a jewelry design boutique and an e-commerce specialized in jewelry inspired by ancient Romanian traditions and symbols.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• As our jewelry design boutique grew, we wanted to expand our marketing and sales efforts and increase our online visibility. We hired UPDIVISON to build an e-commerce platform for us, where we can sell our jewelry collections and showcase their uniqueness.

SOLUTION

How did you find UPDIVISION?

Referral

Why did you select UPDIVISION over others?

Pricing first our budget, Good value for cost, Referred to me, Company values aligned

What was the size of UPDIVISION’s team?

6-10 Employees

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

UPDIVISION handled the process of building our ecommerce platform end to end, from planning and project management to UX design, frontend development, backend development, testing and deployment. We initially had a kickoff meeting, where we explained our business workflows and discussed various ecommerce solutions. After some analysis, we decided on Magento for the back office, while the frontend was built using HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

The platform needed not only to showcase our jewelry collections, but also to be easy to use for our customers. Some of the custom features include personalized promotions, payment integration with various providers, currency, language and location detection. Development lasted approximately one year and then we continued working with UPDIVISION several years for maintenance and support.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• The ecommerce played a key role in boosting our online visibility and the reach of our brand. It was a way for us not only to showcase our products, but also to tell our story: a brand which loves true, local traditions and which expresses this through meaningful jewelry design.

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

Communication with UPDIVISION went really smoothly and we were able to see the progress each step of the way. We kept in contact mostly through email, but also through calls, especially feedback meetings where we were able to see how the work is progressing. We think they did a really good job in keeping us updated and in sticking to the schedule. Providing a general roadmap of the project in the planning phase was especially helpful in getting a broad sense of the timeline.

What was your primary form of communication with UPDIVISION?

Virtual Meeting, Email or Messaging App

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

UPDIVISION was really easy to work with. They were able to translate technical requirements in a way that made sense for non-technical entrepreneurs. We also appreciate their ability to never lose sight of the business side of things in addition to the technical one.

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

At that point in time no. We were non technical and I am very grateful that they took the time to assist and share their knowledge at every single step of our journey.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The TPA Group is one of the largest accounting, audit, tax and legal advisory companies in Eastern Europe, with offices in 12 countries. I am one of the Partners of TPA Accounting in Romania. I manage a large portfolio of accounting clients and coordinate the accounting and tax teams working on various merger, spin-off projects and other complex tax and accounting reviews.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UPDIVISION, and what were your goals?

While adequate for our needs in the past, the system we have been using for timesheets, reporting and invoicing needed a complete makeover, including usability improvements. Therefore, we hired UPDIVISION to build a modern, web-based application which would allow us to easily keep track of everything and manage valuable information such as client costs and employee efficiency reports.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We did a thorough online search and came up with a shortlist of several outsourcing development companies. We decided on UPDIVISION based on their experience in building complex web-based applications, particularly reporting tools.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

In the initial phase we had several discovery meetings, where we discussed our internal processes and feature requirements for the application, like being able to add companies and contracts or being able to view user reports and generate invoices. Based on this, UPDIVISION provided wireframes and user flows. The application comes with a lot of data heavy tables and advanced filtering, so a good user experience was important for us.

Especially since this was going to be a tool we will be using a lot internally. After the discovery and project planning step, UPDIVISION handled the frontend and backend development. The application was built using PHP and Laravel for the backend and HTML, CSS and Angular for the frontend.   

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with 3 people from their team, a Project Manager, a Senior Developer and a UI/UX Designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

With the help of the timesheets and reporting tool we have access to a range of valuable information, including cost and performance aspects. This allows for better business decisions on our side and everything can be achieved in minutes, including generating reports, searching, filtering and exporting all the data we need.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We communicated primarily through email and meetings. The Project Manager sent us regular updates on the progress, which we were also able to discuss during feedback sessions and then test it ourselves, once a feature was done. During project planning we were able to establish an overall timeline and testable milestones, so that also helped a lot in keeping the project on track.

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

UPDIVISION did a great job in understanding not only our business model, but also our day to day work. This is reflected in the application they built for us, which is very well mapped to our regular workflows. So I would say their business and user understanding is definitely one of the distinctive features, in addition to their technical expertise.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CTO of a company specializing in software tools for developers. This includes production-ready admin templates and boilerplate code packages which make development easier and help development teams launch faster. Our seed projects are crafted on top of modern UI kits using various technologies like Django, Flask, Node, Laravel, so it's really easy to use them as blueprints for custom applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UPDIVISION, and what were your goals?

As a small company, we wanted to scale our development efforts, so we decided to outsource. We hired UPDIVISION to help us build a Laravel API Server tool with a simple, intuitive codebase that can be extended with ease.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

First we researched several options online. We wanted someone who has experience working in a distributed, remote environment, as they would need to integrate very well with our team. Another deciding factor was their tech stack. Since our tool is powered by PHP 7.4+ and Laravel, we wanted someone with a lot of experience in these technologies. We opted for UPDIVISION who, as a Laravel certified company, could provide us with a Laravel certified developer.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

In the discovery phase, we had a few meetings with their developer to discuss the best technical approach and core features. The goal of the Laravel API Server tool, once finished, was to power several of our dashboard and admin panel solutions. The Laravel API Server tool comes with JWT authentication and SQLite persistence, as well as a unified API structure, which is consistent throughout all our full-stack tools, regardless of UI or backend technology.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with one senior Laravel developer from UPDIVISION.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

UPDIVISION was key in building the Laravel API Server tool and getting it up and running. They delivered quality work and solid code. This allowed us to expand our portfolio with several other starter tools powered by the Laravel API Server, including a full-stack React Laravel seed project.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We worked closely with their developer and discussed mostly through online chat, but we also had several feedback and review meetings at the end of each sprint. They were proactive and always kept us in the loop regarding the timeline, milestones, and deliverables.

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

Working with a senior developer really allowed us to hit the ground running, so we appreciate their expertise and commitment to writing clean, readable, easy-to-maintain code. All in all, they have a great team of professionals.

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

No item to mention here. The product was delivered on time with good quality.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a software development company specializing in web applications and custom software for companies. We build software that ties together companies, their vendors, and their customers, ensuring a seamless experience throughout. I am the co-founder and CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UPDIVISION, and what were your goals?

We needed help building a complex car parts management system for one of our clients. We hired UPDIVISION as a development partner and as a way to scale our development efforts. We collaborate with them to this day to add new features and expand on the previous work.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

The management system was built using Laravel, more specifically, Backpack for Laravel. UPDIVISION came as a natural choice since they are the creators of Backpack for Laravel and they offer custom development services that expand on Backpack's existing capabilities. Their Laravel expertise and in-depth knowledge of everything related to Backpack definitely made UPDIVISION our top choice.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Together with UPDIVISON, we expanded on a comprehensive management system for car parts at our client’s request. With the help of this system, the admin can view, add and edit the selected parts, adding information such as price and pictures. There is also a history of edits available, with the option of restoring the item to its previous status and seeing who did those edits. After we completed the first milestones and the project was launched, we now work with UPDIVISION to build additional features.

The latest is a custom export feature, which allows users to create and use export templates for large car parts databases. The user can add and remove columns, select what should be featured under each column, save this as a template and export it as an Excel file. Alternatively, the user can load previous configurations which were saved as templates and export them. The system was built using Laravel, Backpack for Laravel, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The UPDIVISON team consisted of a Project Manager and several Laravel developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

UPDIVISON`s help and expertise made the project progress steadily and gave us the flexibility and speed we needed. In addition to development, they also helped with testing and deployment.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Communication went really smoothly, that's why we consider UPDIVISON as our first choice when we need to extend our in-house development team. Together, we established a solid and effective workflow, which works very well for us. This is one of the reasons we have maintained our relationship over several years.

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

UPDIVISION offered us the flexibility to gradually build a complex admin panel. They are hands-on, great programmers, and always think of ways to improve code, flow, and functionality. But most importantly, they are good people you can rely on.

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

No. They have been very courteous and flexible and have always. brought in team members to discuss areas we needed to clarify. They have been able to deliver what we asked, but also provide valuable feedback when there are alternative implementations we hadn't considered.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

TestU is a platform that provides individuals and organizations with an innovative training solution based on a blend of continuous adaptive microlearning and a test/question-based methodology. We use AI to build an individualized and efficient learning path and correct the effects of forgetting on each subject. We supply the best learning experience with a data-driven approach that delivers tangible results for individual users, employers, and employees of big organizations. I am the founder and CEO of TestU Labs, Inc., with over 18 years in the aviation industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UPDIVISION?

As our company grew and we gathered more user feedback, we realized we needed a change. We decided it's time to move away from the initial look & feel and undergo a complete UI/UX redesign of our platform. The goal was a more appealing look and better usability, which clearly showed our data-driven approach to learning & development. After careful searching, we hired UPDIVISION to help us throughout this redesign process.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We came across UPDIVISION in our search for this UI/UX solution for our platform. We did a deep online research about them and decided to work together primarily due to their portfolio, testimonials, and after meeting their team. We felt confident that they understood the need.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We initially had a kick-off meeting to discuss our goals, priorities, and the first screens to be redesigned. Our platform has three main user types: Learners, Instructors and Admins. A person can hold one or all three of them within one or more Organizations. Since the Learner experience is a crucial part of our application, we decided first to redesign all flows related to this user type.

UPDIVISION designed a light theme and a dark theme for our platform and improved key flows and screens. Some of the most notable improvements in terms of usability include: 

• A wall/feed where a Learner can see everything related to their activity, as well as important updates, such as when a new learning material or a comment is added to a test 
• An in-depth statistics panel where the Learner can track their progress and see things such as skill level for each test, leaderboards, average completion rate, activity statistics, etc.
• A catalog page where the Learner can browse tests assigned to them, as well as discover new tests
• A statistics page is shown upon completing each test, where the Learner can see their performance in that session, as well as across time.

UPDIVISON also provided assistance with some design solutions for the mobile view, particularly regarding navigation.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with one Project Manager and one UI/UX Designer from UPDIVISION.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are still redesigning our platform, so the new version isn't yet available to our user base. However, we have no doubt this will represent a significant improvement for our users and will help increase our conversion and retention rates.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We kept in touch primarily via email and held regular feedback meetings, where we could discuss the designs. Everything was very transparent, from the number of hours worked (on which they updated us periodically) to the feedback workflow, where we could provide comments directly in the design file and keep track of resolved issues. We also appreciated that, for larger pieces of work, UPDIVISION provided detailed estimates regarding how long each task will take.

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

The most obvious point would be their keen eye for design and their UI/UX expertise. We were impressed by their ability to develop creative UI/UX solutions, for example bringing into the learning experience a social media type of component, like the wall/feed. A wall is something we hadn't thought of and will be a valuable tool users are already familiar with and a proven method to keep them engaged. Their idea improved the social aspect of learning.

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

I'm sure there are always areas to improve, but we had a great experience with them. I can't conceive any specific thing they might need to improve. They are a great company!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Scientia Mobile focuses on device analytics and image optimization solutions that improve the mobile experience and make web pages load faster. We provide a suite of tools and platforms, including WURFL, the industry's most advanced device detection solution, and ImageEngine, a smart image CDN which automatically detects device parameters for better optimization and optimizes images with minimum quality loss. I am the VP of Innovation at Scientia Mobile and I oversee everything related to product development and adding value to our existing products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UPDIVISION, and what were your goals?

As part of growing our ImageEngine product, we decided to undergo a UI/UX redesign of the admin interface in order to improve usability both for ImageEngine partners and end consumers. Hotjar reports and behavior analytics revealed several pain points, especially related to onboarding new users and app navigation. With this goal in mind, we hired UPDIVISION to help us improve the user experience, redesign key screens and code the new and improved frontend using Vue

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We initially purchased a Creative Tim dashboard template, which served as the starting point for the ImageEngine MVP interface. After browsing the Creative Tim website, we found that one of their partner companies, UPDIVISION, also offers custom UI/UX design and development services. We researched some of the projects UPDIVISION worked on and then we contacted them to help further customize and improve on the existing UI. In addition to their familiarity with Creative Tim UI kits and templates, another deciding factor was their UI/UX design experience and Vue expertise

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The work done focused on improving the design and usability in several key areas. One important area was navigation, where UPDIVISION helped create two separate views, one for ImageEngine clients and one for ImageEngine partners. ImageEngine clients can have multiple subscriptions, each subscription with multiple engines and origins.

In comparison, ImageEngine partners can have their own subscriptions with engines and origins, as well as multiple clients, each with their own subscription, engines and origins. The redesign work made this entire hierarchy a lot clearer and easier to navigate.

In addition to navigation, UPDIVISION redesigned other important sections of the app such as payment and billing and the engine page and settings. There were also significant UI/UX improvements in onboarding, making it easier for users to create an account and set up their engine for the first time. After the UI/UX design phase, UPDIVISION coded the redesigned and improved frontend. The technologies used for frontend

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The UPDIVISON team was made up of one Project Manager, one UI/UX Designer and one Frontend Developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

UPDIVISION really helped improve our product both in terms of look & feel and usability, without distancing themselves too much from the style we originally envisioned. This means we were able to bring significant improvements without forcing our existing users to reaccustom themselves to a completely different platform.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Communication throughout the project was very hands-on. This is something we really appreciate, since it made us feel like their designers and developers integrated very easily in our development team. We communicated constantly through Slack and we were able to provide almost real-time feedback in Figma

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

We were impressed by how fast they understood our platform and came up with the best solutions. We also appreciated their ability to think like an end user of our platform and really immerse themselves in the product. Furthermore, during the development work they demonstrated great ability to transform wireframes to a working app covering the main use cases but also corner cases proactively.

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

Over all, the project went fine. However, the initial time estimates for the implementation weren't fully met, resulting in a slight delay. The reasons for this were indeed split, but the communication and impact of “feature creep” on the project timeline could have been better communicated during the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Beamable helps game creators build and launch their games faster by providing powerful game features and end-to-end prefabs for Unity. Game creators can easily use them through drag & drop and they can also manage essential aspects of their game through our online portal. I am the co-founder and CTO of Beamable and a game developer myself.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UPDIVISION, and what were your goals?

Our goal was a complete redesign of our online portal, as well as a rethinking and restructuring of all the essential flows for a better user experience. Basically, we wanted to bring together two of our legacy platforms into one cohesive structure and then continue building and improving from there. We hired UPDIVISON to build this new and improved platform. The first step was to achieve parity with the old platforms and today we continue working with them to add new features.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Initially, we were researching UI solutions for our new platform and we came across Creative Tim, a UI kit and dashboard template vendor. We then discovered that their partner, UPDIVISON, offers custom software development and UI/UX services. Therefore, we contacted them and, after talking with some of their former and existing clients, we decided to work with them.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The first phase of the project consisted in building the UI and achieving parity with our two legacy web portals. This meant building the existing features into the new platform and moving the player portal into this new structure (the player portal previously existed as part of a separate platform). After this first step, we worked on UI/UX improvements and adding new features. This included, among others, more advanced in-game messaging features, a calendar view for in-game events, a game tree for managing development, staging and production realms and many more.

We also worked on redesigning our onboarding flow, so that all sign-up and initial realm creation would take place as part of the initial sign-up. We replaced the web form on the website with a registration process that captures everything in the existing flow and prompts for a SDK download after the account and realm are already created. We also included a dashboard, so game creators can track key metrics for their game, such as daily active users or average revenue per paying user. The frontend for the new platform was built using Vuetify.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The UPDIVISON team consisted of a Technical Lead who coordinated the team, two developers and a UI/UX Designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Some of the features we are currently working on with UPDIVISON have been heavily requested by our clients, so we are really happy to be able to provide them. This has a positive impact not only on our clients` experience using the platform, but also on the overall direction in which Beamable is heading. Last but not least, the new look & feel of the platform goes hand in hand with the upgrade.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We are a team of developers ourselves, so we appreciated the fact that we were in direct contact with the Technical Lead, who also acted as a Project Manager. This way we were able to discuss technical issues directly with the development team and avoid any unnecessary back and forth discussions. Tasks were tracked using Jira and we kept in contact mostly via Slack and occasional online meetings.

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

A strong point for us is their responsiveness and their ability to come up with viable solutions, even when requirements were maybe not very clear. Furthermore, their deep experience with web technologies allowed us to play to their strengths and move quickly without having to discover the pitfalls of different web stacks ourselves.

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

The team was composed of members of different seniority levels. We had two senior members, one of whom was an engineer and the other a UX designer. We would have preferred a mostly senior team in order to move faster. The other team members were certainly a value add, but they required a lot more supervision and guidance. Furthermore, their estimates for work delivery were less accurate -- they tended to underestimate the amount of time work would take to be fully complete.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an international network of real estate companies covering over 70 countries, with 550 firms and over 150,000 sales associates. Our portfolio includes, in addition to residential properties, commercial spaces and luxury real estate. I am the Director of Project Management overseeing technical and non-technical projects across all of the organization’s divisions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UPDIVISION, and what were your goals?

Our goal is to supply our members with a comprehensive set of tools to promote their listings to a global audience. We hired UPDIVISION to build an enhanced reporting and analytics tool for our luxury real estate portfolio. The platform is meant to give agents and real estate companies valuable insight into their luxury consumers` behavior: what listings are they looking at, how often are they viewing a property, what country are they coming from and many more.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We first started researching a solid tech stack and we knew for sure we wanted to go with Laravel. UPDIVISON came as a natural fit since they have experience working with TALL Stack and they are also a Laravel certified company.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Our initial collaboration consisted in mapping out the key metrics and features which needed to go into the analytics and reporting tool. Some of these metrics were based on a legacy tool we were previously using, to which we added a significant number of advanced features and an entirely new UI and backend, transforming it into a powerful self-standing analytics platform.

The platform allows brokers to visualize data and generate comprehensive reports on key performance metrics, such as traffic sources, impressions and visualizations for property pages, segmentations by device, currency, language etc. Users can also schedule reports, choose between different report templates and see, in addition to property performance, data on visitor behavior: new versus returning, average session time per property, average session time per page and many more.

We continue working with UPDIVISION to add new metrics, which can offer further insight into luxury consumer behavior. The platform is powered by TALL Stack - a full stack development solution based on Laravel, Livewire, Tailwind, Alpine.js and jQuery, while the charts are based on Fusion Charts.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The UPDIVISION team included a Project Manager, a Technical Lead, three developers and a UI/UX Designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The analytics and reporting tool is a valuable source of data for us and a great way to track marketing efforts and the visibility of our luxury real estate listings. The tool gives us granular insight into affluent consumer behavior, so we can tailor our marketing accordingly.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Their Project Manager did a really good job in keeping us updated and having regular meetings over Zoom or short updates through email. They were very open to communicate, including discussing technical aspects and providing their insight and expertise. They managed to do good work with little information and they were great at filling in the gaps where specs were incomplete or unclear. We also appreciate their proactivity and the fact that they've continuously pushed the project forward, even when we were swamped with other pressing matters.

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

They met all milestones without any issues and delivered everything fast, while also keeping an eye out for usability and user experience. Our collaboration went really smoothly, due to their expertise and dedication.

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

We have not yet had the opportunity to do a formal debrief, likely because the analytics and reporting tool is still in beta release.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The Fluids Specialists (TFS) work in the drilling sector of oil and gas and focus on optimizing the performance of drilling fluids, drilling waste management and associated services. I am a company director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UPDIVISION, and what were your goals?

We had developed in house a stand alone piece of software that aggregates data from key parts of the drilling operations. We needed a web dashboard type application that would allow both our own personnel and clients to be able to view and analyse the data.

Our main goal was to create an app that’s easy to use and where we can easily find the data we’re looking for.

SOLUTION

How did you select UPDIVISION and what were the deciding factors?

We had tried hiring a single developer via a well known online agency and this did not go well, wasting a lot of time and money so we were looking for a better solution. We found some of Updivision's Laravel dashboards which we liked and so made contact.

We started talking to them and it was obvious that they had very robust development processes. Our requirements are very specialised and not at all like a generic dashboard application and we were impressed that Updivision made the effort to research the drilling process so they could better understand our needs. Updivision included our in house programmer in the process which really improved communication and the efficiency of the process.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

In the product discovery stage, UPDIVISION’s designer used all the wireframes we created and came up with the ideal user flows. Their team created a lively, colorful design - and functionality we never would’ve thought of. They built a design for the whole app, managing to incorporate all the analysis tools we needed.

A well selection module, a multiwell comparison module, along with pages where we can view attachments, documents or lab results. Next, they built the app itself using Laravel, Livewire, Alpine.js, and Tailwind, while working closely with our in-house developer. Plus, they reviewed our own code to make sure everything clicks together.

They focused on well selection, individual well dashboards, and well comparison, along with user management. More modules of the app are currently in progress.

How many people from the UPDIVISION team worked with you, and what were their positions?

In the product discovery stage, UPDIVISION’s designer used all the wireframes we created and came up with the ideal user flows. Their team created a lively, colorful design - and functionality we never would’ve thought of. They built a design for the whole app, managing to incorporate all the analysis tools we needed.

A well selection module, a multiwell comparison module, along with pages where we can view attachments, documents or lab results. Next, they built the app itself using Laravel, Livewire, Alpine.js, and Tailwind, while working closely with our in-house developer. Plus, they reviewed our own code to make sure everything clicks together.

They focused on well selection, individual well dashboards, and well comparison, along with user management. More modules of the app are currently in progress.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We were pleasantly surprised with how the design turned out. They came up with a very creative way to integrate all the data we need to see - without making it hard to use. The design and user flows clearly put the user’s needs first. We got to play around with the app and test it ourselves, and they acted on our feedback, listened, and improved it along the way.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

They constantly checked in with us, giving us a detailed look at their step-by-step process and providing regular updates as often as they could. We were always aware of what they were working on and what came next, especially through our regular meetings. Overall, they were very communicative, listened to our feedback, and put in their best effort.

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

We are impressed with their creativity in design and finding technical solutions. They figured things out in a way we wouldn’t have been able to. All while staying time efficient and communicating with us all the way.

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

Nothing comes to mind here.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder of FactSumo and Chief Innovation Officer. FactSumo is an online learning platform aimed at building skills easier and faster in a variety of subjects. This is achieved through an intuitive deck system which allows students to learn anything in 5-minute sessions. Previously named Sixty Vocab, FactSumo was rebranded to its current name in March 2016. Sixty Vocab was a Forbes' Startup to Watch in 2014.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UPDIVISION, and what were your goals?

As our company grew, we needed help in maintaining the platform, as well as adding new features. We therefore hired UPDIVISION to do continuous development and to help improve some aspects of the platform, both in terms of usability and responsiveness and in terms of bug fixing, code audit and app speed and security.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We did online research both on dedicated outsourcing platforms and various directories. We evaluated several software companies based on their portfolio and testimonials. A deciding factor in working with UPDIVISION was definitely the fact that they already had two online learning platforms under their belt.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We collaborated with UPDIVISION both for UI/UX design purposes and for development. And we continue to do so. UPDIVISION helped us redesign some of the existing screens in Figma to add improvements and new features. We improved the user flows and UI for lesson creators, adding in reports and analytics. They also designed a new login page and allowed a broader variety of controls for specific types of facts, based on video or audio content.

On the development side, UPDIVISION provides us with continuous development for React, React Native, NodeJS and Express and they coded the new features designed in Figma. They also helped with code audit, testing, CDN integration, code version updates on React, React Native, NodeJS and Express and server updates.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The UPDIVISION team consisted of one project manager, a UI designer, a senior developer as technical lead and a frontend developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We added several features that significantly improved the learning experience of our users, like the possibility to add text, text to speech and audio clarifications. We also made tracking a lot easier through reports and analytics. Both improvements meant an increased ease of use. Also small design improvements helped make things more visually cohesive.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We were in constant contact with the team through Slack and through online meetings. Regular updates were provided either by the project manager or the technical lead. We also used ClickUp to document and prioritize tasks. So we always had throughout the project a solid understanding of what needs to be done, what's in progress and what`s finished and can be tested.

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

We appreciate their commitment to making things happen, as well as their genuine desire to help with whatever came up. They are true professionals, very invested in their work.

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

I don't think so. UDIVISION adapts well and with any large project you really have to jump into the project to figure out the best way to optimzie it.