Usman Group, Inc.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the webmaster for a financial services and research firm based in Hong Kong.

For what projects/services did your company hire Usman Group, Inc.?

Our website framework was about to reach its end-of-life, and in switching over to another framework, we also wanted to update the design of the website. We hired Usman Group to come up with new designs for existing pages, some new pages, and do all the front-end coding for us. We sought a design that would be modern and uncluttered, yet authoritative and effective, while providing a good browsing and reading experience for research subscribers.

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

We looked for vendors through Clutch and similar websites, as well as through contacts. Of about 10 companies that submitted proposals, we chose Usman Group because theirs showed a good understanding of the scope and nature of our request while falling within an acceptable price range.

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

Already in the project outlining phase, we established that the firm was able to meet our specific requirements for the technology (Webpack, PostCSS, Tailwind CSS) and would be able to provide documentation so our in-house developers could integrate the front-end and back-end. Usman Group quickly set up weekly check-in calls so we could keep tabs on the project and both teams could clarify any questions. The day-to-day exchange of information was done effectively on Basecamp. We received wireframes to annotate in Figma, and that is also where final designs were outlined and presented.

One set of wireframes and two rounds of revisions were scheduled. One set of designs and 25 hours of revisions were allotted. It was mutually agreed to extend the duration of this part of the project to make further changes, at a reasonable addition to the cost. The coded front-end webpages were hosted on Netlify and our team could access them from anywhere with any device, making testing and feedback a breeze. Updated code was also pushed to Github, allowing us to start integration with the back-end while the front-end coding was still underway. This saved us a lot of time.

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

We worked with four people: The project manager, the designer, and two coders.

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

We received all the required web pages, plus good documentation. The new site is not yet live, pending integration with the CMS. But we're eager to work with Usman Group in the future.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project manager was quick to respond and eager to make time for us, in addition to our weekly check-in video calls. The rest of the team was very quick to respond in Figma and Basecamp. It was a very effective workflow.

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

Usman Group, Inc. was very dedicated to achieving an excellent end result. They were eager to listen to and understand our feedback. They were flexible when we needed more time or when we requested further changes. The team has an impressive depth of expertise, which allowed them to quickly find solutions to our problems. Also of note was how well they were able to communicate with those involved that had less technical expertise, which inspired confidence.

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

I wouldn't dare suggest changes to a winning formula.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a member of a Chicago-based law firm that advises small and mid size businesses and high net worth individuals about various legal issues pertaining to numerous industries. We also handle adversarial proceedings including litigation and arbitration.

For what projects/services did your company hire Usman Group, Inc., and what were your goals?

Our website had become outdated and difficult to navigate. We hired Usman Group to redesign the site so that both its appearance and functionality would be up to date and competitive with other firms.

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

We had a prior relationship with Mr. Usman so we reached out to him (and others) when we decided to redesign our site. Usman Group had competitive prices and creative design ideas. Since we were redesigning the site during the pandemic and could not meet in person we also valued that Usman Group used a number of online tools that made it easier to collaborate virtually.

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

I (along with one other colleague, Peter Berk) had several preliminary meetings with Usman Group to discuss our objectives. Usman Group presented us with a preliminary draft of the site which we then opened up to a larger group discussion involving other attorneys at our firm. Usman Group was very patient in dealing with several opiniated attorneys, collected feedback and updated the site accordingly. Usman Group also trained a number of our staff members so that we will be able to update the site in the future without their involvement. Ultimately they presented us with a final version of the site that exceeded expectations.

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

Naveed Usman, the principal of Usman Group, was our primary contact. He also regularly involved Andrew Martin.

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

The site just launched so we do not have measurable outcomes yet but we are very satisfied with the final project.

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

We primarily used Basecamp to communicate. We also had weekly Zoom meetings and additional Zoom meetings when necessary. Usman Group was always highly responsive.

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

As mentioned earlier, they were highly proficient with online collaboration tools that were necessary under the circumstances. We were impressed with their creativity, their consideration of our budget, and their efforts to reduce costs.

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

I can't think of anything. Any minor issues that came up were quickly resolved.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a former executive of a marketing agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group, Inc.?

We needed help to develop a custom website for one of our clients. There were unique needs for that project, so we needed someone with more expertise in custom development for that site.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The process was to understand the requirements for our client, so we went through a discovery phase with them. We laid out the specific needs that we had regarding the website’s custom features that we were looking for, and that lasted about 4–6 weeks. 

Once all that was understood, they put a project plan together for us and started working on the development for the website’s frontend and back end with an administration page where we can control the website. That development phase lasted around eight months.

The next stage lasted 4–5 months, and it was focused on testing the site internally and from the client’s side as well. In the end, the site went live and, after that, there was a six months long follow-up process where we made some improvements on the site based on the client’s experience.

What is the team composition?

There were 4–5 involved in the project. There was Naveed (Principal & CEO), and the rest were several of his colleagues.

How did you come to work with Usman Group, Inc.?

They were referred to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May 2011–June 2013.

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

We can say that our client was extremely happy. We didn’t run into any challenges or issues once the site went live — we received wonderful feedback from the client.

How did Usman Group, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent. I can’t say enough about what wonderful project leads they were; they kept us on task, were never off schedule, documented every issue that came up, and solved it very efficiently. They’re an excellent partner.

In terms of communication, they spent a couple of weeks onsite. Other than that, we had phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The way they collaborated with us, their openness, and their organization stand out the most. They have their act together, and they’re very human — they understand your needs and document all of that to reach the end goal.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — they did a wonderful job.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be as organized and open as possible. Also, make sure that you provide all the information available.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of communications and stakeholder strategy for an airport management company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group, Inc.?

We were looking for someone who could provide website development services for us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re currently undertaking the task of completely rethinking the entire website of our company in terms of design and development. That includes the content, look, and feel of the site.

What is the team composition?

We’re working with foUr people from their team. That includes the manager of the company. A copy content writer, a designer, and a web UX developer.

How did you come to work with Usman Group, Inc.?

We worked with a couple of other designers before them, but they didn’t work out for us. We were a little hesitant about hiring someone else, but we looked for other providers. We found Usman Group, Inc. through Clutch’s site, and we sent an FRP out requesting quotes. They responded, had a couple of interviews with their team, and we chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $35,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working in April 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

Everybody’s pleased with the website development. They’re doing a great job, and that makes me look good — that’s important for me.

How did Usman Group, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been super responsive, organized, and timeline-driven — that’s been essential for us. We communicate through email and Basecamp,

What did you find most impressive about them?

They listen to their customer’s needs and wants far better than any other designer I’ve worked with in the past. They’re also capable of delivering a vision, and that’s been great for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on. 

Any advice for potential customers?

They’re very organized so, if you’re not, then it’s not going to be a good fit.

Please describe your company and your position there.

This was for a past company. We were a company that helped local businesses facilitate online reviews and SEO. I was a Digital Marketing Manager at the company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Usman Group, Inc., and what were your goals?

We hired Usman Group to help us design and develop a website. Our goals were to have a high-quality website with great UI/UX that would help facilitate lead generation and education for prospects.

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

Our VP of Marketing at the time had worked with Naveed and his company before, so we selected them because of previous amazing work that had been completed by his company. Deciding factors included skill, team, bandwidth, and cost.

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

We had a kick-off meeting with the team where they presented us with several ideas and we refined what we were looking for and the scope of the project. We then worked with the team week over week to complete the design work. After that, we took the implementation one piece at a time until we were happy with the results. They were very detail-oriented, and they helped to manage our project with ease.

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

We had about 5 people on the team if I remember correctly who were working with us. We had designers, developers, and project managers.

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

Our website was able to support MoM traffic and lead generation. We had a low bounce rate and completed many A/B tests with the team to optimize the website over the coming year. We monitored the website as well with HotJar to ensure that people were navigating the site, and found that our intent of the site matched the user experience.

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

Always on time, always communicative, great partner!

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

The dedication they had to our project and getting things done in the way we wanted them to be completed.

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

Nothing to mention!

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a consulting agency. It’s a subsidiary of another company that I co-own with my husband. I deliver expertise and strategy, including a book that I recently published that’s available to the market.

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group, Inc.?

I engaged them for services dealing with intellectual property; that’s the basis of my book. We discussed the possibility of a digital tool to advance my intellectual property. Late last year, I realized it was a great time to bring digital innovation in the field of strategy to the market. I engaged with Usman Group, Inc. to help me think through how to bring digital transformation to my industry.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Usman Group, Inc. developed the original digital design concept for what I call Strategy Studio. It’s viewable on my website. They led the initial design of our Strategy Studio. Their team brought a design firm to assist me in thinking through high-level concepts and specific deliverables I could promise to my customers.

Usman Group, Inc. helped me think through what was possible with the tool as well as ideated a phased approach. This approach would allow me to manage my budget and make sure it was going to work. They did an initial product development scope of work. The deliverables included a prototype and digital wireframe.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with Naveed (Principal & CEO).

How did you come to work with Usman Group, Inc.?

I’ve known Naveed since 2019. He was introduced to me by two different people. We really hit it off, and I was very impressed with his knowledge and expertise in the digital tool world. When this project came up, I immediately reached out to Naveed.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project was from December 2020–February 2021.

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

I was satisfied with the quality of the work and it measured up to my expectations. We went live with our product and then there were small fixes that needed to be taken care of afterward. Usman Group, Inc. was very involved as we worked through the issues after we took our beta live.

How did Usman Group, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They utilized Basecamp for project management. The communication picked up later in the process as the deadlines were coming close. This worked out well. In some cases, toward the end, we were meeting 2–3 times a week. This worked out great because we were trying to get things turned around for our deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Naveed believes in my concept and believes in me. This is why I reached out to him in the first place. It’s important as an innovator and entrepreneur to have colleagues who believe in what I'm doing and would tell me if they didn’t think it had any promise. Usman Group, Inc. really embraced the vision for my concept and owned it as much as I do. They saw it as a signature for their portfolio too.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In hindsight, it would’ve been great to have more communication. Usman Group, Inc. was so busy and devoted to getting the project done that there were a couple of times when they had to update me on what was going on. However, whenever I reached out through text or on Basecamp, they’d get back to me right away.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Having clarity of your design and desired business objectives is really important so you can convey them to someone who isn’t as familiar with the concept and business opportunities you are. Additionally, realize that the project is going to cost you more and take longer than you think. Remember that you play an important leadership role in ensuring that what you want is delivered.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former founder and CEO of The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award USA.

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group, Inc.?

They were brought on to help us develop and launch our initial website for the national organization.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Usman Group walked us through the development of our website. They had a website project planner they developed and introduced to us. We worked through as a team, both on our own and with Usman Group. We talked about the fundamentals of the website itself. They took it a few steps further and had us talk about what success looks like for us — not just for the website but with the launch of the organization in general.

Usman Group dove into our audience and had us think about what’d appeal to them with the website design itself. We honed down on the interfaces we developed with them and how user-friendly they’d be for our particular audience. Our audience is typically 14–24-year-olds and a range of adults that’d be mentoring these 14–24-year-olds. Usman Group facilitated that process because we hadn’t thought about it from that perspective.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Naveed (Principal & CEO).

How did you come to work with Usman Group, Inc.?

A friend of mine recommended them to me. Usman Group ended up being relatively local to where I personally lived so I met with them a couple of times before deciding to move forward with their organization.

How much have you invested with them?

The project was about $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement was from October 2016–March 2017.

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

The website looks great. From the beginning, we wanted it to be integrated with an app that was being developed by our international organization in London. It’d allow the youth to track their progress for their awards. Usman Group ended up successfully implementing that.

Additionally, what was unique about them was how strategic they were in helping us develop our website. They went beyond just the design piece and provided the technical aspects of that. Their team helped us take a step back and think about how it’d integrate into our overall strategy as an organization, which I found really helpful. I’m still in touch with Naveed and continue to rely on him as a resource.

How did Usman Group, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was great and the website was launched on time. Usman Group communicated well. That’s one of Naveed’s strong points. Their team members had a great combination of skill sets. We worked a lot with the team focused on the technical aspects of the web development. They were fantastic to work with and very professional. They were great at communicating things in layman’s terms.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Naveed always approaches things from a holistic standpoint. If he doesn’t have the answer to it, he finds someone within his team or a contracted partner to find an answer. He’s great at networking and bringing people together to work on projects. I found that to be refreshing and unique.

Naveed recognizes where his expertise begins and ends. He’s willing to bring in people who are experts in areas that his clients may need. This approach helps us as clients to navigate through our needs. They’re very strategic and recognize there are a lot of pieces to the puzzle.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I was really pleased with the quality of their work and their approach to it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very open to exploring all that Usman Group is willing to provide or help find for the client. Personally, I was comfortable with Naveed pulling in experts from other areas. Some people may not be as comfortable with that. However, in the end, it delivers a more focused and quality product for you as a client. It’s worth it to be willing to go down that path.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of sales and service of a disaster restoration company. We have 17 locations in the US. I work with our sales and operations teams to make sure we’re delivering the services we provide.

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group?

We were looking to develop an app that would provide value to our commercial customers across the US. We needed to communicate different messages to multiple clients. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Usman Group provided creative resources to build out the app’s wireframes and create artwork. Then, their developers built out the backend. They developed the app for iOS and Android. 

Usman Group helped us create unique user experiences that depend on which company a user is with.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Naveed (Principal & CEO) directly, and he enlisted one designer and a team of developers.

How did you come to work with Usman Group?

We explained the project to a creative recruitment company, and they gave us a list of companies that they felt would be a good fit for what we were looking to accomplish. Naveed was a good fit — he was easy to work with and really responsive.  

How much have you invested with them?

My company spent over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged them in early 2020, but we didn’t start the project until the end of August. The project launch date was mid-September, and we wrapped up the project in late December to meet our beginning-of-year deadlines.

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

We’re currently in the process of rolling the app out to customers, but early verbal feedback has been very positive. Everyone has been very engaged and responsive to getting signed up and enrolled in the new mobile app. However, we won’t have numbers on how many engaged users we have until the end of the first quarter.

How did Usman Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything ran smoothly. We had weekly meetings to communicate the process and touch base on updates, questions about upcoming items, or anything that I needed to deliver so that they could keep moving. They were over communicative, which was great.

Considering I was anticipating a long, drawn-out engagement, it was a very pleasant experience overall. We used Basecamp to manage the project and post any updates or requests. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with one other app developer, and Naveed was more collaborative. He wanted to figure out how we could accomplish what we were trying to do, whereas the other provider didn’t think outside of the box. Naveed was more open to ideas and problem-solving than what I’d previously experienced.

Are there any areas they could improve?

That’s a hard question for me to answer because they exceeded my expectations. From everything I’ve heard about the app development process, I was anticipating a lot of delays and uncertainty in the process. However, Usman Group definitely exceeded my expectations by delivering on both of those things: they hit deadlines and communicated with me the entire process. They let me know how close we were to hitting certain things, and we ultimately stayed on schedule. Their timeline was pretty close to on the nose.

Any advice for potential customers?

Just be available. I can see how delays could pile up; my company needed to provide a lot of deliverables to Naveed and his team in order for them to move on, whether that was verbiage or approval for designs. Make sure you’re available to review those things and provide those assets to keep the project moving smoothly.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the founder and director of marketing of Townie Branding, a branding merchandising company that build merchandise lines for various industries.

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group?

We were trying to refresh our digital strategy to help us break into different industries and increase customer acquisition. We brought on Usman Group to help us with the website layout and design and development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, they helped us create our go-to-market strategies. We underwent a lengthy discovery process to identify our core business objectives. Together, we identified target markets and used that information to create marketing funnels and optimize our site design. Then they redesigned and developed our site to improve the landing pages and make it easy to edit. They ensured the site was SEO-friendly and we could easily track the bounce rate. Since then, they’ve hosted our site. After development was complete, we launched ads to attract leads.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Naveed (Founder) and he brought on a designer and developer.

How did you come to work with Usman Group?

A friend of mine worked with them on a marketing website for his company and had a really good experience. When I was looking for a development partner, he referred me to them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $12,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from June–December 2019.

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

The new site has helped us earn more leads, which in turn will lead to more revenue. Usman Group did a really good job for a reasonable price.

How did Usman Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Naveed handled everything well. Even when we were working with other members of the team, he checked in to make sure everything was going well and meeting our expectations. They were extremely prompt and efficient.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a wide breadth of knowledge. Everyone on the team has either worked for a startup or founded a startup, so whether they’re a designer, developer, or business expert, they bring a lot of expertise to their role outside of their primary function. That was really helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they did a really good job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t just think of them as a digital service provider. They have a strong background in business development, so you can get a lot more out of your project if you work with them to align your business and digital marketing strategy.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an engineering program manager for a micro-manufacturer of medical devices.

What challenge were you trying to address with Usman Group?

Our website was outdated, to say the least. As a small company, the website was an easy way for us to promote ourselves. That was one reason why we wanted to update everything.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Usman Group started fresh and worked on our brand from start to finish. We sent our guidelines for the brand into a portal and then designers gave us multiple designs. We then selected our top designs and moved forward with the best one. After that, we secured our colors, logos, and fonts. Their team then moved on to a complete website redesign.

We’re now in phase two. They’re analyzing the website to understand how users engage with the it. Their team’s also trying to promote our name on search engines and creating content like FAQ sheets.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Naveed (Principal & CEO), Jeanie (Content Strategies Consultant), and one more person from their team.

How did you come to work with Usman Group?

Our management team found Naveed and looked into a couple of other options. Eventually, I acquired the project.

How much have you invested with them?

To update the website, we spent about $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2020 and launched the website in July. We’re now in phase two of the project.

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

The website’s in its infancy because it only launched in July. However, we have gotten leads from the new platform.

I’m not a developer. As a small company, everyone on the team has a lot of different responsibilities. It was nice to have Usman Group hold our hands along the way. We didn’t know exactly what we needed, and their team was helpful throughout the whole process.

How did Usman Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Naveed has a great system for managing his projects. Their team sets clear goals and makes everyone’s tasks clear. Naveed also responds to my phone calls and emails. Anything I need, he provides it.

During the website project, we had weekly meetings when we reviewed action items. It was a streamlined process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I don’t know much about how to build a website. Usman Group is helpful and explains processes, which is beneficial to our team.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything off the top of my head.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Maintain open communication with their team.