UXDivers

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide software solutions for our customers in the beverage alcohol industry. We have ~60 employees. As the VP of Product Development, I oversee development projects and the software engineering team focused on our different products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The GreatVines mobile application was originally built without any framework. This created challenges for development as it was difficult to onboard new developers, outsource projects within the codebase, made it difficult to test the code, and resulted in an unstable mobile application. We hired UXDivers to provide us with a team of proficient senior ReactJS engineers, to help in the conversion project. Our goal was to refactor our mobile app codebase into ReactJS.

SOLUTION

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

Our CEO recommended them through a recommendation from a board member that had worked with them previously. We had be struggling to find a vendor with strong engineers at a reasonable price.

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

Our mobile application is a PWA (Progressive Web App) with about 20 screens. All of the front-end views needed to be refactored into a functional and component based design, utilizing the ReactJS framework. Our lead software engineer was responsible for defining the technical requirements and architectural design. The UXDivers team was responsible for executing the project. The project was broken into sprints, with different functional areas of the app. The team used Jira to track tasks and sprints, and used Slack as the primary method of communication.

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

There were 4 developers, with 3 senior to mid-level React engineers, and one junior-level engineer. We also worked with one of the owners in a project resource oversight role.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall code quality was great, and the team was able to adapt to our processes and technical direction quickly. The project was completed within the expected timeframe.

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

We managed the project, and only interacted with their management team regarding resource issues (such as upcoming time off). The tools we used were all our internal tools, not tools provided by UXDivers. But we used Jira, Slack, and Google primarily. The team joined a morning scrum call every week day, to keep everyone informed on progress and blockers.

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

The team was knowledgeable and easy to work with. For a foreign company, this was a great benefit. Having them relatively aligned with US working hours was also hugely beneficial for meetings and getting them onboarded to the project.

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

The only thing that comes to mind is that UXDivers offered to provide a junior dev to the project at no cost, in order to give this person an opportunity to grow. We agreed to have him. However, in hindsight, our lead engineer struggled with having to conduct code reviews and provide him feedback. While it did offer some additional resources, we didn't manage the level of experience to his assigned tasks well, and that caused additional stress and time from our lead engineer.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an international business based in France. We’re a stationery manufacturer; our main business is the production of notebooks, diaries, writing products, and everything to organize the paper. I have two roles: product manager for some of our notebooks and the product owner of a mobile application.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UXDivers?

We needed to update our mobile app, which allows users to scan and digitalize their handwritten notes and manipulate them digitally. We developed the app in 2016 with an in-house team of developers. In 2021, we realized we needed to update our product completely, from the UX/UI design to the technology it was built with. We didn’t have the skills to do it within the company, so we decided to look for an external vendor. 

We knew this was a complex project since we sell different products with different features in the app. The old version of the app was our reference, so we knew exactly what we wanted to change.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

UXDivers designed and developed our mobile app. The project had various phases. First, we had several meetings with UXDivers to ensure they understood our company and all the aspects of this project. The second phase was the design part, where UXDivers designed the workflows, the UX, and the mobile app’s notifications.

They used Xamarin for development and Figma for design. Our team is currently testing the app, and after this, we’ll test it with the existing users from the previous version.

How did you come to work with UXDivers?

We used Microsoft tools to develop the mobile app. We came across UXDivers and noticed they work with Xamarin, so we contacted them.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with UXDivers from April 2021–October 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're still testing the mobile app within the company, so we don't have metrics yet. We have an internal team specifically for the mobile app, and our entire company has about 2,300 employees, so the testing process will last through January 2023. Additionally, since this was an update to the app's previous version, we'll test it with the existing users starting at the end of January 2023. 

How did UXDivers perform from a project management standpoint?

We didn't have a timeframe when we started because of the project's complexity. Our communication with UXDivers was excellent — they were very responsive.

They introduced us to Figma in the early stages of the project, when we'd communicate through Zoom meetings. During that discovery phase, we would meet 2–3 times a week. Later, we used InVision to share updates and design proposals during the design phase. UXDivers sent us an email whenever they had progress to show us, and we could check it and comment on the platform. They used the appropriate project management tools that helped us throughout this process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

UXDivers' capacity to work with complex projects impressed me the most. They've developed many different apps, and I was surprised they understood our project, even though they're not in the paper business. Their intellectual flexibility and ability to manage complicated projects were outstanding. 

Moreover, UXDivers taught us a lot about UX/UI design since we don't have specialists in our company, and they also helped us question the reasoning behind our project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything for UXDivers to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd advise future customers to do what we did during the discovery phase, where we met several times to ensure UXDivers understood our company and objectives. Our project was complex, and we couldn't communicate everything in one meeting, so we had about 20 meetings to ensure they understood all the aspects. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Development Director, Marketing Solutions Company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UXDivers?

We wanted to optimize the partner for the UI/UX design of our software development process for our mobile apps.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We searched online for the best UI/UX development teams in our price range and worked with the Xamarin forms platform. We interviewed the top two and made the decision based on design skills and expertise in Xamarin.

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

Their team interviewed users and the dev team about how we were looking to change the existing design of our mobile app. They came back within in a week with several design prototypes. We selected a design and then began iterating through each module together implementing them into our alpha version of the app. Along the way they were readily available by email for any technical or design issue or question.

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

My team worked directly with the project manager and the UI/UX designers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are extremely pleased with the outcome of the upgraded UI/UX design for our in-house custom app our company uses for data collection and field workforce optimization and communication.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project manager was easy to communicate with and provided us weekly updates in a project update meeting. We had all of our meetings online and the team was flexible with the time of day and day of the week for the meetings.

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

Their UI/UX design skills were very good, and their established framework for Xamarin made the process even faster. They were also flexible in how we wanted to work with their team providing the UX design ready for us to plug into our existing pages and our team simply needed to wire them up.

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

For some of the bugs, update requests having a ticket/bug system may have helped follow-up.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a software solutions company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UXDivers?

We wanted to optimize our channels of software development, and our UI/UX piece was an intriguing aspect for them to help backfill our team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

UXDrives are our go-to staff augmentation team for UI/UX design. For our current project, we were trying to design the mobile UI/UX for one of the apps we recently developed. We explained what our solution did and the market we were targeting. After that, we started the brainstorming process, and after a few sessions, they began to work on the project. Consequently, they came back to us with a few mockups designs for us, and once we landed in one of the models they provided, we went to tweak it to come up with the final product. 

In terms of technologies, they use InVision and Adobe for the design. Regarding the app's functionalities, it is a tracking iOS and Android app aimed at the manufacturing sector where users can punch in and out for the day, edit transactions, and do other related things. 

We’re currently coding the product to deploy it in the AppStore.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with Pablo (Tech Lead) and a technical and design team.

How did you come to work with UXDivers?

One of our developers met them at a Microsoft conference.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent $5,000–$10,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Implementing their product into development for Android and iOS has been seamless, which is important for us. That’s the real metric for us; we measure their success by how easy it is to transition and how much time and effort is saving us internally. Additionally, we haven’t noticed any bugs or crashes with what they developed.

How did UXDivers perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is excellent — communication has been great. In terms of tools, we use email and InVisionApp to provide back and forth feedback.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication and willingness to work through different tasks with us are outstanding. They work great in terms of understanding what we’re trying to accomplish and following through on that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

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

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Knowing exactly what you’re trying to achieve is very helpful for the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product owner for a services and software company in the utility industry. We provide geographic information systems (GIS) applications.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UXDivers?

We hired them to upgrade one of our legacy Windows applications. Before this project, we only had a Windows-based application, but we recently rolled out an iOS and Android app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first part of the project required them to reimagine our UI/UX. We worked with them closely to review our existing functionality. From, they built mockups and wireframes. Maintaining the underlying features and functions, like map navigation and data visualization, they delivered code that connected the UI to our software. Now we’re in the project’s third phase.

What is the team composition?

I worked with two people — Pablo (Co-Founder) and Leo (Co-Founder & CTO).

How did you come to work with UXDivers?

There was an RFP and my team evaluated several vendors. UXDivers was the best fit.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent a little less than $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2020 and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We plan to launch the app in May 2021. They’re currently working on cleaning up the platform and adding functionality. The majority of their work is spot-on. Early feedback from an alpha release has been great. Our development and services team have been very happy with their work.

Third-party vendors have a difficult time understanding our market — and they’re no exception — but they’ve done really well so far. They’re a great team.

How did UXDivers perform from a project management standpoint?

We were supposed to have meetings on a regular cadence, but that hasn’t really happened. We’ve addressed it with them, and so I think it will improve. We usually meet on Google Meet.

Their turnaround time is great, though. They’ve been able to go from concept to wireframes and mockups quickly. There was a lot of communication during that effort and that was very helpful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a creative bunch and they have a good handle on building mobile applications. The quality of their work is great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

First, they could improve their project management. On top of that, we struggled to translate our mockups to our functioning platform. There were some issues that we didn’t really understand until we tried to implement the code. In those instances, there was a misunderstanding in the workflow.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Establish a regular time to meet with them to keep the project on track.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a software developer and project lead at Mobotix, a security company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UXDivers?

We’re trying to create a new app with more future-oriented features. We needed development and UX/UI design completed.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave them mockups, and their team made adjustments and are implementing them. The team at UXDivers performed development and UX/UI design services for the app. The app is for security, and it’s built for iOS and Android. Users can add single or multiple cameras on a layout, record, and change settings.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two people: a co-founder and the head of development.

How did you come to work with UXDivers?

We tested a few different companies, and we found UXDivers to have the most stable and cohesive services.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested €30,000 (approximately $36,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with UXDivers from July–October 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team provided a lot of feedback about the look and feel. They made suggestions for improvements that we hadn’t considered. We like the structure of their codebase in various areas of implemented components.

How did UXDivers perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Balsamiq for mockups and InApp to view the page of an app. For meetings and appointments, we used Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

UXDivers worked to incorporate their ideas with ours for the best possible solutions. They met all of our requirements, striving to be accommodating.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could email for clarification rather than wait for a meeting. Things could keep moving along that way.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go for it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am one of the Managing Directors of Oops Group, a freight transportation company which operated in China, Malaysia and Singapore. Our company has about 30 employees and we serve both corporate and individual customers, handling shipping from China.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UXDivers?

We hired UXDivers to design and implement a new mobile application for our websites.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal for this project is to create a mobile application for our websites and give our users easier way to access our services.

SOLUTION

How did you select UXDivers?

We learned about UXDivers when we look for XAML templates for Xamarin.Forms. After reviewing their beautifully made Grial UI kit, we decided to contact them for mobile application development service.

Describe the project in detail.

To provide a user interface in mobile application for user to access our services.

What was the team composition?

I was assigned a Project Manager to support us and serve as the main point of contact throughout the project. I spoke with Project Manager most of the time, but I aware that there are 1 graphic designer and 2 developers behind the scenes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I received a lot of compliment from customers and almost all of them think that our service is easier to use on mobile applications than a website.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I am the only person who interacts with them. They are responsive and the workflow between us is smooth.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

UI design and coding. From the source code I received, I can see that they are professional. Even with zero experience in programming, we were able to easily understand what they are doing.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Yes. If they can provide a source code documentation, it will make project handover easier.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the operations director at Beshay Steel, a steel manufacturing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UXDivers?

We needed someone to help with UI design and implementation. The whole goal was to make everything fast and robust.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were implementing mobile apps that integrate with Apple TV and smartwatches. We had eight accessories that we needed them to implement and design code for. The platform we were building is for iOS and Android environments.

The apps are meant for internal use and our customers. It has an internal interface that shows dashboards and analytics that our engineers, staff, and managers can interact with. At the same time, there’s an interface with customers, and it interacts with the customers to complete the ordering process. It reacts to the production based on what needs to be produced and how. It gives all those analyses on the production’s best organization.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with four people.

How did you come to work with UXDivers?

We searched online and looked at references. We were choosing between three companies, and UXDivers stood out to us. After seeing their product quality and past clients, we hired them. Their design and coding levels were on a different level of experience.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018, and we’ve completed three different phases.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because of their hard work, the team exceeded expectations. It’s a long-term project split into phases. We’re now in discussions on another project with the CRM Salesforce system we have in place. We’re implementing this even further for the mobile aspect they’re helping with.

We’ve adapted a lot of people using our system, which implies users are happy. The internal team is pleased because with everything going on, they’re able to be more mobile and monitor everything from their phones and computers.

How did UXDivers perform from a project management standpoint?

While it’s a complex project, their team remains organized. They know how to manage a project. We rarely use email, communicating through Zoom, Facetime, and conference calls. We also use a design system that showcases our projects. Along with working fast, they’re organized. Everyone on their team is responsible for their part. They overlap, but each individual responsibility is well-known. If they commit to a particular time, they stick to it. I’m impressed with how efficiently they work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The UI is simply amazing. Their code is very well-organized.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have anything negative to say about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want and show them examples. Make sure you like the personality of the team. It’s critical to choose the right team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Activate Holdings LLC, a technology arm of a medical weight loss program. We’re taking the weight loss program that’s offered in physical offices and moving it to an online program.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UXDivers?

We wanted a beautifully designed user interface for our app that was easy to use, as well as for the Android and iOS versions to share a single code base.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did the UI/UX design for our app. We started with the wireframes and once they were approved, they moved onto the prototype which they delivered. We gave them a logo and a color scheme.

We gave them some really rough ideas of what we were looking for and what screens we needed to have for data collection. We left it to them to come up with the wireframes and the design.

Once we saw those, there was another round where we would go through and approve those screens or make suggestions for those wireframes. Once those screens were approved, they would then take those and create the final product.

What is the team composition?

I worked with the project manager and the lead developer.

How did you come to work with UXDivers?

I originally was going to do this myself. I found their website because they also sell a component to make screens inside the forms. I found them in a Google search and started using them for that. Then I noticed they offered this service.

I reached out to them and gave them the background of the product we were trying to put

How much have you invested with them?

$20,000-$40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August-November 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re petitioning them on some other projects and will be coming to us with bids.

How did UXDivers perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent. The communication was great. There were a few delays that happened but they were always letting us know before missing a deadline. It was never after the fact. They kept us in the loop of everything.

We mostly used email. Early on in the process, we used an online program to look at all the wireframes and to provide feedback to the wireframes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication and the speed at which they do good work is very impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes we had technical difficulties getting on a Google Hangout meeting. That was the biggest hiccup we ever had with them being on the other side of the world.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do your homework before engaging them. It’s a lot easier to understand exactly what you’re trying to accomplish with your projects.

If the specifications haven’t been set yet, there’s no sense of engaging them because it’s going to delay the process and frustrate everyone. The best is to have your full project specification completed before that next step.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the COO and manager of the project.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UXDivers?

We were looking to build a mobile application that was heavy on design and ease of use. We hired them for all design, creative and xamarin development.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We interviewed many vendors via zoom meetings and after going through them we felt UX Divers was the best fit for our team. They were very knowledgeable personable and enthusiastic about working on our project.

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

They created designs of each screen using resources we provided them and what we were looking to accomplish. We provided them examples from existing apps that we liked and components of them we want to use.

We had design meetings weekly for each workflow and went through a review and iteration process. Once we were satisfied we moved to development of each workflow.

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

We worked with their lead developer and head of development/program manager. Head designer and head of creative. We weekly worked with 4 team members.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were very pleased with the design and function of the app. The ease of the user experience was very polished and seamless. Our development team was able to take their deliverables and utilize them with minimum friction. We were able to begin user testing the new app.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We worked hand in hand with the team ensuring we were on track and updated our timeline and milestones as we went. The communication was excellent and we used slack to communicate daily on the status and progress.

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

Their energy and excitement in the team. The personalities of the team members really shined and their passion was apparent in our working together. They are experts at what they do and their creative and design team are exceptional.

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

We had great communication and we knew where the project was at all times. One of the obstacles we worked through was being in different time zones but there was nothing we could do about that.