We are a software design and development shop in Boston. Our combination of expertise and flexibility allows us to develop responsive web applications, native mobile apps, and messaging bots with equal proficiency/efficiency. We have a long track record working with Rails, Node, Ember, and React; however, our effectiveness is not restricted to those technologies. A focus on strong working relationships and positive results translates across programming languages. We have expertise up and down the development stack — we strive to delight our clients equally with a smooth, painless deployment process as with beautiful front-end and API design.
We’ve adopted a design-first, iterative process where UX and visual design work in tandem to build applications that aren’t just beautiful and functional — they actually meets users’ needs. Our user experience process helps optimize the usability of a product, and our visual design enhances this. In the initial steps towards a purposeful product, we identify the market and understand the users. Design research helps us determine the right features in order to develop successful applications. Continuous user testing keeps us focused on solving real problems and delivering meaningful user experiences. We research, conceptualize, reflect, and iterate to create holistic design systems. We consider the relationship, purpose and functionality of elements such as color, hierarchy, proportions, and typography to enhance usability.
$25,000+
$150 - $199 / hr
10 - 49
Boston, MA
Founded 2001
1 Locations
Boston , MA
Total Reviews
3
Average Referral Rating
5.0
/5
Most Common Project Size
$50,000 to $199,999
$XX,XXX – $XXX,XXX
Focus
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Highly Rated Similar Providers
Vermonster Review Insights
Overall Review Rating
5.0
Quality
4.8
Schedule
5.0
Cost
5.0
Willing to Refer
5.0
Top Mentions
Review Highlights
Strong Technical Expertise
Vermonster demonstrated strong technical skills across various projects, including healthcare data-driven platforms and AI-based applications. Their knowledge of the latest health IT standards and custom software development received high praise.
Flexibility and Adaptability
Vermonster was commended for their flexibility, accommodating shifting schedules and stepping in on short notice when needed. This adaptability was crucial for clients facing internal delays or sudden changes.
Excellent Communication
Vermonster’s team was noted for their excellent communication skills, making complex technological concepts easily understandable for clients. This transparency and openness fostered trust and collaboration.
Effective Project Management
Clients praised Vermonster’s project management, highlighting their proactive approach, detailed scheduling, and regular updates. This helped keep projects on track and made the process easier for clients lacking technical project management experience.
User-Centered Design
Vermonster’s focus on user-centered design and extensive user testing contributed to the success of their projects. This approach ensured that the final products were user-friendly and met the needs of the target audience.
"They went above and beyond in terms of bringing us more features than we had initially thought possible.”
Feb 28, 2018
Boston University School of Medicine
Alex Sheng
Education
Boston, Massachusetts
10,001+ Employees
Phone Interview
Verified
Vermonster designed and developed a website as a note-taking tool for medical school students. Other features include a heat map and a community feed to monitor where and how learning takes place.
The well-received website improves student learning and satisfaction. Vermonster’s patience, flexibility, and ability to communicate difficult technological concepts in an easily understood way are hallmarks of their high-value, low-cost work.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this
client over the phone. Below is an edited
transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m on the faculty at Boston University’s School of Medicine.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with Vermonster?
We wanted to build a website to provide our learners a note-taking tool to log their learning experiences while they're at work.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
They were involved from the initial design process and they did all of the backend development. In addition to the note-taking tool, there's a learning portfolio and a community feed where people can see what their peers are learning. We also wanted a heat map so we could see where learning is happening in our environment, and they were able to provide that as well.
What is the team composition?
We worked with about five of their developers, designers, and project managers.
How did you come to work with Vermonster?
They were referred to us from Boston University.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent about $60,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in May 2016 and the web platform launched in August 2016.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The site is very sustainable and doing well. We did qualitative interviews with our learners and found that they really enjoy it and think it's very helpful for their learning. Right now it's just used by our department but we hope to expand it very soon.
How did Vermonster perform from a project management standpoint?
I thought they were fantastic. We met at their office multiple times and they came to our department to see how learning takes place. That really helped them to visualize how the project would work. They went above and beyond in terms of bringing us more features than we had initially thought possible due to our limited funding.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Their people are really down to earth. They communicate well and are very open about their entire process. They did a good job of really getting us involved.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, I don’t think so.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
I can't think of anything.
RATINGS
5.0
Quality
5.0
Service & Deliverables
"They delivered on exactly what they said they’d do."
Schedule
5.0
On time / deadlines
"They worked fast and finished ahead of schedule."
Cost
5.0
Value / within estimates
"I have no personal experience but the BU team said their costs were very reasonable."
Willing to Refer
5.0
NPS
"I would definitely recommend them.
Development for Clinical Decision Support
Custom Software Development
$1,000,000 to $9,999,999
Feb. 2013 - Feb. 2018
5.0
Quality
5.0
Schedule
5.0
Cost
5.0
Willing to Refer
5.0
"This is a very advanced development shop that delivers."
Feb 21, 2018
VP of Clinical Decision Support, McKesson Specialty Health
Hank Head
Healthcare
Durham, North Carolina
10,001+ Employees
Online Review
Verified
Vermonster built multiple healthcare data-driven platforms, including a mobile app incorporating complex AI functionality.
Vermonster's development expertise and understanding of health informatics shone through in this complicated endeavor. They managed the large project fluidly, cost-effectively, and in a way that engaged all key stakeholders. They're a top choice for subsequent engagements.
The client submitted this review online.
BACKGROUND
Please describe your company and your position there.
We create point-of-care clinical decision support tools for treatment selection in complex disease areas.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
For what projects/services did your company hire Vermonster?
We brought them on for architecture and development of guidelines for an authoring platform, a point-of-care web service, and an application that can be launched from the doctor's medical record.
What were your goals for this project?
Ultimately, we want 20% of cancer treatment decisions to be evidence-based and 10% to be value-based.
SOLUTION
How did you select this vendor?
I met them at a Ruby Meetup in Boston. After that, we gave them a small test project to ascertain their fitness for future projects.
Describe the project in detail.
The platform uses CDS Hooks to launch an app from the physician medication order screen. The app looks up patient data from the electronic health record, then passes it to the AI engine. The engine analyzes the patient data against guidelines and other sources, then suggests evidence-based therapy options.
Later, we measure and report on compliance with the evidence for payers and providers who share the risk in value-based care agreements.
What was the team composition?
It varied from 4–8 developers, designers, and key health informatics architects. All team members had or now have significant experience in the latest health IT standards (e.g., Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources [FHIR]).
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What outcomes or results can you share that demonstrate progress and/or success?
We met the business and clinical objectives for the product and have published the results. The tools now enable us to measure over 85% of concordance with the evidence base for the most critical and expensive treatment selections in all of healthcare.
How effective was the project management?
Their use of the latest agile and user-centered design approaches were highly effective and collaborative.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
They were able to produce high-value, high-quality apps for large-scale commercial deployment without a hiccup. This is a very advanced development shop that delivers.
What tips or recommendations do you have?
Keep lean at the Epic planning level (not just feature and story) to avoid what the Japanese might call mura, the type of waste that comes from getting too far ahead of what other teams can integrate with.
RATINGS
5.0
"They're the best health IT shop we have worked with."
Quality
5.0
Service & Deliverables
"They're a a leading dev shop for health informatics."
Schedule
5.0
On time / deadlines
"They used the latest lean/agile methods."
Cost
5.0
Value / within estimates
"You get great value if you please the users."
Willing to Refer
5.0
NPS
"They're my top referral—unless I need more help.
Facebook & Slack Chatbot Dev for Publishing Firm
Custom Software Development
Confidential
Apr. 2016 - Ongoing
5.0
Quality
4.5
Schedule
5.0
Cost
5.0
Willing to Refer
5.0
"My colleagues and I have nothing but positive things to say about our experience."
Feb 13, 2018
Senior Editor, Publishing Firm
Anonymous
Publishing
Massachusetts, United States
201-500 Employees
Phone Interview
Verified
Vermonster created a pair of experimental chatbots for a publishing firm. They provided UX design and development. The solution also involved extensive research and user tests.
Both bots gained an engaged audience that interacts on a daily basis. Vermonster worked collaboratively with an in-house team and took a proactive stance to organize the project. They offered competitive pricing and their flexibility allowed them to quickly adjust to a shifting schedule.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this
client over the phone. Below is an edited
transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m a Senior Editor with a publishing firm. I write and edit, but also work on our innovation projects.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with Vermonster?
We publish content on a variety of platforms and we’re always on the lookout for the next opportunity. We decided to experiment with chatbots and needed a firm to help outline and develop the project.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
We zeroed in on Slack since this was an environment we were already familiar with. Vermonster helped us conduct research to determine how users would interact with our bot. We wrote a few basic scripts based on the results and then conducted user tests, with a human mimicking the bot’s role.
They worked alongside our in-house UX designers and developers to build the bot, which our users can now install to receive content through Slack.
Following the success of this initial project, we hired Vermonster to build a similar chatbot for Facebook Messenger.
They continue to add improvements to both bots and provide ongoing maintenance.
What is the team composition?
We worked directly with two or three developers and a UX researcher. One person also managed our contract.
How did you come to work with Vermonster?
Someone on our tech team recommended two firms once we realized the project was beyond our internal capabilities. We conducted interviews and decided to go with Vermonster because they were competitively priced and seemed to share our vision.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in April 2016 and our relationship is ongoing. We launched the Slack bot in September 2016 and re-engaged them in the spring of 2017.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
While both bots are still in the prototype phase, with plenty of room for growth, we’ve gotten good feedback from users. People interact with the chatbots on a daily basis, and while we have a small user base at this time, our metrics show that our audience is highly engaged and happy with the product.
The bots also received positive mentions in a number of news outlets.
How did Vermonster perform from a project management standpoint?
As an editor, I don’t have a lot of experience in managing technology projects. Vermonster recognized that they would have to take lead and played a very proactive role to keep the project on track. They outlined a detailed schedule and arranged daily standups to share their progress. We also spoke on a weekly basis to discuss long-term priorities. They did an excellent job and made my life easier.
We met in person a couple of times during the engagement, but we mostly interacted over video calls.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Not only were they pleasant to work with, but they also went above and beyond to meet our hectic schedule. We had to pause the project a couple of times as we waited for investment approval, and the delays created a sense of urgency once we started up again. This kind of schedule isn’t ideal, but Vermonster really accommodated us.
More recently, our internal developer moved on to another job. We contacted Vermonster and they were willing to step in with no forewarning to take over maintenance. Their flexibility has been a huge advantage for us.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I can’t think of anything. We're very pleased and continue to work with them based on their results.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Our first engagement could have gone smoother if we’d been more prepared on our end. Having a clear schedule and a better idea about the UX resources needed relative to development would have improved productivity. Vermonster got us on track, but it helps to already have an outline.
RATINGS
5.0
"My colleagues and I have nothing but positive things to say about our experience."
Quality
4.5
Service & Deliverables
"We're really happy with the bots they built for us."
Schedule
5.0
On time / deadlines
"They worked within difficult scheduling constraints."
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