Vokal

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief experience officer and senior VP of membership and marketing of the American Medical Association.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vokal?

Vokal handles our mobile app development efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There are other people in our organization who have worked with them as well, I’m just speaking to my division. The original project was the development of our AMA Connect mobile app. We’ve since been through two iterations of it and now continue to do maintenance.

Currently, we’re working on a strategy process to look at what the next phase of the platform will be. We’re very excited about that. Also, we’ve worked with Vokal on the development of an Alexa Skill for our daily email that goes out to hundreds of thousands of positions.

What is the team composition?

Their core team is comprised of about 10 individuals.

How did you come to work with Vokal?

I had met their CEO through other channels so when we were looking for a mobile app developer, we included Vokal in our RFP. They work with a lot of other organizations and tech companies, and we ultimately ended up selecting them to do the work. Their team was the right size for us.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement began in November 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re tracking our mobile app usage metrics. Our download rate has increased three times year-over-year, our Alexa Skill usage is at about 1,000 users a month, and our website has about 5,000 visitors per month. We have a targeted audience of physicians so we’re very happy with the results. Our team is very pleased with Vokal, and we continue to use them for that very reason. It’s very easy to work with them, and they work very fast.

What I really like about Vokal is that I get a lot of attention from their senior leadership. I have a ton of respect for their CEO in terms of what he brings to the table. And this doesn’t just pertain to what happens during the project, it’s been an ongoing relationship where he gives me advice and has introduced me to a broader set of the tech community here in Chicago.

I really like their planning process. They’re not the kind of organization that someone hands them an order and says do this. Vokal’s process of development is to get to a clear vision of something that’s going to be meaningful work. They’ll tell me when something I want will not be meaningful in terms of delivery metrics. There’s a great deal of trust, and I like their strategy process.

I’ve recommended Vokal to a number of other people in my organization, and one of the referrals turned into an engagement. They’re very easy for me to recommend because I trust them so much. I’m confident when I recommend them to my colleagues because I know they’ll get great work at a reasonable cost and that it won’t be a never-ending process to get started. In fact, it’s easy to get a new project started for anyone in our organization because of our master services agreement.

There’s a renew flow for our membership. We create a small project and turn it over to Vokal. They then quickly evaluate it and deliver back a plan for how they’d improve it. Sometimes, having an external set of eyes can point out a lot of things we don’t see; despite the fact that we think about them all day.

How did Vokal perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very strong in project management. The Vokal team has a number of individual contributors around analytics, testing, and other strong advice. They run a tight ship and always deliver on time. My CFO pays very close attention to our digital initiative so it’s really important that we deliver on time and on budget. Vokal has never missed a deadline or gone over budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The work is very solid and strategic, especially for the size of their organization. We had a lot of choices in terms of which direction we could take our app in. I didn’t expect that level of exploration or their valuable counsel.

As we looked to iterate on the app, Vokal was very clear about what they thought would be worth doing and not doing. As a comparison, other organizations might not push back because it’s not in their best interest to do so. However, Vokal is dedicated to making a difference.

What’s more, their CEO is very well-connected here in Chicago. He knows everyone in the tech community. If there’s anything I need or anybody I need to be introduced to, he’ll make that happen.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any areas that need improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Vokal is not the kind of company that takes orders from you like a restaurant. You go in, and they’ll work with you to get to a strategy. Be open and ready for collaboration with people who are really smart and get their space.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a senior director at a large industrial distributor. We operate in the B2B space and focus on maintenance, repair, and operational supplies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vokal?

We were working with a vendor that was no longer a true partner to us, so we were looking for a new company to help us develop a mobile application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked with our in-house team to build a mobile application, developing mobile architecture and overseeing the work from the engineering standpoint. The application is compatible with both iOS and Android.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with about 10 members of their team. They're open to feedback and work with us to place the right people on our account.

How did you come to work with them?

I met them through networking a few years ago. After I saw some examples of their work, I decided to give them a chance.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $5–$10 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them October 2013 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app ranks high in Apple Store and the reviews have been very positive. Our Android application was rated one of the six great mobile apps by a tech publication.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very responsive. We never had any concerns about missing our deadlines. It was a collaborative process and they became our true partner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're great listeners and understand all of our needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vice president of engineering for a healthcare startup that focuses on remote patient acute care. We offer a technology that identifies anomalies and physiology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vokal?

We needed to augment our internal team to gain additional expertise. We’ve worked with them on a number of projects, typically relying on their team for UI design and mobile development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For our first engagement, they helped integrate a wireless solution center into our mobile application. Next, we wanted to redo our existing web application, so their team took care of UX/UI design, providing mockups and high-resolution wireframes.

Another engagement involved development of a complex mobile application for Tizen. We lacked the in-house capabilities, so Vokal’s team helped us build a solution for collecting sensor data from Samsung wearable devices and uploading the information to our platform. They’ve also augmented our internal staff on Android phone projects, and we reach out to them whenever we have a work backlog.

What is the team composition?

We were assigned a project manager who was responsible for billing, scheduling, and sprint planning. We also had direct contact with a technical resource who took lead on our projects.

How did you come to work with Vokal?

One of our internal developers knew one of Vokal’s senior developers, so they rose to the top of our consideration list because of that personal reference. I also liked that, like us, they were a small firm, guaranteeing agility and responsiveness. We didn’t have the formal requirement forms larger firms often expect, but Vokal was willing to work with us to draft those documents.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between August 2013–February 2018. We plan to use them again in the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The early projects were prototypes for a large grant we received. Both of these projects converted. Their design and development work consistently met our expectations.

How did Vokal perform from a project management standpoint?

One of the things that convinced us to hire Vokal was their combination of flexibility and strong project management. It was clear from day one that they were both detailed and adaptable. They came prepared to our initial engagement with a template that we could modify and they’re constantly seeking new ways to improve. Despite their small size, they offered the project management expertise of a mature company.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As we’ve grown from a startup, we’ve gone through a number of cycles that included unexpected increases in our workload. Vokal has always been there for us, assisting at a moment’s notice with any challenges we face.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We have a unique setup wherein our internal engineers work in parallel with their team members. Some improvements could be made in how our teams communicate.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When evaluating contractors, it’s important to ensure they have the technical talent and management skills necessary to get the job done.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and Founder of a FinTech startup. We offer an automated investing platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vokal?

I needed to develop our product after founding the company, but lacked the internal staff to do so. I engaged Vokal to assist with the early stages of development as I built up my staff.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were a helpful partner in the beginning stages. We have web, iOS, and Android versions of our application, and they helped with the initial UI development, organization, and the scoping of engineering requirements.

They produced a number of wireframes which formed the project’s scaffolding, and then handed those plans to our development team.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a team of five or six, including a project manager, designer, and two people focused on wireframe UI work. Their engineering team also added commentary to help us determine our project’s full potential.

How did you come to work with Vokal?

It was a recommendation from within our local tech community. We’d heard very positive reviews.

How much have you invested with them?

About $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between May 2015–September 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They recruited a high-caliber team that pointed our project in the right direction.

How did Vokal perform from a project management standpoint?

They used Basecamp to coordinate the project and Azure to create the wireframes.

The nice thing about Vokal is they're not a giant agency. They're passionate about their clients and are eager to do a good job at an affordable rate, so they scope projects to benefit the businesses they serve.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re committed to the success of their clients. They were attentive, responsive to our needs, and always eager to apply their expertise toward our goals.

Are there any areas they could improve?

While they accomplished every task we set, they could have been better about anticipating the project’s future needs. Had they laid out a long-term scope, we might have continued working with them throughout.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a large national energy provider. We perform retail services but are also a large generator and distributor of electricity in a number of states in the Midwest and East Coast. I am the chief technology officer of the company responsible for strategy and driving technology change across a large distribution of systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vokal?

We’ve used them for a number of different initiatives, all of which have 3 common elements: 1) they involve either the workforce or external customers, 2) intuitive UI/UX design which takes into account how customers want to approach the business problem and make technology easier for them and, 3) solving business problems we hadn’t solved before.

We were rolling out a brand new mobile solution which would enable our workforce to be more effective. We had a field team who wasn’t familiar with mobile technologies and wasn’t as efficient as they could’ve been. We needed to approach them based on where and how they were and engage them in a more fulfilling experience.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Vokal helped us go through an assessment of our workforce and problem, providing a psychological review of how the solution would work from a functionality and technology standpoint. We worked backward into a solution design for connecting with our workforce in a more intuitive way, designing the app and rolling it out. It was a thorough experience.

They offer a number of solutions and technologies. We’ve historically used Vokal for our web and mobile environments, the digital workforce, and customer-related initiatives. They’ve done around six projects with us since around 2012.

What is the team composition?

It varies based on the project. For design, we used a single person from their team, but during development, 3–4 people from Vokal worked with ours. These have been smaller engagements but important for us in terms of how many people a solution touches.

How did you come to work with Vokal?

At the time, finding local firms that had end-to-end digital transformation skillsets was challenging. It was in 2012, but it’s even more so today. They are a local Chicago company, and our CIO at the time knew theirs. He introduced Vokal to me. We tried them out on a small engagement and found them to be a diamond in the rough. As we continued to work with them, they’ve proven their worth.

How much have you invested with them?

A ballpark total for their work is $2 million–$3 million. Our projects have not been massive in scale but rather more surgical.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Vokal in late 2012 or early 2013. We just finished an assessment for our commercial business, which is looking to go into the next phase. I don’t know if we have work with Vokal at the moment, but they are being considered for digital transformation projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was one of our first workforce enablement apps, and Vokal did a phenomenal job helping us with it. They’re instrumental in not only creating beautiful mobile app solutions from start to finish, but they also understand the larger digital space in terms of truly delighting users in a way which truly propels our business. Vokal is a partner we go to for higher-end digital transformation work, both on the process and technology sides.

They’ve either built new products which hadn’t existed in our company or renovated old solutions which were lacking. In each case, the internal client feedback has been very good. This speaks volumes, more than metrics would. After about 6 engagements, Vokal is still being asked back.

When we look at firms to engage with for digital work, while we can turn to the big integrators, we don’t get as consistent or as high-quality workforce. There will be 1 or 2 skilled people along with some who are really learning on our dime. With Vokal, we’ve had passionate and experienced people coming to the table, which may not be a hard metric but it’s the impression we’ve had over the years.

How did Vokal perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked collaboratively with our existing business and IT teams, instead of requiring handling of the full development. Vokal integrated with the business and IT experts on the client side, meeting us halfway. At the end of the day, we needed the ability to support our solution long-term.

One of the advantages of working with a firm like Vokal is that they are flexible in their approach, and they think about the solution in terms of the capabilities they want to leave behind. Are there microservices which can be reused in our context? Are there atrophying technologies which would best be re-engineered or refreshed? They gave us different options to look at to make sure we made effective use of our technology across the enterprise. They constantly think strategically even though they act within prescribed solutions.

Our projects haven’t been on a mass scale, but the difficulty can still be substantial. We might find that a lot of the knowledge, either on the business or the IT side, for different components isn’t there. We have to have good project management and experts to come in, learn what they have to learn, and put the pieces together. For the types of projects we’ve done with Vokal on the digital side, they’re very good at delivering on time and on budget, within the customer experience we’re looking for.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of the people they bring in and their comprehensive nature is impressive. Vokal has the ability to take us from the concept stage through to user and technical design, development, testing, and rollout. The strong integration and partnership capability, the skillset of their workforce, and consistently high quality make them stand out.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that I’ve seen.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It’s important to engage with the team in a way that doesn’t over-define the solution, especially for undergoing a digital transformation project. Be in love with the problem you bring them, but let their expertise in human factor design and technology come to the table. Listen to those, rather than pre-deciding what you want.