We Write Code

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager within the communications center for the Iowa Donor Network. We’re an organ procurement organization or OPO for short. We’re the only organ and tissue donation center in the state of Iowa. Our team receives referrals, speaks with families about the opportunity for donation, and completes paperwork helping recovery take place.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with We Write Code?

We’d received a grant to move forward with a project. We’re both an OPO and a licensed funeral home, so we have funeral directors on staff and communicate with funeral homes inside and outside of the state. We speak with them all hours of the day and all days of the years, and we wanted to streamline that communication and information through an application. That way, people won’t be interrupted as much. This will allow information on demand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They went above and beyond. They’ve taken the opportunity to meet and welcome us, as well as come to us. We started with brainstorming and hearing about our organization. We could tell they were prepared and had done some homework on what we do overall, which was very much appreciated. We’re now in a development phase for a web app where we’re getting sketches and making strong progress toward showing our team what this looks like.

We provided some drawings and described what we wanted the app to do, but they’ve carried the rest. Privacy is a concern for us, so they’re working with two of our team members to integrate information pulling tools so there isn’t any dual entry. They’re also handling the app’s design.

What is the team composition?

Most frequently, we work with Levi and Lauren, as well as two other gentlemen. They work together as a team to support us.

How did you come to work with We Write Code?

One of our team members knew about them and recommended them. We thought they would be a good fit and have been very pleased.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$100,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We met them when we were applying for the grant in early to mid-November 2019. Initially, we got screenshots for a presentation as part of our application in December. The work is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s been very successful thus far. We’re on track for our timeline. We had a date set for a funeral home advisory committee on April 9th where we could roll out where we were, and we were on track for that. Unfortunately, that meeting has been delayed due to everything going on, but they’ve done phenomenal work. They’ve delivered on everything, and we love how everything is progressing and looking. It’s even better than we envisioned it, with colors and displays. We’re really excited to see the end product and where it could go from there.

How did We Write Code perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re phenomenal to work with, hands-on. The communication is precise and direct and clear. They’re right on task. Lauren and Levi are very responsive. Most of our communication back and forth has been over email, but they’re very prepared in-person. They have all the tools necessary for all the questions we have. We’re very satisfied.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re relatable and intelligent people. You can tell they excel at what they do. Technology and development aren’t our areas of expertise, but it certainly is for them. They connected with our team and have been able to meet us where we’re at. They’ve developed relationships with us because they’re inviting. High-level integrity and a strong work ethic are two more things.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing has stood out thus far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The initial meeting where you’re getting to know the key players is vital. Getting to know each other builds that mutual trust. It gets you off on the right foot and helps streamline things.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a wearable technology safety company that produces hardware that users can check out at the beginning of their workday at a potentially dangerous job. The device then monitors environmental conditions as well as motion to ensure that the user is safe throughout their day. If it detects something dangerous, data is sent to our cloud platform. From there, facilities managers and look into reports and analyze our data on the safety of their work environment. I’m the director of software development, so I oversee all of our developers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with We Write Code?

We’d done a pilot program with early adopting customers and received plenty of great feedback and direction. It seemed like people were using our app in ways we didn’t expect, so we needed to redesign the UX and adjust some functionality to reflect how the app was being used.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It was a combination of a UI/UX exercise and an Angular frontend development project. That way, we could just plug-and-play the design assets they provided for us. Our engineers could then create new endpoints to feed data into them. So, we handled the backend while they focused on frontend updates. 

The first phase was the design phase. Once we approved the design, they started to build them out into code components. They used Figma for the wireframes and our Ionic and Angular frontend stack. From there, we deployed it to Google Cloud.  

What is the team composition?

We worked with the CEO and a front-end developer and designer. 

How did you come to work with We Write Code?

I worked with their designer previously and love her work. My reason for hiring them was mostly to work with her again. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $45,000 on the work. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from January–February 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been able to monitor their work closely through a GitHub branch that we own, and we’ve been happy with all of their work. They completed everything a little under budget, so we requested that they expand the scope a bit because we’re enthusiastic about what they were able to provide. After showing off the new design to our pilot testers, we’ve heard that they’re excited to get their hands on the new dashboard as well.  

How did We Write Code perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s been easy to manage. If something comes up that seems to be out of scope, they quickly identified that and indicated that the task would add extra time to their development. We kept pretty open lines of communication through Slack, email, and Google Hangouts.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

They produced modular code that can be reused throughout the application. We didn’t even specify that we needed that. They made sure to produce products that best fit our situation, going above and beyond to deliver. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything’s been very smooth. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Define your requirements well, and they’ll deliver on them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an account executive for Pitchly Inc, a SaaS and platform that provides back-office automation and support for global law and accounting firms. We offer data aggregation, streamlined presentations, and form creation among other functionalities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with We Write Code?

We engaged We Write Code to help us launch some of our MVPs, which are just a few among our library of apps for businesses.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Giving the team very little documentation, we tasked We Write Code with delivering a custom document-creation app. We gave them vague specifications and asked them to develop in Meteor, an open-source JavaScript platform.

We launched a six-week sprint, but they completed and deployed that MVP in just five weeks. They handled both design and the backend work. The most recently completed MVP is currently in QA.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a team lead, a senior developer, and a junior developer.

How did you come to work with We Write Code?

I met one of their developers at a dog park. We found out that we share the same co-working office. It’s hard to find developers in Des Moines, especially ones that work in relatively obscure languages like Meteor, so we began working together.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent somewhere around $100,000 in the last four months.

What is the status of this engagement?

That specific project lasted between November–December of 2019, but we have an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve successfully sold the product, which customers have expressed their satisfaction with. Thanks to the success of their work, our relationship is growing stronger as we continue to engage them for more projects. Although we take security—because we handle lots of financial data—very seriously, we’ve never had any issues.

How did We Write Code perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication and collaborative skills are their strongest suit. They’ve made it very easy for us—they do mostly everything, from development to deployment. We feel that it’s been a very beneficial relationship for us. They always get it done, and it always works. We mostly communicate via Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their speed, professionalism, and cost-value ratio are all phenomenal. They build stable apps that are ready to be deployed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Talk to them soon, because they’re always busy, and they’re bound to get busier as they continue to grow.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the COO of Prepit, an educational platform geared towards helping teachers prepare students for advanced exams (i.e., AP tests). 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with We Write Code?

We reached out to We Write Code to build our web-based educational platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided We Write Code with the project specifications and requirements, and they developed the web-based platform from scratch in different phases. 

What is the team composition? 

We worked with Levi (Partner, We Write Code), connecting with him at least once a week throughout the engagement. 

How did you come to work with We Write Code?

One of my colleagues found them either through a Facebook forum or entrepreneurial group. After speaking to them, we felt they were the best fit compared to others we considered. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $70,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

They worked on the project from around January–April 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don't have any success stories to report yet, but we were very happy with their deliverables overall. We may have some partnerships underway that we expect will lead to positive results. 

How did We Write Code perform from a project management standpoint?

They managed the project very well. They were very accessible through Slack throughout the project phases. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're good communicators and willing to go the extra mile for their customers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind.