WebbyLab

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO of a company that leads the indoor wellness revolution.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

WebbyLab has worked hand in hand with us for several years on building and evolving a state of the art modular platform Node based solution that can be embedded into devices (like RPi) or highly scalable Elastic Cloud deployments (using the same code base) as well as a flexible React App framework upon which we build multiple User Experiences across product offerings.

SOLUTION

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

We first met Webby through an industry partner, and because of our unique requirements for a new kind of platform, we had to make sure that the team clearly understood the long term goal

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

There is too much to list here, and we want to keep the details confidential. But for several years we have had 4 or more members of the Webby team working with us on a daily basis. This includes a minimum of 1, and at times two weekly status meetings that last over an hour, as well as daily standup meetings. We are EST time zone, and the team is in Ukraine. They adapted to our timezone and we kept real time communications through Slack, dev through GitHub, and feature and bug tracking through Jira.

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

A minimum of 4 people, but at times many more. Three core teams of embedded, Cloud and UX.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team FAR exceeded all expectations, and continues to delight us with work that is world class and increasingly optimized and flexible updates and evolutions to our platform. We consider this team as a part of our family, and that is a sentiment reflected at the highest level or our organization.

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

Fantastic project management. Estimates and tracking were done better than any other contractor we have engaged, and the team has become

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

Brilliant and creative team that is a natural extension and fit with our own in house team. They are easy and delightful to work with and respond well to my controlling nature. I have made it a point to personally and closely manage this work over these years, sometimes to the point of perhaps too controlling ... but no member of this team has been anything but professional and open minded to my direction.

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

Early into the engagement, we sometimes had communication issues .. and we had to course correct a few times. But that quickly fell away and now together with my internal dev team, we are a well oiled machine.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company provides risk assessment and due diligence services for farmers and traders when working with grain silos. Our services are also of interest to insurance companies and banks. We provide a full range of services to support purchase/sale transactions at grain silos. We help to make the transaction as safe as possible in the grain market, where defaults and fraud are very common.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a platform that would provide access to a large amount of specific data for users. The one that would have an intuitive user interface and a wide range of functionality at the same time. As well as advanced options for administration and flexible customization.

SOLUTION

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

I got a good reference from my old friend and after speaking to them about the idea we need to implement a few times, I decided to start this engagement. My decision was based on a feeling that they caught the idea, asked the right questions and understood particularities well.

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

They developed an admin panel for managing all the users, content and specific data with different filters, UI for end users with objects on Google map, request form, news etc.   

The main stages were: discovery - to write down all the functionality, requirements (including SEO), planning, design development, active development, testing, SEO adaptation, support while filling the content.  

 Technologies: React, Redux, Babel, Node.js,  Next.js, Sequelize,  Redis,  Exim,  MySQL, Google Maps, Google Authenticator

The Project Manager and Chief Business Development Officer were our main points of contact. They handled all the aspects of the project and provided valuable insights and possible improvement areas.

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

 The active development phase team consisted of 2 backend developers, 3 frontend developers and 1 QA-engineer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product was released in July and it’s too early to speak about the business outcome, but we are definitely satisfied with the quality and the ability to meet deadlines. We also plan to continue working on this product. 

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

They actively contribute to the product since the first initial call.

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

The team is communicative and very transparent. Also, they consult us regarding some technical questions even beyond the scope of work.

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

We haven’t had any problems in our cooperation.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Programme Manager working for a mobile app development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our company is undergoing a period of rapid product development and improvements. WebbyLab are supporting some of our projects and are providing React and PHP development skills to our existing team of developers and QA's.

Our goals are to make rapid product improvements in several areas and to create more features that support our customers' journeys.

SOLUTION

How did you select WebbyLab and what were the deciding factors?

WebbyLab were highly recommended to us by trustworthy sources.

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

Our projects are varied, we normally have handover sessions where requirements are outlined clearly and we have bi-weekly end of sprint progress reviews and demo sessions.

We have established good methods of communications with the team and are always updated when there are any blockers or projects are coming to an end and we need to plan the next piece of work into the pipeline.

The great majority of projects we have collaborated with WebbyLab required React skills, as well as PHP skills.

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

The Project Manager was our main point of contact. We also had 4 React developers, 1 PHP developer and 1QA tester.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our projects are not yet completed, but so far we have had very good feedback from some of our clients.

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

We have weekly stand-ups with the Project Manager and use channel based messaging platforms for any quick questions and queries. We have integrated the team in our JIRA boards and we have regular demo sessions and Q&A sessions with the WebbyLab team.

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

The team we are working with are very skilled and produce high quality work with great attention to details. They follow the requirements closely and flag any issues early which is very helpful especially when working with tight deadlines.

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

Some team members have better command of English than others, but we never had any issues and the team is always very helpful and accommodating with any new requests. We follow-up meetings with written actions so there is very little space for any misunderstandings.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

One of the largest Ukrainian online shop and marketplace. More than ten years of experience has allowed us to create close partnerships with a number of manufacturers, understand the needs and wishes of our customers, develop our own infrastructure for fast delivery and high-quality service.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Custom e-commerce retail web portal and marketplace development, business processes digitalization, ongoing support

SOLUTION

How did you select WebbyLab and what were the deciding factors?

via business partner recommendation

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

WebbyLab provides development including integrations with internal PIM system, accounting system, 3rd parties and continuous support of retail e-commerce portal and marketplace.

E-commerce portal has its own management system for internal advertising, user segmentation service, categories tree management module, product availability calculation at the delivery point developed by WebbyLab.

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

The active development phase team consisted of Project Manager, PHP Full-stack developers and QA-engineer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We around 1M visitors per month and the system has gone through periods of high load with over 2,000 users on the site at the same time The web application is well-optimised for search engines, that leads to more than 15% of organic traffic grows.

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

There was continuous communication with the Project Manager from the WebbyLab’s side. This specialist always acts upon any request in the shortest term.

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

I really appreciate them is that they are not just a development outsourcing team. They provide a strong business analysis and help you understand your needs and goals in the e-commerce.

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

In the context of project support and active changes in functionality, with weekly updates, sometimes there are minor problems, but they are quickly solved by the team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The AL-KO KOBER Group is an international company with production sites and branch offices all over the world. We operate in the business areas of vehicle technology, air technology and garden & hobby. I’m the CIO of Ukrainian subsidiary and responsible for implementation of our global technology strategy including all the digital initiatives and innovations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Custom ecommerce b2b portal development and additional digital instruments/services development. Our goal was to go online, reduce paperwork, and speed up the ordering process.

Goals for this project: Expand dealers network and online sales, improve customer experience journey, digitalize after sales services for the end customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select WebbyLab and what were the deciding factors?

Via personal network

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

Our collaboration is still ongoing. WebbyLab provides design, development including integrations with internal ERP, 3rd parties and continuous support of b2b e-commerce portal. They handled all the technical aspects of the project, and provided valuable insights and possible improvements areas/ideas

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

The active development phase team consisted of Project Manager, PHP-backend developers, JS frontend developers and QA-engineer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our b2b sales increased 55% percent year over year since we started working and implemented e-commerce portal. We’ve Implemented mobile CRM for regional managers and electronic warranty card 

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

There was continuous communication with the Project Manager from the WebbyLab’s side. This specialist always acts upon any request in the shortest term. We have weekly meetings and can also call the project manager as needed. I had an account in Jira for our project and so that I could monitor the progress.

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

They can do more than follow directions and just write code. They really dive into clients' business and it's particularities to deliver the best possible results.

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

We’ve had few issues with data synchronization, but they’ve made quick improvements

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am one of the WeAreBrain founders. WeAreBrain is an award-winning technology consultancy and we enable clients to create and execute strategies and solutions for their digital transformation: from AI-powered business automation to customer experience design, e-commerce solutions, consultancy, software engineering, cloud operations, AI & Data Science.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire WebbyLab?

Our team is specialised in AI & Intelligent Automation platforms for SME's and large Enterprises. Due to the nature and complexity of our work, we maintain strong partnership with a small group of quality partners that we can rely on for potential staff augmentation and extended teams. We have an ongoing relationship with the team from WebbyLab for their expertise in resourcing ReactJS and NodeJS expertise.

What were your goals for this project?

As a team we were searching for a flexible partner and who can think along with us in terms of on-boarding strategy, customer centricity and projects deliverables.

SOLUTION

How did you select WebbyLab?

WebbyLab's expertise and thought leadership around the subject isomorphic apps in ReactJS convinced us to establish a partnership with their team. The vision and customer focus of the company's founding team also very much resonated with our own over here at WeAreBrain.

Describe the project in detail.

WebbyLab provided reliable long-term Staff Augmentation services giving us piece of mind and the ability to focus our efforts on the client deliverables of the project.

What was the team composition?

We initially extended this project team of eight in-house engineering and business specialists with two WebbyLabs developers (front-end and back-end).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We successfully built the project on-time and on-budget and still maintain a successful partnership, both with the end-client as well as with WebbyLab.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Extremely easy since the development team was co-located with our in-house team and managed by WeAreBrain tech leads and project managers.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their clear focus on JS expertise is great and makes them a reliable partner for everyone in search of developers.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Successful staff augmentation requires continuous investment, up-skilling, and re-training of the development team. That is crucial and both parties are required to play their part of it at any given time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an architect at iBASEt, a manufacturing solutions provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebbyLab?

We needed to upgrade our legacy enterprise product to the latest browser-based user interface. We started developing it by ourselves, but it was difficult for us to get people on board quickly, so we started looking for someone with expertise in the area to help us quickly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have different modules in our system, one of which needed to be made available on the new browser-based application. WebbyLab used React, Redux, and JavaScript to convert the legacy modules to a web-based architecture with the frontend technologies. They also helped us in putting architecture with Node.js backend services and writing the APIs on Node.js.

What is the team composition?

There are two senior developers and two junior developers.

How did you come to work with WebbyLab?

We analyzed several companies. We engaged a few companies, but kept running into issues. Our CTO reached out to WebbyLab on LinkedIn, and they were the right size for us and very focused. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $125,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Webbylab started in October 2019.  In March of 2020, we decided to take a pause due to our internal constraints.  We would be engaging back Webbylab once our internal constraints are lifted.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

WebbyLab is very technically sound. They’re focused on doing their work the right way and not just completing it. The team researches how to implement everything correctly before following through. 

Also, they have open-source frameworks they use among their different projects. They suggested the same for us, and it was nice to start using what they had already. It helped us to move forward quickly.

How did WebbyLab perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed really well. The technical lead was good with communication. It didn’t go as fast as we expected, but given the complexity and the explanation WebbyLab provided, I’m happy with the time it took.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their expertise and desire to deliver work done the right way was impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The junior developers could benefit from working to improve their English. It could sometimes be difficult to communicate with them. It was helpful having the lead.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend working with them. They’re responsive and engaged.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a managing partner at Digital Health Outcomes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebbyLab?

We needed development for a web and mobile app that collects real-world data.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WebbyLab has done several projects with us. They developed a mobile app for iOS and Android with the aim of improving the health of employees within organizations by informing them of daily habits and routines.

Additionally, they developed a platform that made data easily accessible and user-friendly for pharmaceutical company managers. The team works with Node.js, React Native, and React.

What is the team composition?

There have been up to 20 people working on projects with us.

How did you come to work with WebbyLab?

We’ve known WebbyLab for a long time. The founders are very talented engineers and we enjoy collaborating with them.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested about $200,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in January 2017 and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

WebbyLab has contributed to our ability to scale up to nearly twice the size. We’ve also generated nearly 100% more revenue since we began collaborating with them.

How did WebbyLab perform from a project management standpoint?

We primarily manage the projects but we do work with their project managers as well. Jira and Notion are the tools we use for communication. Additionally, we have weekly sprint meetings and schedule scrum initiatives in our calendars.

What did you find most impressive about them?

WebbyLab is able to produce more complex solutions, extending beyond the standardized ones found on the market. They focus on innovation and therefore deliver innovative products.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would like to see more sufficient automation testing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former VP of research for a public company trading on NASDAQ.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WebbyLab?

We needed help building a customer-facing portal for our customers to log-in, view their data, finances, usage statistics, and other services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built our customer portal. They used PHP on our request and the Symfony 2 framework. We provided the design and they did only the development.

We gave them our product requirements and then had a round of discussions about those technical specifications. They developed specifications and then worked on the code. Our testers were involved to make sure that they meet the requirements that we set.

It’s a password protected page where our customers log in and see a dashboard for our services. They can see errors, problems, financial issues, and separate pages for the sent configuration and statistics. There are also some tools to help them understand why their mail hasn’t gone out, and somewhere to change their payment information.

What is the team composition?

We interfaced with the project manager and the general developer, but I don’t know how many people were on the team.

How did you come to work with WebbyLab?

We had a request for proposal with several companies and WebbyLab responded with a price and timeline. We talked about how to pursue the development and what the strategy should be. We liked what they had to say and chose them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October 2013–May 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were satisfied with the results­—it didn’t have a lot of bugs and was market standard for development. The development work and the changes done in the architecture met our expectations.

How did WebbyLab perform from a project management standpoint?

It was good and they were almost exactly on time. There were some issues with deliveries, but we managed to figure out how to push to production as soon as possible. Whenever there were slipups, they were able to pick up the slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They work late hours and during the weekend to get the results. Their attitude and pricing were very competitive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO of a sports data company. Most of our team are split across product, engineering, and data services, but we wanted to gain experience working with a new technology and with a remote team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire WebbyLab?

We already have an internal mobile application, but we had a new idea that we wanted to test. Rather than immediately extending our internal team, we decided to build the initial proof of concept using WebbyLab before deciding whether to bring it in-house or not.

What were your goals for this project?

First, to quickly deploy a well-built application into production to test our hypothesis. Secondly, to test the effectiveness of React Native as a mobile development language, at least for points of contact. And finally, to introduce our internal team to the experience of working with a remote engineering office.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found WebbyLab online, along with two other companies. After reviewing their materials and having a series of calls, we were happy to proceed with them. Before committing, we got a recommendation for another vendor in their city but decided to stick with WebbyLab, and we’re happy we did.

Describe the project in detail.

We began by iterating a product specification document to a stage where they felt comfortable enough to give us a non-binding estimate. Having worked with remote teams in the past, I felt that the best option was working on a time and materials basis, but an estimate was important for budgeting purposes.

They then worked on the application development using React Native as the development language.

What was the team composition?

We had a part-time project manager, a frontend developer, and a QA. These worked closely with our product owner, our designer, and one of our backend developers to tweak our API.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The bulk of the app was launched on time, which I consider a success. There were some delays, but I blame that mainly on us evolving the specifications as the app developed. They’ve also been very proactive in dealing with minor modifications and bug fixing requests since the delivery.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We flew over to visit them because it was important for me to meet in person, and the meetings we had in person were extremely effective. Following that, a mix of Slack, Standuply, and Github was sufficient to efficiently streamline our workflows.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They're really ambitious—they realize that the best way to grow is to produce fantastic work and have happy clients that keep coming back or recommend them. They're also still small enough to make a startup like us feel special.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Generally, the process worked very well. The developers could have slightly better English skills, but the project managers’ English was excellent and that was what really counted. The only area where I'd improve is on actively managing the long tail of the project to ensure effective completion.