XLR8 Dev

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of an end-of-life transition planning software called Alfred Transition Assistant. I started this business during my MBA at BYU. I'm a first-time founder, and was looking to develop and launch a business idea by the time I graduated in April 2021. Part of my role as CEO included owning product management as we built our software with XLR8.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire XLR8 Development, and what were your goals?

We had done multiple rounds of prototyping and felt like we had a pretty clear idea of what our software should include. So at that point, it was a matter of finding the right tech partners that understood our vision and could bring it to life.

We spoke to 4 different potential development partners including XLR8; the impressed us the most in terms of being thorough, transparent, and responsive. So we decided to proceed with them for building our product.

SOLUTION

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

We felt like they understood our vision the best and seemed to have the most realistic grasp as far as what it would actually take to build, in terms of complexity, how much time and resources it would require, etc. It also seemed like they had the experience to back it up. They were also very responsive and seemed to be on the same page with us as far as understanding our product vision.

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

We gave XLR8 a slide deck that had detailed renderings of what the product would look like on each screen, as well as descriptions of how it would work. I met with them every two weeks to review the work they had done, and to agree on what the next two-week batch of work would include.

We tracked it according to how closely they did actually match it up with what we had asked for, and tracked it using shared spreadsheets and documents as we went to track our progress along the product roadmap.

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

We mainly worked with Jaden Feddock; aside from him we met and interacted with Jackson once or twice, and one of the developers a few times as well. So a total of 3; but mostly just Jaden.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were very pleased with both the experience of building the product with them, as well as the resulting product; and in addition to that, we were very pleased that we ended up staying both on-schedule and on-budget according to the original timeframes and budget we had established at the beginning.

That meant a lot to us, especially because we were students with a looming graduation date and not a lot of extra money to fall back on.

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

Jaden was really good at responding quickly anytime we would email or message him; and he was really good at being very clear, as he would often go bullet by bullet from our email/messages responding to each to make sure they all got answered. We used slack and email primarily to communicate, as well as Microsoft teams for our virtual sprint reviews.

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

They did a great job at communicating with us the whole time; they seemed to really understand our product as well as we did, which was really important to us and made a big difference; and they were willing and able to keep in touch as we went so that we could be sure to stay on-budget and on-schedule.

Like I've said already, that was the most important thing to us and they delivered on it really well.

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

The only thing that wasn't exactly as we'd hoped or was maybe below expectations at all, was that after we had finished our proposed development window and got into beta testing, some of the features didn't seem to fully function.

We had been expecting that everything would be fully functional for the most part, and so it required a little extra work and money to get them to where they were figured out and functioning properly, which we would have really preferred to avoid. But sometimes that's the nature of building software, too.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a greeting card printing company spreading kindness. We allow customers to custom design cards and send them for personal use or as a way to follow up for business. We offer

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire XLR8 Development, and what were your goals?

We hired them to deploy a mobile app on Android and iOS. The app is intended to facilitate the order process for customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select XLR8 Development and what were the deciding factors?

We looked for a developer that was responsive and a reasonable budget. We had used them before and enjoyed working with them, so we continued the effort.

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

The scope of work was the full design, development, delivery, and maintenance of the Pixingo App. They first delivered design documents that showed what the app would do and give us an outline of what to expect. Then they iteratively gave us versions of the applications to test out. This happened every week or two until the project was released in the store. They were flexible to ideas and changes in direction based on user feedback. Once the apps were released, they helped us work through any issues that came up.

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

There were two people. Jaden and Jackson are both full stack developers and worked with us directly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have seen an increase of orders from our mobile app. We were pleased with the app development and experience.

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

We wanted them to be independent to free up resources for other work. We checked in once or twice a week when they had questions and needed guidance. Communication was over email and via text. They were responsive. The project was estimated to take 4 months, and then we extended for an additional 2 months because of changing requirements.

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

They worked so quickly with very little oversight. They delivered what we needed as we needed it, they were easy to communicate with and work with. It was just a joy to work with them.

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

We were not as prepared as we could have been for the project, so it ended up costing us additional time because of the lack of preparation. In hindsight, it would have been helpful if they held our feet to the fire a little more to make sure they had the right APIs and tools for doing their job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We have three founders and a couple of other contract employees. I’m the product designer in charge of running all of the frontend UI design testings and managing the web-based enterprise software that XLR8 is developing for us.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with XLR8 Development?

We brought XLR8 because we had an opportunity that could solve the forecasting and logistics area of the solar industry. We needed a web app that was robust enough to tie into a lot of APIs. That way, we could do advanced data calculations, perform forecasting, and process historical data.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

XLR8 is developing the front- and backend of our software while we’re in charge of the app’s design. We’ve worked together to create the documentation to kickstart the project, and we’ve helped them understand the industry that we’re in. Since they’ve recommended we do a responsive web app, the tech stack that they’re using are React and Python. Then, our databases are deployed through Heroku.

Their work involves database building and implementing API connections. They’re also in charge of the coding, launching, and deployment of the app. The team also conducts a lot of data manipulation and cleaning up. On top of that, they're implementing a couple of integrations. Their main deliverable is our app's beta version.

Their goal is to enable our app to ingest a lot of data on the backend so that it can forecast some supply chain logistics. There’s also some project management functionality on it as admin users have the ability to manage projects and create transparency between end-users. Then, the biggest functionality of the app is its ability to produce data analysis.

What is the team composition?

There are 3-4 people working on our project, including two developers, a project manager, and a technology advisor.

How did you come to work with XLR8 Development?

I worked with XLR8 on many projects, and I was blown away by everything that they did. Since I had a good relationship with them for a long time, I decided to partner with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $25,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership started in November 2020, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

XLR8 has been good at helping us walk through what we’ve needed in the project. We’ve relied on their development expertise and their advice to create the documentation together. 

They've successfully been able to integrate the API of another company. That has been something that we’ve been really concerned about because we're getting our data from that financial company. We've been impressed that they’ve made it possible and now the data is coming through properly.

How did XLR8 Development perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve started the engagement with no project manager for 1–2 months. When they’ve assigned a dedicated project manager, everything’s been awesome. The project manager has been on top of her game and ensures that everything is managed well. We use Slack as our primary source of communication, and we meet with them once every two weeks. We also use Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Trello. We also have sprints and reviews.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked in this industry for a while and I go back to XLR8 a lot because I never feel like they’re lying about the working hours that they spend. Moreover, they don’t recommend things that aren’t the best for us just to get more hours. Every recommendation that they give is honest, and they’re extremely transparent with their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their biggest area of improvement is in scaling their resources. They’ve gotten pretty busy lately because they’re getting more projects. That’s the reason why we didn’t have a project manager at the beginning. However, they’ve been able to hire more people so it’s a good problem to have. Other than that, they’ve been great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate with them often because they’re very responsive. Remember, you get what you put into the engagement.