XpertSolvers

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the CTO of an IT company that launched an email marketing platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with XpertSolvers?

We were a startup, so we outsourced our development efforts to two different teams. We needed XpertSolvers to build our application's backend.

What was the scope of their involvement?

XpertSolvers built the backend of our microservice-based sales app based on our existing templates. They relied on language-agnostic programming as they deployed the necessary solutions and developed most of our app's components via Ruby on Rails. While we outsourced our frontend development efforts to a different provider, XpertSolvers also helped us fine-tune the app's UI?UX before its go-live.

What is the team composition?

We worked with five developers from their team.

How did you come to work with XpertSolvers?

One of my colleagues referred XpertSolvers' team to us. I reached out to them and asked them to accomplish a trial project, and they completed that successfully. Based on their initial performance, I was confident that they had what it took to bring our vision to life.

How much have you invested with them?

We paid a monthly retainer fee amounting to $14,000 AUD (approximately $10,000 USD).

What is the status of the engagement?

The project ran from April 2016–November 2017.

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

We set a target of 500 total users and 200 active users before launching the app. We instantly secured 170 active users upon the go-live, our primary success metric for XpertSolvers' work. They quickly resolved any known bugs and responded to our ticket requests to ensure that our product always worked at its ideal state.

How did XpertSolvers perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated via Slack and Google Meet and relied on Jira for project management. XpertSolvers had satisfactory delivery rates that met our projected timelines.

What did you find the most impressive about them?

We were impressed with how they took ownership of the project and used their technical knowledge and feedback-orientedness to deliver strategies that worked for our product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Some of XpertSolvers' team members were not very communicative. I had to discuss this issue with their leader to streamline our collaboration.

Any advice for potential customers?

Maximize your communication channels to make the most of your engagement with them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a website development company. We have a subscription-based software service that we use internally.

What challenge were you trying to address with XpertSolvers?

XpertSolvers was hired to help us with Microsoft Azure.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They got my website up and running on Microsoft Azure App Services, fixed all the bugs, and set up DevOps infrastructure. They’re currently adding some additional pages to the site and fixing other bugs.  

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with one person. There were different team members working on the backend as well. 

How did you come to work with XpertSolvers?

I found them on UpWork. I had been working with another programmer, but it was taking a lot longer to complete tasks, so I decided it was time to partner with a more robust vendor. 

How much have you invested with them?

I spend between $35–$45 an hour depending on the level of experience of the developer. In total, I’ve invested about $3,210 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from April–September 2020. 

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

Everything work great. They’ve delivered everything I’ve asked. My brother is a programmer and he took a look at the website and was equally impressed. They came up with a solid solution and fixed bugs quickly. 

How did XpertSolvers perform from a project management standpoint?

We have meetings over Zoom. We also chat over Slack. We also have a DevOps system where we can add in projects as they come up. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their trustworthiness is the most impressive. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

I don’t have any complaints. They’ve been flexible and responsive to my needs. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Have your information ready and have the project goals well-defined. While I can’t comment on their other services, their Microsoft Azure expertise is exceptional. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of consulting for ForesTech Consulting. We’re a forestry consulting company and we specialize in technology solutions to support forest management organizations. We develop software and applications for those organizations to use. 

What challenge were you trying to address with XpertSolvers?

We have several developers on staff, and we have recently had one leave. While we’re in the process of trying to fill that position, our other developer left, too. Then, COVID-19 happened so we were on a hiring freeze. We needed to outsource our development needs, so that brought us to use XpertSolvers. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re working on mobile app development for us, targeting Android and iOS devices. 

What is the team composition?

Currently, one person from their team works with us. We’re looking into scaling that up, but for now it’s just one developer. 

How did you come to work with XpertSolvers?

I’d worked with XpertSolvers in the past and we were always satisfied with their work.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent close to $10,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since July 2020. 

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

We’ve definitely been well satisfied with their deliverables. They provide excellent work and we have no complaints. 

How did XpertSolvers perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Microsoft Teams for project collaboration. We have weekly status meetings and leverage the chat for any updates in between. We use other developer tools, including Microsoft Azure DevOps, as well as Kanban for managing the tasks. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their timeliness in getting the work done and responsiveness stand out most. They seem to know whatever is needed to get the work done in the right time frame while still providing quality work. Especially when things need to change, they are quick to respond. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything right now. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have the requirements well-documented and make sure they are clear. It makes things easier in general, not just with XpertSolvers. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm Head of Projects & Operations. We provide world class technology development capabilities to build your idea, launch and scale it, globally. Backed by our talented digital designers, software developers, architects, project managers, and passionate customer support teams. Our solutions are designed to operate across multiple devices & leading cloud technology platforms.

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

We were looking for a development team to help build the product for our client. The goal was to ensure the delivered product will have a good foundation and will be scalable for future upgrades.

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

We had several different interviews with different vendors and XpertSolvers came through at the end due to their understanding of the project and the initial feeling we were given with their attitide and commitment to the project.

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

The functional specifications were provided to XpertSolvers to deliver the project. XpertSolvers was engaged in the development phase only. Bi-weekly catchups were required to ensure the delivery of the project.

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

We worked with one member in the vendor's team and was our main point of contact only. This member will communicate and brief his developers.

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

The project didn't get delivered to the schedule on what we initially planned for due to various reasons between the vendor and ourselves, it was due to the complexity of the project.

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

The project management between the vendor was easy due to having one point of contact. We used Trello, Google Chat & Google Meet as our communication tools.

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

We usually would have contact with the developers on the project. However, we were in contact with the project manager/tech lead only. This still worked for us because it made the management of the project easier with regards to the deliverables.

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

The only area of the improvement is the management of scope creep. We had too many conversations on the cost and effort that wasn't neccessary and it was quite draining to have this each week.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Summit Alliance Port Limited (SAPL) is a public limited company offering Import & Export service. Have several warehouses to handle cargo. Also have yards to store empty & laden containers.

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

We have old software that was not scalable & efficient. We hired this company to develop a highly scalable cutting-edge application to track & manage container & cargo information to replace the existing ones with adding various new features.

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

Open bidding, their experience with subject matter expertise in highly scalable complex application development. Moreover, they have expert level domain experience.

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

They work form scoping the project to deploy. Worked with our in-house team to identify and scope the project, Architecture the full project, Define sprint and its goal, provide regular updates, and communicate continuously with us to provide successful delivery.

We follow agile scrum methodology also develop backend API using .Net Core, C#, Postgres SQL based and front end UI using Angular, CSS, and HTML.

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

6 people, 1 architect, 1 team lead, 2 full stack developer, 1 designer, and 1 DevOps

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

Development completed on-time. Data entry became easier for the end-user also error reduced significantly. Reduced redundant working so some colleagues became free to use for other roles. The invoicing process makes easier and accounts raising invoice on-time without any error.

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

They follow agile scrum, Set sprint goal sit together with us then deliver product iteratively. We utilize Jira and Confluence for project management and used to communicate regularly via Mail, Slack and Phone.

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

They always share better technology with us to make this application highly scalable. Also, they always suggest improving the user experience to make the application comfortable for the end-users.

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

Nothing to mention.