Yameo

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an international firm based in Washington DC. There, I handle software and product development in various parts of the world.

What challenge were you trying to address with Yameo?

We hired them to improve the apps we use to track beneficiary data and problems. Specifically, they helped us create a system that tracks the delivery of services to our beneficiaries.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were our software development partners. After collaborating and defining the scope, they provided technical insight and coding services to complete the project according to our specifications. Their team helped us understand their means and mechanisms for platform implementation as well as offered QA services for us.  

What is the team composition?

The team size changed based on the present assignment, but we worked with about 5–10 people. We have a project manager, QA engineers, and DevOps representatives. 

How did you come to work with Yameo?

I started here after they started their partnership. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started with them around February 2016, and they continue to assist us.

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

They’re responsive, which we appreciate because we often need their support after their code has been delivered. Additionally, they’re knowledgeable in the field and always seem to be ahead of the curve with the latest tools and trends. The code is almost always very high quality. When it falls short of our expectations, they’re proactive in addressing any issues that are present.   

How did Yameo perform from a project management standpoint?

They have fantastic project managers who are always in touch with detail project updates. We’ve run into a bit of scope creep, but they offer flexibility and quality products that have helped us get around that. We communicate through web tools like Slack, Skype, and Jira. Sometimes, we have face-to-face meetings when discussing large projects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their services are both high-quality and affordable. We’ve engaged other companies with the same scope of work and received much more expensive quotes. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything off the top of my head.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be detailed and communicative early on in the engagement with your needs. That will help you ensure that you can get what you want out of the process.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

COIN22 is a FinTech startup creating an innovative way of sending money from mobile phone to mobile phone. I’m a director at the company. We began working on an MVP in 2016–2017 and got our first customer in 2018. We’re currently scaling-up.

What challenge were you trying to address with Yameo?

We identified a large group of people who were financially excluded from lending money because lending institutions charged a lot to compensate for the high risk.  We were trying to find a lower-risk way to finance people so the cost would be less. It would be fully digital, but also earmarked, meaning that people wouldn’t spend the money on ice and beer, but on the things that were important to them.

Our idea was intended mainly for supply chains—when there are two or more parties working together—but also for NGOs that need to distribute money for specific items, such as refugee camps and other such places. We have business rules, and part of the stock can be redirected to repaid loans. In this case, we’re minimizing our risks while still pumping money into the supply chain.

What was the scope of their involvement?

One of our use cases is supply chains. For example, we will provide earmarked digital tokens to farmers looking to buy and sell goods, with which they can buy high-quality feed and fertilizers but on something else. The farmer can then sell within the marketplace directly. We’re just a platform, so we supply the tools to makes this possible. The mobilization of the supply chain is done by our partners.

Refugee camps are another use case. Someone has to bring in food, clothes, or sleeping materials to the camp, and those would be distributed. Our platform allows local suppliers to create shops in refugee centers, which are tracked based on what are selling. People will get tokens to spend in the shops. It’s a completely different way of helping people in a difficult situation.

We initially worked with Yameo on the MVP, and we attracted various NGOs and commercial companies in a pilot program. The MVP worked well that we asked Yameo to upgrade it to a scalable, easily-deployable platform that could work in multiple countries. The newest version is being built in .NET, with a Microsoft SQL Server behind. We’re doing everything transparently, so we’re using blockchain (I believe Ethereum) in order to allow the people exchanging money on the platform to track everything.

What is the team composition?

The team size varies depending on the situation. When we started, it was 1–2 people, and we expanded it to 5–6 people to upgrade the MVP to a real product. I’m collaborating with a business project manager and a technical manager currently. I have much more contact with the business PM, but both are available during development and deployment.

How did you come to work with Yameo?

It was through networking. I have friends who know them and had worked with them before. I wanted a less risky option, and Yameo seemed to be a low-risk company, as far as these kinds of projects are concerned.

How much have you invested with them?

Their part of the work has cost €250,000 ($274,000 USD) in total. I see at least €100,000 ($110,000 USD) more of work in the future.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking to them in 2015, and we developed and launched the MVP in 2016–2017. It started to show results in 2018, and we now have stable customers and are looking to scale. We’re also looking to deploy the newest version to multiple countries. Yameo is still making improvements and changes for us, and we have no end date.

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

It’s still too early to give statistics, but the MVP has been a success and we have customers using the platform who are happy and want to scale. Yameo usually delivers on time and within budget, so it’s been good.

How did Yameo perform from a project management standpoint?

We are a difficult customer—making improvements and changes all the time—and they’ve had to adapt to our changeability. We’re using a scrum agile approach, and it’s working pretty well.

Anyone can make improvements, but I’ve worked with multiple companies and Yameo is very good compared to those. We normally have Skype meetings, but I also call the assigned person if I need something quickly. We have Jira for technical issues, where multiple people working on the project can deliver issues and ideas. We also have email communication, if necessary. Most of the communication goes via Skype and Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They adapt quickly, they’re responsive, and they have good technical skills. I’ve worked with different companies before, and we sometimes receive a product that works but is a nightmare to maintain. I haven’t had this kind of problem with Yameo; they think through the architecture. They always ask good questions about how we want to use the platform in the future, whether it will be multi-country, multi-customer, or so on. They’ve created a very nice and scalable architecture.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s always tempting to say: “Give me more attention!” from the customer point of view, but, to be honest, for the budget and work we’re giving them, they’re performing very well.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It’s important to start working in agile with a strong product manager on the client-side from the beginning. If this is done, they will perform fantastically.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an innovation manager at BSH, a household appliance company. We have different global brands, like Bosch and Gaggenau, as well as local brands all over the world.

What challenge were you trying to address with Yameo?

We were building a mobile video streaming app that brought people together to cook. Our innovation process has phases. One of the last phases involves building a minimum viable product (MVP) and testing it on the market.

This pilot phase ensures that the business model and mechanics work and that our concept doesn't run into any technical roadblocks. To execute this phase, I needed help from a development company.
 

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our Android and web app using the microservice architecture on the backend. They used Java technologies and connected the app to a video plugin, Vidyo. Since we developed this concept, we already had wireframes and user stories. We created an issue in our systems for each functionality.

We met with Yameo, in the beginning, to talk about our general concept, our goals, the purpose of the pilot phase, and our overall thoughts. That helped get everything going. 

What is the team composition?

I had two or three main points of contact: a project lead, a development lead, and the head of the company. I didn't often contact their developers directly. It was helpful to have single points of contact.

How did you come to work with Yameo?

We listed 10 potential providers, then examined their portfolios and skills. Our main requirement was that the company had experience with multi-platform and video streaming apps. Some other criteria were their experience with MVPs, their collaboration with innovative companies in the early phases of a prototype, and their ability to work with initially unclear requirements. 

We needed a partner that could resolve issues with us during the process. They also needed experience in agile methodology and online payment integration. We talked with three or four of the companies that met these criteria, and Yameo was the most open and communicative. Our project team could imagine working with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March 2017 until February 2018.

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

The project moved out of the innovation department and became a real product. We received funding for the next phase, which involved putting a real beta version on the market. 

That's a measure of success, and is mainly due to the MVP that Yameo developed. The MVP did everything it was supposed to do. The prototype worked and delivered the user testing results we wanted. 

We kept most of our development deadlines, which is hard in innovation. Their proactive work made that possible. 

How did Yameo perform from a project management standpoint?

Jira was our main tool for issues and requirements management. We had regular Skype conferences, but used email for confirmation of budgets and other official business. 

After creating the first version of the app with some functionalities, we immediately put it to the test by asking a professional chef to use it. The requirements changed somewhat. That put a lot of stress on the project managers, who had to evaluate the current effort in relation to the altered requirements.

However, Yameo was quite easygoing. If any issues arose, or if they had budget or timeline problems, they always communicated them. We solved a lot of issues through professional communication.

Before we started implementing a new functionality or element, we had a workshop. I usually went to their place, where we sat together and talked. They created a supportive, communicative atmosphere.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were helpful, motivated, and excited. When we had issues with our user interface designer and the wireframes for the screens weren't ready in time, they didn’t stop working. They informed us very professionally about the risk to our deadlines, and we talked out a solution. We recognized this strength when we first talked to them. It was fun working with them, and we’re still in contact about a lot of things.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you stay in constant contact with them, the process will work well. They’re communicative and enjoy talking about the content and functionality. Have a teleconference at least once a week to make sure that you and Yameo share a common goal.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the innovation manager of DEKRA.

What challenge were you trying to address with Yameo?

We were searching for a solution and a new idea of what loss adjusting in the future should look like. We had the idea of remote loss adjusting via video.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We told them that we wanted to have a video component for our i2i solution, but not a video in itself since video is a commodity. We normally have a one-time encounter with the customer who has a claim, and as we work for banking and insurance companies, we had a few demands.

It had to be a secured and encrypted possibility program. We also wanted it to be easy to use with non-complicated software downloads and password settings because we are never sure if clients want to download software, especially for a one-time encounter. We wanted people to receive an SMS or email that they could click on. We also wanted to be able to customize the solution so that we could have really specific functionalities such as GeoPosition, two-way document sharing, as well as integration to our back office and those types of things. After choosing a high-quality video module, we built the entire thing and they built in all the functionalities.

Back in 2012, it was specifically built in an architecture that suited the Dutch market for a certain budget, and in order to make it available globally with different demands and needs, we are now working on trying to rebuild the program in another architectural way that makes it suitable for different purposes in different countries.

What is the team composition?

In the beginning, we had contact with Jacek Salek [Director, Yameo], who discussed everything with us. He would take care of all the requirement management, discussion, and other things. We were also in close contact with their team in Poland. I have been to Poland several times to see the progress they made, testing, and for discussions.

How did you come to work with Yameo?

Our IT manager had done some projects with Yameo with his former company. When he came to our company, he suggested them as a company that could do it quickly and for a reasonable price. Initially, we had done small projects and were quite happy with them. Everything worked, it wasn’t that expensive, they were able to handle things quickly, and they could come by anytime as their office was based in the same place as us at the time. It was convenient and easy.

We didn’t want to work with the big traditional IT companies that have long waiting times. Yameo came and listened to us and made the proposition. It was more based on trust and wanting to do something nice together rather than a formal company interaction.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent around 1 million euros ($1,223,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in 2012 on this project, and the work is ongoing.

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

They now do the contact for i2i in DEKRA France, Hungary, Germany, Belgium, and there is interest from a lot of other DEKRA countries. Over 10,000 claims are being handled now via this video tool. They have also made a white label version of i2i which is also successful in other fields in Germany for banking and insurance companies and has been quite a success.

How did Yameo perform from a project management standpoint?

At that time, it was kind of in a Scrum methodology. Once they produced something, we were able to see it and test it and roll it out further. For example, we started with the basic version, and then decided to add other functionalities, and went from there. We were in contact on a weekly basis, primarily through live meetings, email, phone. We used Skype most of the time with their team in Poland.

What did you find most impressive about them?

For me, what makes them unique is that they are not your typical software company. They work with a really motivated and dedicated team. It is easy to make appointments, and they really understand the business needs. They’re able to translate business ideas into software solutions in a not-so-typical IT way. We work with IT companies a lot, and many of those big IT and software companies promise everything and it ends up being a disaster in the end. I have never had that experience with Yameo as they always deliver on what they promise, and it is always for good money.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As we’re based in different countries, occasionally there were times that there were misunderstandings due to language, but those were minor things. It would make life easier if they had a team of developers in the Netherlands.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Think beyond what you want as a software solution because they have a lot of experience in other fields such as healthcare, insurance and business ideas. Tell them the entire story of what you want so that they can think it through. The solution you have in mind might not always be the perfect solution in the end. They have a lot of innovative thinkers within their team. Let them think with you about how it could be improved because then you will really get the best value for money.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide of support and services surrounding youth healthcare in our country. On that basis, we are continuing the development of our Software-as-a-Service platform. It supports the entire screening process of children between the 0–18 age range. I’m the business development manager of the company, responsible for strategy and service delivery.

What challenge were you trying to address with Yameo?

We invited them to join us in the further development of our platform. Normally, we use our own team, but had a couple of major tenders coming our way. There was a resource shortage that served as the initial trigger to get in touch with Yameo. After visiting their team and coming to know them better, we decided to keep them on in a structural form.

What was the scope of their involvement?

With our initial overflow engagement, we segregated certain parts of new development, on which Yameo worked with a select group of our own people. Over time, they became assimilated as a structural team, allowing us to further our work over a broader field.

What is the team composition?

Structurally, we have four senior Java developers from their team. Aside from them, in the startup phase, they also supported us in terms of communication, planning and so on, aligning those with our company.

How did you come to work with Yameo?

I was familiar with the previous sister of Yameo, Nearshoring Partners. I knew their founder, and had done business with him for years, on behalf of other companies. I am a repeat customer, in this respect.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Yameo in October 2017. We’re halfway through the scope.

How did Yameo perform from a project management standpoint?

As a European company, we initially went through a catch-up, getting our requirements translated to English at a level that Yameo could understand enough. They were patient with us during this phase.

We found them to be quick. With the new members we’ve had come in, there was usually a four-to-six-month period that they needed to really study the environment and get up to speed. Yameo had this down in three to four months. They need very short periods for onboarding. 

We use Slack for communication, along with GitHub.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with their open and honest attitude towards collaboration. We have developers who have been working with the Java stack for over 20 years. They were impressed with the amount of knowledge that the Yameo people exhibited in the discussions leading up to the actual order.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Judging by the current project, I would say no. Based on previous experiences, I would say yes, but I’ve seen the progress made by Yameo over time. They have a Deming Cycle going and have definitely grown over the years.

We had some static in the startup communication, which made things unclear. People on our end thought that they had explained things enough, given that we’d never outsourced to Yameo before. The concept of outsourcing and the language were new, and we underestimated the impact these would have on our processes. We had been warned by Yameo about this, and I had previous experiences with them, but we still misjudged the situation. Yameo helped us through this, but there was a cost in the start.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be frank.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a company in Holland called Meditel. We provide preventative medical resources to people taking in life insurance or for employers who want their employees to maintain good health.

What challenge were you trying to address with Yameo?

We needed someone to help with software development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Yameo developed the software programs that make appointments, generate reports, and keep files updated. The software was custom-built. The big challenge was to understand the purpose. They had to really understand the business processes that go on with our company in order to develop the proper solutions. The end solution had to be as manageable and flexible as possible.

The programs they used kept the versions properly managed and allowed us to roll back changes. We used a new server for testing purposes. The technical demands on them were pretty simple. We had to rescue our database with PHP programs around it. They used it and it went very well.

What is the team composition?

We had a small but stable team for many years. There were two people and a supervisor involved. It was really good for the continuity of all of our processes. They worked from Poland on our databases in Holland.

How did you come to work with Yameo?

We used to have our own internal software development department. We started looking for people who could take our company’s function in a more fundamental way when we became independent. We knew Yameo’s director from the past because we’d stumbled upon something he’d established in Poland.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend €200,000 per year ($244,942 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2011 and the project is ongoing.

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

We’ve gotten rid of the back office where we used to make reports. We’ve shortened the appointment times for doctors and nurses in the field simply by implementing good software. We went from 15% of clients making appointments through the Internet to nearly all of them coming to us through this method.

Yameo collaborated closely with our team to develop all the programs. There are few companies that have the ability to create a system that makes the appointment easy for the client and creates reports at the same time.

How did Yameo perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a brilliant developer who has done more than an excellent job. However, we also have had a few where more discussion was needed in order to obtain the right solution. Anyone can develop programs that do one specific thing. The brilliant developers create modules you can use for several processes and under varying circumstances.

They’ve helped us a lot by thinking about what the doctors would be putting into and taking away from the computer. Yameo’s director is a bit reluctant to provide suggestions or impose their views. The better developers are more inclined to start a discussion and come back with relevant suggestions.

We communicate and share screens on a weekly basis via Skype. It’s worked quite well. We’ve met in-person 3–4 times throughout the years. We use Mantis as our ticketing system. Our project management isn’t very complex because of the complications that come with other systems. We could be very flexible if needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve always been happy with the flexibility. We don’t have sprints or releases that take up certain amounts of time. The way we’ve worked with Yameo has made everything possible. They have some very good people there.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always a slight problem with language in the beginning. They are often reluctant to offer feedback in initial discussions. We tend to be quite blunt, and they’re definitely not. You have to get used to each other.

There could be a bit more effort to speak without being afraid that we’re going to terminate the assignment. It’s crucial because they have good feedback. Something isn’t true just because the client says so. It takes time to develop this kind of relationship.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make contact with the project coordinator to make sure there’s sufficient knowledge spread throughout the team. It makes it hard to continue with a project if only two people know what’s going on and one of them leaves. We’ve had discussions with them. It’s worth giving attention to. Insist on having management support from their side.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder and CEO of Filmbook®, an innovative mobile learning platform that synchronizes film, text, pictures, and questions to make learning more engaging and more effective.

The Filmbook platform was developed by my previous startup company and had been in production from 2013 to 2016. I conceptualized the platform and oversaw all product teams at that company, including software engineering, curriculum development, creative design and film production. I acquired the Filmbook intellectual property in June 2017 and launched Filmbook, LLC, to bring what had been a proprietary platform to a broader marketplace. 

For what projects/services did your company hire Yameo?

I hired Yameo for .NET and mobile development services. I wanted them to take an existing software platform that had been dormant for over a year and rebuild it in a new cloud architecture. We wanted to prepare the product for a re-launch.

What were your goals for this project?

My goals were to reassemble existing assets into a viable first release of the product in the general marketplace. As a self-funded startup, I had a limited budget to work with. I needed to use that budget to get to a revenue-generating first release. From there, I hope to fund further development.

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended to me by another vendor that I had first contacted based on their Clutch reviews. They didn't have the .NET development resources to do what I needed, so they connected me with Yameo.

Describe the project in detail.

There are four steps in the project. The first was to establish an Azure cloud architecture with a SQL Server backend that supported multiple .NET administrative websites along with a collection of .NET cloud services that the Filmbook mobile apps consume. Secondly, we worked to re-engineer key components of the .NET apps to support new product design features.

The third phase is a code base clean-up to make it more maintainable. Finally, we will regenerate the Filmbook iOS app, making significant UI changes to support new product design features.

What was the team composition?

Yameo provides a .NET senior developer and an iOS senior mobile developer. I manage both developers directly. 

What outcomes or results can you share that demonstrate progress and/or success?

Yameo is meeting or exceeding my expectations in every way possible. The entire cloud architecture has been established in the time frame I had estimated, and now we are able to move on the next phase of product development on schedule. 

Being handed a large existing code base to sort through can be a daunting challenge for even the best developers. Although the original version of Filmbook was stable and well-designed, due to extremely aggressive deadlines in the original production schedule we had incurred a significant technical deficit. Yameo understood this at the beginning of the project, and they were willing to assume responsibility for working through all that complexity to get the desired result.

How effective was the project management?

I have been serving as the day-to-day project manager. In future work, I expect that I will use Yameo's project management resources. Yameo recognized my situation and didn't place a project management premium on my invoices. They offered me exactly what I needed—reserved development resources on a straight time basis.

Even though I wasn't being charged for project management, it was clear to me that the management at Yameo was keeping close tabs on my project. As a specific example, when the manager assigned to my project went on vacation, another stepped in and was completely up-to-date on my situation.  

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive thing about Yameo is their remarkable combination of technical ability, strategic vision, and effective communication.

I've been in custom software development for 25 years, the first ten of those years as a full-stack developer. In the last 15 years, I hired and managed over thirty developers, who collectively produced over 10 million lines of code. This experience has given me a balanced perspective.

I believe that Yameo is a great company for some very specific reasons. Firstly, they hire great people. Every interaction I've had with Yameo staff has been clear, efficient and courteous. Every development task was done to the highest standards. They also work to empower their developers. My senior .NET developer was not only superb technically, but he was completely adept at client communications and strategic evaluation of priorities. On several occasions, he redirected me by expressing his valid concerns. He was right, and I appreciated that.

As a company, they over-deliver. For example, I assigned the .NET developer several tasks of documenting different parts of the system for future developers. Having asked for similar sorts of documents from many developers through the years, I was expecting to have to re-write it for clarity and completeness. Despite English being his second language, he delivered clear and comprehensive documentation that required no editing.

Finally, they understand the components of effective communication. At the start of the engagement, I was worried about using foreign developers because of potential communication difficulties. I was delighted to find out that everyone I worked with at Yameo was fluent in written and spoken English. Most importantly, their communications protocols in the Jira tickets was really precise and effective. This allowed me to respond to them efficiently despite the seven-hour time difference.                 

What tips or recommendations do you have?

Yameo is great. My only recommendation is that you should hire them.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I‘m the COO we provide video and telepresence solutions to industries.

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

We wanted to set up our core product to a totally new.

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

Quick and professional solutions, trouble shooting in time

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

They developed a WebRTC browserbased video kiosk solution.

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

There were 5 people in core team and several temporary specialists e.g. for UX.

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

We are currently winning more and more new customers.

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

Working with jira and integrating customer to dev board. Yameo is keeping in touch to their customers in a direct way.

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

They guys are able to keep the fire burning. Especially hotfixing will be done with all they can do, to fix the issue within less hours!!!

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

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