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.
The MVP successfully realized the initial vision, performed exactly as expected, and helped secure funding for a full beta version. By operating efficiently and proactively addressing problems, Yameo met every deadline. The team established a smooth and supportive workflow for everyone.