Software Mind S.A.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

YourGolfTravel is the worlds largest Golf Tour operator dealing in a B2C Market. As CIO I am responsible for approving all IT spend and tech partners

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Software Mind?

We engaged with Software Mind to design and develop the front end mobile App for our customer base. The App had to integrate with our existing internal systems to deliver accurate and relevant customer content

What were your goals for this project?

To provide our customers with a detailed itinerary of their golf holiday with additional functionality of assigning groups to hotel rooms, and for everyone on the trip to make payments. The App had to be built in a way to make it easily rebranded for sister companies within the same group.

SOLUTION

How did you select Software Mind?

A recommendation from a trusted source coupled with our own due diligence based on capability cost and culture.

Describe the project in detail.

The initial phase was to workshop designs and mock up the front end experience to validate with our existing customer base before the development/build phase. This iterative approach of refining the design assisted in ensuring the development scope was agreed and not changed materially throughout subsequent sprints.

What was the team composition?

Our internal team were responsible for the mid office delivery of data to the front end App (for both ios and android) which was delivered from beginning to end by Software Mind.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Despite a relatively soft launch across a handful of golf resorts, we immediately experienced a significant increase on online payments and downloads of the app for travellers already booked. This is despite the current market conditions of Covid and lockdowns in the UK.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent. Daily standups successfully run and all projects risks regarding costs and timelines were managed professionally and satisfactorily

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We hit a few bumps along the way but the ability of Software mind to manage issues as they arose with minimal fuss was outstanding

Are there any areas for improvement?

None come to mind!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a managing partner at Elko, a software development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with number8?

We were doing a custom software development job and we needed additional staff on the project. We wanted to have a way to quickly scale up the project in order to get it done faster. As a result, we hired number8 to leverage the skills of their .NET developers and get some more expert developers from them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team took over our integration project, allowing our system to be connected to multiple different apps. It would’ve been like a POS, a financial accounting system, invoicing system, and inventory management systems — these separate apps were connected to seamlessly work together. 

I can go to number8 and tell them whenever I need developers and state my requirements. Then, they will fill me in the next day with resumes and tell me the staff that can help me. They also set up a time so we can talk to their developers. After that, I'll do a text screen with their developers, and the one I like the most, I hire to be part of my project. 

I still have a project manager that oversees them, but they have senior-level developers on the project to knock out the technical parts that we need to finish. At the beginning of every project, we communicate with our project manager and our manager tells the developers our milestones, what we need to complete in each time frame, and the dates they need to complete it. What we do is basically integrate them as part of our team, so we also have our own developers on our project. We have daily meetings with the team where we talk about what we’re going to do about that day and discuss what blockers we may have.

There have been projects that have ended, but because I’ve liked working with them, we’ve brought them on for a new project that’s currently ongoing.

What is the team composition?

We’ve had at least four people that we brought on to our projects at any given time. 

How did you come to work with number8?

We liked that they are based out of Kentucky and they're a US-based company that has nearshore connections. In addition, I also had a colleague that at one point worked with number8 and they had some good things to say about them. As a result, I gave them a call and I was impressed with their responsiveness and willingness to work things out with me. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent over $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2019 and  I’ve continued to work with them for over a year at this point.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure their success by what they're deploying and what they're being able to get into production on a daily basis, making sure that we are on track to hit the future milestones that we've committed to.

number8's developers are good at communicating things upfront and it extends beyond the team as a whole. They've checked in with us to see if everything is going okay. If we experience any communication breakdown, they've always step in and help with that as well. 

How did number8 perform from a project management standpoint?

We have very positive feedback on their timeliness. They also have excellent communication skills. Their developers have been quick to raise concerns or any flags they might see in the project, which is always appreciated because we can pivot ahead of time. They're experienced enough to say what they can and can't do, and also state why they can't do it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We've been impressed with the broad skillset of number8's developers. Whenever we have a requirement for something, chances are they’ll be able to dig up quite a number of well-qualified people — whereas if we go to other places and if we ask them hypothetically to handle our Java framework, they can get stumped. However, number8 has never been stumped yet, at least not for the projects we've been looking for. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We have no real complaints about number8 or things that I would say they need to improve on. If anything, I should probably implement their communication and formal processes on my projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just understanding the project requirements ahead of time and being able to communicate that with number8 will allow them to provide qualified people. However, if you become very generic and just say you need a good developer, there's going to be a lot of interpretation for that. There could be good developers for mobile apps and for Apple Software, so a definition of a good developer could change drastically depending on your needs. So far, I’ve found that they can find the right person as long as you are accurate with your project requirements. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Senior Director of Software Development for a Default Solutions company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We utilize Software Mind to enhance our various teams for Development, QA and Business Analysis. They provide support for legacy applications, rewrites and new development projects.

SOLUTION

How did you select Software Mind and what were the deciding factors?

We wanted to find an offshore vendor that we could use to augment our existing teams.

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

We have used Software Mind to help us support many .NET versions including more recent cutting edge technologies. They have provided support for all aspects of the development life cycle.

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

We have used 10-15 resources over the last year that include developers, QA and business analysts. They work closely with our development and business teams on a daily basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Software Mind has always delivered on any projects they have been a part of in the past. They are currently working on a major application rewrite and it is on schedule and on budget!

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

We work closely with their PM to keep projects on time and moving forward. We have weekly status meetings so everyone on the team stays on the same page.

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

They are very professional and always try to accommodate any requests we have concerning resources or projects.

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

We have been very happy with Software Mind on all of our projects.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the director of packaged software development within a large value-added-reseller in the architecture, engineering and manufacturing markets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire number8, and what were your goals?

We needed to augment our software development team, to be able to deliver more capabilities with better quality, in each release of software. We had challenging needs - encompassing both desktop and web development, and within our specific niche/ecosystems of computer-aided design.

SOLUTION

How did you select number8 and what were the deciding factors?

We had recently acquired a company that had been in a successful relationship with number8 - so we decided to give them a try when we needed to grow our team.

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

Number8 brought in a software developer to augment our team. He has been a great addition and team member. We treat him similarly to our direct employees - he participates in daily standups, communicates well over MS Teams, and performs occasional direct support of internal and external customers. He has developed numerous key features in our products over time (both desktop and web). We hope to add another number8 resource soon.

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

One software developer, who was closely and constantly involved. One account manager who checked in frequently to make sure that we were being successful.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We increased revenue from this product line by over 33% in the time when the additional developer has been on staff. We've had increased customer satisfaction with the features we've included, and improved customer support by re-arranging the development and support staff (which we were able to do with him on staff). He has been a great addition to the team, and his work is both fast and high quality.

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

We have daily stand-up meetings with the team via Microsoft Teams. We communicate amongst the team throughout the day. We use Azure DevOps for source control and issue tracking. It's all working well.

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

There are a million outsourcing firms out there (I know. They call me every other day). We needed a resource that had sufficient domain knowledge with computer-aided design and our tools that could ramp up and be efficient quickly, and they delivered that.

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

None. We've been very happy with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a consultant and technical lead for a global sustainability consultancy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Software Mind?

We wanted to create a solution that enabled our business clients to understand and plan their transitions to a net-zero and low-carbon world.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At the start of the project, we had a storyboard workshop to understand the software solution. We worked together to understand how a solution might operate through the entire user pathway. We then worked in two-week sprints to identify the stories needed to create this online platform to the specifications of the Excel solution.

Software Mind transferred our calculation that existed as an Excel solution into a web-based platform, overcoming the shortcomings of the initial solution. Their team enabled multi-user access, dynamic data management, and inter-company knowledge sharing at a level that wasn’t available through the Excel platform. We released the platform into the marketplace and continued to engage Software Mind for about four months to monitor, maintain, and enhance the platform’s capabilities.

What is the team composition?

We engaged with five main individuals, including a project manager. He managed a team of three .NET developers and one UI/UX developer. Another Software Mind team member led the development team.

How did you come to work with Software Mind?

A member of our team had previous engagements with Software Mind and recommended that we contact them. There was a definite excitement around the capabilities that Software Mind could bring to the project. We were impressed by their proposal, so we decided to pursue the project with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested roughly €150,000 euros (approximately $177,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in September 2019, and it’s due to wrap at the end of October 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Throughout the entire engagement, I’ve been impressed with Software Mind. We’re impressed by the solution as well as the timeframe and the cost associated with it. When we faced timeline challenges, their team identified ways to consolidate the solution that enabled us to reach our goals.

Their code's high-quality, and you can see that in the results. I’m impressed with the UI/UX too. Their team definitely listened to how we wanted the solution to look and feel.

How did Software Mind perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team was responsive to our recommendations. Software Mind met all of the platform’s deadlines. Our project manager led the project well, and their team always found a solution to areas of concern.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed by the way that they engaged with a completely new area. Software Mind had never encountered software that involved carbon emissions. They quickly applied their expertise to the specialized field of carbon. Their team also understood the importance of the solution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their team was great at creating a product from a blank canvas. Software Mind didn’t offer a maintenance package that would allow us to maintain the solution and fix bugs. That was an area where we struggled to find the right way forward with them that would also fit our budget. They could provide more ad-hoc support to a client’s needs.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would encourage you to listen to Software Mind’s process and give their developers the autonomy to be creative. Their process of designing a solution that fit the requirements was impressive.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of a deep-linking platform. We build tools for developers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Software Mind?

We needed to scale up our engineering team very quickly, and Software Mind was able to help us with that. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve engaged them on an augmentation basis for our staff, so they’ve worked on a bunch of different projects. Their team is directly integrated with our team to deliver the core deliverables. Most of our work is written in Java and a sizable amount of our projects use big data technologies. They’ve worked in Apache Spark, Presto, Python, and other technologies. 

What is the team composition?

There is a team of around 12 people. There is a delivery manager and a variety of software engineers and data scientists. 

How did you come to work with Software Mind?

I found them through word of mouth. I evaluated a number of different people, but I was impressed with Software Mind earlier on. The examples they brought and how prepared they were to jump into the project for a quick timeline was impressive. 

I also visited their office in person and was impressed by the people I met and the capabilities they had for the types of projects they could work on. Another important aspect was the culture and fast-paced environment they work in.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $200,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since November 2019. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

For some projects, we’ve been able to set metrics, but others are more delivery-oriented. Overall, we care about their impact and the feedback from our team has been very positive. Everyone enjoys working with them. Our team reviews the code they deliver and are all satisfied with their work. 

How did Software Mind perform from a project management standpoint?

They use our project management tools, working within our Jira account with us. I meet with them several times a week to make sure everyone is on the same page and on track. That process is going well. They’re super responsive to feedback. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to ramp up so quickly and start contributing to our projects has been most impressive. They don’t take things for granted and are always questioning and trying to understand how they can really best help us. They’re not an execution machine, they want to understand how and why we’re doing certain things so they can deliver the strongest result possible. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the moment, there’s nothing. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It is important to be open with them and not just tell them to do something. Tell them your project and goals and see how you can work together to accomplish it. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a financial services company. We provide financial services to the young generation within the German-speaking market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ValueLogic?

We were looking for a flexible and agile partner to develop our software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ValueLogic developed our mobile app with machine learning. They were responsible for the front- and backend development. We provided them with the design. We didn’t use any blockchain technology, but everything that comes into play regarding mobile app development.

Our work is ongoing.

What is the team composition?

There are 2-3 people.

How did you come to work with ValueLogic?

We wanted a vendor who could provide professional, quality software development. We also wanted a partner relatively local and with whom we could develop a personal connection. When I visited them, I got a very good impression of their professionalism and knowledge.

How much have you invested with them?

The spend is five-digit right now but it’s going to be six-digit.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2019 and we have a long-term project with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to ValueLogic, we have a 100% working software. There are no crashes at all. 

They have a team of very skilled developers. They’re a software house, which means that whenever a developer has a question, they can reach out to someone sitting next to them. It’s a strong community of developers. If we ever want something in the software changed, they make it happen.

How did ValueLogic perform from a project management standpoint?

I was the product manager and I coordinated the developers and resources of ValueLogic. Even though we didn’t have very hard deadlines during the development process, they did consistently meet their timelines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re agile, talented, fast, and professional. They’re a company that can find solutions. I’m confident that whatever technology we want to implement in the future, they’ll find a solution for it. There’s no limit to the scope of the services they can provide.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, if there was, I would have asked them to do so. We've had very smooth and productive product development without any issues.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get in contact with ValueLogic and talk about your project. Listen to them and how they would approach the project. They’ve done loads of projects. They know how to set up such a project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Reporting Manager with Revenue Edge SPS. We oversee Revenue Management Systems for portfolios within the Multi-Family Industry. I am responsible for generating and processing reports that are shared with our clients to help them run their day-to-day revenue management needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Software Mind?

We have access to an abundance of reports that provides us with different information and data. Some of those reports had information we wanted but didn't have a way to filter. We needed a way to extract only the information we wanted for our internal reports.

What were your goals for this project?

Our main goal was the time it took to process the information. We also needed a way to extract information we wanted, but didn't have a way to do so.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I believe they reached out and met with our founder to talk about partnering on potential work.

Describe the project in detail.

We initially asked Software Mind to create an Application that would allow us to filter through reports and extract only the data we needed. Previously, I would extract this information manually and would take me hours.

We already had workbooks that we currently used and didn't want to change. They were able to take what already existed and built the app to accommodate that and they were also able to make a few enhancements. The application process they built allowed us to take those hours and turn them into minutes.

We then asked them to create a user friendly way for us to extract data and create an output that would allow us to then in-turn use it for our internal reports. We provided them with samples of the reports and also a template of what we would like the output to resemble.

What was the team composition?

The initial meetings were with two members of Software Mind and two members of Revenue Edge, myself and my boss, the founder. Eventually, I was the main point of contact between the 2 of them. I was able to provide them with documents and test out the applications as they finished. They were very quick to respond to questions and feedback.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our main objective was to save time. We also had access to all of this other information that we didn't know how to extract easily. We get these reports in excel versions that are in unusable formats with hidden rows, columns, and merged cells, etc, that just made it messy and hard to use.

As stated they were able to take one of our process and turn hours worth of manual work and turn it into minutes. The other process they built within the app we could take over 100 excel documents that are each over 1000 rows of data and extract what we need in the template we provided in a matter of seconds.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our main point of communication was through email as there is a major time difference between the companies. They were able to provide us with a timeline of work completion and they were right on time. They were also very upfront if something was taking longer than expected. They were not hesitant to ask for a phone call to talk something through if email was not enough.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I found that even though they really have no background in the multi-family industry they were able to see our vision and help us get what we needed and how we needed it. They never told us something wasn't possible without doing the research.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Honestly, there is nothing I would change about our experience or interaction with Software Mind. They were absolutely wonderful to partner with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a software engineering company building a Construction Marketplace and Enterprise Vendor Management & Sourcing SaaS platform for the construction industry in Australia. I am the VP of Engineering.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Software Mind?

We hired Software Mind for backend and frontend software engineering services to extend our local and remote team capabilities to build new features for the web application.

What were your goals for this project?

Add new feature modules to the existing system, rebuild and extend existing functionality with more scalable solution.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After an extensive online search, shortlisted potential vendors, discussed requirements with SoftwareMind. Talked with few existing and past clients who talked highly about the vendor. The main deciding factor was the existing experience working as a remote addition to team and professionalism from the first contact. I was responsible for the selection process.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They developed new modules for the application using frontend and backend technologies based on the specification of our product team in Australia. Key functionalities include new modules like Preferred Tenderer selection, Contract Management features, Request for Quotation improvements and many code structural improvements.

What was the team composition?

We started with six software engineers, mixed front and backend developers with a team lead and over time last year increase to nine.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

They build new features which allow the company to sell for a wider customer base.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They worked with us like would be part of our team in Australia. Collaborated well in shared projects, we used Slack, Jira, BitBucket, Confluence for collaboration. The team used the limited timezone overlap well.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They have high technical skills, strong professional attitude and innovative solutions. They continuously improve the codebase, bring regular suggestions. Transparent, well organised team with detailed status and progression tracking.

Are there any areas for improvement?

A small thing to mention. Our dynamic nature of task allocation and constantly changing priorities require a high level of juggling between multiple tasks. For many teams, time-boxed, iterative methodologies are more common. Working with Kanban and Continuous Delivery requires a more flexible approach. Some improvements to change priorities could help to have a smoother flow.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a product owner at a company that produces printing ink. We supply products to our customers who use them in further production.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ValueLogic? 

We wanted to develop a simplified ordering process and a reporting system if there were quality issues or questions about the product. Before working with ValueLogic, we were taking most of our customer inquiries over email, including orders.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a solution with us from scratch. We provided them with industry knowledge and product management. They took that information to build to ordering, customer service, and QA software. They used JavaScript and Angular. 

What is the team composition? 

Initially, we had one developer. However, we eventually scaled up to two developers and one part-time QA resource. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent roughly €350,000 (approximately $382,440). 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2018, and we completed the project in September 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was satisfied with the functionality of the product they developed. We recently switched management of the software to an in-house development team. They were impressed with the quality of the code, and they said it was quite stable. 

How did ValueLogic perform from a project management standpoint?

They were quite flexible. We changed the team a few times, but the project remained stable. If there were difficulties, they were responsive in providing solutions. We had regular phone calls to discuss the project. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The diversity and flexibility of the team were impressive. We had team members with different personalities and working styles which helped balance the project. For example, we had a teammate that excelled at taking a big picture approach, but we had another developer that was more detail-oriented. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

No, not really. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Put in the effort to explain your business so they can understand your business. We took the time to show them what the customer experience looked like with our company, and this made the collaboration more efficient.