Sparkbit

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Edyt, a San Francisco Bay Area software firm providing enterprise web software which can be further customized for customers. We are initially working with the European patent office and other offices worldwide to provide electronic dossier support, facilitating how the patent grant process works on the patent office side. We have a separate business supporting applicants for preparation and prosecution—preparing the patent applications, submitting them, working through the series of communications for sending something to the patent office, receiving a response, and responding to it through a grant or refusal. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sparkbit?

We have a complex subject domain. The patent grant process is not for the weak of heart. There is an endless amount of information to be aware of that materially affects requirements, implementation, and customer interaction. Also, the application itself is a complex, rich internet app. It’s a browser standard, and its amount of information is high, along with the degree of aesthetics, ergonomics, accessibility, and eventual responsiveness that will be requested. These two areas are challenging: the domain (understanding the context) and the actual web application. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sparkbit is primarily an implementation team, so they’re not providing full service (e.g. bringing them in, eliciting requirements, building an application, and managing it). Perhaps Sparkbit does that for other customers, but we are using them for the implementation phase. We elicit requirements and develop designs, and then pass things over to Sparkbit for implementation. Due to the complexity of the context and implementation, this phase itself is quite complex and requires a discerning development shop that’s able to take the initiative, have an excellent client-facing ability for raising clarification requests, and deal with technical issues that arise. Sparkbit does this admirably.

On the backend, we are using the Spring Framework. Previously, we used Python, and I believe Sparkbit worked with that as well. On the frontend, we are using JavaScript with the Angular 2 framework, and they seem very capable with that. They are able to deal with database issues, although we have mostly left that to a system integrator. They have excellent continuous integration tooling capabilities.

How did you come to work with Sparkbit?

I was introduced to them through someone at my company, but we have used a variety of development shops before. Sparkbit shines both in their flexibility and ease of working with them and in their technical abilities. Other shops usually do one or the other but not both. Sparkbit is exceptional in this regard.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began in April 2015. The project is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

Enterprise software for government entities, especially large bureaucratic ones, is known to be challenging. As someone who has lived and breathed these challenges since 2010, I suggest that these challenges shouldn’t be underestimated by people who haven’t worked in this field. Despite these challenges, Sparkbit has helped us deploy the software currently used at our government customer. That is rare and exceptional.

How did Sparkbit perform from a project management standpoint?

We run our own project management. However, due to time zones and Sparkbit’s ability to self-manage, they provide their own project management for the engineering subdomain. Our project management spans the entire project, including requirements, product design, and engineering. Their project management focuses on the engineering, working closely with our project management. It works very well. They work with JIRA and other project management tools.

What did you find most impressive about Sparkbit?

They have a wonderful mix of competence and collaboration. Although most government IT projects are relatively simple at the technical level, Sparkbit can also address more challenging requirements. That headroom is very important for our company since we tend to do more challenging enterprise government IT projects—especially in the standard web software domain—in which they excel.

Are there any areas Sparkbit could improve?

They are a small company and have a limited ability to respond to rapid increases or pulses in resource requests. This is understandable, given their size. We’d prefer to have the quality and ease of working with them that we’ve experienced, rather than the elastic resource availability we’ve experienced at some larger providers that usually lack the ease of working with them or technical prowess.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our firm provides services to automotive insurance companies. We provide information regarding an insured person’s driving behavior and habits, which the insurance company can then use in decision-making processes. I’m a senior program manager and worked on this specific project from the very beginning. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sparkbit?

We needed to develop an app to provide a new technological solution to our customer. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an initial app to start off and specific client requirements to be incorporated into the app. So, the work consisted of adapting requirements to an existing app.

Sparkbit was involved from the very beginning. Once we had the requirements from our customer, they provided the implementation plan. They identified the potential issues we would encounter, and they helped in defining a plausible roll-out schedule based on those issues. We were able to define a plan that satisfied the client’s needs, both in terms of roll-out and overall product development that allowed proper project review. We delivered a prototype and validated most of the requirements.

Like all projects, we did have issues on our end, and the client changed some of their requirements, but we ended up meeting the final deadline. We released the app, and now the app is being rolled out into other areas.

This is a closed app requiring user validation and other security requirements. Once the user logs into the app, it detects and records driving events. Based on the recorded information, we can provide a trip score, which is then used by the insurance company to apply a specific discount.

I don’t have the total number of resources used by Sparkbit. I can say that there were times we needed additional resources, and they were added. For our project, their resources were applied very well.

How did you come to work with Sparkbit?

We had another partner working with us who brought Sparkbit into the project. Sparkbit had done this kind of development before. They had experience working with smartphone technology. It was the first time we were approaching this kind of project.

How much have you invested with Sparkbit?

We spend around $100,000 a year with Sparkbit.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together at the end of March 2016, and the collaboration is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

The app is pretty tricky because every smartphone has different sensors and interprets data in a different manner. We had to share this with end users through discussions, explaining why it behaves certain ways on their phones. Our client was satisfied with the results and the explanation we gave behind the logic. For me, it was very important that Sparkbit provided a metric that allowed us to explain the product to the client and end users. There was a lot of trial and error, but the result is an app that is reflecting the overall requirements.

How did Sparkbit perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve met their deadlines. We haven’t had any issues. They tended to ask for more development time but always delivered ahead of schedule. We used Jira, Skype, and email to communicate. We did a lot of daily calls at the beginning, but fewer as the project went on.

What did you find most impressive about Sparkbit?

They’re very professional and very open in discussions about potential issues. They’re also very forward-thinking. They could see potential issues with the requirements and didn’t hesitate to express concerns. This approach was appreciated by my client. I’m very satisfied with our collaboration.

Are there any areas Sparkbit could improve?

We had some superficial issues, but nothing that was critical to the project. They were always very present and forward-thinking, which compensates for any minor issues we had.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

iLabora is an Italian company based in Milan, leading the development of applications for smartphones, tablets, and mobile platforms in general. Our customers are based all over Europe, but our main partner is OctoTelematics, the company for which we are using Sparkbit.

What is your position?

I am the chief executive officer of the company. The company was started in 2011, but my experience goes back to the last 10 years. I started working for Accenture in Milan, directing the mobile office. I started my own company in order to capitalize on my experience. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Sparkbit?

We are focused on mobile development, particularly frontend. When OctoTelematics asked us for a complete solution, because we are not as skilled in terms of backend tasks, I decided to work with Sparkbit. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Sparkbit has provided the entire backend development for our client's iOS and Android consumer application. We have used many resources from their team on a monthly basis for a multitude of tasks.

The application is meant for tracking the driving habits of its users. Our client specializes in automotive telematics, producing black boxes for cars. Almost every car in the world has a component which has been built by OctoTelematics since their clients are companies like Audi, BMW, and Mercedes. They decided to enter the consumer market with an application called Octo U, which uses smartphones for automatically tracking people's trips, without the need for human intervention. Its algorithm auto-starts and auto-stops the recorded trip, after which everything is computed on the backend side. Sparkbit has developed the full backend portion of the app, including the mathematics involved.

Our frontend sends raw GPS data to the backend, based on which there are multiple calculations being performed, coming up with a result in the form of a score. It depends on a number of factors like weather, traffic, and events like hard acceleration, hard braking, cornering, speeding, and so on.

We started by using one developer from Sparkbit, Michal Kreglewski himself, and ultimately reached up to 5 resources, depending on the task.

How did you come to work with Sparkbit?

I had worked with Sparkbit's principal, Michal Kreglewski, in Milan on a project for General Electric before he started his own company. I trusted him completely, so I decided to ask for help on the backend part of our application. Sparkbit has grown a lot since that time.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

We've had a number of invoices so far, so it would be difficult to say. Sparkbit’s work had a cost of around $50,000 in the first year. In 2017, it will be around $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Sparkbit in July 2014. The app went live in August 2015. I have been very satisfied with Sparkbit, so I'm not considering working with other companies in the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The app has reached 300,000 downloads on iOS and Android combined, with around 80,000 registered users. OctoTelematics is a big company, so they had the power to market the app. The quality of the app is good.

How did Sparkbit perform from a project management standpoint?

Sparkbit was professional and accurate in this regard. We've used the Agile methodology to manage the project from our own side. I'm sure that Sparkbit has project management resources on their own side as well since they've often pushed us to respect deadlines and meet requirements.

What distinguishes Sparkbit from other providers?

The main thing to note about Sparkbit is the team's flexibility. They are able to cover any kind of task we provide. We had some issues with the app's mathematics; everything on the backend is done through an algorithm which provides live analysis of the user data. Instead of asking us to provide specialists for this part, Sparkbit was flexible in finding the competency in its own organization, without being asked. They are self-sufficient in providing complete results.

Is there anything Sparkbit could have improved or done differently?

Empathy is an improvement point. We are an Italian company, while Sparkbit is based in Eastern Europe. They are a professional group, and I am friends with Michal, but the other members are not as direct as him. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the director of engineering at 5x5.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Sparkbit engaged with us on a variety of projects in the AI/ML and application engineering space.

SOLUTION

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

Members on our team had a previous working relationship with the group.

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

They designed and developed python based APIs and algorithmic AI/Ml solution for automated analysis of our digital twin models.

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

On the course of the project anywhere from 1-5 resources engaged with our teams.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Jedrek and the team were excellent to work with. Much of our team works in US timezones. They were able to blend into our schedule, provide meaningful progress feedback and high quality deliverables.

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

Extremely transparent. Engaged with us via Slack, Zoom, and email.

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

They have knowledge of science/math matched with engineering which is often rare to find in balance. You will find theoretical and execution proficiency with Sparkbit.

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

Next time we work together I will partner with them to blend our teams even more closely. I don't think there was much I would say Sparkbit could improve in this area, but it was a learning we took from the experience.