Agilityio

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the CTO for a company of lawyers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AgilityIO?

We were trying to become more tech savvy and gain work as consultants for banks. We wanted to create a few tech products for servicing and training around these regulatory requirements. There are training programs within banks, but we wanted to put a twist on them by creating infographics. We needed help us with those infographic services because we didn’t have any in-house resources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Internally, we created a handwritten sketch of what we wanted on the infographics. Luis [Director of UX, AgilityIO] came on site for a couple of days, listened to our ideas, drew up some initial sketches, and made a rough draft of what we wanted it to look like. We refined the process several times over the course of a week.

They provided us with files from PowerPoint and Keynote. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Angelina [CEO, AgilityIO], Luis, and the main interactions were with Chok [Chairman, AgilityIO].

How did you come to work with AgilityIO?

We considered a few vendors. I’ve known Chok for a long time. I used to work with him at Bank of America in the beginning of our careers. I called him to get an estimate for what we wanted to do. We all agreed upon the estimate and started the process.

How much have you invested with them?

$8,000–$11,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2014 and the project lasted less than a month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our team loved it and our potential funders were impressed by the design.

How did AgilityIO perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very good. I’ve never seen a team that goes above and beyond to provide like they do. Luis worked extra hours and over the weekend to get us a demo ready. They were amazing and did that without us having direct involvement or having to call them. They managed everything internally using InVision and that was impressive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very affable. They’re pleasant to work with and follow up extremely well with their clients. You don’t have to reach out to them, but they reach out to you.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re a little expensive. They could do better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Jobwell is a platform that helps job seekers organize their career search and networking opportunities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Agilityio?

We needed to build an MVP, namely the first iteration of our platform. After debating the idea of building it in-house, we decided to outsource development. Using a contractor seemed like the most efficient option.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our web-based platform is similar to the project management tool, Trello, but tailored to job seekers. It allows users to manage potential jobs or networking contacts through a clear pipeline process. The system generates cards for jobs that users have applied to or new connections to contact. When expanded, they contain additional detailed information that helps users prioritize tasks during each stage of their job search. After we provided design mockups, Agilityio gave us substantial feedback. They indicated that although we had a solid foundation, we needed to flesh it out. The more materials we could provide, the faster the entire development would progress. Thorough input included screenshots and ideas for actions. They reminded us to create facets of the UX that we hadn’t even considered. That was immensely helpful.

They offered to have their team complete the entire design. Due to budget constraints, we requested their ongoing guidance as we executed it in-house. They contributed supplementary design work to shape the platform’s overall look and feel. We’d use their examples as a model to complete each interaction and subsequent screen. This effective method of compromise showcased the team’s flexibility in devising a solution. By the start of the development cycle, we’d prepared sufficient materials to estimate a quote. We prioritized our desired features and functionalities to calibrate the scope. After that fairly fluid process, we set a deadline and solidified our goals

What is the team composition?

We mainly interacted with the project manager. Four developers and a technical lead were dedicated to our project during the build.

How did you come to work with Agilityio?

I had previously worked with Agilityio during my role at a larger company. They had been easy to work with and seemed genuinely invested in that partnership. Their method of client engagement makes it easy to orient toward agility. They stood out from the variety of vendors I’d dealt with throughout my tenure there. Since they’d left me with such a good impression I solicited their support to kick off the development stage of our new platform. It was an easy decision to make.

How much have you invested with them?

As a recent startup, we found their pricing appealing. We paid $50,000-$60,000 for the main development project. That stage of our project took about four months to complete.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2017 and launched the platform in November. We took a brief break to survey the live product and audience engagement. Users provided substantial feedback about new features they’d like us to add. We reengaged with Agilityio in January for a smaller piece of work. It’s currently in progress and should be wrapping up in 1-2 weeks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Agilityio’s ability to build this platform has been integral to our success. Qualitatively, our main objective as a startup was to launch a new product. Putting a tangible, usable, functional platform on the web was a huge milestone. The team’s deliverable allowed us to start testing our business case and gauge the direction we're taking. Quantitatively, we currently have over 300 users. At this early stage, we’re still iterating and soliciting user feedback. We’re mainly focused on improving the product and slowly introducing it to more users.

How did Agilityio perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed quite well. Developers communicated clearly and regularly about the ongoing activity. We receive both weekly and sprint reports that indicate completed, in-progress, and upcoming work. They usually detected and notified us about potential issues. I was pleasantly surprised that both a project manager and tech lead came with our paid package of four developers. Those bonus resources helped the communication and workflow progress smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Agilityio uses a customer-focused approach to formulate new ideas and improvements. The team is forward, direct and genuine about their work and the effort it entails. Having an open dialogue facilitates a smooth development process. Even if functional requirements were missing, they anticipated potential problems from the business side. I’m impressed with their work ethic and trust they’ll always put forth their best effort. Having that sense of certainty feels good in a partnership.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As we did the retrospective, we noticed one particular area had caused slight delays. The engineers made backend architecture decisions that complicated subsequent development. This causation became apparent when they brought in the technical lead. At that point, the technical team had to escalate and find a solution. We would have preferred for them to notify us immediately rather than at the end of the project. We would have been very willing to offer flexibility or make accommodating business or functional decisions. The whole team’s major takeaway was the importance of increased oversight and early detection.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very clear about the scope and what features you want to be prioritized. Carefully plan out all the development details including screens and user interactions. Laying that groundwork will preempt many complexities and delays.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder and CEO of The Luxe Nomad, Asia-Pacific’s leading luxury villa booking portal and villa manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Agilityio?

We needed to fix our website’s backend, which wasn’t originally coded well. We also had to develop new features among other things.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a faster site with new features that wouldn’t glitch.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

A friend recommended them to us.

Describe the project in detail.

We had two full-time developers and access to their senior management when things were urgent or whenever we had to come up with a strategy.

What was the team composition?

The two developers they assigned worked from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. They’d even work overtime when necessary.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site turned out to be much better and steadier than it used to be. Their involvement allowed us to get it running to a state where we could then transition its upkeep to our in-house developers. We’ve used many agencies but Agilityio has been the only one that’s professional, transparent, and punctual. We really enjoyed working with them and have recommended them to several clients.

How effective was the project management?

They were good in this regard, though we lacked a proper CTO that could interface with the developers.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their professionalism, trustworthiness, and good practices are noteworthy.

What tips or recommendations do you have?

My advice would be to have someone in-house to manage the tech aspect full-time. I could only interact with Agilityio’s developers on a part-time basis.