iOS Augmented Reality App Dev & Design for Marketing Agency
-
Mobile App Development
- $10,000 to $49,999
- Aug. 2018 - Apr. 2019
- Quality
- 2.0
- Schedule
- 1.5
- Cost
- 2.5
- Willing to Refer
- 0.5
“It was a very chaotic and unprofessional process.”
- Financial services
- Lampertheim, Germany
- 1-10 Employees
- Phone Interview
- Verified
ANODA Software Development Agency came on board to design and develop the beta version of an iOS app using ARKit. The project consisted of four milestones.
Although ANODA’s skilled developers delivered functional code, the team poorly executed the design portion of the project and didn’t provide the iterative process that internal stakeholders expected. Unexpected extra costs and ineffective project management led to a disappointing experience overall. This review includes the vendor's response.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the CEO and founder of the company.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with ANODA Software Development Agency?
We were searching for a company that could develop our mobile app. The goal of the project was to create a beta version of our application to show to potential customers and investors. It wasn’t about creating a finished application ready for market launch.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
We started with the iOS version. We wanted to create an AR application using Apple’s ARKit. The idea was to use some kind of unique scannable dot codes, similar to QR codes, that would enable users to download or view content in AR. Additionally, it was a location-based application, meaning that every piece of content uploaded to it was stored in a specific GPS location.
The project was milestone-based, with four milestones for the app development. We started with the design, but they didn’t make any initial wireframes. We had our first graphic design of the app presented to us, and we thought that it would’ve been a first sketch of the app design and the arrangement of the app. We were actually happy with that, but we expected that there might be a bit more professional design. In the end, it turned out that there wouldn’t be any improvements to that.
What is the team dynamic?
I don’t know how many people from ANODA worked on the project. I was only in contact with a few of them, but it seemed that there were more people involved. Our first contact was a project manager. After having several issues with him, it seemed that he got fired. There was a second project manager assigned to us, and we were also in contact with the founder and CEO of the company, who jumped in several times here and there.
How did you come to work with ANODA Software Development Agency?
We researched Eastern European companies on Clutch and found several companies of interest. We had a three-step selection process. First, we prepared a questionnaire and sent it to every potential partner on the platform. The second step was to have Skype calls with the candidates, discussing several questions we had about the project and the company’s profile. The third and last step was a personal visit to their facilities to get an idea of how they worked, how they organized, and what their culture was.
How much have you invested with them?
My company spent €20,000 (approximately $22,090 USD).Â
What is the status of this engagement?
The kickoff was in August 2018, and the end of the project was in March or April 2019.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.
There was always a lack of transparency in terms of what work had been done, what was still to be done, and what we were getting invoices for. We sent them a debriefing at the beginning of 2019, at which point we faced the first major issues with the project.
We got to the point where we more or less had application functionality, but we still had the really poor design. Additionally, we were never officially asked to accept the design. There was not a negotiation process, where we’d ideally be presented 2–3 designs to choose from. We were faced with a design that we ultimately never approved.
We started pitching the app to potential partners and investors, stating that a proper design would cost additional money. We hired an external designer on our own, and they were able to create a proper design for our application. After bringing it to ANODA, they asked for additional money to implement it, which was one-third of the cost we’d already paid.
To give an example of their professionalism as a company, we found our application under a different name on a site where they were showing their references, even though we’d signed an NDA. The design, which is still online, is pretty close to our application design, which was made by the external designer we hired.
How was project management handled?
We had contact on Slack. The expertise of the developers was okay, as far as I was able to judge it. We were in contact with the developers about several functionalities. In my opinion, there was very poor project management on the project. Project managers only showed up when they wanted us to pay additional invoices; it was never about having routine check-ups.Â
When we began to struggle with the quality of the design and to complain about the project progress, they offered to do weekly calls to improve the situation, but those calls never took place. The project milestone list, which we created on Excel so that we could check the app’s functionalities, the invoices, and the project’s progress, was always out of date. They repeatedly told us they’d send us a new list. It was never 100% clear to us which functionalities we’d already paid for, or which we had to make additional payments for. It was a very chaotic and unprofessional process. There was definitely a lack of project management.
Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?
The actual coders were capable in their field. Everything around that was a bit messy.
In what specific areas can they improve?
The design was the most obvious problem. They can’t publish a reference with a slightly different name than that of our app, with a design that comes more-or-less from an external designer we hired, and post it online.
Then, when working on design, the first thing to do is make some kind of mockup, and not directly implement the design on the application framework. They didn’t ask us to approve the design before moving on to the next step. We were constantly talking about the possibility of working on the design, so we thought that that might be some kind of development process, and that it was just a rough framework of the app design, but we were never asked for final approval.
In the end, we had an app with functionality that more or less met the requirements — that’s the reason why I actually give credit to the coders themselves — but we had a really messy design. After the application was 60% done, they added a lot more cost to redesign it, which wasn’t in our budget. It was very disappointing working with them, given how their project management worked and communicated with us. The project management only showed up when they had another invoice for us. The organizational stuff never took place.
What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?
I’d recommend to anyone working with them to have clear project management, to have control over objectives and key results, and to never make a payment in advance. In the end, it can be messy to work based on trust and to make payments in advance. We thought that there would be some improvements and more work on the design, but it turned out that that was it. Our money was gone, and the design was bad. It’s important to clearly control the results and the work that will be done for the money.
Company Responses
The vendor responded on April 10, 2020.
First of all, we wanted to say that we are very sorry about how we ended our partnership. This project was very interesting and seemed to be multi-faceted.
The client was happy with the design at first. But, when we were close to release, he got second opinions and requested a full redesign free of charge.
The wireframes were created for free, printed, and put on a wall. This way the team could view and discuss the flow and structure in a convenient way. The client actually was in our office and saw those wireframes.
The designs provided by the client's external design team didn’t match the approved wireframes, were much more complicated, and didn’t meet the MVP approach. This is why we had to estimate all of the additional work to change the app due to new designs. At that time, almost all development work was
finished. The client didn’t agree that it required additional expenses.
We're surprised with the low grade for quality as, from the review, it’s clear that that client was pleased with the development quality, considering that we met all deadlines and fit within the estimate.
We are sorry that this situation occurred as our approach always was to meet clients’ expectations and provide high-quality products. We learned a lesson and made improvements in our processes for this to never happen again.
RATINGS
-
Quality
2.0Service & Deliverables
-
Schedule
1.5On time / deadlines
-
Cost
2.5Value / within estimates
"Coding was more or less okay, but the design was messy."
-
Willing to Refer
0.5NPS
