Provectus

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is an on-demand pediatric care provider. We provide access to pediatric specialists through an iOS app. Doctors will then treat sick children at their homes.

I am the designer and product manager for the company app. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Reinvently?

We needed a developer for our iOS and Android apps as well as for the back-end that enables the on-demand service. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Reinvently is in charge of developing our apps. We are working with a project manager, a part-time account manager, two full-time developers for Android and iOS, a full-time PHP developer, a back-end developer, and a quality assurance person, who is active for about 25 percent of the development time. We also use a front-end web developer and designer from Reinvently on a need basis.

How did you come to work with Reinvently?

I'd had previous working experiences with Reinvently before working at my current company. I own a software consulting firm. One of our first products was a camera app, for which I needed development work. I looked for firms in Dallas and in other places, but I couldn't find one I liked. My co-founder recommended using a Ukrainian firm. I made a list of 25 companies, looking at each one's portfolio. I contacted the top three ones, one of them being Reinvently. I gave order frames to each candidate and asked them to come up with an estimate. The first company came back with a very complicated formula for estimating the project. That estimate was so broad as to range from $5,000 to $40,000. Based on my experience in working with developers, complex formulas like that one are designed to trick the other party. This gave me a bad feeling, which was coupled with the fact that their project manager didn't speak fluent English. The second firm decided to come back to us with an estimate in the form of an email with bullet points. There was no formality or structure at all.

Reinvently's account manager had actually gone to college in Texas, so she spoke fluent English. Reinvently provided a formal document outlining their approach, their best portfolio pieces, as well as a timeline estimate. It had clear information and cost breakdown, without being too broad or specific. My co-founder flew out to Ukraine in order to check out each of the three firms. He liked the experience with Reinvently, given that they had a startup feeling, with a better culture for developers. We decided to hire Reinvently and since that happened, they've grown from less than 100 developers to more than 300, in multiple locations like Belgium, Ukraine, Russia, and San Francisco. Reinvently has expanded its portfolio quite a bit as well since the last time I saw their team. Out of curiosity, I checked out the other firms that I was looking to work with. They haven't changed their websites at all, with any new pieces. I think that I made a good decision in choosing Reinvently.

I worked with Reinvently on a similar app to the one being developed for my current company for makeup and hair service. Users could make requests to have their hair and makeup done, after which a stylist would come to their homes.

How much have you invested with Reinvently?

The total cost of Reinvently's services has been close to $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Reinvently for three years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In our last funding round, we were able to raise $4.5 million, bringing our total to more than $6 million. We're the only successful and consistently growing on-demand pediatric care provider in the country at the moment. We've come to grow from three visits per month to more than 360.

How did Reinvently perform from a project management standpoint?

Any development project, no matter how closely it is estimated, will go over budget. In my case, I've provided a lot of documentation, given that I'm a designer. I created a complete design, not just wireframes, for every screen and scenario that I could think of. Reinvently gave me an estimate based on that. It was very close but, as we went through the development process, we found use cases that we hadn't thought of, as well as running into bugs. There have been change requests made by our CEO and other people in the company without realizing how much that would affect development. Little things like these impact the schedule, so there have been delays and over-scopes. At the same time, the final product was able to yield a successful funding round and market expansion. It all worked out for us.

Reinvently's project manager set up a JIRA account for our project. We used it for creating tasks for each developer, assigning them and tracking bugs. Any clarifications are assigned to me. Once I deliver an answer, Reinvently will give the work to a developer.

One thing that I've enjoyed about this working process has been what Reinvently calls continuous testing. They have assigned a resource who makes continuous tests throughout the development process, tracking all bugs. Reinvently will inform us of their findings, leaving us the option to fix everything or just the critical issues, based on what time we have. Reinvently has given us ways to avoid scenarios that may cause problems. The quality assurance team has been a time saver for us.

Other development firms have delivered UI [user interface] designs that were completely off from what my requests were, as well as missing functionalities. With Reinvently, when I get a bill to test, the work will be perfect. I've rarely seen critical bugs.

What did you find most impressive about Reinvently?

I went to Ukraine earlier this month, spending a week with Reinvently. They have a tightly run ship, putting all the people that work on a certain project, in the same room. Our back-end developer and iOS developer sit at the same desk, with a divider between them. They continuously communicate with each other, instead of emailing back and forth. Whenever the iOS developer runs into trouble, he can simply get up and ask what's going on with the server, getting an answer immediately. Waiting for hours each time for a response can add up and cause a big delay in the project. This working arrangement has been very helpful.

Are there any areas Reinvently could improve?

Reinvently's price point could be improved. They're not the cheapest firm available, even though they are affordable. Reinvently's rate was lower three years ago when we started working together, likely because they were starting out. Since then, their rates have gone up. This is reasonable for their quality and experience, but my greed is making me hope to get a lower price.

I've recently worked with an Indian firm that charged $12 per hour. We reviewed their code using a third-party developer and found that it wasn't usable.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a retail loyalty provider focusing mostly on convenience stores. We handle anything retail, including restaurants. We provide a loyalty in-store experience using a tablet through which we collect information, offer any available rewards, capture data, and send it to our platform.

I am the founder and chief executive officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Reinvently?

We use a tablet for the local guest experience. We were looking to go from a responsive page to a full Android application. It provided numerous benefits, from network connectivity to some beacon functions we were considering.

When I first started this company, I offshored much of the development and had a horrendous experience. I decided not to do that again, but there is a shortage of local talent. The resources that are available provide a quality of work which doesn't justify their rates.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Reinvently developed our tablet app for Android. We're using the LAMP stack combined with MySQL for the database. Reinvently has worked on many of our APIs.

I am not a technical person, so I rely on our Chief Technology Officer [CTO] for reviewing code. I am in charge of requirements and budgets. We were very impressed by Reinvently' project management capabilities, which exceeded that of domestic teams we worked with. They clearly don't sleep, given that they seem to be available at all hours of day and night. This is important for us because, if something goes wrong, we need to dive into it quickly.

Reinvently' pricing is very competitive. We could find cheaper developers, but with worse quality. It's also hard to gauge pricing for development because everyone bills in hours. The output of one hour from one person can differ greatly to another developer. From my CTO's perspective, what we've gotten from Reinvently is in line with his experience.

At peak capacity, Reinvently provided a 6-person team for us. We've rolled out the big project, so we're only using one LAMP stack developer. We don't have the budget for ramping up any wish list items at the moment. Reinvently put our team together. The most important part is their project manager, who is a big reason for retaining our current developer. We aim to continue giving business to Reinvently so we don't lose our team and their knowledge. We have a level of trust and confidence in Reinvently, so we can assume that whoever they bring to the team will be good. Everyone who has come on so far has ramped up quickly and has offset the adjustment cost. In fact, we weren't charged for new engineers in the beginning, because of the learning curve.

How did you come to work with Reinvently?

Reinvently was referred to us by a friend who has a very successful startup. I contacted everyone I knew when I needed mobile app development. I knew of some agencies from my corporate days, but they would have cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars. Many of the references I received from Reinvently happened to be people I'd worked with in the past. One of them was on my agency team at a previous company.

How much have you invested with Reinvently?

The total cost of Reinvently's services has been in the $150,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Reinvently at the end of 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Reinvently has delivered everything that we asked for. The fact that we continue to give them more work says a lot. My CTO has commented on the quality of Reinvently's code, saying that he's very happy so far. Reinvently's responsiveness is a big factor in our relationship, as well as their ability to reprioritize as needed.

In our collaboration with Reinvently, we started with a $15,000 project and have come to 10 times that amount. As we received more work from clients, we passed along more and more tasks for Reinvently. They're fast, efficient, really good communicators, and very good at understanding our projects.

One of my biggest frustrations comes from not being a technical person. Other developers built exactly what was specified, with no critical thinking, whereas Reinvently is able to think through all the touch points in our platform and offer different perspectives, based on what impacts a functionality may have. We do pay for project management hours, but the costs have been fair. We're getting a lot for our money.

How did Reinvently perform from a project management standpoint?

The work has been very fluid, mostly due to our end. We keep handing Reinvently more requirements, so our budget increased accordingly. Reinvently uses Jira and GitHub for some tasks. I'm not as involved as my CTO in these operations, so I'm not sure what other tools were utilized.

What did you find most impressive about Reinvently?

I appreciated Reinvently's management team. They've been thoroughly involved in our work. I hear from our sales contact at least once per month. She's looking to see if we're still happy and if there are any concerns or issues with the team. She works with me on planning out future projects in terms of acquiring additional resources and so forth. From a business perspective, this is very impressive to me. Many service-based companies fall short on this. They often try to be too competitive on pricing, offering a bare bones cost which is increased with every step.

Are there any areas Reinvently could improve?

There's always room for improvement, but we've been exceptionally happy with Reinvently. Much of this is because there's a lot of hand-holding on Reinvently's end, which takes a lot of the burden from us.

The most important thing for any client is understanding project requirements and scope. It's important to plan out where resources will be needed. Development companies have many clients, so ramping up can't be done on a day's notice. Finding resources takes time, and those resources need to learn the system. In some cases, it took up to a month for someone to start adding value, given the mess that needed to be cleaned up beforehand.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a service provider for bands, being the number-one live download company on the internet in this category. We provide bands the ability to monetize nightly shows and also provide webcasting through apps and other services. When a band does a show, we can stream it directly from their soundboard, after which we sell that stream to customers. We also sell bands' apps on the app store, which gives users access to the entire catalog of recordings.

We do this for over 300 bands. Our founder has traveled with many bands and worked with them starting in the early 90s when he was trading live recordings with his network. He was approached by a band who proposed either working together or shutting down his operation.

We also run an on-demand CD business. We are a one-stop-shop for artists who want to get sound recordings and images out to customers.

I am the director of operations for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Reinvently?

We needed development resources for our apps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Reinvently has developed all our apps for Android and iOS, handling screen flows and design work based on our branding requirements. Reinvently has a very good handle on what the workflow should be.

Reinvently typically works on both versions of an app at the same time. Depending on our workload, we may release the Android version later. We're a small company, so we tend to stagger releases. We have a local quality assurance person and a product manager who works with Reinvently. We also have a development team who provides API access to Reinvently.

We typically work with a project manager from Reinvently who oversees all the projects being developed. We have one developer per operating system from Reinvently. Aside from Android and iOS, we have been working on a project for integrating our product into the Sonos speakers’ operating system. Reinvently typically assigns a designer for mapping out the creative elements, which is a relatively small part of our work. We also have a point of contact in the form of an overall manager of the Reinvently team, and keep in touch with one of their principals. Since we're a small company, we're consistently inquiring about leveraging Reinvently' developers in Ukraine and ramping up projects which we want to explore.

How did you come to work with Reinvently?

My company was already working with Reinvently for 6 months when I came in. I think that my boss' wife recommended Reinvently. They had done a lot of work with Sony and other large partners, which mattered to us. Reinvently is very good at what it does and we're happy to work together.

We have worked with other developers. Given that there is an 8-hour time difference with Reinvently, we have preferred working with local resources at times. Our main issue was finding the right project manager. Reinvently has 2 very good ones which have been responsive to our requests. I've looked at a number of options, but Reinvently is still the best that we could find, considering the cost and time involved in development.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have an ongoing relationship with Reinvently.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Every single app developed by Reinvently has been featured in the app stores. We receive consistently positive feedback from the artists that we work with. They love the app and we have a growing customer base. Users keep asking for more, which we deliver with the help of Reinvently. Right now, we've been featured on the Apple TV store.

How did Reinvently perform from a project management standpoint?

We basically hire a team through Reinvently and don't have specified project budgets. We have worked with 3 project managers from Reinvently. I've personally worked with 2 of them, who have both been very good.

We use an internal tracker, while Reinvently uses Jira, which has been a good fit for our local product manager.

What did you find most impressive about Reinvently?

When we start a new project, one of the first places we contact is Reinvently. I've worked with many abroad companies. Reinvently is one of the most responsive.

Are there any areas Reinvently could improve?

We've had a few issues with Reinvently. When one of our project managers went on vacation, we felt that we lost a bit of time. One of our projects was pushed and we weren't able to get a release. The person who was put in place wasn't able to communicate well. We addressed this with Reinvently and they've since resolved it. Our new project manager is also on vacation, but we're able to continue the work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

RadioGuru is a music streaming application for the web and mobile devices. Our company is the radio industry, which has more than 200 million listeners across the United States alone. Our target market consists of radio listeners who frequently – at least weekly – utilize web or mobile applications for listening to traditional radio.

I'm the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Reinvently?

The challenge has been to design and develop the web and mobile application for streaming radio broadcast music. Current listeners of radio do not have a convenient method of discovering what all their favorite stations are playing at any one time, and our solution to this has been to create an application that shows the real-time updates of each song that a station is playing. I did not have the necessary skills to create the solution myself, so I decided to find a developer with the knowledge to do it for me. Going offshore seemed to be the best idea in terms of cost savings. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We selected Reinvently as our development partner in order to bring our project from the idea stage into design and development for a mobile and web application. Our company used both the design and development team of Reinvently in order to accomplish this objective. The service from Reinvently was exceptional, as their team was able to create aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly designs as well as develop innovative solutions for the creation of our application. The project is continuing and, so far, has lasted more than nine months. We use a number of their resources, but I deal primarily with their project manager to guide the process.

How did you come to work with Reinvently?

We found them online through some basic research. We were specifically looking for outsourced providers so we could make the most of our financial resources. 

What is the status of this engagement?

This project remains ongoing. It's been a total of nine months, thus far [as of October 2015].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The user interface that was designed by Reinvently from scratch was beautiful and user-friendly, and the functional development so far has been timely, simple, and extremely feedback driven. They have been a great resource for us as an organization because of the incredible speed with which steps in the project have been accomplished and, moreover, because of the quality of work done ranging from design all the way to creation of the website and its more interactive elements. Since the solution hasn't been launched yet, I cannot share any figures or stats with you. I can tell you, however, that the application works as it is supposed to. We have rarely had issues with defective elements or faulty coding.

What did you find most impressive about Reinvently?

The value that you get from them is just fantastic. They have some very talented designers and developers working for them and their clients are able to take advantage of that expertise for a very reasonable price.

Are there any areas Reinvently could improve?

In our opinion, there is nothing the service provider needs to improve upon as it has been going very smoothly thus far and all deliverables have been on schedule.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Blownaway is an on-demand beauty service currently serving the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The service allows users to book a beauty appointment from any location and be served in the convenience of a home, office, hotel, or any other location that is requested. Our service ensures 100 percent satisfaction and complete comfort for our clients, whether it be for a wedding, business interview, charity event, concert, first date, anniversary, or girls night out.

I'm a co-founder and chief executive officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Reinvently?

Actually, the idea of creating a service like Blownaway came to my mind while I was driving an Uber and serving DFW folks. It just became clear that there was a need for creating a service, much like a taxi on demand. Beauty on demand was the first idea that came to my mind. When the idea surfaced and formed into a state of a clear vision, the only thing missing was the technical talent for bringing my idea to life and the initial investment for kicking it off. Just like any startup, in order to prove my concept I had to roll out with a minimal viable product fast. Since I don't have the skills myself, I knew I would have to find a developer that could build my solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I approached by friend designer, Sung Kim, who at that time was the CEO of the self-funded startup, Gestures. Sung Kim was the one who suggested that we work with Reinvently, due to the great experience he had with that team. Since at first, my capital was pretty low, I was very specific that the first version of Blownaway must be rolled out within two months. In order to do that, we took the original scope, which was estimated at five months, and cut all of the unnecessary features from the MVP specifications. We figured we could implement those items in the future after we got some initial market feedback.

I personally met with Helen [Khais], who was the sales and account manager at Reinvently and was attending SXSW [South by Southwest] in Austin and we discussed the processes, methodologies, and approaches they used. She had explained that Blownaway seemed like a typical on-demand service and thus required three foundational components: app for the client, an app for the service provider, and the administrative panel for managing accessibility and permissions of both types. We chose to concentrate on the iOS apps only and later expand to other mobile platforms like Android and Windows.

We were able to roll out the first version of the app within exactly two months and our influx of capital investment allowed for continued development with only a minor pause in between version 1.0 and 1.1. They have been responsible for the grand majority of the design and development work, but it's been a very collaborative process. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Right now, we're working together on the development of our Android version.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Reinvently covered the agreed scope in full and without any major issues along the way. They had a predictable and transparent process that helped me feel comfortable. The set expectations were met with great care and professionalism. Initial feedback from business partners and other stakeholders has been mostly positive. Reinvently definitely received a lot of praise for meeting our aggressive development timeline, which we weren't necessarily sure was going to be possible.

What did you find most impressive about Reinvently?

They are extremely well qualified with rapid prototyping. These guys draw from extensive knowledge and are always ready to make strategic recommendations when they see areas for improvement and refinement. With Reinvently, you will be sure to get a quick time-to-market solution.

Are there any areas Reinvently could improve?

No, I can't say there was anything specific. The expectations set at the beginning of the engagement were right on and their approach aligned well with what they promised to complete.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a startup located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We're developing a solution that allows users to share multimedia content quickly and easily through messenger apps on their mobile devices. I'm a project manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Reinvently?

We wanted to create an innovative product within the entertainment industry that can work with widespread music databases. We came up with the great idea to link messaging, music and jokes in one app altogether. We did not have the necessary skills here to develop the functional app, so we wanted to find someone who could help us build it. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We used them primarily for custom Android native application design and development. Technologies used include Java Android SDK [software development kit]/Android Studio, Google Analytics for analytics, and Crashlytics for crash tracking. We gave them our technical requirements and some mockups for our design layout, and they took care of implementing everything.

How did you come to work with Reinvently?

We conducted a massive due diligence search, found a series of companies online, and got a number of quotes from different industry players. Reinvently was the one to come up with a quote very fast, and the managers there showed consideration regarding what our business goals were. Significant expertise showed in everything they did, which we very much appreciated. We ended up going with them because of that.

What's the status of the engagement?

The project was completed in three to four months’ time. The service provider was fully responsible for the design part and mobile development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're happy with how it went with Reinvently. Their performance has been a real asset to the business and we wouldn't have been able to launch our app without them and their contributions. The project scope was fully covered and the deliverables were all handed in within the agreed upon time and budget. That matters a lot since, as a startup, we're somewhat pressed for resources.

What did you find most impressive about Reinvently?

Reinvently has shown its unique development-through-design approach. As they demonstrated, the approach has been developed and refined through the years, proving effective from project to project. The core of this unique approach is elicitation of project requirements via UI/UX [user interface/user experience], which makes it easy and visualized. It's a very appropriate method, and we felt like it resulted in a higher-quality end product.

Are there any areas Reinvently could improve?

Not that I can think of, to be honest. We were very satisfied with their work, and we continue to use their services when needed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We operate in the medical and non-medical home care space. We primarily attend and assist seniors at home. We provide nurses, physical therapists, caregivers, and aides so that our customers can stay at home and remain independent. That’s really how we got started. Our main competitors don’t focus heavily on Web presence or things of that nature. I saw an opportunity to differentiate our service, and that’s when I began my search.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Did you have a website before? Or, was this a redesign of an existing one?

This was an entirely new direction. We were beginning from scratch. In fact, we didn’t really know what it was we were looking for since, as I mentioned, our competitors lacked any significant Web presence, so there weren’t any meaningful reference points. Reinvently had a wonderful project manager assigned to us. He was an absolute asset throughout the whole process. Their architect was amazingly creative, which I appreciated immensely. They took extreme care with their development work, too. They always consulted us regarding our technical and conceptual needs. More importantly, they were really flexible with us. They were always willing to adapt to our needs and make the necessary modifications within a reasonable timeframe.

SOLUTION

Did they handle the entire design and development? Or, were there other companies involved in that process as well?

No, they were responsible for everything: Front-end to backend. I was impressed by how well their design teams collaborated with their development teams. They seemed to communicate very effectively. Few technical issues emerged during the implementations. They were also great with the members of our team, who were responsible for communicating our needs and the framework for the final product.

How much have you invested with Reinvently?

The project cost approximately $10,000, perhaps slightly less. For what they delivered, I thought the price was more than reasonable. They were tremendously helpful in estimating the costs associated with different design and development components. My team compiled a massive list of priorities at the beginning of the project, which I essentially forwarded onto Reinvently. They immediately consulted us on the list and made it absolutely clear what could be done within our budget range. We were then able to establish a more realistic list of priorities jointly. They were fantastic about the whole billing process, very understanding.

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s probably been somewhere around two years at this point.

It’s always great to see providers looking out for their clients, rather than attempt to gouge them as much as possible.

Exactly. I appreciated that because if you were to look at some of our other projects, you’d find some cheaper solutions offered by different companies we worked with. It’s somewhat misleading, though, because while they may have cost less, they were also very cookie cutter. Instead of receiving consultations and customized service, we received the one-size-fits-all treatment. They would sit down with us and after acknowledging our price range they would present a series of templates or models and then ask us to select one. It’s the qualitative difference originating from the quantitative difference that matters the most to me. I think we got the most value for our money with Reinvently.

I actually hail from corporate America. I used to work for a multibillion-dollar gas company that invested heavily in software development. I managed the IT group for five years. I coordinated and managed some huge IT products, so I’m familiar with the whole gamut of potential issues. Over-promise, under-deliver, budgets are a joke. None of those dilemmas arose.