Rightpoint

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a large retailer. My team is responsible for the primary customer-facing mobile app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Raizlabs?

Our goal was to build and deploy two new apps, shut down the old apps and then train our internal team and bring it all in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Raizlabs replaced existing iOS and Android mobile apps with new ones from the ground-up. Once the initial apps were in production, service packs were added with additional enhancements. The apps are used by our retail customers to help find a nearby location, to shop online, view current deals, create a shopping list, etc. This is the primary app used by our customers. Raizlabs also helped with creating the best keywords to help our apps be easily searchable in the App Store and Google Play. They also launched our apps into both App Stores.

How did you come to work with Raizlabs?

We were looking for a partner with a solid track record for building native iOS and Android apps. We narrowed our list to four possible vendors and submitted a request for proposal from each. They were then brought onsite for presentations.

We had a panel who scored the results of the written proposals and onsite presentations. When evaluating the various vendors, we looked at cost, proven track record, company size and financials, as well as how they scored on the onsite presentation and the written proposal.

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial project was completed in five months, from April to August in 2014. Additional efforts continued for another year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I can't really share any specific statistics or metrics but I can say that the new apps gave us a very solid foundation to grow with. Using Agile methodologies, we are able to continuously improve our apps every few weeks and watch the ratings improve with each release.

Raizlabs is able to handle the entire spectrum of mobile app development from project management, architecture, UX, development, QA and implementation.

How did Raizlabs perform from a project management standpoint?

As far as project management and communication, I would say that this is one of their strong points. We had weekly standing meetings and also frequent communication with email, phone, chat, etc. Overall, they have excellent communication skills and project management capabilities.

What did you find most impressive about Raizlabs?

Raizlabs is confident and capable, and they run their projects in a fun but professional manner. They also utilize excellent tools that provide great visibility into all of the work. We had a great feeling that they would work with us to overcome any obstacles, and in the end we were right.

Raizlabs has a great team and is able to think out of the box and come up with win-win solutions. They are fun, friendly, professional and very capable of hitting milestones and deadlines.

Are there any areas Raizlabs could improve?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and COO of Placester, a suite of marketing tools for real estate professionals. Our focus is on helping agents grow their businesses using digital media and create better experiences for consumers on the agent’s behalf.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Raizlabs?

Timing. We had all of our technical resources focused on the web, and wanted to start working on the native mobile experiences for our tools. We knew we needed to start making investments on that side sooner rather than later in order to have something released in a timescale that was interesting. Our engagement with Raizlabs was very successful, which is why we used them for over a year. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We set out to take our vision for the mobile experience for our tools and the key activities agents need to do on the go like: search and contact leads, stay on top of action items (tasks, reminders, etc.) for their leads, and search for properties. Many of those features can be done via voice commands. There are a lot of features on the app.

They focused on iOS development for us and helped us launch in the App Store. They’ve got creative services skill sets that helped us be strategic from a project strategy perspective. it was helpful that they also provided project management skills because mobile wasn't a focus when we started. Later in our relationship, they did some web development work as well. Their capability has grown over the time I’ve known them.

There were 3–4 developers, a project manager/scrum master, a designer, and sometimes the creative director would be involved from their team. At certain points, their founder Greg was involved. Also, one of their BD/product guys was frequently involved. They brought a pretty diverse set of skills on the project.

How did you come to work with Raizlabs?

We’d heard good things in the community and reached out to them. They have events where they bring the Boston community together and talk about the latest technology trends. We had a conversation with them about their philosophies, how they work, and their track record. Seeing a lot of their past successes was encouraging. Their collaborative onboarding process was helpful in getting buy-in internally as well. We did a session for our stakeholders where we had a collaborative discussion about what we thought were the most important things for us to be doing in terms of value for the customer. From there, Raizlabs helped with execution, keeping everyone in the loop, and maintaining high engagement with our stakeholders.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June of 2015, and the work has been completed. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The process of getting our platform ready for the app took about a year. From there, we were ready to go into the App Store, but we still had more things to do internally that further delayed the rollout. As we did that, Raizlabs found ways to add value to the app. Along the way, we found that the team was able to be creative about how to help with the various integrations we wanted to perform with our own platform or within iOS, which is critical for crafting the best user experiences. I find that the creative thinking, strategy, architecture, and a great implementation must combine in order to craft a great experience. I think that for each sprint we worked on the focus of what we were looking to achieve always involved working through that order of operations.

How did Raizlabs perform from a project management standpoint?

Until we constrained our budget, which forced them to change the team, they were not only matching expectations, they were exceeding them. As we leaned out the team and some of the onus passed to us, the dynamics changed, which was an expected outcome.

What did you find most impressive about Raizlabs?

Any great fit is always about the people and less about the company, brand, or track record. Raizlabs had an experienced team with the right skill sets who had worked together before. They had folks who spent time doing thought leadership. It’s great to be exposed to the creative value of an agency that’s working on a lot of different projects that are successful. I don’t think that every agency is taking advantage of or has access to a lot of the great projects and talent to uniquely position themselves like Raizlabs. There’s a difference between not having the capacity to do something and hiring someone versus finding an actual partner who is able to think these things through, understands the market, asks questions, gets engaged, takes ownership, and is accountable for contributing to a really good outcome. The dynamics of building teams like that precludes agencies from being very large, depending on what they’re delivering. I’ve watched Raizlabs grow and continue to offer that value, which I think is extraordinary. They’re not just trying to be on the cutting edge; they’re really trying to be thought leaders and pioneer value—not in a contrived way, but in a way that they know is going to create value. If they feel they can’t add value, they back off and start over, which is what we want.

Are there any areas Raizlabs could improve?

I think agencies across the board should make it easier for customers to see what is happening at any given moment inside the team as opposed to only on a release cycle's cadence. It would be great to have a collaboration tool where I can sit down and see what’s going on at any given time. Raizlabs does not have a lack of transparency, but we didn’t have that ad hoc engagement dynamic, which is just a personal preference of mine. Obviously, there are some tradeoffs of having an internal team, but the inverse is also true. Although discussions were always fun and collaborative, there are ways to do that collaboration without adding overhead to either side. I think that access would’ve helped us accomplish more, faster. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization. What is your role and responsibilities?

We are a large regional theme park. My team is in charge of the digital innovations for the company focusing on technical services, mobile, and developing new startup groups in the organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Raizlabs?

We worked with Raizlabs to relaunch our mobile app. We had an app in the Apple App Store for a few years. We pulled it, and we hadn't had one since. We needed a new app for both the Android and iOS platforms going forward.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting Raizlabs?

We did a review of about 15 companies that did work that for other theme parks or similar as well as just good mobile app development work. The list was narrowed down to three. We brought each of those companies to meet the majority of our senior leadership team and they each presented. Raizlabs showed they could do the job the best. We found them through a podcast that they had an ad play looking to hire new talent. The podcast I was listening to happened to be a very mobile centric development podcast with highly respected people. 

When I looked into Raizlabs, they had clear talent that was different from other large mobile shops. They had more of an artisan approach to mobile development as opposed to the big-factory cookie-cutter style. 

When was the work completed? Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative?

The app was completed, but it's never really completed. We are doing work here and there. The project in total was $200,000-plus.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics on the project?

We're looking at downloads and ticket purchases and specific analytics like which sections are being utilized as well as surveys. We're doing surveys of guests who actually make a purchase online. They're randomly selected by email to download the app and review it. For the most part, we're looking at comments and not so much adoption right now because we're not promoting it heavily. The long-term success measure will be in terms of revenue generation through that particular channel. We know that traffic will come to mobile. We don't know if it will be mobile Web or mobile app.

What differentiates Raizlabs from other partners?

Raizlabs has the expertise and can provide the timely guidance that a company truly needs to have as they start building an app. They know where all the pitfalls are as you go through the process. They pull out and help you understand what's expected from the company's perspective that is looking to have the app developed. To give them the guidance for where they need to be in terms of making sure their backend API [application programming interface] is up to speed and making sure all the foundational elements are in place before they begin their work. Raizlabs are craftsmen. They have extremely good talent that can do great design. They also have amazing developers who have implemented multiple ways of just doing solid coding. They also know how to branch out and do something a little special – give each project some uniqueness that you do not get and will not see in a cookie-cutter format. They will break up and give the development something that's a little off the rails. But, something to the effect that the customers will like and Apple will like. 

Raizlabs can give you the best guidance out there, and they are very confident in that. We knew that's what we wanted. We were confident as well. We came to the table more prepared than 90 percent of companies that start on a mobile app development. We thought we knew a lot and they clearly showed us and guided us. They showed us the best way of getting there.

If you're looking to just hire some bodies to get the work done – Raizlabs is not that shop. They only say yes to something they know they'll be able to achieve. We had to understand that they worked differently than the typical vendor.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

The one suggestion would be better guidance on how they bill. They don't work on the hourly basis. A better understanding of their pricing model would be helpful. The fact that we work differently as two different companies needs to be brought up upfront, especially since we are such a large institution.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I'm the president and CEO of Kwicr. We are a provider of a mobile application acceleration services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Raizlabs?

We needed feedback on our platform from an experienced mobile application developer as well as a vehicle to test our SDK [software development kit]-based approach at scale.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Raizlabs provided guidance on best practices relating integrating SDKs. They had an application that was available in the iTunes Store and we worked with them to embed our acceleration technology in that app, and they deployed a Kwicr enabled app to their existing audience of users.

What was your process for selecting Raizlabs?

We found Raizlabs by word of mouth. They have an outstanding reputation in the Boston area. Their name came up several times when we spoke to people about whom they'd recommend. I reached out to Greg Raiz [founder of Raizlabs], and we got together. Doing business with them was easy and straightforward.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative?

Our partnership was in the $50,000 to $200,000 range.

When was the work completed?

It's ongoing. We've done two projects with Raizlabs. We started our first project with them July 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics on the project?

Yes. We are generating very valuable data on the performance of our technology on a worldwide basis. Unfortunately, none of which I can share. However, we did meet our goals of geographic distribution in multiple regions, number of app sessions, and app concurrency levels.

Is there anything unique or special about Raizlabs that really makes them stand out?

We admire Raizlabs for their talent, flexibility, and ability to take on a job and accomplish it per the timeline of the project. When they said they were going to do something, they delivered it. 

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

No. Not at all.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization. What is your role and responsibilities?

UserTesting is an extremely fast, efficient way to get feedback on apps, websites, and user experience. Our clients come to us, define the test they want people to perform, and we field that out to panelists who video and audio record themselves using your app. Our clients get that information back in as little as an hour. I'm the VP of mobile.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Raizlabs?

We were looking at how we could do a better job serving customers who were building apps and websites for smartphones and tablets. Our previous technology had involved the use of webcams. It was expensive and not as flexible as we wanted. Raizlabs has helped us put together our on-device software solution for recording these tests. Now, we're able to record directly from the screen of the device. It makes things a lot faster and more convenient.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting Raizlabs?

We looked at a lot of other options. Raizlabs had a nice combination of technical skills and design expertise. We wanted to work with somebody who was sensitive to user experience issues. We found they were a good partner for working on those issues together.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative?

It's been a very large ongoing development project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics on the project?

I don't have any quantitative metrics for you, but we're very pleased with the work. We've gotten great feedback on the product. I'm very comfortable recommending them to others.

Is there anything unique or special about Raizlabs that really makes them stand out?

Raizlabs really cares deeply about user experience, and they understand it very well. I don't think we had a case where we had to tell them they weren't thinking about user experience. That was essential for us. It made them stand out. They're very focused on aesthetics and usability.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for Care.com, an online service that helps people find caregivers. Care.com has been around for five years.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I was responsible for product and our mobile strategy at Care.com.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Raizlabs?

We hired Raizlabs to build a mobile app. We needed to revamp and adopt a mobile-first strategy for our design. 

Please describe the scope of their work.

Raizlabs was responsible for technical integration of our APIs [application programming interfaces]. They accessed six different APIs that we had. We went through a lot of iterations, and Raizlabs did a good job of balancing things. They understood we were a bigger company. 

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting Raizlabs?

We looked at two companies. The other company was trying to throw 15 people on the project. Raizlabs didn't overload the project. They were pretty straightforward. Everyone we met was able to discuss strategy well. We felt they were more plugged in instead of having separate roles and charging up the bill. We also saw a lot of projects they had previously done. 

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative?

We did multiple versions. The first version was slightly less than $200,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Are you satisfied with their performance?

We were pretty happy with the end product. They even put in more work than we had originally agreed upon.

Is there anything unique or special about Raizlabs that really makes them stand out?

They pushed us not just on design, but also on how we're thinking about our business. Raizlabs came up with some great concepts that were key for our business. When we got to the integration, they took time to understand the complexities.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

We had a bit of a delay, but it was more on our end because we were creating so many APIs at one time. Raizlabs did a good job of hitting their deadlines. When they were first scoping out the project, they slightly underestimated the complexity. We worked through that, but they could have done a better job of predicting that.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We are a technology company focused on storage and data protection.

What is your role and responsibility?

I look after product marketing for the data domain product line.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with that work?

We were looking to build a tool that could be used at our trade show in SeaWorld as well as one that could then be leveraged by our own sales team and partners to facilitate a sales conversation. This was leveraging a mobile whiteboard built in with our story and our message built into the tool. So, it’s a mobile tool that then had an embedded follow-up through email.

So the overall goal was to help the sales team close leads?

Yes.

SOLUTION

Can you please describe the scope of their work in more detail?

We worked with them on two different occasions. In the beginning of 2012, we worked with them on a very compressed timeline to create the application in the first place. They were able to deliver a very high-quality product in a very short window. The following year and this year, it was about a month prior to our show, we worked with them again to update the app. It was a limited budget this time around, and they were also able to work within that budget.

What was your process for selecting Raizlabs to work with?

We were looking for a vendor that had a good reputation and approach for high-quality work but was also local to the Boston area. We wanted to be able to meet with them in person. So, the combination of the two and research online pointed me toward them.

Can you provide a sense of the size of the initiative with a general dollar figure?

The initial project was around $40,000, and then the follow-up was more like $5,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did Raizlabs perform?

Their performance on the first project was great, very successful, and they were very flexible with us. They got us everything we needed in the timeframe we needed with a very high-quality deliverable. The second time around, they also delivered a high-quality project. The process had changed quite a bit, and they had changed offices and staff. Our experience was not as good the second time around, but the quality of the product was.

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track the project’s success?

We really don’t. I could probably dig up a number of downloads, but I don’t have anything off-hand.

Is there anything else unique or special about Raizlabs that stands out compared to other IT vendors?

I haven’t worked with others in the same space, but I will say that we were impressed with the quality of their work, their approach to it, and their flexibility to work with us given compressed timelines.

Looking back on the project, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or you might do differently?

Yes. The second time around, we were not project-managed very well. So, that is something that they definitely need to improve. We were pushing more than they were pushing us to ensure we met deadlines.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We are a photography store in New York City. We have a big store. We’ve been in business for 40 years now. Our main customer demographics are professional photographers and people that have photography or professional video as a hobby. We extended also to professional video, professional audio, and computers. Plus, lighting of course, which is part of photography and video, all the way to the highest professional level. We have the first and only brick-and-mortar store. It’s probably the biggest electronic camera store, probably in the world. We have one store only.

We opened up the website in 2000, and then released our first mobile iPhone application in 2009. We released an Android app in the beginning of 2010, and then the mobile website. We hired Raizlabs to build us a brand new iPad app. Then we did the same with our new Android app that was released last week. So, they have a strong grip I would say in our mobile efforts, and they’ve been a big part of it.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m the head of the mobile strategy. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your process for selecting Raizlabs to work with?

I was actually looking through a lot of different companies. We used to have Endeca, and they were bought out by Oracle, and I wasn’t happy. Things changed as you can imagine. I started doing a lot of research. Actually, one of the developers that used to work with Oracle called me about Raizlabs saying that they’re located in Boston, and they did a nice job. So, I started checking them out and checking out some apps they did. The proposal and what they offered us looked very good. We actually took a chance with the iPad app, and it worked out to be a very great addition. If you looked at our iPad app, it’s self-explanatory.

SOLUTION

Can you give us a general cost figure for their work please just to give us a sense of the size of the initiative?

We’re a privately owned company, we’re very strict with numbers. It was over 100,000.

When will their work be completed for you?

We’re giving them more tasks every day. As soon as we’re not happy, it will be over. But, it doesn’t look like it will be anytime soon. So far, we’ve been working very tight with them. They have a lot of great talent, and I’m impressed with what they can pull off.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics that you can share about their success?

First of all, I think you can’t measure an app based on downloads because they weren’t the ones to do the marketing. Downloads are going great. On the iPad app, we were number three on the lifestyle category. We were higher than Amazon, meaning the excitement was outstanding.

Is there anything unique or special about them that stands out compared to some other companies?

They are great. You’re asking me what their trick is. I don’t know, but they’re definitely pulling off something amazing. They have really great talent, and very creative people. They did a great job.

Looking back on their work is there anything that you think they could improve upon and you might do differently?

I can’t think of anything now.

BACKGROUND

Could you give a brief description of what your company does?

Overall, we are a software company. We develop a platform for CAD software and then also build-ins for that. This application was specific to an event that we run. I am a member of the events team, and it’s our overall users and resource conference, so that’s really what the application was focused around.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your main goal for creating the app for the conference?

We wanted to be able to put the majority of the information that we wanted our attendees to have in their hands, so they didn’t have to refer to a website or a printed-out program. We wanted them to be able to get around the convention center easily, and know what they were doing throughout the conference. Put all the details of the conference in their hands in one easy solution.

SOLUTION

What was the process for selecting Raizlabs as a partner to work with?

We reached out to, I want to say, five different app developers. I got proposals from each of them, and talked with each of them. Then, at the end of the day, Raizlabs was the best to fit our work ethic and what we wanted to accomplish.

What platform was the app available for?

This is our second year working with Raizlabs. The first year, we just did iPhone. The second year, we did iPhone, iPad and Android.

How long ago was this app created?

It was created for an event that took place the third week in February, and it was released to the public probably mid-January.

What’s the general cost range for all three platforms?

It was roughly $75,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In working with Raizlabs, was there anything that stood out as being special or unique compared to other developers you may have worked with in the past?

Coming from a software company, and knowing how developers can work, it was really nice to work with Raizlabs because they had a very down-to-earth work ethic. They definitely made it seem like they were part of your team, and that you were working together cohesively. You weren’t just spending on requirements and getting feedbacks back. They really seems like they were in it just as much as you were, and we were both trying to deliver really great products, and they were really great at overall project management.

Do you think there’s anything that you’d do differently or that Raizlabs could improve upon slightly?

I wouldn’t say for this year. The first year, we definitely wanted to increase. We started the project late, and we knew moving into the second year that there were certain things that we needed to fix. We also know that we wanted a more fluid and comprehensive app the second year. This past year that we’ve worked with them, we were really able to hit all of those buttons. What we’ve done is tasked them for next year to make sure that they bring more idea to the table for us to deliver it to our customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Can you give me a general overview of the work they did for you?

It’s still ongoing, but we developed just a simple reader app. It aggregates our PDF and makes them available to the user. It dynamically downloads them through an API. The project itself isn’t that complex, but the big issue was helping us around internal corporate struggles because we’re a giant company. So, getting to figure out how we’re going to do lead capture stuff, getting Raizlabs in touch with our tech department to get the proper APIs, and to get all the programming work, that’s where they really leant a hand.

SOLUTION

What were your goals going into the project? 

Definitely consumer facing going up on the app store, but we had some pretty stringent business requirements around name, lead capture, branding, and copyright stuff, and they were able to work really through that, through all of our legal loopholes and constrictions.

So, a big part of the app was to find new customers?

Yes. That’s the biggest thing, but it’s also being used as a sales enablement tool and general marketing tool at trade shows and events.

What platforms is it available for? IOS and Android?

Yes. Both.

Do you remember how you found out about Raizlabs?

Actually, somebody who worked for me found them, so I have no idea. He just did a search for local area developers, and then we interviewed maybe eight or nine. We went with Raizlabs.

At what scope of the project was Raizlabs involved in? 

Well, the project in it of itself doesn’t lend itself to a lot of brainstorming, but we definitely approached them with what we wanted to do, and let them decide the best way to do it. We have some very preliminary markups that we gave them, so we’re down the path, but we lead them. We gave them a free run on how we were going to do it, and which direction it was finally going to take.

When do you expect the project to be completed?

Literally, any hour now. We’re just trying to get it up on the app store.

What would you say is the estimated cost range for the project?

Under $200,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How was their professionalism, as in responding to emails and communication?

Excellent. They have a great vice president of business. He’s basically like an account manager, so they’re always on top even on the weekends.

When you’re working with Raizlabs, is there anything that stood out as being unique or special compared to other developers you’ve worked with?

Yeah, two areas. They’re very good in the art direction realm. They have a very good design sensibility, and they are amazing in the technical area. Usually, you can find somebody who’s really good technically but has zero design skill. They’re like a 20-person company, maybe more, but they have both in-house, which is great.

Is there anything that you think maybe they could work on a little bit or improve slightly?

No, not really. They’re responsive, and they have their own platforms for testing apps. Not much I could see improvement wise.