AgileEngine

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Operating Officer of TVEyes, Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a search engine for video and audio content / data.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire AgileEngine to accomplish?

• Design a new web based User Platform
• Build components of the Platform

SOLUTION

How did you find AgileEngine?

Online Search

Why did you select AgileEngine over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from AgileEngine were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Agile has worked with our own Development team to design and build components of a new UX to access the TVEyes data set on a web based platform. They have contributed throughout the design and development cycle from defining key user requirements through QC testing of the platform and all steps in between.

In additon, they have provided extra development resources to bring the designs to fruition, collaborating with our own internal engineering team. They have been a "force multiplier" in this regard, allowing TVEyes to scale and accelerate the design and development cycles.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Tracking of the design and project plans as well as careful tracking of budget.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Agile has been efficient in their delivery of items and they have been very responsive to any modifications to the designs and development work as requested.

What was your primary form of communication with AgileEngine?

Virtual Meeting

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

The balance of global software talent and experience with an excellent project management team at aggressive price levels.

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

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and co-founder of a solution provider in the human services space. We provide human services programs with education and the foundations to do their job better. I specifically work with a software as a service (SaaS) platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AgileEngine?

We needed expert partners to help us with scalability, architecture choices, and infrastructure.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re very much a part of my team. They’re involved in every aspect of development: finding a product-market fit, designing architecture, then implementing, running, and maintaining it. We work hand-in-hand. 

They have a great deal of insight into different technologies and make recommendations in that area, and during the development process too. We also use them for UX, web work, QA, and security.

What is the team composition?

There are three people on the team. In the past, we’ve had up to seven.

How did you come to work with AgileEngine?

We were looking for expertise. We were already using some unique technologies. Their leader had written a book on Java and seemed like an interesting person. We initially hired them because of their very high level of technical expertise.

How much have you invested with them?

Over a hundred thousand dollars.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2008 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They helped us deliver on time, which was a huge positive. Our invoices have been paid on time by our customers and it’s definitely helped us with ongoing renewals. Our attrition rate has reduced a lot.

How did AgileEngine perform from a project management standpoint?

We work with them on project management so there is good communication and collaboration. We use Jira, Basecamp, Skype, GoToMeeting, and Smartsheet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re an interesting mix of people who understand product life-cycle management, agile, and all those things that we use in the startup world. They also have a hacker and system administrator mentality. They are the perfect combination so you can have discussions with the team on both aspects, at the meta level and the detail level, which is so difficult to find.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could use their authority a lot more than they do because we do consider them a part of our team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re a good combination, so make them your partners involved in leadership.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of software development for Needles Inc. We are a legal software management company providing lawyers and the legal community with elaborate software that allows them to manage daily arrangements such as cases, clients, and court dates.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AgileEngine LLC?

The company was significantly understaffed when I arrived. The developers had little experience and the group suffered from lack of budget to hire new people, which led us to collaborate.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I like to be in touch with what’s happening instead of treating them as a vendor. I’d give AgileEngine requirements, work with them as if they were a remote part of my team, engage in day-to-day activities, and then they’d deliver the product. We had a team of 15 people, including developers, several testers, team leads and a test lead.

AgileEngine has developed the core force behind the software process. They created our calendar along with customization features for workflows and screen layouts. We also built a custom web API and introduced the security module into the software.

We would give AgileEngine requirements, and they would voice any questions or clarifications, which led to a good feedback process.

We used NHibernate and RESTful APIs. AngularJS was used for building the web interface of the software. NUnit was used for unit testing, and JIRA for tracking purposes.    ​​​​​​​

How did you come to work with AgileEngine LLC?

Alex Kalinovsky [CEO, Agile Engine] was the first person I reached out to because he was a coworker of mine. We chose AgileEngine, despite initial vendor concerns, because they were very oriented towards showcasing expertise in their team and Alex was good at selling himself. He fulfilled every promise he made during the initial presentation.

Many companies we looked at had a black-box feel, and when we would hand them requirements, we wouldn’t find out until the end if our expectations were met.

With AgileEngine, it was like working with remote members of our own team because of excellent integration. The process was seamless as far as project management goes. There was an honest interest from their side in making our company’s product work, rather than simply getting our business and making money.

We also chose AgileEngine because they allowed us to choose our resources. Their recruiting team would present developers or testers to me, who I would then interview and decide if they were the right fit. They did a good job of supplying high-quality, talented developers who worked well within our management style and with our team. We found that almost everyone who passed AgileEngine’s prescreens were people we could hire.

How much have you invested with AgileEngine LLC?

We’ve spent around $2 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in September 2013, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AgileEngine built off of the software already in place, but they greatly improved performance during the process. Their customizations and restructuring of the code made it work fast and reduced the number of defects. They built automation into the process, so our software was faster and more stable.

How did AgileEngine LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated through Skype and TeamViewer, and I also traveled to their office to meet all the people we were working with. We interacted multiple times during the day, as if we had a local team.

What did you find most impressive about AgileEngine LLC?

The recruitment process, interactivity, collaboration, project management, and organization impressed me. I never felt left out of the process.

This was our best experience working with contractors. Other groups mainly tried to sell us services to make money, but AgileEngine provided a balanced process and remained honest about meeting expectations. I felt like I was working with a partner who was genuinely interested in the project. From a long-term perspective, AgileEngine provided us service that allowed us to move forward, and have invested in us as much as we have in their services.

Are there any areas AgileEngine LLC could improve?

Of all the experiences I’ve had with other vendors, this was the most positive and least conflicting one. The process didn’t go very well when we were initially hiring developers for the team because of delays, but we were able to staff everyone we needed after we worked that out.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with AgileEngine LLC?

Be open. The company is interested in keeping your business. There is a lot of experience and knowledge in the management team, so, if there is a project or some problem to be solved, there will be people within AgileEngine who can suggest a better approach. I did a bit of listening and got different opinions, and I’m glad I did.