hedgehog lab

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm chairman and CEO of a health care business. We provide pharmacy services to medical clinics, particularly in the cosmetic medical arena.

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We wanted to develop a cutting-edge mobile application to disrupt some space in our market.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re developing the app from scratch. We're in the middle of the development right now. I can't say too much about it because of its status as intellectual property.

We kicked off the engagement by giving them a presentation about what we wanted to achieve. They came back to us with a proposal. Then we spent a month of getting to know each other, followed by formally agreeing on a timeline and project management plan. They’re developing the app for iOS first. They will eventually develop it for Android as well.

What is the team composition?

In total, there are about 15 people assigned to the project. We mainly deal with four people: one project manager, one designer, one software developer, and an account lead.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

One of our staff worked with them in the past and we had heard good things about them. We interviewed several companies, and ultimately decided to go with hedgehog lab.

How much have you invested with them?

We've committed to spend about $700,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2018 and the engagement is ongoing.

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

They’re always on time, which is the most important thing at this stage. We've been extremely happy with the development of some aspects of the app. It's quite a complex platform, so there have been some issues. They've dealt with those challenges in an innovative way. We won't be launching until October, so only our internal experts have looked at it to date. We're quite happy.  

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

The project has specific deliverables and they’ve hit all the targets. We agreed to a project plan where we pay them for work done at certain points, so we track the project to the contract. Our account lead is great at keeping the relationship going. Everything is falling into place nicely.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They come to us with ideas, and that's unusual. With other companies on previous projects, it was like pulling teeth to get them to make suggestions. hedgehog lab’s ideas are valid, clever, and functional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Time will tell. We haven't launched yet, but we've been pleased so far.

Any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that you designate members of your team to work with them. Successful projects don't happen without a deep team. You need to have people on both sides who are responsible for keeping the project on track.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital content editor for a housing association that provides care services for vulnerable people. I manage our website and social media.

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We needed help producing an augmented reality visualization and VR fly through for our modular home development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had quite a tight deadline, so we gave hedgehog lab specific requests and requirements. We knew exactly what we wanted to showcase in the augmented reality, so our architect provided hedgehog lab with the files necessary to execute the work. They developed it to work on an iPad, which we then put into a museum.

What is the team composition?

We had regular contact with the account manager.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

One of my colleagues met them at an event and began talking about their services. When we began looking for a partner, we interviewed a few different agencies, but hedgehog lab had the best cost and proposal, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent under $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We partnered from May–June 2018.

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

We don’t have any quantifiable metrics, but the product has been well-received and given us quite a bit of good PR.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Our account manager made sure everything was on track and accounted for. She answered any questions we had and stuck to our short deadline. We mainly communicated via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with other vendors before, and hedgehog lab was one of the best partners we’ve had. They’re a creative team, but our requirements were pretty restrictive because of the deadline, and they were okay with that.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Have them contribute to the creative component of your project. They have a lot of good insight and can make your product a lot better.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of IT development for a financial services firm. We offer contractor difference trading to retail investors.

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We’d been building a mobile app platform for about eight years. During that process, we’ve attempted to form a robust in-house development team that could handle the challenge. After struggling to find talented app developers to hire full-time, we decided to outsource some of the work.

What was the scope of their involvement?

hedgehog lab supplements our existing team to develop new features for our trading platform’s iOS and Android apps. They’re also integral to the development of our JavaScript-based web app. We’re currently focusing our efforts on improving the platform’s UX and implementing the changes.

They’re essentially an extension of our team as they join our daily processes, stand-ups, and workshops. Despite working from a different location, they approach each task with the same development strategy as our in-house team. We have a strict developer screening process and hedgehog lab was responsive to that. We interviewed the candidates remotely and had them perform some technical tests to assess their expertise. One developer initially assigned to the project turned out to be underqualified for the kind of work we needed. hedgehog lab quickly rectified the issue by assigning a new resource.

What is the team composition?

We interacted with the CEO initially and throughout the process. They allocated four resources including two mobile app developers and two JavaScript developers.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

I found them by researching mobile app development companies. The testimonies on their website were compelling, so I met with their CEO. There wasn’t a strong sales pitch. Instead, they let us decide in our own time and weren’t too pushy about it. Their low turnover rate stood out to us as an admirable quality as they have staff that has worked there for 10 years. They were also adamant that we visit their offices and see how the team operates. This demonstrates a positive company culture that’s similar to what we’re trying to cultivate within our organization. As a result, we decided to hire them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2017 and the engagement is ongoing.

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

They function as four resources in a team of 20, so it’s difficult to pinpoint a specific success. However, they produce high-quality work and are always professional. They work collaboratively and enthusiastically accept new challenges. For example, they take responsibility for bugs and frequently fix issues that weren’t caused by their efforts.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

One of the teams that work with us isn’t assigned any project management responsibilities because they attend our daily stand-ups. However, we have another project with them that suffers due to ineffective management. This includes a failure to deliver weekly reports on time. That doesn’t always happen, but it’s been a reoccurring issue that we’ve found frustrating. We use Jira as a communication tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their employees are super engaged and clearly enjoy working for hedgehog lab. They support their staff with time-off to learn additional skills. In fact, three of the resources assigned to us only work four days a week. They take the other day to train with new technologies. This will ultimately benefit us as we’ll have access to a more versatile team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d like to see more discipline in the area of communication and project management. Other than that, everything has been excellent. We’re happy with the relationship.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-founder of a smartphone application that allows users to search for and find restaurants in London.

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We were looking for an agency that could provide both app development and consultancy services to ensure that our business would grow with the best foot forward.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started off with a transparent discovery session organized and hosted by hedgehog lab. We had a thorough and open discussion about what we were looking to achieve, and were able to brainstorm various approaches prior to development. The conversations around strategy were with a product owner and a partner, who maintained communication between the development team and ourselves. They gave us their marketing ideas and break-downs of what they felt was the best approach to promoting the product.

hedgehog lab went on to build a native mobile application for iOS and Android, along with a web database and CRM portal for managing the marketplace. They also had a strong design team that assisted with branding and built the UX/UI accordingly.

The app provides discounts to users at participating restaurants, which they can redeem by paying through the app. There is no need to subscribe to a membership, present a voucher or coupon, or undertake any form of pay-to-save method. Users can pay through our app and have the discount automatically applied to any restaurants/cafés that have signed up with the platform. The tool enables users to find these restaurants and enables restaurants to display special offers and showcase their business. When the two come together, another feature within the app can create bills and accept payments seamlessly.

What is the team composition?

We worked with different members of the team throughout the course of the project but had three key contacts: the project manager, the product owner, and the lead developer for both platforms and the web app. We also worked with iOS and Android specialists as required.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

We found them on Clutch after searching the typical terms related to development teams. Being based in London, we had plenty of options, but we decided to rely on an industry-standard benchmark. We went through reviews, conducted research on past work, and created a shortlist for face-to-face meetings. hedgehog lab understood and appreciated how we wanted to run the collaboration. We wanted more than just a one-off development group; we were looking for a partnership that could work with us as if they were an extension of our team. We had the key members of their business development team come to London, and we had a great meeting on how their expertise could support our business goals.

hedgehog lab was the highest-rated U.K.-based development firm at the time, and one of the highest in Europe. They also charged one of the highest fees on our shortlist, but we were clear on how we valued the relationship. If the quality was worth the money, then we would prefer it to using a cheaper agency.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with hedgehog lab in November 2016. The app was launched one year later, in November 2017. We are in discussions about adding more work.

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

They were much more involved in the project than we expected, and put a lot of time and effort into creating a comprehensive and cohesive brand. We’ve only been live for a few months, so it’s difficult to provide any data yet. We’ve received significant positive user feedback on the design, functionality, and usability of the app, mostly focusing on its polished look and feel.

We have explored multiple ways of getting feedback on the app’s layout, but haven’t necessarily done so for the code beyond initial impressions from our internal team, which have been positive. In terms of error rate, we’ve only had one crash on iOS, which is impressive considering the number of downloads we’ve had. We are slightly behind schedule on Android, and there are a few bugs here and there. hedgehog lab doesn’t like to release products with serious bugs, and will often work outside of normal office hours to make sure everything is fixed before releasing.

Our general ability to see what bugs are prevalent is minimal, given that hedgehog lab has done everything they can to stop them from being released. When issues did come up, they were minute oversights like a formatting, using an inconsistent font, etc.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything was built through an Agile process. At the beginning of each sprint, we were told who would be working with us, what their roles and responsibilities were, and what the deliverables were supposed to be. The scrum master/project manager kept everything in check, ensuring that we were informed of any delays, or if there were any starting issues for specific team members. We were always given notice when there was an unexpected change in development like bugs that took longer to fix.

Besides email and telephone calls, we’ve often communicated via online boards like Jira Service Desk. These allow us to log bugs, reports, concerns and change requests. We have a team in the U.K. and one internationally for monitoring this 24/7. We also use Basecamp as a day-to-day management portal. Everyone has access to certain projects and discussions. We’re able to upload and share screenshots, daily recordings, and discuss the project collaboratively. We have a product owner and a client partner with whom we can check in at any time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing about hedgehog lab is their unity. There is a comforting feeling that the product—our blood, sweat, and tears in terms of money invested—is in the hands of a team of people who are well-connected. They all know each other, work well together and don’t view us as just another client. We feel like a part of their team, and there’s a lot of passion in what hedgehog lab does. This is evidenced by simple things like replying to emails during weekends and getting involved in social media. They’re driven by what we’re trying to achieve, and this comes across in everything they say and do.

Not only did they understand our end-goal as a client, but worked with us towards that end-goal like they were a part of our internal team. This started what became a strong working relationship where—unlike with other service providers we’d used in the past, who said yes to everything we asked for, but didn’t bring any meaningful input outside of cost and duration—they challenged and optimized everything we put forth. They became an ad-hoc part of our team, and we worked with them as our own developers, rather than as an agency we were retaining. I’ve gotten the impression that hedgehog lab is one of us—they take on anything that impacts or damages us, our product, our brand, or our user as a priority.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When it comes to testing and QA, they have a separate division for the task. This is not a massive issue, but we’ve found that the testing team is overseeing multiple products at the same time, and doesn’t have the same level of knowledge of the product. This means that following a 48-hour QA session, there may still be issues and bugs that weren’t found. We’ve discussed this with them, and they agreed to spend less time on QA with the universal team, and more time with the individuals who know the product back-to-front.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

If the client is willing to put in extra time for testing—which would normally be assigned to the QA team—the overall result will be higher-quality testing on an expedited timeline. This is not a criticism in itself, and it ends up being a bit of a positive in hedgehog lab’s case. They were willing and able to negotiate changes in internal processes to prioritize the best interests of the client.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of business development at NetVirta, a startup with a focus on digital 3D scanning technology.

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

Our central business premise centers around providing our customers with a way to 3D scan a part of their body so they can order custom-fit apparel and accessories. We needed to completely revamp both our iOS mobile app and our web portal user interfaces. At the time, we had just formed a partnership with a large custom-fit football helmet company, and we needed to customize our entire app and web solution to integrate our services with their business. Although we worked with our client to figure out specifications for user flow, operational mockups, and the product’s overall functionality, we needed an outside company to do both design and development work.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our partnership began with a discovery call to give them the opportunity to learn about our business, which was helped by their previous experience within relevant industries. Although their work was not completely from scratch, the design was entirely their purview. hedgehog took the ten mockups with which we provided them initially and expanded them into a fully realized mobile app design. They also drafted both the app and portal’s low-level functionality and user interface alongside the specifications with which we provided them.

During the primary stage of the project, they worked on coding the frontend of the app in React Native, as well as collaborating directly with our internal development team to integrate hedgehog’s design with the backend, to make sure that everything was cohesive. After their initial development phase, we reviewed their work alongside the client, and gave hedgehog feedback. They provided us with different variations of the final products until everyone was satisfied with the outcome.

The app was made for iOS, but in the future, we intend to have hedgehog create an Android version. Once the app was completed, they went through the same process for the web portal, utilizing HTML, CSS, and Bootstrap, and then integrated it with our extant backend.

What is the team composition?

There are four primary team members with whom we worked, although I believe there may be a few others who assist on their end. Patrick is the managing director for the US, and although he supports the project and attended calls with our client, he was not involved on a day-to-day basis. Alex is the lead designer for our project, and he has been phenomenal. Ryan is the project manager, and Bruce is the web portal’s frontend designer.

How did you come to work with hedgehog Lab?

Having used Google as my primary search tool, I reached out to a number of web and mobile development firms, conducted interviews, and received price quotes. After that process, we decided that due to their technical expertise, prior experience, and affordable cost, hedgehog was the best fit for our needs.

How much have you invested with them?

About US$100,000 for this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged them in October 2017, and our work with them is ongoing.

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

We don’t have any tangible metrics, in part because the final versions of both the app and the portal are still being finalized. There have been no issues or bugs of any significance so far, thanks to them having planned for most possible scenarios. For us, the important thing has been delivering a good product in a timely manner, which they have done.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management has been great, with Ryan having been in touch with me almost on a daily basis regarding deliverables, by when they needed feedback from us, scheduling meetings and calls, and other necessary details. Having him touch base with us so regularly has been very helpful both for us internally and for our own communications purposes for our outside partner. He and I spoke mostly through email, although we also had a call scheduled once a week via Zoom. Our whole project team used Basecamp to do most of our day-to-day work, and their team used both GitHub and Atlassian in addition to the above. Additionally, Patrick was always available for questions, and would respond to emails right away.

What did you find most impressive about them?

hedgehog has been very easy to work with and open to matching our company’s unique work style. In particular, they are good about collaborating, and have gone above and beyond to provide multiple options for any design or feature when requested. They had experience with other complex technologies like AR and VR, as well as prior knowledge of 3D scanning or printing, and they were able to apply that specialized knowledge to our project. As a result, it felt like hedgehog had a deeper understanding of our business and the ways in which our customers interact with it. Additionally, they work at a rapid pace. After that first discovery call, they were able to provide us with a broad set of designs in under a week, which was far faster than I had expected.

Everyone involved has been very happy with both end products, the app and the portal, and everything was delivered on time. We had a good experience with them and their employees. I always felt like they were receptive to our ideas, and their own ideas were always top notch. In the end, our collaboration produced the best app and portal that was possible. It has been a pleasure working with hedgehog.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only real negative to working with them is that they are based in the U.K. while we are based in Boston. Any project of this scope is easier to do in person. It would be fantastic if they could have more than just two representatives here in their U.S. office, but I recognize that likely is not feasible.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that the company has relevant experience to your industry. It is also important to make sure that you will be comfortable working with those people and that you know who is going to be involved from day one – how many designers there will be and what their experience levels are, for example. Lastly, have a good idea from the beginning what their day-to-day process is going to be like, from discovery to design to development to implementation.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I own a business called Tempt App, which allows social media stars to engage with their fans on a paid-for basis. They announce on their social media accounts that they’re posting content and interacting with fans. Then, they link our Tempt App to that social media post. Fans download the app and can buy coins to open the content or send messages directly to a star’s inbox.

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

I’ve launched a series of websites during my career, but I’ve never actually built an application. This was my first time working with an app developer.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built an app from scratch for me on Android and iOS. I went over the business plan with them, and they went through the details in order to suggest improvements and explain how they’d fulfill the requirements. We moved into the development process to ensure that everything was documented and that we had the right building plan.

They led me through a great discovery process. I’ve worked with development firms that had only one or two developers and others with teams of 50 or more. hedgehog lab allocated many resources for the discovery process. We detailed the exact elements of the application: what it needed to do, how it needed to perform, what technology we should use, and what the scope would entail.

We developed two native applications on iOS and Android. They’ve built the app so that it functions and allows social media stars to post video and photo content. Some of that content is free, and other content is paid. We prompt users to pay for content through coin packages through the app via a push button purchase. It also supports card payments. Once the users have bought coins, they can redeem them to open paid content and send messages. If the social media star wants to message that fan back, the fan also has to pay to receive those replies.

The application markets itself because social media stars are using their platforms to market our business. If we bring on a social media star with two million followers, she’ll post that she’s using Tempt App throughout social media. Then, hedgehog lab provides a link that the social media stars can post, which will direct the user either to our website or the App Store or Google Play. hedgehog lab created all the links and infrastructure to support these functions.

What is the team dynamic?

I’ve worked with ten people in total. There were five full-time developers on the project at a time.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

I researched five companies from the app world on Clutch. I received quotes ranging from $50,000–$250,000, so I had a huge variety to consider. First, I wanted to choose a firm that was competitive. I wasn’t going to go for the cheapest quote, but I needed to make a commercial decision based on price. Secondly, I needed to be able to get along with the team. I spoke at length with each of the teams I canvased, and I felt that hedgehog lab ticked all of my boxes. They’re mid-range in terms of price, but the team seemed reputable, professional, and friendly. They convinced me that they were the right team to work with in terms of their knowledge about the sector.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2016 and the relationship is ongoing.

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

The app functions brilliantly and received thousands of downloads in its first few weeks of launch. Apple has made things difficult with certain content that’s being posted through the application. Now, we’re working through those challenges. Despite the issues with Apple regulations, the app functions well and has received outstanding user feedback.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

They did well. I had a project manager all the way through the build. The project manager signed off a week after we launched, but then I opened a service agreement for 12 months, so we’re working through that now. I was assigned another project manager for any technical issues. I can contact that person at any time and report issues.

We’re using Jira, which lets me report technical issues to their support team. We also have an API that’s built into the backend, which allows me to control the application. I can look at user details, model posts, and spending. I’m completely happy with the tools that we’re using.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team understands my needs extremely well. Because we went through a long discovery process, they know exactly what I’m trying to achieve, and they’re able to handle issues or situations as they arise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They have a large team. They respond to me quickly, but with this iOS situation, I’ve had to wait a few days before solutions are made. They could provide more immediate solutions to issues, but I do understand that they have other clients and that I can’t be their top priority all day. They always deliver and make sure that solutions are found within a day or two, so I can’t grumble about that.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a headhunter at Hoshin Search, which is a recruitment business. I’ve developed a product called Portl with hedgehog lab that’s being run under my business, but it may ultimately become a new business in the future. Portl is an app that connects freelancers with clients (people who want to hire freelancers).

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

There’s a growing number of freelancers on the market who are very good at what they do, but a lot of them don’t know how to do business development. My app is trying to solve that problem by making it easier for freelancers to find work. In my job as a headhunter, I’ve noticed that many people hiring freelancers no longer want to use head hunters like myself. They tend to use other means for finding freelancers to save money. The app also addresses that and makes it easier and more cost-effective for people to find freelancers for hire. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

I did all of the concept development, and hedgehog actually built the app. They went through a discovery stage, a design stage, and a build phase. The discovery phase was all about making sure that they understood the app’s purpose. The design stage was about designing what it would look like and how it would fit together. Then, we actually built it. The app is available on iOS at the moment with an iPhone version and a native iPad version as well. The strategy for the project was already in place when I went to them, and marketing is the next step.

They created a search feature where clients can find freelancers based on a range of different criteria. That’s the backbone of the app. As a freelancer, you register and create a profile, so there needed to be a slick onboarding process. There’s another onboarding process for the client as well that’s much simpler.

Other features include the ability to unlock profiles. Clients, once they’re registered, can purchase credits in the app and use those credits to unlock a freelancer profile that they’re interested in. This unlocks the contact details and the name of the person, which enables them to contact them and decide if they want to work with that person. We also created an availability update request for clients, if a client finds a profile that they’re interested in and wants to make sure that the freelancer’s availability is up to date before they unlock it. Both freelancers and clients can easily invite people via email, text, What’s App, or posts to various social media platforms.

How many resources have been assigned to your project?

We had 6 people in total—a project manager, a designer, a lead developer, and 2 developers that worked for the lead developer.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

I did some research online and found a site that rated app development companies. I made a shortlist and looked into hedgehog lab in more detail in terms of visiting their website and looking at some reviews. I picked hedgehog because they were used to working with startups and got back to me really quickly. They made it clear that they wanted my business.

How much have you invested with hedgehog lab?

Without tax, we spent £80,000 [$101,000].

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May of 2016, and the work is ongoing. The app went live on the App Store this week. They provide a 3-month warranty period. After that, I’ll sign a service and maintenance contract for at least another year. 

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

The app has been live for less than a week, so I don’t have any feedback yet. They completed all the work within my budget. The app did take longer than we initially forecasted for various reasons, but that wasn’t a major negative because I didn’t have a specific timeline. It was more about getting the app done right than completing it quickly.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication is really good. We used Basecamp to communicate daily and have weekly project status report on Fridays. We also did a number of show-and-tell sessions for each milestone via an online video conferencing system. After each build sprint, they’d show me what they were up to and let me ask questions. We also had a shared spreadsheet on Google Docs where I could document any issues that I found in the app during testing, and they’d use my notes for their quality checks.  

What did you find most impressive about hedgehog lab?

This is my first experience working with an app development company, so I don’t have any benchmark. They communicated very well and were really enthusiastic about the product. I think they’re well suited to working with small startup companies. Their quality of work is really good. Everyone I worked with had all the skills that we needed. The speed at which they turned things around and the way that they communicated were excellent. It was a really pleasant and enjoyable experience. The only issue was that the work took longer than they’d anticipated. But, they communicated that well, so it wasn’t an issue. Everybody that I worked with added value and understood the brief. I did a lot of work up front in terms of the concept, which helped, but everyone got on the same page really quickly. From a design perspective, the end project is very similar to the concept I brought to them.

Are there any areas hedgehog lab could improve?

They should probably build more time into their estimation of how long things are going to take. They don’t really have a buffer in case things take a bit longer. From a kind of sales perspective, it’s probably better for them to under-promise and over-deliver than the other way around in terms of timing. Other than that, the experience was excellent. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of a mobile betting app that allows users to track their betting statistics and use those to find the best tips on any sports betting event.

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We were trying to find a way to provide tips that came from people who had verified success. Also, we wanted to create a betting experience that wasn’t as difficult to use as the current sports betting apps on the market.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I came to them with a large idea and they helped to whittle it down to an MVP for iOS. From there, they’ve done all the design work, the development work, and we anticipate they’ll be helping us with the marketing work as well. The app needed to have full integration with the API of a third-party betting provider. We needed the ability to track betting statistics down to a granular level which required parsing data out of the responses from the API. There were in-app purchases and a couple of exchange rates in the app. There were also two wallets so it was a complex app. We hope to have an Android app in the future as well.

The composition of their team varied throughout the process. A third-party we were working with pulled out and it caused a rather large delay in the project. We ended up having a new team and each team had a project manager, three or four developers, a designer, and a lead designer and lead developer. There was also a client relations manager.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

I found Clutch and emailed quite a few firms that I found there. I met with half of them and hedgehog were the ones who seemed most keen and most accommodating about the idea. They’re also the ones that came back with what I thought was the most reasonable quote.

How much have you invested with hedgehog lab?

When the project is finished, the app will cost £50,000 [$64,400].

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2016, and the work is ongoing.

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

The app will launch in August or September. The feedback on the designs has been very positive. That’s all we’ve been able to show people so far.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done well. I think they’ve been in a period of expansion recently and the project management has gotten better since then. It’s been managed very efficiently. We communicate via email and Basecamp, and we have weekly Skype meetings. They’ve stayed within budget and are very accommodating with that. There was a big delay that wasn’t their fault and we’ve had other delays, but since January, that’s improved a lot. They’ve been working very hard to deliver on time.

What did you find most impressive about hedgehog lab?

I don’t have much experience with other providers, but hedgehog very personable. They’re very easy to work with, and they work hard. There’s no formal structure that has had to be adhered to.

Are there any areas hedgehog lab could improve?

I would have said communication, but that’s already improved. They could work on the speed and managing expectations.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Honcho Markets Limited is a startup business in the northeast of England. We’re developing an insurance trading platform between consumers and the insurers. I’m the CEO.

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We needed to build a scalable platform with a mobile frontend that would operate on all the major platforms and would be cross-compatible and cross-buildable. We are using a Xamarin technology base and we needed a cloud-based backend in Microsoft Azure that was scalable to our tens of thousands of users.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had already built a reference prototype with another provider. We needed hedgehog labs to take that reference prototype in the technology that it was built in and bring that to the latest versions of Visual Studio, Azure, and all the toolkits associated with those platforms along with Xamarin. They were to correct any issues they saw and suggest areas where the technology could be improved. They did a discovery phase on that and a review of the technology base. From there, we defined the project to implement the prototype into all of the latest technologies with their dev team. hedgehob lab provided an account manager and a project manager. Because of the size of the build, we had a single, very experienced developer. Since the prototype has been completed, we have worked with them to look at scoping the next phase of the project which would include a variety of UX/UI, AB testing, a complete reskin of the application as well as building out all of the new functionalities that we want to include in the MVP. They have the capabilities to operate beyond purely dev, particularly in the areas of personal development, UI and UX, user flow, wireframing, etc.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

They were recommended to us by a partner we already had. We had engaged another UK business who did branding and design for us. That company worked closely with hedgehog lab on several projects and had good feedback. It made sense to go with them because of the link they had to the other company we were working with. We looked at other vendors in the northeast. We wanted to work with a local vendor, but hedgehob lab came out the strongest in that process.

How much have you invested with hedgehog lab?

We have spent around $60,000 during the relationship so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2017, and the first phase of the project was completed in March 2017. After the first phase, they put together a cost proposal for our next phase of development which will take place after a funding round. They’re not actively working with us right now, but they are supporting us and we’ll be using them for the next phase, which is projected to cost $200,000.

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

We have a working prototype in the latest technologies that’s available for us to demo for our funding process. What they’ve done gives us something that’s a much better fit than what we had before. We don’t have any metrics. We knew what needed to be built and they worked in Agile sprints to get it done. We ended up where we intended to be after the engagement.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve got a lot of tools in place for collaborative working. They report their progress and can track bugs and work that needs to be implemented. We get a weekly report from our project manager so we can see what’s been done and what hasn’t been done.

What did you find most impressive about hedgehog lab?

They have a particular focus on non-PC based builds. They brand themselves as a post-PC development agency which means they build apps. Ours is a mobile-first, app-based business. There was a big backend, but they also did well with that. They’re very good at what they do.

Are there any areas hedgehog lab could improve?

Their account management function could be improved. From my point of view, it’s sometimes opaque what the account manager does for us and yet it’s a charged function. You can’t engage them without having a charged account management function. I think they’ll work on that in the future.

This review was updated on May 9, 2018, by the client. New content is below.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We are working on a much bigger phase now, which includes a complete user journey, UI/UX, design, and technology for the app and web solutions. They did a market analysis of competing products in our vertical, established what made those products successful, and applied that feedback to new parameters for our project. It was a valuable exercise. We got good information from a wide audience and had a better idea of what to avoid and how we could stand out from our competition.

What is the team composition?

My direct contact is a product owner. They manage the process and my involvement very well.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent £240,000 ($325,099 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started this new engagement in March 2018 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a very collaborative approach. They use hypothesis-led design and agile development principles. We use Basecamp and Jira to track our backlogs, reviews, and sprint planning sessions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their design is particularly good. They run their design sprints ahead of their development sprints. They user-test mock-ups with target demographics to see which hypotheses are strong, then take the good elements of each hypothesis and combine them into a cohesive user journey. All that information feeds the next development sprint. It’s a new approach for them and it works very well. We expect to deliver a fantastic user experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s difficult to interface with some of the finer points of project management. We don’t have a clear understanding of where the money is being spent. This is a consistent issue with this kind of agency engagement and they are clearer than most companies.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a systems integrator operational in 56 different countries. We have about 64,000 employees. They work across five main sectors: defense, aerospace, space, ground transportation, and security. I work for the Research, Techology, and Innovation hub, and we’re focused on potential new projects that could be incorporated into the business. We’ve got quite an outward focus. We tend to look at the project through a more customer-focused lens and how we could potentially integrate them into one of the business units.

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We’re still working on a project to do with UI/UX. It’s got to the stage of the concept now where we’re looking to work with a collaborative partner on the frontend platform design. Since it’s still in the early stage, we’re not sure if it’s going to be a mobile device or a web interface or something else. So we got in touch with hedgehog to put out some feelers and see if they’d be a suitable match.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re early in the process. We’re basically in the proof of concept stage. We’re doing a three-month process to work out whether there’s a market for the product. Without giving too much way, the platform is looking to assist the target user in terms of improving the efficiencies and processes of the tasks we ask them to do. They did it well. They split the project into short-term goals using current technologies. They were quite realistic in terms of what was achievable. This is primarily a web interface, so they’re very heavily focused on the UX design, making the user interaction with it top-notch. And then they did a timeline in terms of the technologies that could be used and incorporated into the design, so looking at things like using VR and AR as well as simulations, and really pushing the boundaries in terms of technologies we know exist and can be utilized. They’ve great at figuring out how they can be used. I know it’s vague, but I can’t really go into much more detail.

The work done with hedgehog provides the proof so we can get funding to go ahead, and the work that they’ve done has justified them as a really good potential as an innovation partner.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

I wasn’t the one that originally got in contact with them; it was through a colleague who worked with the innovation hub. I don’t know how he got in contact, but that project began with looking for an interface design provider. It was through an open innovation company. They started taking, and hedgehog was really forthcoming and receptive to our needs. It was probably the customer service that gave them a head start over the other companies.

We flew out to meet with them. We met with their COO, Matthew. He was very hospitable in terms of what they offer. He explained the company – I think they had 60 employees at the time – and we talked about the project we were on. Working from very little information, he gave a detailed idea of what they could offer. Because it was quite an early stage, we couldn’t guarantee that they would have anything to do with actually building it. But they did some consultation for us, and the service they provided is really top-class. Great customer service from Kevin. The work that they produced for us was of a very high standard. They addressed the problems very accurately, and the work that they demonstrated showed a real awareness of current and future technologies that could be utilized. Overall, the process was very efficient.

What is the status of this engagement?

The first point of contact would have been around August or September of 2016. It’s subject to funding, but the intention is to continue.

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

We haven’t done any assessing in terms of the work that they’ve done, primarily because it’s an internal project at the moment. So we haven’t validated any of their work, but the response from the internal people has been very positive. We haven’t had any technical output from them; it’s all been conceptual. We had a slide deck put together, and they did the interface design, but no actual product’s been made yet.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done very well. They demonstrated a very efficient time-keeping process. There was a good variety of skill on the team. And the way in which the output was done demonstrated a good understanding and awareness of the limitations as well as the possibility that we scoped. They’re very good with sticking to timelines and budgets, deadlines particularly. It is a fast-moving process. We didn’t give them very long. The work was turned around in two weeks. They offered to come down and visit because we couldn’t do the day-to-day work apart, so they were more than capable in that sense.

We mainly communicate through email, but we also use Basecamp, which they use to share files and any informational queries that they have.

What did you find most impressive about hedgehog lab?

Personally, I haven’t worked with any other providers in a similar area, but there are a lot of things that impressed me about the company. I’d say the first and foremost thing is that they’re very open-minded in terms of approaching projects. They’ve worked with a variety of clients in lots of different sectors, and it wasn’t just coming up with an interface they’ve been given. They went off and did their own research and justified themselves, so they would understand the problem better. I thought that was really impressive.

Are there any areas hedgehog lab could improve?

They could potentially be clearer in terms of what they were looking to get out of it. No, that’s a lie. They were really impressive.