The Software House

Please describe your company and your position there.

We a language service provider and the biggest independent localization business in Poland.

For what projects/services did your company hire The Software House?

The process of managing translation services is quite complex and requires sophisticated software. We decided to build a proprietary platform to manage all our internal processes: quotations, project management, invoicing, accounting, a translators’ database, and our CRM. Due to the complexity of that project, we needed to augment our internal team with third-party resources.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to complete the project as soon as possible—it had lasted too long, and we were struggling to find appropriate resources, which meant we had a lot of pressure from management.

Our goal was to get the project up and running by scaling up our team with experienced resources.

How did you select this vendor?

One of our industry peers had joined The Software House shortly before we began this search. We had a call with them, followed by a public profile check. They seemed to be a company with well-established processes and were reliable enough to take a chance on.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The outsourced developer focused on several major areas of product development. First, they helped to build complex financial reports for the accounting department. Second, they took responsibility for the integration of the platform with QuickBooks. It was based on an Intuit Interchange Format. Finally, they supported the development of the vendor (translators, etc.) database search engine.

What was the team composition?

They added one developer to our team of three. There was also an internal project manager.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We use the platform on a daily basis. The accounting module and integration that their developer worked on function well.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project was managed on our side and we followed agile principles. Their developer worked remotely, but each month we had “internal work” days during which he visited our office, updated us, and we planned the next phase.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Our platform is in .NET, which was not their native technology. Despite that, they understood our needs and found a proficient developer to easily join our team.

Similarly, we were impressed by their ability to react quickly. The project was not the biggest one and the technology was not their main areas of expertize. Even so, they were responsive and able to find an excellent developer. They cared about us as their client.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

None.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief architect at Vaana. We provide service vouchers for municipalities that individuals can use to get healthcare or social services, instead of relying solely on public services.

What challenge were you trying to address with The Software House?

We had an old customer interface that needed to be replaced. The aim was to modernize the platform for further development and modernize the look of the UI.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked on a new version of our software, using Java and PHP. The pilot version is an enhanced version of our old one, with a new look and feel. We’re going to add more functionalities to the interface.

Municipalities use the product to create and manage vouchers that are used to purchase services from providers. The municipalities are one user group of the software, and the other is the service providers. Private companies that offer healthcare, dental, and social services also use it to purchase these services.

What is the team composition?

We have three full-time developers, one part-time tester, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with The Software House?

Our sister company used them to build similar software. We were happy with how that was going so also chose to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2017 and the work is ongoing.

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

We’ve received really good feedback—the new version is much more modern and better looking. It’s not in full production yet, but we’re happy with how it’s been built. They did everything in the correct technical manner.

How did The Software House perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive to any queries and are proactive in suggesting new ways to enhance our cooperation. They use good tools and good practices, including Slack, Hangouts, some email, and Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technical competency is quite good, and we always feel that know what they’re doing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There have been some issues with communication. It’s not their fault., as the situation with multiple companies has been very challenging for all parties. We’ve all had a learning experience in that regard.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the VP of e-commerce at Prografix. We provide personalization and direct mailing solutions for company loyalty programs.

For what projects/services did your company hire The Software House?

We wanted to create a user-friendly self-service platform for direct mailing. This tool would enable smaller clients to automate the ordering process.

The build present two main challenges. First, we needed an algorithm that would set prices based on several variables: number of letters, format, and packaging. Second, the platform required a verification system to check entered data—such as home addresses—for misspellings and duplicated content.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to be market leaders in Europe for small- and medium-sized businesses. The project was also an opportunity to automate our key processes.

How did you select this vendor?

We looked for vendors in Southern Poland with expertise in PHP. 

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The Software House hosted a several-day workshop at their headquarters. We prepared a list of desired functionalities and planned development sprints. The team then delivered an early version of the software and conducted testing.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a project manager. Their team included two Symfony developers, one senior frontend developer, and one QA specialist. I acted as the product owner.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The platform was user-friendly and generated a significant amount of business. Additionally, the solution was cost-effective because we no longer had to hire internal supervisors to oversee the ordering process.

During development, the team’s efficient work enabled us to accelerate the timeline. We completed testing faster than expected. The initial analysis enabled The Software House to understand our business goals quickly. Their team started development with impressive speed.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The developers were agile and accommodated our team’s slower decision-making process. Regular meetings and constant contact via Basecamp benefited the partnership.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The took care of everything, from initial analysis to final delivery.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

Nothing needed improvement.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the owner of Torchlight Software. We’re a Phoenix-based software consultancy.

For what projects/services did your company hire The Software House?

We needed to develop a hybrid event management mobile app for a client. We were on a tight budget, but we still wanted to build a high-quality solution, so we looked for an outside vendor.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to deliver a comprehensive event management system for iOS, Android, and web-based devices.

How did you select this vendor?

We’d worked with The Software House on a previous project, and we were really happy with the results. When we needed more staff on this project, they were the obvious choice.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The Software House built and tested a hybrid mobile app, then deployed it to both the iOS and Android app stores. They mainly used Node.js and React technologies. The app guides event coordinators towards success through proven management strategies across communication, billing, and ticketing processes. The Software House handled the majority of the work for this platform, building the high-level features and extensive functionalities. With their understanding of technology in relation to our goals, the team alerted us to any risks or gaps in our service that had been exposed during their development process.

What was the team composition?

We worked with three software developers and a QA tester. There was some team turnover, but we have no complaints. They handled the onboarding process for new members, and it was seamless.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The client hasn’t launched the software, but they’re very pleased with the delivered project. We believe this will be a best-in-class application.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We record tasks in Trello and use a Kanban process to manage our work queue. The team has a lot of autonomy in prioritizing tasks and implementation strategies. They’re responsible for pulling requests from our ticketing system and initiating deployments. It has worked out really well. They’re very intelligent and developed a great understanding of our goals.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their technical skills are rock solid. They make good decisions, and they bring issues to our attention when necessary.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

I’d like to see more discussions regarding crucial decisions in their Slack channel or be CCed on a Trello card when the developer is uncertain. Sometimes I’m not totally on board with their decisions, so I’d like to be more involved in the conversation. With that said, I understand it is tough to navigate the time difference, so I appreciate that everyone is doing the best that they can.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the marketing director at Abplanalp. We deliver hi-technology in the machining industry.

For what projects/services did your company hire The Software House?

We wanted a simple Android application that could be used by engineers that work on the production floor.

What were your goals for this project?

Mobile technology is just getting prominent in our industry, and we wanted to incorporate it into the client perception of Abplanalp. We aspired to use the app as a marketing channel. For the app to be a success, our company needed it to be useful and reliable. We had one unsuccessful trial, and nothing came of our idea until we met The Software House.

How did you select this vendor?

The Software House approached us at the ITM trade fair. We had a brief conversation about what we needed, and their team got back to us after a couple of days.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The idea was to build a calculator for CNC (computer numeric control) machine operators, providing mathematical formulas, tables of data, and an optical protractor for drill head angles. The app also contained a marketing element.

The first part of the application was the smart and quick calculator. We liked that users can get a “real” drill head angle measure by using a cell phone screen to check if the angle is correct. The Software House made the complex data table easy to read on small screens.

The marketing component contained news on trade fairs and the latest information in the industry. It also linked to product information. The section is dynamic, and our team can quickly change it.

What was the team composition?

We worked with an Android developer and a project manager.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Currently, thousands of engineers have downloaded the app. There are 40 new users each month. Our team considers the app a success.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We worked in weekly sprints. The product owner was on our side, and our teams used Basecamp as the primary communication tool.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The Software House was eager to do something new. We appreciated their open-minded approach and their drive to searching for solutions, even when it doesn’t affect them.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

No, nothing they need to improve on. We were under excellent care. We’ve received feedback that we should launch the app on iOS, so it may be time to work with The Software House again.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of WeAreDavid, a company that facilitates dialogue between companies and private consumers in regard to personal data. We provide ways for private consumers to easily request data from the company, and we help the companies store and modify their consumer data.

What challenge were you trying to address with The Software House?

We had a bad experience with our past agencies, and we needed a good partner to do our mobile app development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a team building our backend services and preliminary APIs, and The Software House improved those APIs and integrated them into the web platform. We have just one user interface for customers on the web and mobile apps, and The Software House is responsible for both the native Android and iOS platforms (written in Java and Swift, respectively). They’ve integrated features such as user profiles, social media login, and chat functionality.

They also provide a dedicated design resource who focuses on the mobile experience and works with our in-house graphic designer. The entire team advises us on technology choices, specifically API implementation and integration. The product is currently live in Denmark and undergoing testing.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is the account manager, and they also provide two full-time mobile resources, a QA engineer, and a mobile lead.

How did you come to work with The Software House?

We wanted a partner who solely focused on mobile dev. I asked around, and a friend recommended The Software House. They approached the project holistically and treated it as their own business, so we decided to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since June 2018. They’re in an advisory role right now, helping us optimize the mobile experience.

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

We’re only in the initial testing, but feedback has been highly positive. The UX/UI is great, providing a clean and streamlined experience for users. The Software House is currently gathering lots of data on processing times and error handling.

How did The Software House perform from a project management standpoint?

We have biweekly sessions with the account manager and weekly sessions with the dev team. They’ve been extremely helpful in making sure we’re all on the same page and optimizing our partnership. We use Slack, Trello, and Jira to communicate and track progress. They proactively include me in their process, and they work closely with our other teams to facilitate communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a lot of experience in mobile app development, and the entire team is professional. They provide great advice, which is something we wanted in a partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m extremely happy with their service. I don’t have anything to complain about.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Have all teams collaborate to improve the project.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product owner at Takamol Holding, an IT solutions company. We have many services that help small and medium enterprises improve from a technical or business perspective. Most development projects for social services take three months. 

I’ve been working here around five months. My role is to communicate with The Software House, our team, and the users and try to come up with the service. 

What challenge were you trying to address with The Software House?

Our website was very basic. We needed to enhance the UX.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Software House delivers the features we specify each quarter. During the following quarter, we start another partnership. I describe features I have in mind, and they give me advice based on their experience and tell me what they can do. Aside from development, they also maintain our website. If we have any issues or bugs, they’re in charge of solving the problem and providing support.

We recently launched a new homepage redesign and introduced a new RFP feature for our users. Before, we only had a request for quotation feature. The team helped us create a chat function for suppliers and buyers to communicate. With their support, we’ve added 12 new features to enhance the UX and make the website more user-friendly.

I write user stories in Jira for The Software House to use. They ask for more explanation if needed. I also usually share wireframes that describe the videos and images we need in detail. I also prioritize the tasks based on high, medium, or low importance.

What is the team composition? 

We follow the Agile methodology with a scrum master, one developer each for frontend, backend, and to support operations. A QA resource was involved during the last quarter for testing. I’m the project owner.

How did you come to work with The Software House?

We considered two vendors and received many positive recommendations for The Software House.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $100,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2018, and our work is ongoing.
 

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

When we first launched, our website had very low satisfaction rates. The Software House solved a lot of problems and made it clear and user-friendly. After implementing new features and completing more development, the satisfaction rate has increased in a significant way.

The Software House developed tools we can use as admins. A business intelligence feature shows the website’s performance.  Visualizations improved the reports and helped us present information to our management. 

The developers on their team are amazing to work with and communicate well. They’re always on time and are willing to listen. They work even later than the hours we’ve agreed on.

How did The Software House perform from a project management standpoint?

The Software House meets all our deadlines. They’re always on time and available to help. Even when we change requirements, they’re still able to finish on time. We use Jira and have Slack channels for development and support. We have video calls through Zoom and hold weekly meetings to discuss progress and status. 

Right before we launch new features, we host a demo meeting. Once a feature is done, they usually deploy it to the user acceptance testing environment (UAT) for me to test. When it works as expected, we deploy it to production, which is the actual website. We meet again to follow up afterward to make sure it’s working. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We want to keep working with The Software House as much as we can. It’s incredible how they’re always on time and meet every deadline we set. They’re highly professional and work diligently to ensure they do everything the way we like, even if we change the requirements during development. They’re very professional. We rarely cancel meetings because they’re always able to attend. They even work night and weekends. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We’re very happy with The Software House.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

 I highly recommend The Software House to any company. There’s a huge difference in the comparison between the website when it first launched and the current version. I credit that improvement to their hard work. They’re impressively qualified and can handle any challenge.

Please describe your company and your position there.

My company creates solutions for a number of verticals, including e-commerce, banking, and retail, based on proprietary AI algorithms. I am the CTO, responsible for IT development and technology optimization.

For what projects/services did your company hire The Software House?

We hired The Software House to complete some UX work, including frontend improvements, code enhancements, and additional features. Our internal team was stretched to its limit, and this was the best way to quickly produce the results we wanted. 

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to complete the required changes and improvements while minimizing the demand on our internal team and allowing them to focus on existing projects. We also wanted a high-quality solution that would integrate well with our software architecture and facilitate easy future expansion.

How did you select this vendor?

The recommendations from colleagues in a similar field were more convincing than any sales or marketing efforts. They had very positive things to say about their experience with The Software House; we trusted their informed opinion, and we were familiar with the results. 

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

They optimized and future-proofed specific elements of the frontend and coding capabilities, including the code base and review. We also collaborated on a new campaign service app built from scratch. 

What was the team composition?

We worked closely with a project manager and lead developers.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Though this is not the kind of project that generates metrics, we are happy with the results and our internal IT team is impressed with its seamless integration into our existing architecture.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They were very well organized, providing a dedicated contact person and team. The ability to quickly and easily establish communication channels as necessary allowed us to articulate issues or input and receive responses without trouble. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The Software House was proactive and fully engaged with our needs. We felt like we had a true partner throughout the process. The knowledge and processes they shared with us during the collaboration made us better. We particularly appreciated that they were assertive when necessary and explained how their recommendations and actions would best meet our needs. They were clearly interested in our long-term success, investing the time and effort to forecast potential issues that might arise at the conclusion of the project.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

Nothing comes to mind. The Software House impressed us in every way. We are extremely satisfied with their work and confident that we could not have chosen a better partner for this project.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Arantio provides a platform that empowers our customers to digitalize their business transactions and beyond. We serve a variety of industries, including restaurants, hotels, festivals, amusement parks, charities, and employee benefits.  

For what projects/services did your company hire The Software House?

We hired The Software House for two reasons: 1) to update our Extranet technology with new UX/UI, and 2) to balance our workload with ongoing support and new technology upgrades.

What were your goals for this project?

We had six goals for this project: 1) update the technology as soon as possible; 2) develop a new UX/UI; 3) improve our customers’ capability for self-configuration; 4) move toward a service-as-a-software platform; 5) secure our ability to deliver excellent and scalable quality; and 6) ensure our customers were satisfied with deliveries.

How did you select this vendor?

We knew of them from some other development work that they had done for one of our customers. Their experience and work methodology fit us perfectly.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The Software House had full rein for the Extranet development and update, delivering an end-to-end solution. We spent two full days walking through the whole Extranet and the way our customers use it; The Software House quickly understood both the platform’s function and our intent and was able to offer us immediate, detailed solution suggestions. 

What was the team composition?

Our dedicated team included a project manager, a UX lead and designer, and back- and frontend developers. Despite some changes in personnel and overall team growth, our deliverables have not been impacted. They manage operations very professionally. 

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Our customers love the early stages of the new Extranet. They have yet to integrate it into their daily usage, so any concrete feedback is still premature.  

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Our assigned project manager has worked very effectively to maintain the quality of deliverables and adhere to the established deadlines. As the project has progressed, he, too, has matured and become even better. We had weekly meetings throughout the project and have communicated primarily via Slack. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The Software House is the complete package. There is not one thing that stands out more than another. 

Are there any areas where they can improve?

I have a hard time finding any area of improvements.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a product manager for a transportation service company that provides shared transportation to the airport. We receive reservations from people who are going on the same flight, and then we set up a route for the driver to pick everyone up and drive them to the airport.

What challenge were you trying to address with The Software House?

We wanted to automate our processes. Previously, everything had been done manually. We had to automate things to scale the business.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built the software for the booking process and the admin panel. They used Symfony 2 and PHP and AngularJS for the frontend.

Although the project is complete, we have a few new pieces we want to implement, and we will probably work together with them again.

What is the team composition?

I was the project manager and leader. At some points when I had too much work, they put in an external project manager. I mostly worked with the developers, and we also had a designer.

How did you come to work with The Software House?

I found them online. I had calls with a few companies, but following my call with The Software House, I thought they were the best choice.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in February 2015, and it was completed in February of 2017.

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

We pull the flight data from the API, and our staff can easily assign passengers to it. Previously, one person could serve 80 people per day, planning the route and informing clients of the pickup time. We have increased our efficiency. Now, we are able to serve 450 people or more per day.

How did The Software House perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Trello to track the project. We had almost daily Skype video meetings, and we also communicated through email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They communicate very well. If there were delays, they informed us. I was always aware of what was going on.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I am very satisfied. I don’t have any negative feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do your homework and have clearly defined goals and ideas of what you want to achieve before jumping in and starting the programming.