TechWings

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Customer Support Manager of SNS

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a leading consultancy and software implementation company specializing in supply chain innovation and digitalisation. Through working closely with our customers to understand their requirements and embrace the challenges they face, we create solutions which boost visibility and reduce risk, allowing supply chains to thrive in an increasingly complex, crowded marketplace. 

Established in 2006 and with more than 375 customers in 40 countries, we work with some of the world’s biggest, most successful brands, helping them to pursue business growth and stand out on a global stage.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Creating new Dashboard on our internal ERP
• Creating a new cockpit homepage on the same ERP
• re-designing the whole screens to have better look and feel

SOLUTION

How did you find TechWings?

Online Search

Why did you select TechWings over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• we were impressed with their projects

How many teammates from TechWings were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Creating new KPI dashboards for our ERP system
• Designing a new cockpit homepage
• Re-designing all the screens

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

the final outcome was very very nice. and the people are friendly and nice to work with

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

yes, product was on time, and they were very helpful and understanding of the needs of my company 

What was your primary form of communication with TechWings?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

• Their procedures in working
• love their culture and they way they work
• very nice outcome at the end

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

With our scope of work, everything was done professionally.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Executive Director of Once Upon Our Time Capsule

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a youth development organization which uses time capsules as a way to help improve youth well-being.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build digital time capsule platform
• Build public facing site to display submissions from kids

SOLUTION

How did you find TechWings?

• Online Search
• Referral
• Clutch Site

Why did you select TechWings over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from TechWings were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Develop application that allows for teachers to digitize images, audio and video of work made by their students for inclusion in a digital time capsule. Also create public facing site where the digitized files are shown. Create database that will enable us to preserve the files for 10 years following submission,

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They completed the scope on-time and on-budget. 

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

They did a wonderful job. They delivered the work on time and on budget. They were highly responsive, responding nearly immediately to all requests. They regularly communicated the status of the work and the budget in a clear way. They were open and creative about addressing new requests when I requested them, and also clear and reasonable about what was out of the current scope. I only have good things to say about their project management.

What was your primary form of communication with TechWings?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We had a very tight timeline to complete our project. They were very honest about what was doable given our timing and budget and they delivered on everything as promised. They were really a pleasure to work with as well. Everyone we worked with was very skilled at their job and very committed to doing the job well.

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

No. We are so happy with their work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Yonnic GmbH, Our company specialises in Online Marketing and Software Development

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire TechWings, and what were your goals?

We were working on a custom in-house Online Shop System with frontend and backend which required more staff to hold the time schedule. Our goal was to speed up development time.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

The vendor offers full service and has a good team of developers matching the project. The project manager was a huge help as he knew which developer was suited to our needs and requirements.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

They developed a custom build online shop on the latest technology including serverless and headless techniques. Step by step we had design, front end and backend established

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We had a project manager, two developers and one design person for shorter time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

A prototype of the shop was successfully created and because of the amount of developers working on it we could save time.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

project manager act very professional and helps to find a good matching developer for the job requirements

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

They cover a wide range of skills and can offer many developers for nearly all web related project needs

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

They cover most of the important web development areas but i was still missing experience in sveltekit which is a very new JS framework.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager at a home delivery service company. I work with customer-facing products to make sure that the communication with our customers is clear and concise and that they know the status of the delivery.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mentalstack?

We’re currently using mobile pages to inform our customers about ongoing deliveries. Ths flow is not ideal because customers get an SMS and then open the pages, so users must have many mobile pages open if there are several deliveries. Plus, some information can’t be properly saved due to cookies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Mentalstack designed the UI/UX of an application for us, focusing on ensuring our customer’s experience is smooth when it comes to tracking deliveries. It was also vital that the UX of hardcore customers with multiple orders be equally great. The team has primarily worked with Figma, and we have developers in-house who are implementing the design. Although most of the work has been completed, Mentalstack is still fine-tuning small details and ironing out some elements.

What is the team composition?

At first, I was in contact with a sales representative who helped with the contract. Currently, we work with a project manager and two UI/UX designers.

How did you come to work with Mentalstack?

I found them through Clutch. One of my colleagues recommended the platform to me as the place to look for external companies to help us.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent around $12,000–$13,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very happy with Mentalstack’s process and their efficiency. Our collaboration has worked really well; they’ve been very proactive in offering their ideas and vision. We’ve had many rounds of feedback due to the number of people from our company involved in approvals. Mentalstack has been very patient in listening to our feedback and has also given their perspective, helping us achieve an even better solution. 

The project’s idea isn’t to create a disruptive design; we want to keep the UI/UX concise and clear so customers understand what’s expected of them and information is appropriately prioritized. Although we haven’t released the product, I’ve run a few user tests, and the feedback has been really good overall. From a consumer standpoint, the app’s flow is quite clear. However, users also said there’s room for improvement. I’ve communicated user feedback to Mentalstack, and they’ve acted on it very quickly.

How did Mentalstack perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager helps keep the process clear and transparent for the designers and me. We communicate via Upwork about billing, payment, scheduling meetings, and feedback. We have calls to discuss any questions we have or bigger pieces of feedback. Other than that, we collaborate very smoothly through Figma, where we also leave them comments.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Mentalstack is outstanding at communication — I’m really happy with them. I’ve worked with freelancers in the past, and it’s been much more difficult in terms of communication. Meanwhile, Mentalstack speaks the same language as us, which is key.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their processes could improve in terms of organizing work with the developers. However, this issue is on our side and how we work alongside them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice would be to take the preparation phase seriously. You should understand and internally discuss the expected result before starting the work. We prepared as much as possible regarding the critical functionalities and requirements, which has helped us a lot. Overall, it’s good to have a clear picture of what you’d like to achieve.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Head of Cloud Engineering at a Real-Time AI company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Mentalstack, and what were your goals?

We initially hired Mentalstack to backfill a web development position. We were very pleased with their developer and decided to tackle a long-desired application redesign project. By doing this, we are hoping to improve the user experience and increase conversions.

SOLUTION

How did you select Mentalstack and what were the deciding factors?

We searched online for web developers and interviewed several candidates. After interviewing them, we chose this vendor based on their professionalism and cost estimates.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We started with some basic web enhancements, and as the developer showed his expertise moved on to more complex web features. After seeing some improvements to the UI recommended by their UX team, we decided to engage them in a full redesign of our application. We had the standard kick-off meeting to discuss our current site and share some competitive research. Mentalstack provided a mindmap, wireframes, UX kit, and full-fidelity wireframes. After we had the current application design, we engaged them to design and development new features in the application.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We initially started with one front-end developer and eventually grew to 2 front-end developers, one designer, and one project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We have not yet released the redesigned application but expect to do so shortly. Our team is very excited about the new look and feel of the application.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

We have meetings twice a week to discuss the site redesign's progress with their designer, and to review and provide feedback on the new designs. Their developers join our team's daily standup and report on development progress. We use Jira, slack, and GitHub.

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

I'm most impressed with the front-end developers. They are excellent, and they feel like a part of our team. They set up the entire react application and are regularly suggesting improvements to our code and process.

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

I can't think of anything at this time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CEO of an Edtech startup called Eduati

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Mentalstack, and what were your goals?

I hired Mentalstack to undertake the product design stage of our LSM edtech SaaS solution. My goal was for them to complete this with relative ease.

SOLUTION

How did you select Mentalstack and what were the deciding factors?

I decided to use Mentalstack as I liked their previous edtech experience and was promised their art director would take on our job, as that was the person who bi for the job on Upwork.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The scope was to research competitors, design user flows, user scenarios, wireframes, UI and prototype.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

There were 2

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

It was such a shame, rather than being given a senior member of the design team after the art director could no longer take the job. I had to pay the same hourly rate for a junior member of staff.

After over 2 months and over $10k we never even got to the prototype stage, I had to pull the plug. They were really going of in the wrong direction. They had a very detailed brief, clear designs we liked, our colour scheme, our logo. However each week it kept going in the wrong direction.

In addition, a third of the time was spent on the reading through over 800 of our comments to make sill changes to spelling, not matching up screens to the previous one.

So I cannot say there were any outcomes out of this. I had to cancel and in fact, it was so bad, the frames that is, that the new team had to start again.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

Oh, this part is quite funny. You pay extra for a project manager and on the proposal offer you all these agile friendly buzzwords that will be included. Not a thing. I think I was paying 1 day a week for a project manager, I was lucky to even get an hour a week.

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

I found that what was most impressive is, they show you all the top projects they completed. But don't offer you the staff that completed them.

Their sales team is really good at selling you a sports car, but you end up with a scooter. I'm writing this - so others out there do not end up losing $10,000 that they cannot get back.

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

Oh my, areas for improvement. I could go on forever here. They are a prime example of an agency that has done well the last few years, taking on too much work, and can no longer strive for their success of earlier years. Greed perhaps from the top maybe needs to stop first.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a small website that provides consumer product energy use data.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Mentalstack?

I hired Mentalstack to redesign and redesign and redevelop the site as well as the back end-user admin interface.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted to make the UI of the site more intuitive/user friendly and improve, and improve performance/speed.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I selected a couple of vendors based on Clutch reviews, their client portfolios, and interviews.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They worked with me on the design of the site, then handled the back and frontend development and QA testing, and made a few minor changes/improvements that I requested after the main project was complete.

What was the team composition?

There was a project manager who was main point of contact. On the design side, the team had a UX designer, an illustrator (who was pulled in for a few small projects). For engineering, there were a couple of frontend and backend developers and a DevOps engineer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not yet, we haven't gone live with the new site yet as we're still working on some updates to content and our database.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had a project manager who we communicated with primarily via Slack. They were fairly effective at taking feedback and conveying it to the development team.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were generally comfortable working with sometimes shifting project requirements as our goals for the site evolved over the time we were working on it.

Are there any areas for improvement?

More communication about the timelines for reaching various milestones and how long modifications would require could be helpful.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide information on the energy use of home electronic devices and are branching out into reviews and offering energy-saving ideas for consumers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Mentalstack?

Our site design was outdated - we wanted to make it easier to use, as well as incorporating some new pages/features. We hired MentalStack to oversee a complete redevelopment of the site.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a site that would be more usable for visitors, as well as having a CMS that would make it easier for our contributors to keep our content up to date.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We read a number of reviews on Clutch and elsewhere and narrowed the field to 3 prospective agencies which we got bids from and spoke with. We ended up going with MentalStack because their bid seemed reasonable and we liked their approach to development.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They worked with us on the redesign of the site, including the development of a new logo/brand and wireframes + mockups of all the pages on the site. They worked closely with us at each stage to make sure that the deliverables were consistent with what we were looking for. We're just starting the technical aspect of the project.

What was the team composition?

The project team consisted of a project manager, one primary UX/UI designer and drew on additional internal design resources (e.g. illustrators) as needed. We're just beginning the technical side of the project, for which they'll provide engineers and QA.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project hasn't launched yet.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was very effective, we collaborated with a project manager primarily via Slack and was extremely responsive and effective in gathering feedback and making appropriate changes.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Mentalstack's design work, as well as their ability to incorporate feedback and changes as needed, impressed us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing comes to mind.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're an IT consulting company that designs and develops custom enterprise systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Mentalstack?

We hired them to design and develop a mobile application. My team of strong backend developers needed an infusion of talented UX designers and native mobile developers.

What were your goals for this project?    

We aimed to rapidly prototype a private enterprise mobile app. We wanted to experiment with emerging technologies that focus on great UX, information security, and speed to market.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After weeks of thorough screening and dozens of interviews, we selected Mentalstack for a long-term strategic partnership. We were happy with our pre-sale collaboration and support, their excellent communication skills, and their attention to detail. They also offered a risk-free trial period that showcased their collaborative work style and UX design skills.

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

We began working with Mentalstack in July 2018. The team built an exciting, challenging proof of concept for iOS. They had a tight two-week timeline that most considered unrealistic, putting their team to the test. The product looked stunning and implemented cutting-edge features. Once it passed the proof of concept stage, we added more exciting features and strengthened the code for our first production release.

What was the team composition?

The team consists of several part-time UX experts and designers, two full-time iOS developers, a part-time QA specialist, and a project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product will enable our customers to tap into important and previously inaccessible insights, share information, promote specific services, and ultimately improve sales.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Their project managers are highly qualified, full of energy, enthusiastic, and fluent in English. They always speak their mind and never hide inconvenient information, which keeps everyone honest.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It's all about speed, quality, and value! They quickly deliver excellent UX and design work and high-quality code. Their managers are accessible and responsive, their developers offer a diverse skill set, and their designers are creative and extremely fast. They can work creatively with vague or limited requirements, manage frequently changing priorities, and work calmly under pressure. Since they're a fun team with great personalities, working with them is a pleasure. The team exceeds our expectations!

Are there any areas where they can improve?

They should provide better access to technical staff and improve the depth of their technical documentation. To be fair, our project focused on rapid development and speed to market.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the manager of a technology consulting company. One of the things we do is outsource development work for apps for our clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mentalstack?

Our client had an app that had been in development for a year. It was unfinished and had a lot of features that were missing. We took over the project and needed someone to take on the development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The application is for both Android and iOS, and we hired Mentalstack to develop both, as well as to build out the API. The applications are native, for a client with a general membership of several thousand people that they want to keep in touch with. They also want to post news and get information from the members, conduct polls, and include some event functionality.

We didn’t have much from the original developers to provide to them. We had to schedule several meetings with the Mentalstack managers in order to explain the project. We had designs and wireframes which we gave to them.

How did you come to work with Mentalstack?

We found them on Upwork. We posted the project, and they were one of the biggest companies that replied to us. We felt safe giving the project to a larger software house.

How much have you invested in them?

We have invested around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2017 and the work is still ongoing. The project is in its later stages.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project itself had a lot of features and a functional API already developed. They had to take all of that without any documentation. We were unable to provide them with any information about what the API did and where the bugs were coming from. They had to understand what they were doing and did it without our help.

They pay great attention to detail. Compared to the version they got when they started the development, the app is so much more usable and is now spotless.

How did Mentalstack perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate with them through their managers, but we have access to the help desk and we can see what they're doing. They have a lot of people on staff, besides the programmers, who take care of testing, reporting, and other things.

We pay them through Upwork, and through the Upwork platform there is time tracking for each developer, so we can pay them based on the hours they work. Additionally, they use HubSpot internally, and I use their HubSpot reports to complete my own reports based on the tasks completed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing is when we tell them about any new features or changes that the client requests from us, they are able to understand right away and do it without having to go back and forth.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be good to have a little bit more communication directly with the programmers because we mostly deal with the managers. I can communicate with the developers through Atlassian, the task management program that they use, but generally, if the developers have questions, they don’t ask; they ask their managers who then come to us.