ANODA Software Development Agency

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of an app design and development company called Glance Creative. We’re headquartered in the UK but have several suppliers that augment our team as we serve our clients worldwide. 

What challenge were you trying to address with ANODA Software Development Agency?

Our main challenge is scalability. We’re always looking for service providers that can supplement our internal team as contracts come in. If we have an excess of work that we can’t deliver.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

ANODA was one of our suppliers, helping us form a larger team to deliver on projects. They worked across several projects alongside our internal team. We generally tend to run several contacts concurrently, so we spread their team across our efforts.

They handle a wide range of tasks. Some of the services we’ve used include hardware, business analysis, design, project management, QA, and software development (e.g., native app, frontend, backend).

What is the team composition? 

We’ve worked with anywhere between 15–20 people depending on project. I’ve also had lots of contact with Oksana (Founder & CEO) and Artem (Head of Marketing) who handles the commercial finance side.

How did you come to work with ANODA Software Development Agency?

It was through Clutch. We were looking for an offshore team that was similar to us and had an ethos that fit with ours. After making a shortlist, I called several companies and found that I had the best chemistry with Oksana and Artem so we thought we'd try them out.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $332,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We stopped working with ANODA Software Development Agency in October due to quality and availability concerns.

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

It initially felt like we were all on the same team rather than a client-supplier relationship. If we ever had any issues, we would try to find a solution that worked for everyone.

As for their performance, initially, things were good but slowly people started being taken off of our projects, quality of work suffered and eventually, it seemed that any senior resources were replaced with junior team members.

How did ANODA Software Development Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

One of our concerns was the quality of the communication since we’re in the UK and they’re in Ukraine. However, we didn't have many issues with the time difference nor language. Some developers were reluctant to speak but we encouraged them to share.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They seem to enjoy their work. We love what we do, so to find other people that have a similar drive was great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their communication is quite bad and replacing team members without telling the client is a big red flag for me. We eventually had junior team members who weren't able to deliver so they should stick to hiring top talent.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a conversation with Oksana, be transparent with them, and encourage transparency back. They may have fixed their communication issues so you'd need to decide whether to work with them.

This review was published on December 3, 2020.

Simon Lee

Founder & CEO, Glance Creative

Advertising & Marketing

1-10 Employees

United Kingdom

$200,000 to $999,999

Oct. 2019 - Ongoing

Project summary: 

ANODA Software Development Agency augments an app development company’s internal capabilities. Having completed about eight projects, they offer services in development, business analysis, QA, and more.

Feedback summary: 

Not only has their work contributed to additional business and referrals, but ANODA has also formed a strong rapport with the company. High trust and transparency act as a foundation for a lasting partnership.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of an app design and development company called Glance Creative. We’re headquartered in the UK but have several suppliers that augment our team as we serve our clients worldwide. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ANODA Software Development Agency?

Our main challenge is scalability. We’re always looking for service providers that can supplement our internal team as contracts come in. If we have an excess of work that we can’t deliver, it’s good to know we can bring in a trusted supplier who can work with us to get things done.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

ANODA is one of our suppliers, helping us form a larger team to deliver on projects. So far, they’ve worked on at least 7–8 projects. We generally tend to run several contacts concurrently, so we spread their team across our efforts.

They handle a wide range of tasks. Some of the services we’ve used include hardware, business analysis, design, project management, QA, and software development (e.g., native app, frontend, backend).

What is the team composition? 

We’ve worked with anywhere between 15–20 people depending. As a business owner, it’s all about building relationships with the team. I’ve had lots of contact with Oksana (Founder & CEO) and Artem (Head of Marketing) who handles the commercial finance side.

How did you come to work with ANODA Software Development Agency?

It was through Clutch. We were looking for an offshore team that was similar to us and had an ethos that fit with ours. After making a shortlist, I called several companies and found that I had the best chemistry with Oksana and Artem. 

ANODA seemed enthusiastic about the projects that we did. No to mention, we really liked their work, and it seemed like they could be more of an extension of our team. It was an easy choice, especially when we compared them to the other companies we spoke with.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $332,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership has been ongoing since October 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It really feels like we’re all on the same team rather than a client-supplier relationship. If we ever have any issues, that relationship enables us to find a solution that works for everyone because those things will always pop up no matter who you’re working with.

As for their performance, the fact that we’ve run so many projects with them is already a good indicator. Their team has a good handle on everything they’ve done. We’ve actually earned referrals and additional work based on the strong products we’ve delivered.

How did ANODA Software Development Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

One of our concerns was the quality of the communication since we’re in the UK and they’re in Ukraine. However, we haven’t had any issues with the time difference nor experienced a language barrier. Because they’re an extension of our team, it’s more our responsibility to manage the project progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s a delight to work with people who truly enjoy their work. We love what we do, so to find other people that have a similar drive is great. Then, on a personal note, I consider Oksana and Artem to be my friends rather than a strict business partnership. I can’t emphasize enough how crucial a good relationship is.

Are there any areas they could improve?

That’s tough to pinpoint. We’re both going through a period of growth, so they could look more toward managing growth on their side. Other than that, they’ve done well. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a conversation with Oksana, be transparent with them, and encourage transparency back. That’s the only way you can get on the same page to form a cohesive team. It’s too easy these days to treat people like they’re just suppliers, which makes for a cold experience. If you get to know their individual personalities, you can better understand where their strengths are.

Star Ratings

Overall rating: 5

Quality: 5

Schedule: 4

Cost: 5

Willing to refer: 5

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a health and wellness tech company. 

What challenge were you trying to address with ANODA Software Development Agency?

We contracted ANODA to develop both our Android and iOS platforms simultaneously as well as the backend. These were exact requirements set out and agreed upon for both platforms.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

They were responsible for building out our app, which broke down into a pretty long list of tasks. A couple of notable ones included implementing a registration process, setting up specific questionnaires, a tutorial, and more.

They also needed to implement edge detection algorithms. We’d already written the actual algorithms, so they just needed to implement a certain silhouette in the edge detection part. That took two weeks to figure out when it should’ve only taken a senior developer an hour to do. 

What is the team composition? 

They had to have at least one Android engineer because one of them quit. On the iOS side, they had three developers. About a month and a half into development, we noticed that two of those developers left our Slack channel and were replaced by other resources, all unbeknownst to us. 

It was very clear in our agreement that they wouldn’t replace anyone without our approval because we needed to know who would be replaced. That was a breach of contract. We decided not to pursue the issue at that point because we had tight deadlines and believed that they would still deliver.

How much have you invested with them?

We agreed to a fixed price of $35,000 to complete several features. I paid them 50% in advance — that’s about $17,500 — and I don’t think they’d even worked on our Android product. This was during the middle of a pandemic when projects and cashflow are important.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from April–July 2020. We had to fire them due to performance and non-delivery issues and just the sheer lack of respect from Oksana’s (Founder & CEO) and Artem’s (Head of Marketing) team.

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

It doesn’t seem like they’re as big of a firm as they present themselves to be. Within the first month, one of their Android developers quit, and they immediately said that this would cause a two-week delay. It’s been three months since, and we haven’t received a single Android release. 

To be fair, we said that the biggest priority was the iOS side, so we were okay with them taking the time to find an Android replacement. However, it’s been three months, and we have nothing to show for it. 

How did ANODA Software Development Agency address the challenges that arose?

When communication fell through with the engineers and project management, it was no longer worthwhile to continue having direct conversations with their team. We sent multiple notifications to have upper management involved in these calls, and they just refused to join.

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

It’s been a nightmare. We have investors here who are waiting for this product, and I’ve got a million dollars worth of commitments. The previous demos worked fine, but they weren’t good enough to have an investor sit with the product unsupervised for a whole week.

That’s why our most recent release was super important. ANODA needed to get it right. But, what we saw was that some of the things they did, they nailed. Then, for other things like the edge detection algorithm that took a while and the registration process that had persistent, critical bugs, they missed the mark.

I can’t say for sure, but it seemed like there were senior resources working on the successful parts while junior resources got stuck on some of the other tasks. Half of the stuff is amazing, but the other half makes you think, “What are you doing?”

It was a constant battle with them to explain things, too. For example, we had a weight-loss feature that was five releases in, and we had to explain them how the feature needed to work at each release. At that point, we’d explained it in every different way possible. 

I even offered to have the instructions written in Ukrainian to limit miscommunication, but we still had challenges with toggles going the wrong way and numbers being incorrect. It was just unbelievable. They’ve cost us a lot more than $35,000 in losses. We’ve lost time, investor commitment, credibility, and potential. 

How did ANODA Software Development Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

There were significant miscommunication issues, despite the fact that we recorded all of our phone calls on UberConference as well as having written emails and Slack messages. Every Monday, we would have a conference call, but it was hard to get upper management on the line to support us. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think that their CEO understands the dynamic between a customer and a contractor. She’s very direct, disrespectful, and sometimes sarcastic in her remarks. It’s as if she treats us like just another person that she can talk to however she wants.

To be fair, I’ve used foul language in some of our calls — not at them, but just to express my discontent. But, after five releases, how could you not be upset that a team isn’t doing what they’ve been paid in advance to do. They had nothing to show for in the Android department in three months. At that point, we’d run out of patience.

They used that as an excuse to disconnect our app from our backend. We can’t log in, register, or even use the previous releases during a time when we have very important demos with investors. They’re willing to take our technology hostage, which is unfathomable. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a consulting agency for ITO companies and I'm the COO.

For what projects/services did your company hire ANODA Software Development Agency?

I needed an internal software solution where I can track and employees can submit all vacations, day-offs, sick leaves, and other functionalities.

What were your goals for this project?

They were asked to create a software solution to make internal leave management easy, informative and manageable.

How did you select this vendor?

We are providing consulting services to them and as we saw that they have highly experienced developers and processes, we decided to choose them as vendors for this project.

To be honest, ANODA themselves provided an idea for this kind of project. And we thought that this is a great idea that can help our company be more productive.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project is a web application where staff can track the available vacation days, day-offs, sick days, submit requests for such days, see the calendar of holidays. Also, I needed to have a comfortable app where I could track when any of my employees have a vacation or absent due to any reason. It would help me a lot in my planning. As my team is often on the go, we are thinking about creating mobile applications as well.

What was the team composition?

Their team is composed of:

• one iOS 
• one Android
• one frontend (react.js)
• one backend (Golang) developer

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

Cooperation with ANODA is still in progress and so far I have no complaints working with them. All deliverables are on time and management is on a very good level. The team understands all requirements without constant repeats and explanations.

I’m sure I will have a long relationship with ANODA and it’s not gonna be the last project for our company.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They are cool and impressive!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The communication, level of designers and developers, management --everything is on a high level.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Actually, nothing I can think of right now. Maybe the price for me is a bit high, but they are worth it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive for an education technology platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with ANODA Software Development Agency?

We didn’t have internal developers and needed someone to build our mobile app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

ANODA Software Development Agency developed our Android and iOS apps.

What is the team composition?

There were four people on the team. They provided an Android developer, iOS developer, designer, tester, and a little bit of project management.

How did you come to work with ANODA Software Development Agency?

We found them on Clutch. I talked to them on the phone, and I liked the CEO. The price was the right fit for us. We tried the engineers with some code reviews at the beginning and it was what we needed.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January–June 2020. We’re still a little bit involved together for small bug fixes.

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

I’m super happy with the company, especially the developers. Their coding is super.

How did ANODA Software Development Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

We didn’t require much project management from their end. Our team handled it internally and that was easy for us. They did do excellent on their part of project management. We used Zoom, Slack, and email to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The engineering quality is super high. Their team is really skilled and knows what they’re doing in coding. They were super fast too.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m really happy with them, which is why we’re continuing to work with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just go for it. I highly recommend them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with ANODA Software Development Agency?

We were searching for a company that could develop our mobile app. The goal of the project was to create a beta version of our application to show to potential customers and investors. It wasn’t about creating a finished application ready for market launch.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with the iOS version. We wanted to create an AR application using Apple’s ARKit. The idea was to use some kind of unique scannable dot codes, similar to QR codes, that would enable users to download or view content in AR. Additionally, it was a location-based application, meaning that every piece of content uploaded to it was stored in a specific GPS location.

The project was milestone-based, with four milestones for the app development. We started with the design, but they didn’t make any initial wireframes. We had our first graphic design of the app presented to us, and we thought that it would’ve been a first sketch of the app design and the arrangement of the app. We were actually happy with that, but we expected that there might be a bit more professional design. In the end, it turned out that there wouldn’t be any improvements to that.

What is the team dynamic?

I don’t know how many people from ANODA worked on the project. I was only in contact with a few of them, but it seemed that there were more people involved. Our first contact was a project manager. After having several issues with him, it seemed that he got fired. There was a second project manager assigned to us, and we were also in contact with the founder and CEO of the company, who jumped in several times here and there.

How did you come to work with ANODA Software Development Agency?

We researched Eastern European companies on Clutch and found several companies of interest. We had a three-step selection process. First, we prepared a questionnaire and sent it to every potential partner on the platform. The second step was to have Skype calls with the candidates, discussing several questions we had about the project and the company’s profile. The third and last step was a personal visit to their facilities to get an idea of how they worked, how they organized, and what their culture was.

How much have you invested with them?

My company spent €20,000 (approximately $22,090 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

The kickoff was in August 2018, and the end of the project was in March or April 2019.

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

There was always a lack of transparency in terms of what work had been done, what was still to be done, and what we were getting invoices for. We sent them a debriefing at the beginning of 2019, at which point we faced the first major issues with the project.

We got to the point where we more or less had application functionality, but we still had the really poor design. Additionally, we were never officially asked to accept the design. There was not a negotiation process, where we’d ideally be presented 2–3 designs to choose from. We were faced with a design that we ultimately never approved.

We started pitching the app to potential partners and investors, stating that a proper design would cost additional money. We hired an external designer on our own, and they were able to create a proper design for our application. After bringing it to ANODA, they asked for additional money to implement it, which was one-third of the cost we’d already paid.

To give an example of their professionalism as a company, we found our application under a different name on a site where they were showing their references, even though we’d signed an NDA. The design, which is still online, is pretty close to our application design, which was made by the external designer we hired.

How was project management handled?

We had contact on Slack. The expertise of the developers was okay, as far as I was able to judge it. We were in contact with the developers about several functionalities. In my opinion, there was very poor project management on the project. Project managers only showed up when they wanted us to pay additional invoices; it was never about having routine check-ups. 

When we began to struggle with the quality of the design and to complain about the project progress, they offered to do weekly calls to improve the situation, but those calls never took place. The project milestone list, which we created on Excel so that we could check the app’s functionalities, the invoices, and the project’s progress, was always out of date. They repeatedly told us they’d send us a new list. It was never 100% clear to us which functionalities we’d already paid for, or which we had to make additional payments for. It was a very chaotic and unprofessional process. There was definitely a lack of project management.

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

The actual coders were capable in their field. Everything around that was a bit messy.

In what specific areas can they improve?

The design was the most obvious problem. They can’t publish a reference with a slightly different name than that of our app, with a design that comes more-or-less from an external designer we hired, and post it online.

Then, when working on design, the first thing to do is make some kind of mockup, and not directly implement the design on the application framework. They didn’t ask us to approve the design before moving on to the next step. We were constantly talking about the possibility of working on the design, so we thought that that might be some kind of development process, and that it was just a rough framework of the app design, but we were never asked for final approval.

In the end, we had an app with functionality that more or less met the requirements — that’s the reason why I actually give credit to the coders themselves — but we had a really messy design. After the application was 60% done, they added a lot more cost to redesign it, which wasn’t in our budget. It was very disappointing working with them, given how their project management worked and communicated with us. The project management only showed up when they had another invoice for us. The organizational stuff never took place.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

I’d recommend to anyone working with them to have clear project management, to have control over objectives and key results, and to never make a payment in advance. In the end, it can be messy to work based on trust and to make payments in advance. We thought that there would be some improvements and more work on the design, but it turned out that that was it. Our money was gone, and the design was bad. It’s important to clearly control the results and the work that will be done for the money.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a travel app for people who want to experience the journey as much as the destination.

For what projects/services did your company hire ANODA Mobile Development Agency?

Initial frame work and development of the app

What were your goals for this project?

To get a MVP version of the app and see where we would need to rethink user flows, data capture and publishing

How did you select this vendor?

We used UpWork and put out a tender. Anoda was one of many who responded. They included their portfolio of work and laid out their processes and were upfront with where we could get to with our initial budget. Their communication was excellent and I appreciated their honesty.

Describe the project in detail.

The initial part of the project was wireframing. While other companies just said "we can do this, no problems", Anoda made sure that we worked through the wireframes first to understand the cost and complications of developing the app before they would quote for the actual development cost.

Once we were happy with the wireframes they provided a document that broke down the development into stages and the hours / cost of each stage. This helped us in the financing of the development over a 9 month period. A Slack was set up for easy communication and we also spoke via video conferencing every other week or as needed.

What was the team composition?

We had a project manager, a lead developer and a development team who worked on the project.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Right now we have the base line of an app. There is still development work to be done to get it to a position where we can release it and it can be a useful tool for travelers. Funding on our end is now the issue and we have to look at other options for development.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was very well organised from Anoda, and very clear. I think we frustrated their process more than anything with delays.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They cared, and their communication and workflow were simple and effective.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Only from our end in terms of communicating the purpose of the app and being a little bit better at asking/negotiating for what we wanted.

Please describe your company and your position there.

My company provides Pre-Purchase Survey & Mechanical Inspections, including Insurance Surveys to my customers purchasing boats in Australia. We inspect on-site, and create professional reports that can be used assessment and negotiation of marine pleasure crafts. I am the founder of the company.

For what projects/services did your company hire ANODA Mobile Development Agency?

I hired ANODA to design and build my in house application from scratch. I did not have any plans, just a vision for what I wanted the app to be. My challenge was that there were no applications currently that could include all the time saving and design/flow ideas for writing reports, and output a professional report in the style I wanted.

What were your goals for this project?

Create an application that makes my job quicker, easier and more accurate, whilst keeping an easily accessible database of past vessels inspected.

How did you select this vendor?

Selection was done online. Originally I scouted the platform "UpWork" and found ANODA to have very high ratings. I received quotes from 2 companies in Australia, then went online and received another 2 quotes from companies online. I picked ANODA based on their past work, professionalism and reviews found online.

Describe the project in detail.

The project consisted of building an iOS application from scratch. - Design, including wireframes for the entire project - Development of manuals, detailing the features in the wireframes - Development of the app as per wireframes. As development came together a number of things were changed along the way - Bug fixes and updates as the application was tested over the course of 3-6 months The application is quite comprehensive. It has the ability to create a customisable report from a base template that a PDF is generated from to be sent to the customer. Features such as base templates, photos, defects, ability to edit photos inside the app, automated fields, database of reports, cloud uploading, exporting to PDF and sharing, customisable signatures and more. ANODA was responsible for suggesting improvements to all of my original ideas/strategy which they have done with an excellent result. Th ne continuous support has been fantastic.

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of two parts: 1. Design 2. Development Throughout both stages, I was assigned a project manager who led the team. I would make contact with them weekly and they would update me on what was going on with the project. I believe there is a number of team members working with the project mangers, but am unsure as to how many.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The main outcome was time-saving, in which the time taken to generate a report has been considerably improved. I would say a 20-30% increase in efficiency overall, as well as features to label the reports more thoroughly and generate them with less mistakes. The application had minor bugs and flaws that were all overcome before leaving this reveiw.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The entire team as a whole performed brilliantly. There was excellent communication along the whole project. Every time they were taking a schedule holiday I would be told with ample notice. We used a combination of Slack for workflow, Crashlytics for app testing and Gitlab for code sharing. ANODA was great in taking on feedback and being fair. There was a particular glitch that took some time to fix, and we would have regular meetings until it was rectified. Although I was initially nervous there may be a language barrier, the team were very intelligent and I was quite impressed with how they interpreted all my request and also took on feedback. I do not feel there were any issues created by a language barrier, only things that would have come up regardless due to the complexity of the application.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The strengths of the company are creating quality applications. They have created something which I am very proud of, and interpreted my vision as a whole. Sure, there were times when I was asking for the "impossible", but they would always find a way.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't believe there were any areas I would change. Sure, as time goes on I will realise there are updates I wish to proceed with, but these are ideas I had not thought of until actually developing the applciation and using it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO and owner of a web development agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with ANODA Mobile Development Agency?

We engaged ANODA to help with a variety of development projects, including mobile app and web development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

ANODA provides development work support, which has mainly revolved around native and hybrid apps for both iOS and Android. Their team works on behavior flows, documentation, wireframes, design, and development for various startup apps from scratch. They've also helped with some web development projects on WordPress.

What is the team composition?

We mainly interface with a couple of project managers, who work with a team of designers and developers.

How did you come to work with ANODA Mobile Development Agency?

My business partner and I own another company that we had hired ANODA to help build an app for. Based on our previous experience with them, we wanted to work with them for our other business as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested close to $100,000 over the last year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around June 2017 and the relationship is ongoing.

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

Most of our projects are still in the prototype phase, so we don't have any metrics to report. However, we've been very happy with the quality of their work and effective processes overall, which is why we continue to work with them.

How did ANODA Mobile Development Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

I've never had any issues reaching them; they're very accessible and responsive, despite the timezone difference. They're also very transparent in their approach.

What did you find most impressive about them?

ANODA's thorough workflow sets them apart. They take the time to map out behavior flows, wireframes, and create great designs before the development takes place, making them more efficient with their time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I have no qualms with anything they've done thus far.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the chairman of Outingz, an entertainment platform to connect people and find them things to do.

For what projects/services did your company hire ANODA Mobile Development Agency?

We needed an iOS application. We wanted ANODA Mobile Development Agency to develop the frontend and execute the UI designed.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to launch the app.

How did you select this vendor?

We had multiple discussions with different vendors before selecting ANDOA Mobile Development Agency.

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

The team designed the UI, made a few iterations, and then developed the frontend.

What was the team composition?

We worked with one development manager, two UI designers, and 2–3 iOS developers.

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

They launched the app on time and within our budget.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The two UI leads and one code development lead created an effective and smooth workflow.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team was knowledgeable and timely. They did not commit to deliverables they couldn’t execute within the timeline.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

As an offshore vendor, ANODA Mobile Development Agency could improve communication.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of ShiftMe Inc.

What challenge were you trying to address with ANODA Mobile Development Agency?

When we first approached ANODA Mobile Development Agency, we already had the concept in place for our app. It's a B2B platform for hourly employees to easily swap shifts. We hired them to develop our MVP.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We envisioned an app that allows hourly employees working to trade shifts. For larger companies with multiple stores, users can work across locations, rate the stores, and have the stores rate them.

Our team provided ANODA Mobile Development Agency with detailed requirements including documentation and wireframes. Next, both teams scoped out the project and iterated on the wireframes. They developed the MVP as a B2B app on native iOS and Android platforms and did subsequent testing.

What is the team composition?

We worked with about six people, including the project lead.

How did you come to work with ANODA Mobile Development Agency?

My CTO and I screened the team after finding them on Upwork. ANODA Mobile Development Agency was sound from a technical standpoint. We picked the team because they were very transparent. We appreciated that they posted a lot of their work publically and sent samples of their code.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from January–July 2018.

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

The app was functional; we were very happy with the quality and clean setup. The product is awesome.

How did ANODA Mobile Development Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They provided timelines and stuck to each deadline. However, the team went dark every so often, and communication suffered as a result. Regardless, I’ve worked internationally before; ANODA Mobile Development Agency did a great job with time zones. We communicated via Slack without experiencing a language barrier.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their offering and quality of work created value. The team went above and beyond to ensure the technology worked properly, made sense, was efficient, and had a good UX.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should address the communication gaps.