AgileEngine

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of XA Systems, a small technology integration firm providing professional services to both the commercial market and Federal Government. We provide speciality IT services such as consulting, process engineering, and technology alignment to businesses. We also provide support personnel who manage the IT operational environments for customers on a daily basis.

What challenge were you trying to address with AgileEngine LLC?

We’ve been in operation for just about 17 years. During this time, we’ve developed a couple other smaller tools and some in-house products that we needed to satisfy XA Systems business requirements. We previously worked with independent contract developers and small firms that could help us meet some of those requirements, because we didn’t have the skill internally at our company.

Over time, we learned a lot about both our customer problems and challenges. We came up with design specifications for an automation software product that would collect analytics from our customers in a wide range of different areas. At that time, we consistently saw a requirement was missing in the marketplace. We were lacking strong developmental expertise, and also some technology performance products that were current in the market. We hired AgileEngine to help build that tool successfully.

What was the scope of their involvement?

AgileEngine went through a full review of our goals and objectives, including design specifications we’d built. They had a very clear understanding of what we wanted to produce, what the final software would look like, and how it would operate. We had several meetings to ensure that we all understood the end goal, and after that, they started coding and built prototypes of the software demonstrating functionality, UI, and navigation. The coding was in Java, and some of the architectural elements were based on Apache Tomcat. We then continued to push them into more complex phases of development in order to deliver the solution.

What is the team dynamic?

In the beginning, we were meeting remotely 2-3 times per week, but it has since narrowed down to maybe once per week. We mostly use Skype and a Google platform. We’ve had regular communication throughout the process, and we’ve established a relationship with the team supporting our efforts. We feel as if we know them personally even though we’ve never shaken hands, which is amazing.

How did you come to work with AgileEngine LLC?

I’ve been in touch with my personal contacts to find a reasonably priced, expert company to outsource this work to. One of my contacts from a large national company had hired AgileEngine to do some development work, and they were pleased with the overall experience. They made the recommendation to contact AgileEngine.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent around $300,000-$400,000 over the past couple of years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with AgileEngine around October-November 2015, and the relationship is ongoing.

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

We had expectations that were well documented early on in our technical design, and we’ve met those targets in the expected timeframes. We’ve had the opportunity to go back and tweak things because we have a product we can display to our final customer. Sometimes these changes were large, but they were still completed in a short amount of time. A lot of iterative development took place, and we were very satisfied with the results along the way.

How did AgileEngine LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

After having a mix of experiences in the past, AgileEngine has been our most consistent, productive, and results-driven relationship. We’ve definitely hit a homerun with them working with both their onshore and offshore offices. We’ve found consistency in their skill levels, which is hard to match in the marketplace. They blend in and have a variety of expertise that’s within our budget, and they never sacrifice the quality or end result we’re seeking. They’ve been able to accomplish this with both the European resources they’ve assigned to us and the US resources that are local to our business establishment.

We anticipated having a language barrier with AgileEngine, but we’ve had no challenges with speaking to them through any medium. They communicate as if they are native speakers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

AgileEngine joined our team as an outsourced company and integrated themselves to truly share the vision we had. There was never any conflict, and they worked with us in unison to get us the results we wanted. Their customer service was high throughout the process, and their team was satisfied when we were satisfied.

Are there any areas they could improve?

AgileEngine could benefit from having more UI experts up front. When it came to UI development, the cosmetic aspect of the frontend was not the strongest. They took instructions from us and gave us what we asked for, but we ended up going to an alternate firm to address the product’s UI. As far as coding and functionality go, AgileEngine can’t be beat. We’ve given them very complicated scenarios, and they’ve always delivered.

The only advice I would give to someone considering work with AgileEngine is to treat it as a project. They will give you options for the number of resources to apply, and they make good recommendations. We didn’t always accept every recommendation, but learned throughout the process that we should’ve trusted their judgement.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the director of consumer engineering for LivingSocial at the time of working with AgileEngine.

What challenge were you trying to address with AgileEngine?

The company was looking for a way of improving its A/B testing in order to allow for tests to be executed across consumer web and native mobile applications. We had some goals around response time and the ability to handle certain loads and concurrency. We hadn’t worked with any other companies for A/B testing in particular, but we did have some other engagements with outside consulting agencies, which didn’t result in a happy outcome, in general.

What was the scope of their involvement?

AgileEngine worked with our internal team of developers to determine requirements. They performed most of the development work for a new A/B testing engine.

The interface was developed as a standard API endpoint and the backend was a Scala application. The technology was chosen in order to meet the requirements of response time and handle the concurrence of different loads. In retrospect, I think it was a solid choice but it did add some obstacles.

While we did have Scala in our stack, we were mostly a Ruby on Rails shop, so there was less familiarity with the code base on our end. This is something which could have been averted through stricter requirements, but AgileEngine was able to deliver a strong solution which met the specifications while overcoming some communication difficulties and meeting the terms dictated to them.

We also dictated some of the expectations around what the interface would look like. Throughout the process, we talked about those requirements and adjusted as necessary.

How did you come to work with AgileEngine?

Alex Kalinovsky, their CEO, reached out to our VP of engineering at the time, who was exploring the idea of potentially doing some work. I believe they had met previously and Alex followed up. At least a part of their team was based in the Washington DC area, so it made sense to use them. Most of the developers were based in Ukraine, but they were able to adjust their schedules.

How much have you invested with AgileEngine?

The cost of their work was in the mid-5-figure range.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with AgileEngine in the middle of 2014; I left the company in March 2015. We had an on-and-off engagement over the course of several months. The work was delayed in part by some communication issues and the shifting ownership of the project. Overall, we ended up satisfied with the results.

The engagement ended around April or May 2015 and I doubt that the product is still in use. The company has either integrated or shut down anything that didn’t meet their requirements.

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

AgileEngine ended up delivering a solid solution. The process was somewhat marked by the changing of their contacts over the course of the engagement.

I left around the time that the engine was being implemented, so I didn’t really see the outcome in terms of its impact on our business or a measurable return on investment.

How did AgileEngine perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication dropped a couple of times but I don’t think it was AgileEngine’s fault. They persevered through that and were able to deliver a solid solution.

There were no real communication barriers and they did their best to minimize the time zone difference. They were able to adjust their schedule and worked relatively late at night on their time, so I had no issues on that front. The primary tools for communication on a day-to-day basis were JIRA and email. We also had stand-ups via Google Hangouts.

What did you find most impressive about AgileEngine?

One thing which separates them from the rest is Alex’s leadership, his willingness to go above and beyond, and his eagerness to deliver top-quality results to customers. He really stands out compared to other contractors I’ve worked with.

Are there any areas AgileEngine could improve?

They could have made it clearer that the shifting leadership on our side would be a problem and be more explicit on how that would impact the delivery of the project.

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

Just as with any other contracting engagement, make sure that there’s a clearly designated owner of the project, a single point of contact, and regular check-ins to make sure everything’s on track. This is not particularly applicable to AgileEngine but to contracting engagements in general.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

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

What challenge were you trying to address with AgileEngine LLC?

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

What was the scope of their involvement?

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

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

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

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

How did you come to work with AgileEngine LLC?

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

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

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

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

How much have you invested with AgileEngine LLC?

We’ve spent around $2 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

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

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

How did AgileEngine LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

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

What did you find most impressive about AgileEngine LLC?

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

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

Are there any areas AgileEngine LLC could improve?

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

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

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