Everbeat
ProductSavvy worked on product development, finalizing existing iOS and web platforms and developing an Android version from scratch. The pilot product can analyze, display, and store healthcare data.
THE REVIEWER
CTO, Healthcare Device Solution Company
THE PROJECT
Product Development for Mobile Healthcare Device Solution Firm
THE REVIEW
"They’re growing, which is a good sign."
Project summary:
ProductSavvy worked on product development, finalising existing iOS and web platforms and developing an Android version from scratch. The pilot product can analyse, display, and store healthcare data.
Feedback summary:
The development project was completed successfully, with the team producing all significant deliverables as required. They took feedback on board throughout the work and ensured that
the project was tracked properly and managed professionally.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the CTO of a mobile healthcare device solution company.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with ProductSavvy?
I had some code that I brought with me from a different company, but I didn’t have any developers. I needed someone to take over the code base. The company I’d been working with was reasonably good, but they were all domestic, so more expensive than I could afford long-term.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
They finished our product so that it could be used as a pilot. This entailed relatively minor modifications to the workflow. For instance, instead of inviting people to join, they could sign up themselves. Our device is a watch that can do an electrocardiogram, so they had to take ensure that data could be analyzed, displayed, and saved on it. They worked on an iOS version and there’s a dashboard component for the web as well. We also provided an Android version, but they chose not to modify it and instead built the whole thing from scratch.
What is the team composition?
The team is made up of three to five people, including iOS and full-stack developers, testers, and some web people. We have an architect in the U.S.
How did you come to work with ProductSavvy?
We found them through networking. I liked Jonathan (CEO and Founder, ProductSavvy); he was smart and seemed to have high integrity. They seemed to have a good niche, trying to do product-based work, not hourly work. Product Savvy was a little better at determining what the best architecture would be. They pushed me in certain ways, when my main concern had been the deadlines.
How much have you invested with them?
There were months when we spent $20,000–$30,000 on their services. I believe the total cost has been $150,000–$200,000 across two years.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with them around July 2016. The collaboration is on-and-off. We still have a relationship and have another sprint queued up for August 2018.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We're still in business and I don’t feel that ProductSavvy has ever significantly let us down on any deliverables.
There’ve been times when we were a bad client, because we didn’t lock everything down, we changed stuff along the way, or we didn’t give them time to do it quite the right way, which meant things didn’t come out well. I don't blame ProductSavvy for those outcomes.
There were also times when I looked at the code and said “Guys, you shouldn’t be doing this,” but I had no problem bringing that to them and they would address it.
How did ProductSavvy perform from a project management standpoint?
I give them a B+ in this area. They had the right methodology in place, our requirements were tracked, and they had daily scrums. They integrated with our toolsets, using standard Git, and another tool for internal requirements. They were never significantly off on anything; things may have slipped by 10–15%, but it wasn’t too bad.
All the basics for software development and project management were there. I think they might’ve struggled a little bit, being remote. It was hard to communicate sometimes, given the time difference and some communication challenges, but I’d say they did well.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They’re growing, which is a good sign. That confirms that they must have some level of success and processes in place, which is pretty valuable. Of course, it’s difficult to know exactly how well they will scale. When we started, their team was only 5–6 people, and now they have 14 members. It seems they’re growing in an organic way, and I would feel comfortable continuing to give them my business.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I hesitate to criticize them in areas where, in some ways, I’ve been the worst client possible. I’ve helped ProductSavvy fix things at certain times, which is a little frustrating for me, since they’re supposed to be the experts.
They’re a bit sloppy with resources sometimes; they’ve spun up some load balancers that weren’t really necessary, and just let them sit around for a while. A little more of that attention to detail would be nice In the grand scheme of things, they might have created a couple of extra $30-month servers and let them sit around for a while, but, compared to $150,000, it’s not that big of a deal.
Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?
There were a couple of times when I had to ask them why they were working on a particular item. Make the investment, at least at the critical phases of a project, and attend the scrums, even as just a fly on the wall. That’s a good way to make sure nothing bad happens down the road.