Liki Mobile Solutions

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Principal Front-End Engineer at Vantage International LLC. Vantage International provides business and engineering consulting services to its clients. 

For what projects/services did your company hire Liki Mobile Solutions, and what were your goals?

We needed front-end engineering and web development skills for an e-commerce project to enhance seller tools with a new feature that would show on every page of the seller website.

How did you select Liki Mobile Solutions and what were the deciding factors?

We selected Liki for their knowledge of front-end engineering and web development after a referral from another company.

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

The project began with planning the architecture. Liki's engineers influenced the choice of languages (TypeScript, SCSS) and technologies (Vue.js), set up the build system, built the architecture for the project, built multiple features, and delivered multiple releases as features were completed and ready for the customers.

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

We worked with two people from the vendor -- a Senior Software Engineer and a Front-End Developer.

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

We delivered a new front-end feature seen by tens of thousands of users in the e-commerce seller tools website on both desktop and mobile. Users interact with the feature to gain a better understanding of their business and improve their business with actions the feature makes easily available to them.

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

We coordinated with the vendor using Microsoft Teams, handled Agile sprint planning in JIRA, and used a variety of other tools (git in Stash, Confluence wiki, Figma for designs). The team successfully coordinated across multiple time zones and were response to questions and communication in an effective way.

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

Their engineers had good communication skills and engineering skills. They did well on taking tasks, understanding the needs, communicating about any areas that needed more information or documentation, and then delivered on the work in a quick and efficient manner.

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

We did not know the national holidays for both countries we worked in at the start of the project. We should have communicated earlier about when our countries had holidays scheduled. This did not impact our project results.

Please describe your company and your position there.

UBIS is a Swiss University education provider in Geneva, with 10 campuses globally. I'm the Marketing and Admission Specialist.

For what projects/services did your company hire Liki Mobile Solutions, and what were your goals?

Our website was not loading fast enough and we had no active analytics system for that. We wanted to improve our SEO scoring and start using Google Analytics tools.

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

They were selected on the following factors: SEO improvement, code review, Google tools implementations, layout fix, content improvement. They were recommended to us by another company.

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

They improved our SEO Google score from 61% to 100%. They designed and developed several features on the backend and optimized JS, CSS files. They speeded uploading our page and implemented a package of Google tools (Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Google Tag Manager), and an Electronic signature tool. They also implemented new photo and video content for us with social media channels included.

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

We worked with 4 people of them, including a UI designer, full-stack developer, content manager, and project manager.

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

Today our website is more friendly for end-users, also we increased our position in Google Rank due to better SEO. Thanks to the implementation of Google Tools, we can set better campaigns for our target group.

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

It was effective cooperation, the whole management process was on the Liki side. They were responsive and flexible. We had 3 daily meetings during the week and also calls on demand.

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

The teamwork and fast reactions were impressive.

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

We decided to completely change the webpage and connect to CRM and CMS and Google analytics.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a software development agency that specializes in building apps for people with disabilities. We’re based in New Zealand, and we build mobile, web, and voice apps.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liki Mobile Solutions?

 One of our clients is one of the largest health providers in New Zealand. Their veterinary branch wanted vets to be able to contact oncologists while operating with animals with skin problems in the field.

What was the scope of their involvement?

 Liki Mobile Solutions designed and helped us build an Android and iOS app that links vets and oncologists even when they’re located outside the mobile coverage of the city. Vets can take a picture of an animal’s skin change and upload it to the app for the oncologists to examine using a swiping-based UI.

The team also built several prototypes for the third party client, providing us with visual design ideas and proposals along the way. They constructed visual icons, buttons, logos, and the general layout of the app. Liki Mobile Solutions was very much involved in both the app development and design ends of the work.

What is the team composition?

We worked with at least 3–4 of their team members, including a project manager.

How did you come to work with Liki Mobile Solutions?

I’m originally from Poland and know that services like this typically cost less there. One of my coworkers at a previous job recommended them to me, and we did three short projects with them. I was satisfied with their work, so I hired them again. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent approximately $25,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from around May 2016–January 2017.

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

While the app was not published for public use, and we haven’t received direct feedback from the third part client in New Zealand, we got great feedback on the app during our feasibility study. The vets testing the product thought it was easy to find information, manage cases, and save time in the field. They found it useful.

How did Liki Mobile Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated mostly through Skype, making the most of our 12-hour time zone difference. Our meetings were occasionally at strange times, but some clients were still amazed at how quickly we were able to work and complete tasks.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their graphic designer was able to take our concept and quickly visualize it accurately. Sometimes, her work was so good that we kept the first iteration. We never had to make too many changes. I was also very impressed by the quality of the work given the price. It can be up to three times more expensive to hire developers in New Zealand compared to what we spent with Liki Mobile Solutions. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Communication and the time zone may be a challenge to some, but we didn’t struggle with it. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

 Meet their team in person if the opportunity presents itself. I visited them in Poland and it helped a lot. Plus, it's nice to be familiar with the people you work with. For people unable to go to Poland, I’d recommend an introductory video conference, just so you know their team.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a former senior software developer for Imilia Interactive Mobile Applications.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liki Mobile Solutions?

We needed web development assistance for a time scheduling tool.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Liki Mobile Solutions to create screenshots for a time scheduling tool that was to be part of a software package. 

Following that, we did a smaller project where we hired them to create a WordPress plug-in that create a preview of the main PHP application we were developing.

We later expanded the team and hired them to create Java-based Spring REST APIs for the primary application to rewrite and enhance the solution for an Angular frontend.

What is the team composition?

A senior developer served as the project manager and oversaw two other development resources, which worked well. We didn’t have that much contact with the development team. They sat in on some scrum meetings but not all of them.

How did you come to work with Liki Mobile Solutions?

I met the owner of Liki Mobile Solutions through a networking event in Berlin, and we stayed in touch. I knew that they offered the services we were looking for, and we decided to go with them for this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on this project from June 2018–February 2019.

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

Their graphics department, in particular, did an excellent job and provided us with great suggestions.

How did Liki Mobile Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

The deadlines for the sprints and goals for the user stories were met in a similar way to our German team.

We mostly communicated via Slack, Jira, GitLab, and we also had an extraordinary bit server and DevOps resource. Before we started the project, we installed a large computer monitor with a camera so that we could have quality conference calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their designer was extraordinary.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Language is always a bit of an issue. They have an office in Berlin, but they don’t have any German-speaking supervisors that can handle certain things that come up.

The Java team had one or two sprints where the two sides had to connect. Their skills are good, but we had to tell them which way we wanted it to be done.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO at Veygo. We provide software technology for live and video-on-demand streaming services to operators and media providers worldwide, helping them distribute their content. In short, I deal with all of our customer programs and make sure our clients are happy.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liki Mobile Solutions?

Given the nature of our industry, we encounter some pretty challenging demands from our customers. Sometimes they want end-to-end solutions that exceed our skillset or our team availability. We needed to extend our services to include frontend applications development, so we looked for a third-party vendor to augment our internal capabilities.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our initial collaboration involved developing a mobile application for iOS and Android devices. They integrated our core product software development's kit (SDK) and built the user interface. It’s a video-on-demand and live streaming app that allows users to watch recorded or live TV content.

Following the core development, we’ve added more features. Additionally, Liki Mobile Solutions built a medical photography app for Android and iOS, using HTML, JavaScript, and Cordova technologies. We continue to work with them for mobile development and testing, video streaming projects, and web app development for our personal website.

Liki Mobile Solutions developers are integrated into our team and we exchange with them every day on the requirements, specifications, development process and tests. Just as if they were part of our own team.

What is the team composition?

It varies case by case. They’re flexible in organizing a team that reflects our requirements. We’ve worked with anywhere from 1–10 people. For some projects, we just worked with a few developers. For our latest project, we worked with a team of project managers, web designers, and web front- and backend developers.

How did you come to work with Liki Mobile Solutions?

I’d previously worked with their CEO on another project with a different company, so I was familiar with their capabilities. We checked their employees’ backgrounds to confirm that their skillset met our needs. Being based in Poland, they’re also able to handle some of our global needs. As such, we established a partnership.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2014, and they provide ongoing support and development services.

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

Their work has had a significant impact on our company’s performance. They create the most visible part of our services—basically, the frontend of our company. Liki Mobile Solutions delivers on time, keeping us on schedule. Overall, they’re a pretty important partner.

How did Liki Mobile Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

They deliver on whatever we ask of them. In terms of communication, they have a great response time, and they’re always available. We usually speak on a daily basis, which helps us stay on schedule. This partnership stands out among the past experiences we’ve had with other offshore development providers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate their flexibility in accommodating our workload and requests.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always room for improvement. We could be more structured in defining the project’s scope. Unfortunately, we usually have to sacrifice those details because of time constraints.

Any advice for potential customers?

Clients should make sure they clearly describe their goals, then trust Liki Mobile Solutions’ development process. We’ve put all of our confidence in them, and so far, it’s been rewarding. It’s important to establish trust in the relationship and set expectations for both parties.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Orange is one of the four telecommunication companies in Poland. I’m the product manager for the Orange app.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liki Mobile Solutions?

We needed someone to develop My Orange app for iOS and Android.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our iOS and Android app which is for customers to manage their accounts and services, check their usage, and make payments. They are responsible for preparing code for new versions every two months. They started development for Windows, but we stopped it because the use of Windows phones is low.

What is the team composition?

There are 6–7 developers.

How did you come to work with Liki Mobile Solutions?

Their owner was a former employee of Orange. He knew the environment of Orange systems and knew the team responsible for development. It was easy to choose him and his company to do the job.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2015 and the work is ongoing. It took two months to complete the initial app.

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

We have a larger volume of users. We have good satisfaction with the app. Customers even use the purchase option in the app.

It’s a great company. They do all the tasks and meet my business needs. They manage and prepare versions that include all my requirements. When there are bugs, they solve the issues quickly and prepare a new version with the bugs fixed. They get the new versions to market promptly.

How did Liki Mobile Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

They do exceptionally well. There were no issues with missing deadlines. They’re always improving their work and project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very elastic. They find solutions for all the problems we give them to solve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re a company that you can trust. If there are technical limitations to completing your requirements, they will give you other options.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're creating a marketplace for industrial products. Our objective is to connect buyers and sellers. I'm the CTO.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liki Mobile Solutions?

We needed help with software development. We're located in San Jose, California and even though we're fully-funded, the technical engineers in our area are very expensive. We were looking for ways to cut the cost of developing our product. We do have internal resources locally, as well as some in India, but they didn’t have the skills we needed.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They're working on developing a frontend web-based application for us, which is our product. I specifically chose the set of technologies being used, which include Angular, Bootstrap, etc. One of the reasons for picking them was that they fit our needs in this area.

We have not outsourced our entire project to Liki. To us, they are a partner, and they are a part of our team.

What is the team composition?

We work with two full-time developers, a UX designer, and a couple of part-time frontend developers.

How did you come to work with Liki Mobile Solutions?

It was a lot of research and a bit of luck. We found them through a bit of luck after we started our research for offshore providers. I knew one of their founders through a mutual friend and we had a conversation about having them help us. The existing relationship had nothing to do with picking them; I picked them because of their skillset. Liki was able to provide us with highly-skilled engineers, proficient in multiple frontend technologies including AngularJS and Angular CLI.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2017 and the project is ongoing.

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

For frontend development, one of the ways to measure quality is by gauging how close the end-product is to the designs. Liki was spot-on from this perspective. They developed what was designed. Another measure is the stability of the application, its test coverage, and so on.

Because they function as part of our team, it's hard to measure the impact—if the designs are properly implemented, we move on. If we identify issues, we fix them as we go. Many of those issues are due to the changes we’ve implemented, but we're a startup and are modeling our product as we go. As part of our work, we change designs, and they implement them.

They've definitely added value to our company. The frontend is one of the most important pieces of our product, given that it’s what our clients are seeing. Making it look and function well, as well as ensuring its stability, is extremely important. Without a frontend, we wouldn’t be able to communicate or sell our product properly to our clients.

How did Liki Mobile Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

We've taken care of project management ourselves, while Liki provided development. We're very happy with their services. We have three standup calls per week, along with sprint planning, and we're constantly communicating over Slack channels, email, and phone calls. They collaborate well with our team in India.

I can go to Poland and spend time with them, or we can invite them to the U.S. They’ve worked out of our office a few times and we’ve stayed in constant communication. There will be issues with any team, regardless of their location. Many of those issues may be attributable to us not properly describing the task, while other issues are attributable to them not understanding the task. This is not about their team; this is just an ongoing project we have with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve appreciated their ability to pick up new technologies and learn quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have the same feedback for every member of our team and that is that it's important to make sure that we're communicating properly and that we're aware of time zones. Most of our team members are remote, so we have to rely on alternatives to communicating face-to-face, including video conferences, phone calls, Slack channels, email, text messages, and so on.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I’ve employed Liki employees and I treat them as part of my team, so I haven’t really outsourced a project to them. When it comes to this type of arrangement, everything has been working fine. New clients have to stay close to their projects and work closely with their teams, making sure that they understand what needs to be developed. Only a close collaboration between Liki and the client will ensure success. It’s all about collaboration and communication.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide services to the biggest companies in the world, assisting them in improving their performance in high-stress environments. We provide technical solutions and in-person training. I’m a senior developer.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liki Mobile Solutions?

We were facing the common problem of finding experienced developers in our country.

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we can’t reach our goals or have a development issue, they help us to get the products ready for launch on time. They support us with user technologies and solutions, as well as helping us decide if things are a good idea or not. They do back- and frontend work and help us with our parallel projects. We use technologies such as Vue.js and Java. They also help with design implementation.

What is the team composition?

We're working with three people who have a good level of experience.

How did you come to work with Liki Mobile Solutions?

They found our LinkedIn job post and contacted us because we were looking for a developer in Berlin. They said they could cooperate with us and came to visit. We cooperated with them for two to three weeks and were happy with the results, so began to send them projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

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

The UX they've worked on is good. The project is successful and is working. We want to hire another people with them. Most of the time, their work is correct and we're happy with what we got back.

How did Liki Mobile Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

The management is good and the communication is easy. They sometimes come to my office so they can get a better understanding of the issues we’re facing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re willing to cooperate with the customer. We choose the technology we want to use and they never show any opposition. They’re always willing to help and willing to learn new implementations of technologies.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes we have an issue and we want to solve it fast, but we don’t know if they’re working at that moment or not. They could be clearer if all the people are working together in the same place or if they’re working remotely. Sometimes we don’t know where every person on the team is located or when they’re accessible. We don’t have clear schedules and it can be a little confusing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know when and where the team is working. Get a schedule of when they will be working on the project and how they split the time each day.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My wife and I own Corevas. We are a German startup, and we have developed a product that allows for in-case-of-emergency communication via remote access to smartphones.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liki Mobile?

Remote access to smartphones—especially in the context of emergency-case communication—is a highly regulated area. Specifically, it deals with telecommunication, emergency call, data privacy, and data security laws. The technology we wanted to develop had not existed at the level we needed. We were looking for a software firm that would be able to program this remote-access technology, and, at the same time, develop an application that could be released into the app marketplace.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Liki developed our application for both Android and iOS, but we have used a different agency for the design. The technology ensures that the emergency-case management centers—which are contacted by bystanders—have the ability to use the full functionality of the caller by having remote access. In the end, we have an app for the general public, but the main tool is a service-center-owned web solution that provides access to callers’ smartphones. Liki is developing both the browser-based solution and the application.

What is the team composition?

We are working with a team of 11 people from Liki. We interact with the CEO and COO, as well as the programmers.

How did you come to work with Liki Mobile?

I met them during a Horizon 2020 program, where they presented their capabilities. We kept in touch, and six months later, we came together to develop the partnership.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in February or March 2017 and it is ongoing.

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

We are satisfied with their technical contributions. We will have an early-access program in July-September 2018, and the app will be launched in Europe in October 2018.

How did Liki Mobile perform from a project management standpoint?

We occasionally meet in person, but we also have weekly progress calls and use Redmine to communicate and share information. It is a close collaboration with stringent project management being applied from both sides. We meet in person for finalizing certain steps, and then they return to Poland to conduct the programming. We meet again as necessary until we see the results we need.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been impressed by the leadership from their two principals. When we have issues, we are able to have direct interaction with the CEO and COO. They are directly connected to their business. Rather than just handling acquisitions and contracting, they are directly linked to their employees, from the project managers to the programmers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We are a German-based company, and they are a Polish-based company. While the interactions with the management team are running smoothly, we sometimes have language problems with the programming team, as English is not a strength. However, we have been able to work around this. Further, we’ve set up a consortium consisting of 11 institutions, and Liki should improve its capability to operate internationally and engage with bigger companies.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a manufacturer of fitness equipment. I’m the founder and CEO of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liki?

We needed help maintaining our online services and were also considering building an app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide us with a wide array of services. The first engagement was around our online services, but we ended up also contracting them for the development of a related app.

It was important for us to service both Android and iOS users, so we asked them to choose a technology that enabled that through one codebase. The app also has native components on both operating systems.

We outlined general requirements for the app’s design and color scheme, providing examples from other websites and apps. They took these items and transferred them into a real app design.

What is the team composition?

They assigned a project manager who handled the entire process. I used to be a developer so I was able to talk to their resources directly. It was still good to have someone on their side holding all the strings together, especially since we’re not based in the same location.

How did you come to work with Liki?

They approached me over email, saying that they would be visiting our location and would like to set up a meeting. We have constant IT needs around our website and the services we offer, so their inquiry came at the right the time.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in mid-2017. The app is close to completion—we will be attending a trade show in mid-April and plan to exhibit it there. We will release the first version in May or June 2017.

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

They came up with a solution that fulfilled all my base requirements. The app is cross-platform but performs well. Those two aspects can sometimes contradict each other, so I appreciate their work.

I had access to the source code, so I could see the actual work being done. Some items still need polishing, but we are still in the early stages. We’re working on refining the app and making it ready for app-store deployment.

How did Liki perform from a project management standpoint?

As someone with a technical background, it’s often been more efficient for me to talk to the developers directly. I don’t need help relaying technical requirements, and some of those requirements can be hard for a project manager to translate. Their project manager was valuable to me, mainly because he worked at their location. He could give feedback on what the developers were doing, and provide a supporting role. That was important to me.

Their developers asked a lot of questions during the development process, which confirmed that they were trying to understand what the app should actually do. They also made their own suggestions, which is always encouraged. Their suggestions usually proved to be the better alternatives, given their knowledge of the system. We had a lot of back-and-forths, which I count as a plus. In the end, it led to a better app. Most of the communication was done either through Skype or telephone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're always trying to be helpful and supportive. They remained responsive even when the project was held up by the developers working on the hardware part. This showed us that they care about the project, and not only about getting paid.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We needed a way of documenting our interaction process. We mainly communicated by email during the first stages, which got out of hand quickly. Sending back-and-forth documentation is an old-fashioned approach. It worked, but it was hard to track, especially when more than one developer was involved. The improvement we’ve made for the current iteration is to use a tool that enables better structuring. In this case, we used Trello, which is simple to use and provides a good way to track everything. That’s been working well so far.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

My general advice is for customers to demand a structured collaboration tool from the start, and not rely on email. Trello solved this well for us and the developers were quick to pick it up. I believe they've also started using it internally.