Key Technologies/Skills
DynamoDB
Java
Jenkins
React.js
Selenium
Outcome
Catalyte met the product go-to-market deadline and helped the client catalyze the global quantified self movement. The client later reported at the 2013 Gartner Symposium that Catalyte’s teams were 3x more productive than the competition (at cost per story point), and the software was delivered with 46 percent fewer defects.
A leading sports apparel company wanted to create a critical new wearable fitness platform to solidify its dominant market position and expand customer relationships. The product encompassed a range of components including a SaaS foundation, embedded software, firmware, mobile applications and desktop applications. Our client required scalability with short notice.
Offshore provider endangers product launch
With that goal, our client focused on strategic excellence, leaning heavily on their offshore partner for software development and iterative delivery. Because of the high-profile and strategic nature of the product, client stakeholders were deeply engaged in every stage of the effort, refining the product vision and requirements daily.
As the early stages of the project progressed, several issues quickly surfaced:
- Backlogs increased, existing resources became overloaded, productivity decreased and project timelines were compromised
- Placement of onsite teams in Oregon required more than six weeks
- Team morale suffered as onsite teams from overseas had difficulty developing effective relationships with client team members
- Offshore developers struggled to understand business objectives and desired product experience
The culture (both organizational and regional) gap created a tangible effect on the ability of the team to align and function as a cohesive unit with a common goal. This exacerbated every project challenge that presented itself.
Catalyte’s rapid response gets product to market on time
After several months of struggling to make progress, the team acknowledged that launch dates and project success were being compromised. The client turned to Catalyte because of its reputation for providing exceptional services onshore and on time.
Three business days later, Catalyte had a scrum development team on site diligently working to get the project on track and on schedule. With Catalyte, our client found:
- Equal billrates and terms as the offshore team
- More effective delivery and higher quality work
- Fast and enthusiastic acculturated teams working cohesively as a unit adapting to client’s culture and norms and meeting expectations
Catalyte increased quality and productivity dramatically by solving the issues the client faced with its offshore partner. As a result, the product got to market on time and within budget.
Catalyte teams continued to provide value, becoming trusted partner
As Catalyte proved its worth and value over the next three months, the client shifted 80 percent of the project’s development to Catalyte. It was fast to transition to enhancements and maintenance, while also taking on efforts related to future releases for the original and related products, making workflows painless for the client.
The decision to choose Catalyte as a partner was easy as its contributions and impact were imperative to the project’s success. This partnership continues to flourish with Catalyte playing a key role in the client’s strategy for growth and market dominance.
Key Takeaways
- User compatibility: Catalyte teams knew what users wanted out of the product and could consult client beyond technical expertise
- Better work, same price: Catalyte teams delivered better quality work at bill rates equal to offshore teams
- Speed: Catalyte provided a complete agile team on site in just three days, compared to six weeks for previous offshore partner
Tags
Share This Case Study
