Our customer, Loci Amica
Loci Amica is an app that connects international travelers to local tour guides in popular destinations around the world. They make it possible for globetrotters to have more engaging experiences in the destinations they visit. At the same time, they provide locals with a passion for their homeland the opportunity to make a living doing what they love most. You can check them out at https://lociamica.com/.
The challenge: finding the best partner to develop the idea
Like many startups, Loci Amica was facing the challenge of finding not only a way to develop their idea, but also a qualified partner with the right skills to fulfill that objective.
In particular, they were looking for a partner who:
- Is reliable and trustworthy
- Can build a team efficiently
- Offers competitive pricing
- Works with an agile mindset
- Can assist with requirement gathering and specifications
- Has enough manpower to cover UX, UI, backend development, and mobile app development
- Has an experienced project manager who is fluent in English and has a strong technical background so as to immediately understand the project requirements
The solution: hiring an offshore team
As a company based in Canada and targeting mainly the Taiwanese market, Loci Amica found that hiring a dedicated remote team via offshoring (from the Canadian perspective) or nearshoring (from the Taiwanese perspective) was the perfect solution for meeting all their needs: they would save both money and time without compromising on quality, with the added benefit of having full flexibility with their project timeline. This is where we came in!
Wondering what offshoring can do for you? Read more about why companies choose to offshore here.
The development, from the first e-mail to the app launch
Let’s see how Loci Amica worked with SmartDev!
The kick-off:
In their first e-mail, Loci Amica briefly explained their needs and shared their design specifications to get a quote from us. Our team at SmartDev evaluated the specifications in a meeting with our project managers and technical leaders, and after breaking down the tasks, we estimated the amount of work required for the first version of the product, in terms of the team size and timeframe needed to achieve it. We then proposed our two different contract options:
- Time & Materials: SmartDev will allocate the most suitable developers to your project
- Project-based: a fixed price, with the project fully managed by SmartDev
Loci Amica decided to go for a project-based contract with a fixed price.
The project development phase
After signing the contract and assigning a dedicated team to the project, we could get started with the development of the product.
During the development phase of any project, we have regular meetings and report to the customer, to create full transparency, and build mutual trust. This includes:
- Audio Calls
- Status e-mails and reporting
- Review sessions
- Sprint retrospectives
Deliverables
To ensure top-notch quality assurance and avoid bottlenecks and the waterfall effect, all tickets are tested immediately during the development phase. Our technical leads handle the submission of apps to the Google Play Store and Apple Store. We also have a DevOps who is in charge of deploying the solution in the production environment.
The implementation team
Product Owner
Victor T.
Our talented Product Owner, Victor, is managing the project. His high level of English and ability to understand client requirements allow him to perfectly plan and follow up on the development of the product while keeping the customer fully up to date.
Tech Lead
Vinh T.
I’ve been working as a software engineer for 7 years, and I’ve developed considerable expertise that has proven to be a great asset to the clients. My philosophy is to keep things simple, fast, and convenient for everyone.
QA Tester
Hien L.
I am a mobile tester and I love to explore new functionalities on various devices. I would be thrilled to test your web or mobile app.
The results
Loci Amica is very pleased with our collaboration. They appreciated having the continuous and proactive involvement of SmartDev from the early beginning of the implementation right up until the final delivery to the market.
We are now entering the maintenance period and we will soon be ready to start on the next phase of the product lifetime!
In the startup phase, we had a lot of anxiety about finding a trustworthy partner. Choosing SmartDev was a very good decision. We are now confident in the future implementation and evolution of our products!
