Fuzzy Math

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of product management and development at software developer. My team oversees a software suite that supports higher education institutions and course materials management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fuzzy Math?

We’ve used them for a few different projects. We initially brought them on to do a dashboard to track instructor submissions, but have since used them for two larger projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In addition to the compliance dashboard project and an analytics dashboard for our publisher partners, one of the most important projects they worked on was a UI overhaul for one of our products. They took a holistic approach and analyzed our website. Once that was complete, they gave us an evaluation of what was working and what could be designed better.

We discussed our vision, and they came up with a few different versions of what they thought would benefit us. After we gave them feedback, they built updated wireframes and came up with a solidly consistent look and feel for us. It’s clean and concise, and includes a comprehensive pattern library. They created a fantastic, living document with embedded HTML. There is no guesswork on how to build each icon or button, all we have to do is grab it and insert it into the code whenever we want to make changes.

What is the team composition?

We interacted with a team of three or four people, including a project lead and a design lead. It was good to have a mix of people working on the project, since they each brought a different opinion and viewpoint to guide the process.

How did you come to work with Fuzzy Math?

My former boss discovered them and brought them in for the first projects we did with them. The first project was the single-page compliance dashboard, which they did a good job on. I liked their working style, so when the time came to redo my UI, I immediately reached out to them about the project.

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we’ve spent around $80,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked with them on several projects, but the UI redesign started around January 2016 and ran through April 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The biggest indicator of the impact is all the positive feedback we’ve received regarding the new UI. Previously, our feedback was mixed, which was one reason we decided to do this revamp. We immediately heard positive responses from the campuses and stores that have our products, so we know the project has paid off.

How did Fuzzy Math perform from a project management standpoint?

Deliverables are always right on target. They always stick to the timelines we agree upon in the statement of work and often deliver ahead of schedule. The quality is never rushed, and they clearly spend a lot of time and care on our projects.

We email regularly and have half-hour weekly meetings to go over touch points. Each project has a set of milestones that we establish at the beginning. As they complete each milestone, they check it off, send us previews of the work, and move on to the next part of the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their approach is very professional, but also laidback and casual. I’m not a serious person, so that kind of blend appeals to me. Even though they’re not exclusively our partner, they’re fully invested in our projects and the final results.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve had nothing but really good experiences with them. They do really well with project management and deliverables, and I can’t think of any criticisms for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you work with any third-party vendor that isn’t physically in your office, keep the lines of communication open. We’re always most successful when we have weekly updates to keep the project on track. They process stayed focused and we didn’t have to go back and fix things.