SteelKiwi has delivered a fully functional back-office app that meets the client's expectations. The team is proactive, collaborative, highly professional, and always on top of their assigned goals. They are responsive to feedback via Slack and have a structured project management approach via Jira.
Steelkiwi has developed software for a fintech company. They have used Python, Django, PostgreSQL, Redis, and AWS to develop the backend of the client's software. They have also built the frontend using React.
We are a fintech that provides technology solutions relating to loans and financing. I am the an executive, responsible for leading the company and overseeing all aspects of its operations, including the interactions with SteelKiwi.
Our company hired Steelkiwi to help with building our back-office software and augmenting our existing development team. Our goals in hiring Steelkiwi included the building of the back-office software, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our software development process, increasing the capacity of our team, and bringing in specialised expertise and skills. By working with Steelkiwi, we hoped to achieve a high level of quality and performance in the software we were developing and to meet internal deadlines or milestones that had been set. We also hired Steelkiwi to help with specific internal projects, such as the design, development, testing, or deployment of back-office application features. In any case, the ultimate goal of hiring Steelkiwi was to help our company achieve its development objectives.
Python Django Django Rest Framework PostgreSQL Redis Celery Docker/Docker compose AWS S3 AWS Cloudfront Sentry ReactJs Redux Redux-saga Redux-toolkit Formik Yup react-query prop-types dayJs rc-table We first learned about this vendor from Clutch, where we found positive reviews of their work for similar clients. After reading the review, we decided to reach out to them and schedule an interview to learn more about their capabilities and experience. Python Django Django Rest Framework PostgreSQL Redis Celery Docker/Docker compose AWS S3 AWS Cloudfront Sentry ReactJs Redux Redux-saga Redux-toolkit Formik Yup react-query prop-types dayJs rc-table After interviewing SteelKiwi, we added them to a shortlist of potential vendor candidates and conducted client references to gather additional insights into their work. The deciding factors for us were the positive Clutch reviews and the positive feedback we received from client references. Based on these factors, we ultimately selected this vendor to work with us on our project. Python Django Django Rest Framework PostgreSQL Redis Celery Docker/Docker compose AWS S3 AWS Cloudfront Sentry ReactJs Redux Redux-saga Redux-toolkit Formik Yup react-query prop-types dayJs rc-table
Python Django Django Rest Framework PostgreSQL Redis Celery Docker/Docker compose AWS S3 AWS Cloudfront Sentry ReactJs Redux Redux-saga Redux-toolkit Formik Yup react-query prop-types dayJs rc-table Our back-office system is a set of stand-alone workplaces which are combined in an end-to-end system and address different parts of the credit financing journey. For the MVP phase, Steelkiwi started by designing the overall user experience of the back-office software. Key features include logging in to the back office and viewing, sorting, searching, and filtering loan applications. Python Django Django Rest Framework PostgreSQL Redis Celery Docker/Docker compose AWS S3 AWS Cloudfront Sentry ReactJs Redux Redux-saga Redux-toolkit Formik Yup react-query prop-types dayJs rc-table They then built the various workspaces of the back office, including the Origination Workspace (for creating and managing loan applications), Underwriting Workspace (for making decisions on whether the loan application should be approved), Servicing Workspace (for disbursing funds for the approved loans, monitoring, and managing the repayment of loans), Collection Workspace (for processing past-due loans), System Workspace (user accounts, notifications, and documents management) and Tasks. Python Django Django Rest Framework PostgreSQL Redis Celery Docker/Docker compose AWS S3 AWS Cloudfront Sentry ReactJs Redux Redux-saga Redux-toolkit Formik Yup react-query prop-types dayJs rc-table **Technologies used include:** Python Django Django Rest Framework PostgreSQL Redis Celery Docker/Docker compose AWS S3 AWS Cloudfront Sentry ReactJs Redux Redux-saga Redux-toolkit Formik Yup react-query prop-types dayJs rc-table Backend: Python Django Django Rest Framework PostgreSQL Redis Celery Docker/Docker compose AWS S3 AWS Cloudfront Sentry ReactJs Redux Redux-saga Redux-toolkit Formik Yup react-query prop-types dayJs rc-table Frontend: ReactJs Redux Redux-saga Redux-toolkit Formik Yup react-query prop-types dayJs rc-table
8 people from the vendor’s team worked with us, including 2 Business Analysts, 1 Python Engineer, 2 Frontend Engineers, 1 UI/UX Designer, and 2 QA Engineers.
SteelKiwi was able to deliver a fully functional back-office app that met all of our business requirements. The team was proactive, collaborative, highly professional, and always on top of their assigned goals. They were also responsive to our feedback and often took no time to address new queries. Overall, we found it very easy to work with SteelKiwi and were consistently impressed with the quality of the project outcomes. One area for improvement in measurable outcomes is that SteelKiwi could have been more accurate in estimating timing and costing. While there were minor delays to completion, the delays were not too problematic for our company and are somewhat expected from our experience working with other agencies. In the future, we would appreciate if SteelKiwi could be more proactive in striving to complete projects within the set timeframe. However, as mentioned, this was a minor issue that we anticipated and did not significantly impact the project's overall success.
SteelKiwi has a structured and professional approach to project management. They use a variety of communication tools, including Slack, Confluence, Trello, and JIRA, to stay in touch with us and keep us informed about the progress of the project. The team is highly interactive and provides us with regular updates on their progress. We have found that SteelKiwi's structured project management style, timely communication, and great sense of responsibility have given us full confidence in their ability to deliver high-quality software on time. While we do not have much in-person interaction with SteelKiwi due to the remote nature of the project, their use of these communication tools has helped to keep us connected and informed. One area for improvement in terms of communication could be to provide more frequent updates on when the next release/deployment/demo will be. While we receive weekly reports detailing the work that has been done, we would appreciate more frequent updates about the actual release to help us stay on top of the project's progress. However, this is a minor issue and has not significantly impacted the success of the project.
One thing that really stands out to us about Steelkiwi is their structured approach to project management. They have a clear system in place for tracking tasks and progress, and this has helped to ensure that our projects stay on track and are completed efficiently. Another impressive aspect of Steelkiwi is the strength of their teamwork, despite the fact that they are a remote-working team. Each team member takes full ownership of their tasks and is also aware of what the other members are working on. This allows them to collaborate effectively and ensure that all aspects of the project are being handled efficiently. We also appreciate the clear and professional manner in which Steelkiwi communicates with us. They keep us informed of progress and are always available to answer any questions or address any concerns we may have. Specifically, we have been most impressed by Steelkiwi's ability to maintain high quality delivery even during difficult circumstances. During the Ukraine war, when a number of team members working with us were based in Ukraine, Steelkiwi's management team was able to maintain a smooth process and keep the team working effectively despite the challenges and disruptions caused by the war. This is a testament to their strong management skills and ability to adapt to changes and solve many challenges. Overall, we find Steelkiwi's skills and expertise to be complementary, and this has contributed to the successful completion of our projects. We believe that Steelkiwi's structured project management system, strong teamwork, and clear communication are key factors that have contributed to their success and have made them a valuable partner for our company.
Overall, we have been happy with the work provided by SteelKiwi. Their deliverables have consistently met our expectations, and we appreciate their commitment to quality. - There was one instance where we had concerns about the performance of a specific project member, and they promptly replaced that member upon our request. We appreciate their willingness to address our concerns and make sure that the team is meeting our expectations. - Another issue we have encountered is that the team has changed somewhat over the 1-year course of our interaction with SteelKiwi. While we would prefer to work with the same team for the duration of the project, this has not always been possible due to circumstances beyond the team's control. However, the team has made an effort to ensure a smooth transition and has done their best to maintain continuity despite the changes. Additionally, a few team members have left the company during the project, which has presented some challenges. However, we understand that these departures may have been due to disruptions caused by the Ukraine war, and we appreciate the agency's efforts to minimize the impact on the project. - We have also provided some feedback to SteelKiwi in terms of giving us more visibility on billing and hours accrued, and they were responsive to our suggestions and implemented the changes we requested. One thing we particularly appreciate is the quick response times of our project manager, Daniel. He has always been prompt in addressing any questions, suggestions, or enquiries, which gives us confidence that the agency is always looking for ways to improve. Overall, we feel that SteelKiwi is open to feedback and willing to make changes in order to meet our needs and expectations.
