Interview
Please introduce your company and give a brief about your role within the company?
Flexi IT is a team of professionals specializing in Web development and Business Analysis services. Our service is well-organized for Entrepreneurs. Most of our clients are from United Kingdom, Israel, Netherlands, and Canada. I'm Anton Cherevko CEO and Founder of Flexi IT. I have 8+ years experience in IT field.
What is your company’s business model–in house team or third party vendors/ outsourcing?
Currently, we have 15 team members working under one roof. Our company positions itself as an entirely in-house team. The first reason we chose to operate like this is it aids something central to our way of working. Through working together as a team in one office space, we drastically reduced the time it takes to collaborate and problem solve on a daily basis. Through being located in one space, it keeps the team working in cohesion and ensures that we continually deliver an excellent level of service to clients. When members of the team struggle to communicate it can create serious problems, but by working together in one space this never happens. Communication is fundamental to our company ethos.
Secondly, this way of working preserves the knowledge base within the business. Technical knowledge is easy to lose when a team becomes fragmented and split up, so by working within the same space we constantly collaborate and share thoughts and skills. Not only does this help build an intellectual foundation for future projects, but it nurtures the growth and development of each team member. Lastly, keeping things in-house maintains our company culture, which we’re fiercely protective of. It’s what makes us unique. We maintain control over timescales, quality control and every other aspect of a project, something which becomes difficult if a third party is introduced. Plus, everyone in the team has their own specific specialty, but we encourage them to problem-solve together. It creates a better way of working, meaning that we can offer our clients a well-rounded, efficient team of professionals to take care of their project from start to finish.
Secondly, this way of working preserves the knowledge base within the business. Technical knowledge is easy to lose when a team becomes fragmented and split up, so by working within the same space we constantly collaborate and share thoughts and skills. Not only does this help build an intellectual foundation for future projects, but it nurtures the growth and development of each team member. Lastly, keeping things in-house maintains our company culture, which we’re fiercely protective of. It’s what makes us unique. We maintain control over timescales, quality control and every other aspect of a project, something which becomes difficult if a third party is introduced. Plus, everyone in the team has their own specific specialty, but we encourage them to problem-solve together. It creates a better way of working, meaning that we can offer our clients a well-rounded, efficient team of professionals to take care of their project from start to finish.
How is your business model beneficial from a value addition perspective to the clients compared to other companies' models?
There are four key points that highlight this within our business model:
Communication - Our project managers take responsibility for translating the client’s request from an idea into reality. From initial briefings to fine-tuning the end result, they pride themselves on not only their impeccable bilingual skills but also their prompt handling of client communications.
Keeping promises - Honesty is the best policy. That’s why we never agree to something that we can’t do. Whether it is a minor detail that a client specifically requests, or meeting a very tight deadline. We are proud to be a transparent business, and offer our clients a service that they can trust.
Truth - We hate manipulative sales techniques that our competitors use, that’s why we’re totally upfront and honest with our clients from day one. Throughout the development process we keep them updated with our thoughts on the project, any slippery moments and potential obstacles. This way we’re both on the same page, and walking through the project together.
Openness - We don’t hide anything from our clients. If the client wants to meet the whole team and get to know our faces, we arrange a conference to introduce ourselves. They want to visit the office? Not a problem, we’re happy to welcome them in with a cup of coffee and some biscuits. They’re trusting us with their project, so it’s important they have the chance to meet the talented people working on it.
Communication - Our project managers take responsibility for translating the client’s request from an idea into reality. From initial briefings to fine-tuning the end result, they pride themselves on not only their impeccable bilingual skills but also their prompt handling of client communications.
Keeping promises - Honesty is the best policy. That’s why we never agree to something that we can’t do. Whether it is a minor detail that a client specifically requests, or meeting a very tight deadline. We are proud to be a transparent business, and offer our clients a service that they can trust.
Truth - We hate manipulative sales techniques that our competitors use, that’s why we’re totally upfront and honest with our clients from day one. Throughout the development process we keep them updated with our thoughts on the project, any slippery moments and potential obstacles. This way we’re both on the same page, and walking through the project together.
Openness - We don’t hide anything from our clients. If the client wants to meet the whole team and get to know our faces, we arrange a conference to introduce ourselves. They want to visit the office? Not a problem, we’re happy to welcome them in with a cup of coffee and some biscuits. They’re trusting us with their project, so it’s important they have the chance to meet the talented people working on it.
What industries do you generally cater to? Are your customers repetitive?
The majority of our work focuses around dealing with CRM systems and development, as well as real estate booking projects.
Mention the objectives or the parameters critical in determining the time frame of developing a web app.
There are certain parameters which are taken into consideration to decide the time frame:
Functional Specification: With this step we are able to give a broad estimation of the project time, but this is a very general estimation and is always subject to change.
UX design: This step gives us around a 50% certainty of how long the project will take.
UI design: A particularly important step, here we get can give a time frame that we’d be 70% certain of.
Understanding using which technologies we will implement into the project: The practical step that gives a much clearer estimation, as we know what technologies will be deployed throughout the project’s lifetime.
Understanding who will be in the team. (Specific people from the team): Here, we will be 90% certain of the delivery date for the project, as the perfect team members for the task are selected and allocated appropriately. After that we will be able to break the project down into different areas, milestones and tasks.
Further, we create a Gantt chart to create an overview of the process, so each process can be outlined and we can observe what tasks will run parallel and separately. After this stage is complete, and tasks have been allocated, we will be 98% certain of a final delivery date. The last 2% of this time will be left as a variable depending on human factors that cannot be implemented into the project outline.
Functional Specification: With this step we are able to give a broad estimation of the project time, but this is a very general estimation and is always subject to change.
UX design: This step gives us around a 50% certainty of how long the project will take.
UI design: A particularly important step, here we get can give a time frame that we’d be 70% certain of.
Understanding using which technologies we will implement into the project: The practical step that gives a much clearer estimation, as we know what technologies will be deployed throughout the project’s lifetime.
Understanding who will be in the team. (Specific people from the team): Here, we will be 90% certain of the delivery date for the project, as the perfect team members for the task are selected and allocated appropriately. After that we will be able to break the project down into different areas, milestones and tasks.
Further, we create a Gantt chart to create an overview of the process, so each process can be outlined and we can observe what tasks will run parallel and separately. After this stage is complete, and tasks have been allocated, we will be 98% certain of a final delivery date. The last 2% of this time will be left as a variable depending on human factors that cannot be implemented into the project outline.
How much effort in terms of time goes into developing the front end and back end of a web app?
This is highly dependent on the specific project and it’s impossible to give a general answer. Each project is different, and comes with unique features and challenges that absorb different amounts of time.
What are the key parameters to be considered before selecting the right platform for a web application?
The complexity and desired functionality of each project has a significant impact on the platform that it is built on. For example, frameworks like Laravel are better suited for private-use CRM systems. For online commercial systems, it is better to focus on pure programming language than a predetermined framework. This way we deliver exactly what the client needs. The same is with CMS systems. If we consider eCommerce we definitely suggest OpenCart or WooCommerce. But if we speak about a blog or corporate website which should be easily manageable, Wordpress will always be a good option. It is entirely dependant on the needs and wants of the client, which we interpret using our expert knowledge to find the perfect platform or hand-built solution.
Which platform and technologies do you prefer to use in development of your web apps?
We prefer to use Laravel, CakePHP, Angular.js/Vue.js/Node.js and Pure PHP Development.
Do you offer website design templates or customised website design, and do you have a responsive website design?
Web design is not a primary focus of our service offering, but all websites and web apps developed by us are fully responsive and functional.
Which Content Management System do you prefer to use (Wordpress, Jumla, Drupal etc)?
We would always prefer to use either Wordpress or OpenCart. These offer accessibility to clients, whilst remaining versatile platforms that can meet the demands of modern web browsing.
Do you provide website maintenance services?
Yes, we are happy to offer this service to our clients. Our team of experts have extensive experience in website maintenance across a spectrum of platforms.
What are the key factors that you consider before deciding the cost of a web application?
Project cost absolutely depends on the development time. This is the one and only factor that has a bearing on the final cost of a project. We don’t make random figures up to exploit a client, we only charge for the work and time that we dedicate to their project. They’re giving us their hard-earned money to deliver something that is integral to their daily lives, and their trust is something we value extremely highly.
What kind of payment structure do you follow to bill your clients? Is it Pay per Feature, Fixed Cost, Pay per Milestone (could be in phases, months, versions etc.)
We offer a number of payment solutions depending on the however the client feels comfortable. We’re happy to explore options with each individual client, ensuring that they’re getting the end result that they want, without paying for it in one lump sum straight away. Popular payment schedules are Pay per Milestone, Pay per Phase & Pay per Month
Do you take in projects which meet your basic budget requirement? If yes, what is the minimum requirement? If no, on what minimum budget you have worked for?
For our new clients our minimum project budget is 800 USD. Our regular clients don’t have a minimum project spend, we really appreciate their loyalty, and enjoy the relationships that we build with them.
Contact information
Flexi IT
str. Volgogradskaya 26A, Zaporizhia, Zaporizhia
69000
Ukraine
+380665659496
Ukraine
+380665659496
