Hussam Al Yahya
Posted on Apr 17, 2020
Giant Leap Lab
2 Reviews
Advanced Web & Mobile Software, Computer Graphics
We are a skilled, experienced, and mature team of programmers, designers, and project managers from Ukraine. For many years we have been working on software projects of large scale and high complexity for very demanding clients.
High quality for our company is not just a marketing cliché many like to repeat. It means quite particular things. We know much more than the syntax of programming languages and keep learning daily. Our team is extremely detail oriented and has well-established approach to development that ensures a smooth controllable process and perfect results. Our code is well structured (OOP, MVC, various design patterns) and well done in every line (security, speed optimization, reliability, flexibility). We keep an eye on all recent trends in IT, can define what technologies would work best in each case, can design and build clear, convenient, and logical interfaces.
Our areas of experience are complex web-based applications, modules and plugins for content management systems and shopping carts, API integration, mobile applications, AI, chatbots, blockchain, and amazing 2D and 3D graphics.
Ukraine
M. Lushpi 8,
Sumy,
Sums'ka
40035
NA
10 - 49
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Wayne Bratcher, Supply Chain Development Manager at NHS Supply Chain
Posted on Apr 02, 2020
My go to developer
Executive Interview of Giant Leap Lab
Andriy Mishenin
CEO
Kindly share your feedback on how GoodFirms has been doing so far in increasing your visibility among potential clients.
We have joined GoodFirms just recently and so far don’t have statistics of visits for a considerable period. But we can see that the number of visits grows and we also get new reviews. We will surely work on our GoodFirms profile further to receive more leads.
Please introduce your company and give a brief about your role within the company?
Giant Leap Lab is a software outsourcing company that has been on the market for more than 15 years. Our team consists of skilled, experienced, and mature programmers, designers, and project managers. We have been working on software projects of large scale and high complexity for very demanding clients. We focus on helping IT startups to turn their ideas into high-quality products for various industries.
I have started this company with only a few developers and had to write code and do design for our projects. Now I mainly focus on communication with our customers and strategical decisions. However, I still follow all technical trends and do some coding and design to stay in good shape.
I have started this company with only a few developers and had to write code and do design for our projects. Now I mainly focus on communication with our customers and strategical decisions. However, I still follow all technical trends and do some coding and design to stay in good shape.
What was the idea behind starting this organization?
Design and programming were always my passion. I could join an existing software development firm, but starting a new business where I could have more influence on developed products sounded like a better option.
What are your company’s business model–in house team or third party vendors/ outsourcing?
Our team works in the same office. It is the most efficient way when a project team can communicate in person. Thus we can quickly discuss various technical issues, find the best approaches to UI/UX implementation, do QA, and so on.
How is your business model beneficial from a value addition perspective to the clients compared to other companies' models?
We can take a project in the idea phase and bring it to completion. Clients can choose to what extent they wish to be involved. There are highly skilled people on our team who can plan a project, design it, write the code, test, and launch it. The quality is always very high, and the development cost is relatively low. The bill can be three-four times less than, for instance, in Western Europe, Northern America, or Australia. What is essential, the proficiency of our developers is usually higher than that of the developers of similar firms in the mentioned locations. The reason is simple—IT giants like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and many others offer very high salaries and make it impossible for smaller firms to compete with them for talents.
What industries do you generally cater to? Are your customers repetitive? If yes, what ratio of clients has been repetitive to you?
We worked for startups from many industries—aircraft navigation, delivery services, dating portals, e-learning, accounting, and others. About 60% of customers are repetitive.
Mention the objectives or the parameters critical in determining the time frame of developing a mobile app.
We don’t plan time frames per application, we plan by feature and sum adding time for extras like planning, QA, etc. In some cases taking into account our experience, it is easy to determine how much time a specific feature may take. In other cases, we can see that there are many unknowns and risks, and we should add time and resource buffers to make sure the estimated project deadline will be met.
How much effort in terms of time goes into developing the front end and back end of a mobile app?
It all depends on a particular project. Sometimes there are more features in the frontend, and sometimes the backend is much more sophisticated.
What are the key parameters to be considered before selecting the right platform for a mobile application?
These days it’s a must to support both Android and iOS. The only situation when only one platform can be selected is developing an application for internal use within a specific company. In this case, to choose a platform, it makes sense to consider current hardware availability, familiarity of staff with one of the platforms, some of the required features that may be specific or easier to implement for one of the platforms.
Which platform do you suggest your clients to begin with when they approach you with an idea (Android or iOS) and why?
From a business perspective, supporting both platforms is vital. But sometimes, if it’s not possible to develop a hybrid version, clients have to choose. There are more Android users; however, iOS users generate more revenue. Depending on the application, the development cost can be different for Android and iOS. So, there are business decisions to make here. We do some analysis and let the customer decide basing on the provided information.
Android or iOS, Native or Hybrid — which platform is best to use to build your app? What are your recommendations?
For most projects, hybrid applications work well. They can save a lot of time and money and offer nearly the same user experience as native apps. There are certain functions, though, that are exclusive for a platform, like the Multipeer Connectivity framework in iOS that allows discovering of services provided by nearby devices and supports communicating with those devices. It’s worth mentioning that many of such exclusive functions are still available to hybrid applications through native plugins that can be used within hybrid frameworks.
What are the key factors that you consider before deciding the cost of a mobile application?
We charge for the time we spend on a project. It’s the fundament of the total project cost. We estimate all required features, the time needed for QA and project management, weigh risks, and how much time it may take to manage them.
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.)
All of the mentioned is acceptable. But sometimes it’s not possible to offer a fixed price if we cannot picture the scope. For instance, if we take over a not completed project with too many unknowns and poor quality code. Unfortunately, situations like this aren’t rare.
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?
Normally, we start from $5k for a simple mobile application.
What is the price range (min and max) of the projects that you catered to in 2019?
From $5k to nearly $100k.
Which business model do you suggest to your clients enabling them to generate revenue from mobile applications? Why?
A lot of different business models work very well and appear to be quite profitable. Along with the business model, it is crucial to provide a high level of service with significant added value for the end-users. That’s where most startups fail. We helped many companies with their products and know what typically works and what doesn’t, but to able to advise, it would be necessary to analyze the business and its objectives.