What is Codest and how do we work? Let’s give an answer! :)
We are fans of modern technologies, our team is a bunch of real geeks, but above all we strive for development. If you’re wondering, what Codest is and how we work, then you have come to the right place. In this article, we will try to reveal the backstage of our activity. Welcome!
Codest some time ago…
Codest is a dynamically growing polish software house that has been operating on the market for around 10 years. Our beginnings date back to the first projects we carried out for Yieldbird. This is how our history on the programming services market began. Our team initially consisted of a dozen people or so and the headquarters of the company were located Krakow.
– We did not suppose that we would become a real software house. Initially, our team included only a few people and we executed small orders for our clients. However, we understood that the IT industry had a great potential. We decided that it was time to take advantage of it and focused on development. And that’s how it all began – recalls the Chief Operating Officer in Codest, Jakub Jakubowicz.
Codest today …
After 10 years, the structure of our company has changed. We started to develop and acquire new projects. Our team is constantly growing and currently it has more than 100 employees. We have two headquarters – in Krakow and Warsaw. We specialize in Ruby and JavaScript. However, our team is not developers only. We employ team leaders, UX / UI designers and dynamically develop the sales and marketing department. We want to grow constantly and at the same time take care of our existing customers’ satisfaction.
– We have worked hard to find ourselves where we are now. It would not be possible if it were not for the people surrounding us. We have a really fantastic team that does a great job. But we do not wish to stop and we set really ambitious goals. In 2019, Codest wants to increase by 100%. It will not be easy, but I believe that we will manage – says Jakubowicz.
Our projects
Codest operates on the international market, but we also execute projects for clients from Poland. So far, we have had an opportunity to cooperate with such brands as Mittmedia (the largest media group in Sweden), Helpling, Agora Performance, Sir Local or Gazeta Wyborcza. These are just a few examples. The technology that we use does not change. Ruby and JavaScript are Codest’s leading programming languages.
We implement all our projects in accordance with the Agile approach, using the Scrum methodology popular in IT projects. Our programmers are free to choose their working hours and very often use a possibility of remote work. In this way, we try to create the best conditions for them and make their work as effective as possible. This solution proves to be a success.
– When someone asks me where I see Codest in a few years, I answer that we want our work to continue being considered as qualitative. Then, for sure, we will be able to maintain the upward trend – ends Jakub Jakubowicz.
More information about Codest you can find on the channels:
– Facebook
– LinkedIn
– Twitter
What are the main challenges in global IT project? :)
When running global IT project experience in international cooperation is required from a software house. Being able to face the most important challenges related to the successful implementation of such projects is utterly important. But how to do this? We have prepared a list of the five most crucial challenges together with the presentation of good practices that we have tested.
Defining goals
Before you start working at your project, the goals must be set appropriately. This is a key task determining the team’s work at a later stage. Goals can be complex. For example, the creation of a specific software can lead through smaller points (goals), the implementation of which will bring your team closer to completing the project. Contrary to appearances, the process is not easy at all. It is very important for the company, outsourcing the project to the selected software house, to properly determine everything and confirm with the other party. This will improve the subsequent work and reduce the risk of failure or possible discrepancies.
Team matching
This task lies on the side of the software house. After a proper examination of both project needs and customer expectations, Product Owner is responsible for completing the right team of developers. People who have experience in implementation of a similar type of projects have already worked in the international environment and, above all, have competence in the field of technology used. The completed team should be presented to the client. Thanks to this, both sides get to know each other better and increase the common sense of pursuing one goal.
Communication system
International IT projects usually have a large difference in a distance between the client and the software house. Therefore, the entire information exchange and reporting process must be carefully planned. The role of the Product Owner is to prepare an appropriate cooperation scheme, which will then be presented to the client. The Agile approach and the Scrum project management methodology will be useful here. The possible time difference should also be taken into account.
Language differences
International projects require the developers team to know English. This is a prerequisite. Without this skill communication will be significantly impeded. This could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings and delays in the project implementation. The client who decides to cooperate a specific software house should take this factor into account.
Organizational culture
The work system or approach to different values may be slightly different on both sides. Therefore, it is important to understand each other and the willingness to reach agreement and work out convenient work standards. A compromise should be sought out. Both the client and the software house must respect each other’s values related to the organizational culture and thus aim for a jointly defined goal.
You can read more about international projects here:
– https://codesthq.com/quality-in-codest-why-do-we-deny-to-some-projects/
– https://codesthq.com/why-a-great-communication-helps-us-to-grow-fast-and-go-global/
It was a real hit! Best Codest’s articles in 2018 :)
The year 2018 is coming to an end, which is why it seems to be a good time for summaries. In recent months, a lot has happened on our blog. We shared the content prepared by the Codest specialists with you. We checked which articles were the most popular in 2018. Here is our list. If you missed something, we really recommend to catch up.
The startup market is a very interesting topic, right? We have analyzed the best current markets for business development. Silicon Valley holds the leading positions, but on our list you will find many other interesting locations.
What is the Agile methodology and what are some useful tools that improve work? On the basis of our client’s completed projects, we are answering how you can effectively increase your efficiency.
JavaScript, as one of the most popular programming languages. We are presenting in which projects JS works really well.
We are interviewing Katarzyna Górniak – Product Designer from Codest about current trends in UI / UX design. We also looking forward to what 2019 can bring us.
We are impressed by Ruby technology and the Ruby on Rails framework. We are talking about their most important features. Here you will find a small compendium of knowledge.
One of our clients has achieved great success in 2018, and we are really happy with it and pleased that our work could have contributed to the development of Yieldbird. See what effects our cooperation has brought.
Something for the geeks. A design pattern is a conceptual model that helps you solve design problems in various contexts. Do you want to know more? You have to check this article!
Quality in Codest. Why do we deny to some projects? :)
In the previous articles you could find out, why a great communication in IT project is so important. This time, we would like to talk more about our work at Codest and present our personalized approach to a quality work, which is very crucial for us. To put it in a nutshell – it’s not quantity, but high quality that counts.
Why does the quality work matter?
Our customer’s satisfaction has always been the priority. Codest has been operating for over 10 years on the IT market and at the very beginning it was decided that our work was to stand out from other companies in terms of quality and high efficiency. Nothing has changed since then and it is only due to this approach we can prove our being the best software house that is constantly developing.
The year is coming to an end and that is why we can summarize the completed projects. Once again we have managed to provide a high level of service, reflected by the opinions of our clients and great relationships maintained. They have repeatedly appreciated our approach, emphasizing, that in the case of needs related to the development of software, we will always be their first choice.
Why do we refuse from some projects?
Every month we receive several inquiries from companies that want to cooperate with us. I would like to emphasize that we do not always agree to implement a specific project. It is related to the fact that at first we analyze the availability of our developers and only then we can confirm the readiness to cooperate with a client. We are convinced that this approach puts us in a very good light in our partners’ eyes.
We will never accept a project if our developers do not have sufficient time resources. It is because we pay much attention to their work comfort. We know perfectly well that it is a good idea to organize their working time to be as efficient and effective as possible. This approach influences directly the effects of our projects. Only then we can be sure that our work will be positively evaluated.
Grow fast with high quality
That’s the motto that guides us in Codest. From the very beginning of our activity on the IT market, we have been developing dynamically, cooperating in the meantime with companies from various industries. From startups to large corporations, we want to constantly develop and be proud of successive projects that are a success. And at this point I would like to emphasize once again that the development would not be possible, if it were not for the high quality of work that is always a priority.
Codest is characterized by an individualized approach to each client who can be sure that when we carry out a project we do this with an utmost care. You can stay assured that this approach in Codest will never change.
How did Codest push Yieldbird to Deloitte List? (interview) :)
Once upon a time, there was a market without any AdX Optimization. Then a Yieldbird appeared and changed the reality of many publishers. How did it happen? We talked with Grzegorz Kubrakiewicz, Head of Technology at Yieldbird, who explains, how the cooperation with Codest has made it possible to be listed 16th in Deloitte ‘Technology Fast 50 Central Europe‘.
How was this whole idea born?
– Grzegorz Kubrakiewicz: It all began with Adtaily, which allowed small advertisers like hairdressers or hotels to place their ads on larger portals on regional Gazeta.pl sites. The Adtaily ad network was working with them. In the meantime, Marcin Ekiert and Piotrek Niedziela, inspired by Fredrik, started playing from the publisher’s side with AdX settings and noticed that in this way they were able to make more money with them. It was also related to the fact that all the money on the market in programmatic come from advertisers.
The whole programmatic focused then on the source of money from the buyers’ side, the market was tight, the competition was large. Based on gained knowledge, we created Yield Optimization and for several years we were becoming more and more experienced on many markets.
The next step was an attempt to write a software which will automate and improve all these concepts in two ways: either by automation and increasing the scale, or by using more complex algorithms that will be better than a human.
How did the implementation process work?
– It took a bit of time to find a way on how to automate it, get to know the process, the way it works, invent some ways for it and how to tell developers from Codest about it, so that they could produce a tool that creates added value. And then it went like a snowball effect, it spread, we had more and more ideas what to optimize.
Later on we made a whole class of products, i.e. a wrapper which really automated processes such as creating setups for publishers. Setups are constructions that help these publishers increase profits by increasing demand, it required the publisher to install javascript codes, integrate with the site. It was quite complicated, mainly due to the Javascript code which has to be integrated with a website, and not every publisher has their own development resources. A swell as both the language and cultural barrier with the publishers could be quite an obstacle. Therefore, it was clear that we needed Codest to create an easy and user friendly product.
How did the market welcome Yieldbird?
– The publishers’ market, the supplier of advertising space, was quite empty, there were no products dedicated to these publishers. So the idea of optimizing the advertising space worked. The next stage was the idea for a service that will help publishers earn more from the advertising space and exert more pressure on advertisers.
Some welcomed us really warmly, as they really wanted to make more money, but some were very suspicious, or we could not explain them what it all was about. The barrier of understanding is quite large, because it is not an easy or cheap product. Each publisher is in a different situation and a different setup, that’s why our products are cut to measure and grow together with our publishers.
WHY A GREAT COMMUNICATION HELPS US TO GROW? :)
Based on many years of experience in implementing IT projects in Codest, we have developed an effective working system that helps us to create products that meet our clients’ the expectations with the highest efficiency. One of our system’s key elements is a proper communication. Thanks to it, we know how to recognize the needs of our partners and implement projects with high quality.
“First of choice developer”
One of the examples illustrating the way we organize communication with a client is our cooperation with the Yieldbird company. It is a global ad optimization company with a strong background in programmatic ecosystem. Codest’s software engineers have developed an extensive analysis of analytic and growth hacking Yieldbird teams’ needs.
– We have been cooperating with Codest for many years on many projects. We treat Codest as ‘first of choice developer’, as they perfectly understand that such cooperation should be treated comprehensively and very seriously. In IT projects, misunderstandings can lead to huge losses, because the work is relatively expensive and the effect is often not immediately visible. The Codest team pays great attention to ensuring that it understands the issue which will be implemented. Believe me, this attitude pays off in the future – says Grzegorz Kubrakiewicz, the Head of Technology at Yieldbird.
Speed of action
Codest developers had to write a software which would automate and improve concept of AdX optimization in two ways: either by automation and increasing the scale, or by using more complex algorithms that would be better than a human. We managed to get the first software functionalities in a very short time. We have created a working product, which we gradually developed afterwards.
This approach has been met with great customer satisfaction. When he started cooperation, they did not expect that in such a short time they would receive ready-made first functionalities. However, this would not be possible without the proper communication. Before our developers started their work, they had learned the specifics of our client’s industry and its needs in advance. During the project, the client was fully informed of the working progress. Having any doubts or comments, he could pass them on to the project leader.
– I appreciate that Codest pays great importance to the agile methodology. The point is not in their using scrum artifacts or holding meetings. What I mean is that they are trying to organize work on a project in such a way that they actually deliver a product that is working as quickly as possible and then improve it in every subsequent iteration. It was utterly important in case of our project. We must constantly test prototypes, which is why frequent and good communication between us is crucial – adds Grzegorz Kubrakiewicz from Yieldbird.
Lever of success
Many years of experience in the IT industry have allowed us to understand the importance of proper communication in the effective projects implementation. Thanks to this we have managed to optimize the time of work performed by our developers, as well as improve the quality of cooperation with the clients. One of our main assumptions is a quality of work that affects customer’s satisfaction. We are convinced that this approach is desirable to our partners and also leads to the fact that more and more companies want to establish cooperation with us.
