Technology is shaping the way people interact online, and DockYard, as a custom software developer, has continued to have a front seat to this digital transformation.
Growing Leaps and Bounds
Indeed, “growth” was our theme of 2018. Our workforce of professional consultants achieved 109% growth and reinforced our distributed workforce culture, with employees in cities nationwide — from New York to Atlanta to Denver to San Francisco. From the complex projects we took on to the web development technology we’re invested in, we are grateful and proud that we can look back on our achievements in 2018 from a position of strength.
Multiple Awards
DockYard this year was also recognized by external organizations for our achievements in digital product development and custom software consulting. We received four honors in the 14th Annual Davey Awards for High Tide, our Progressive Web Application that provides up-to-date tide information across waterways. DockYard won two gold awards in the website and web app categories, and two silver awards in best data visualization and science for websites categories.
In addition we were named a national Top Mobile Application Developer and national top user experience agency by B2B research firm Clutch, which later in the year also distinguished us as a top 1000 B2B company, as part of its inaugural global leaders list. Clutch ranks digital agencies, web developers, app developers, and custom software firms based on experience, innovation, market reputation, and client reviews.
Impressive Project Achievements
DockYard builds custom software, engineered with the best technology and designed for top-notch usability. And through close client collaboration, we’re impacting the way business is done, building web applications that help brands and consumers across a range of industries — from entertainment, to finance, to transportation, to education. Achievements include:
- Netflix
DockYard strategy, user experience, design, and engineering have partnered to build web apps that transform how Netflix Originals get produced.
- MBTA
We developed an advanced digital service for notifications about train service disruptions, and created a secure data system to track trains.
- National Association of Independent Schools
We designed a digital tool that helps enable schools to research demographics and make smarter admissions decisions.
- Neon Exchange
DockYard developed a scalable, secure virtual trading floor web application to execute cryptocurrency trades.
- POA Network
We created a secure architecture to catalog data stored on a blockchain, speed up cataloging time, and allow it to be viewable by anyone in the marketplace.
Product Design Highlights
The DockYard product design team saw tremendous growth in 2018, with a team of four evolving into a team of 11. Our product designers have also experienced significant creative and professional growth. We made a strategic decision to only hire full-service digital product designers, who have mastered strategy, user experience, and visual design. Having each team member use their full range of skills — including research, user testing, and prototyping — enables continuity across the professionals on our teams.
This year, DockYard designers created several design systems to accompany products we’ve built. The systems offer a process for detailing brand and design elements in each digital product and alleviating confusion about designs as applications are scaled.
Our product designers were also fortunate enough to attend several conferences this year, including Awwwards in New York City for UX/UI designers, as well as Seattle Interactive: Design, UX/UI, and Tech. In addition, one of our product designers presented at Glendale Tech Week 2018 in Los Angeles, a series of events aimed at boosting innovative tech culture such as that of Silicon Valley.
Engineering Highlights
DockYard remains committed to using — and creating — the most advanced technologies for web application development. We furthered that commitment this year with our investment in new Elixir and Phoenix features. DockYard Architectural Engineer, Chris McCord unveiled LiveView, a new feature for Phoenix that dramatically advances how custom software developers create interactive web experiences, using code that runs in Elixir on the server. In addition, Paul Schoenfelder upgraded the Distillery tool for packaging Elixir applications for deployment. In Distillery 2.0, developers have more options for runtime configuration, command handling, and custom commands, among other improvements.
Our engineers were also invited to speak at several software development conferences aimed at advancing Elixir and Phoenix features, as well as Ember. Those events included ElixirConf 2018 in Seattle, LoneStar Elixir in Austin, The Big Elixir in New Orleans, CodeBEAM SF in San Francisco, EmberConf in Portland, and EmberFest18 in Amsterdam. In addition, our engineers hosted Elixir development community events throughout the year, such as the Austin Elixir and Phoenix meetups.
Employee Experience Highlights
DockYard is proud to provide a supportive and inclusive environment where all our professionals are comfortable creating their best work and developing their skills. This commitment led to the creation of our Diversity Group and our Mentorship Program this year. Among our diversity efforts, we’re striving to attract a wide range of professional product designers and engineers, build awareness and empowerment, and foster a safe and equitable work environment. The mentor program pairs cross-team DockYarders who want to learn more about their colleagues’ roles and provides learning and professional growth opportunities in all areas — from product strategy, to user experience, to engineering, to QA.
While we’re closing out a tremendously successful year, we’re looking forward to even more growth and transformation in 2019. We wish you a happy and peaceful holiday season.
