**BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and your role there. I work as a frontend engineer at AltSchool, a company focused on education and technology that develops software and methodologies designed to tailor education for individual learners. Our primary focus is on K–8 schools across the U.S., serving approximately 500 students. In our lab schools, we are refining our technology and practices. Additionally, we offer our software as a service and share recommendations with other schools. I have been with AltSchool for 2.5 years, handling solely the frontend development for applications used by students, teachers, and parents. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you aiming to solve with Frontside? Our company was undergoing a long-term upgrade to a newer version of the Ember JavaScript framework and sought Ember expertise to enhance our software development capabilities. Most of our significant product development occurs during the summer when teachers aren’t using our software, so we needed to complete most of the work in that period. Our goal was to enhance our services and acquire innovative ideas. **SOLUTION** What was the extent of their involvement? Initially, Frontside provided a few team members for various projects. Two of them focused on the student assessment user interface (UI), where educators evaluate student performance based on different rubrics. Frontside contributed to a team that significantly improved our existing product. We had numerous questions regarding Ember-data due to our complex data model, and they offered the right expertise to deepen our understanding. I collaborated closely with them on a set of intricate forms, where they introduced a new technique that addressed fundamental issues with Ember's conventional 2-way binding. We adopted their suggested strategy and are currently implementing it across our applications, yielding excellent improvements. They also overhauled our file-upload process, allowing teachers to link images and documents to students’ online profiles. Frontside finalized an open-source tool for this purpose and developed a specialized frontend bridge that integrated our needs, utilizing the basic open-source tool to upload files to Amazon Web Services. They provided testing support for the program, adjusting the API to accommodate expanding requirements. Additionally, they assisted in rewriting the frontend for a brand-new product in a separate project, which I wasn't directly involved in. They facilitated our transition from Ember 1.13 to 2.4, working collaboratively to resolve several issues that had previously hindered the update. This was a substantial and demanding effort spanning a vast Ember application. **TEAM DYNAMIC** What was the composition of the team? The team changed over time, starting with two members, occasionally expanding to three or four from Frontside. They were adaptable to our needs, and team members sometimes transitioned to other projects. Initially, I was disappointed to lose team members, but they consistently brought on board equally talented individuals. While there were some costs associated with these transitions, Charles [Founder of Frontside] was a consistent presence. The team members supported each other in quickly getting acclimated, which proved more effective than onboarding entirely new people, providing us valuable diverse perspectives and skill sets. **HOW DID YOU CONNECT WITH FROTSIDE?** Our previous contractor recommended Frontside. I attended EmberConf to meet potential contractors for hiring. I was eager to speak with Frontside and explored others as well. Ultimately, Frontside was my preferred choice due to their competitive pricing compared to smaller firms. I encountered a blog post by Charles that introduced revolutionary ideas that impressed me significantly in terms of Ember and frontend development. **CURRENT ENGAGEMENT STATUS** We collaborated from May 2016 until June 2017. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you provide to illustrate the impact of the collaboration? They helped us adopt a new mindset regarding forms, a crucial component of our application. We have embraced this philosophy fully. They also advocated for using immutable state in Ember, which has worked well. The quality of their output exceeded our previous experiences significantly, coupled with thorough testing and excellent tech support. **PROJECT MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE** How did Frontside perform in project management? They are the best engineers I’ve encountered. In technology, it’s rare for companies to meet time estimates. At the outset, we communicated our estimated project duration to Frontside. They were transparent about what they could realistically achieve and kept us informed throughout the process, which was extremely helpful. Their honesty was appreciated; they did not make unfounded agreements. We communicated via Slack and employed remote sharing tools like Screenhero, along with video conferencing and Google Hangouts for meetings. When we encountered challenges with open-source software, we organized remote pairing sessions, allowing us to discuss the same code in real-time to resolve issues collaboratively. The entire experience was highly educational. They presented various approaches to problem-solving. Occasionally, I sought their team for one-on-one coaching on team dynamics and processes, and we held discussions over chat or video conferencing for non-technical coaching. **WHAT IMPRESSED YOU MOST ABOUT FRONTISDE?** Their unique blend of technical expertise and communication skills greatly enhanced our business operations. **AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT?** Some team members visited us in San Francisco, which was extremely valuable. We could have derived even more benefits with increased on-site collaboration. **ADVICE FOR POTENTIAL CLIENTS OF FRONTISDE** To maximize value, view them as educators and trainers rather than merely as developers. Their ability to train your team can lead to a lasting impact on your organization.