(listed in alphabetical order by client)
Boston Agrex, Lisa Emery
November 23, 2014
To Whom It May Concern:
We have been doing business with APG for approximately 12 years. Our company needed to make a major transition in our Visual Dataflex software system and APG used their experience and expertise to make that transition a smooth one. They have continued to support our operations over the years in a professional and dedicated manner. Their technical skills, reliability and interpersonal skills have made them an invaluable business partner and I would, without hesitation, highly recommend them to other business professionals.
Lisa Emery
IT Director
Boston Agrex, Inc.
CHS Automation, Mike Krasnicki
October 20, 2013
Dear Michael:
Well done Sir! If it weren't for Austin Programmers Group I would be out of a job and cleaning locker rooms at the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!), but you and the other professionals at APG saved our company from being dependent upon its outmoded version of RC Professional.
No conversion is without bumps in the road, and you managed ours well. The high level of communication, along with your excellent help desk for tracking our bugs and feature requests, ensured nothing fell through the cracks.
It now provides us great peace-of-mind having APG providing long-term support, as insurance for any day-to-day issues, and for longer term changes to our RCPro system to keep it meeting our ongoing business needs.
I am please to provide this recommendation and make myself available for anyone who might have questions about our business relationship.
Sincere Regards,
Mike Krasnicki
Regional Sales Manager
CHS Automation | Pneumatic Feed Service
P: 586-777-7440 | C: 586-899-2308
16660 E 13 Mile Rd. | Roseville, MI | 48066
mike@pressfeed.com
www.chsautomation.com | www.pressfeed.com
Dataforce Corporation, Michael Luther
January 21, 1995
To Whom It May Concern:
This is an open letter discussing Michael Steffano's past relationship with my firm Dataforce Corporation. Dataforce has contracted Mr. Steffano twice over the last nine years for his Dataflex programming and computer skills. The first contract lasted approximately six months. Mr. Steffano performed Dataflex 2.3b programming during this time and worked closely with another Dataflex programmer. We were pleased with his programming skills and level of output.
The second contract was much broader in scope and lasted over a period of two years. Mr. Steffano had much broader input into the system design, and was primarily responsible for the "core" features of the product, which was written primarily in Dataflex 2.3b and 3.01. These included, but were not limited to, designing and programming the job control of the system, the payroll processing module, the reporting module, and the output management module. The system was extremely large in scope, and required him to work with several other programmers, a database administrator, the end users, and myself. He also helped us review alternative programming languages, was involved in upgrading the system from the older version of Dataflex 2.3b to the current revision, and wrote the primary technical documentation. The system is currently in use by a franchise payroll service bureau.
Mr. Steffano's skills are first-rate. He brings expertise not just in Dataflex programming and networking, but in general business practices as well. We would be more than happy to have him involved in future Dataforce computer projects. I highly recommend Mr. Steffano to any parties considering employing or contracting him.
Cordially,
Michael Luther
PresidentDataforce Corporation
2655 Villa Creek
Suite 225
Dallas, Texas 75234
(214)247-2552
DSA Community Publishing, Ken Scott
March 5, 2001
To Whom It May Concern:
Austin Programmers Group (APG) worked with DSA Community Publishing to develop and implement a Display Ad Order Entry and Billing System. The involvement of APG lasted for the period July 2000 to March 2001. APG provided consistently high quality work and met agreed upon deadlines. The programming was done in Dataflex version 3.1d.
The working arrangement we had with APG was always cordial and professional. They readily accommodated us when we needed special billing arrangements for one aspect of the project. The work done by APG is of the highest quality.
I will definitely consider APG for projects or programming needs that may arise in the future. I highly recommend APG programming services to any party seeking consulting services and would readily act as a reference.
Sincerely,
Ken Scott
VP Operations & TechnologyDSA Community Publishing
250 Miller Place
Hicksville, NY 11801
Graphite Products, Gilbert Liske
November 4, 2014
To: Austin Programmers Group
Attention: Michael SteffanoMichael, we want to thank you and your company for the excellent service you have provided since our business relationship began a few years back. We were very lucky to find your company as we were on version 7 and our system was not up to date and our previous company would no longer support Dataflex. We have been working on the QA for version 17.1. You and your company always help us in a timely manner and your expertise is greatly appreciated and I honestly do not know where we would be without your help. Thank you again for your excellent service.
Sincerely,
Gilbert A. Liske Jr
Graphite Products Corp.
President
gliskejr@graphiteproductscorp.comCelebrating 50 Years in Business
1963-2013
Infomark Software Corp., Chet Leighton
07/27/1999
Over the past eight months Michael Steffano of Austin Programmers Group has worked with me on a web-based customer service application. This is part of a custom application in credit reporting for mortgage brokers. This is being developed for one of the top-five mortgage credit reporting companies in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I am the software application and database designer for the project. Michael has done all the programming for the web application, using a combination of Cold Fusion 3.1, Javascript 1.2, and HTML. The web-based systems uses the same SQL Server 7 database as an in-house customer service request processing system that is written in PowerBuilder 6.5.
The web-based application allows mortgage loan processors to check the status of their customer service requests from a web-browser. A service request may take anywhere from a few hours to ten days to process. By using the same database as the in-house system, loan processors see up to the minute information on the status of their requests. This is critical in cases where a mortgage loan closing depends on resolution of credit issues.
This is the first web-based application the credit reporting company has tried to produce. It started out as a prototype development project. Customer reaction to the prototype was so positive that the prototype was quickly converted into a production application. The design specifications I provided Michael were minimal database design documentation, static HTML examples of web pages with a brief description of which fields appeared on which pages, and a flowchart to illustrate navigation paths between the web pages. Michael was able to work with this minimal documentation to produce a complete application. Michael has been very flexible in making the many user interface enhancements that were needed as the software progressed from a prototype to a production system. The few bugs we found were fixed very quickly. The initial reaction of users is that the software is both reliable and easy to use.
I have reviewed the combination of Cold Fusion, Javascript, and HTML code Michael has written. The code is well documented. This mixture of scripting languages can easily become spaghetti code. However, I have had no problems working with the code in researching potential bugs or in designing enhancements. Austin Programmers Group has set up a development environment that duplicates our production system, so there have been no major implementation issues when the software is delivered.
Overall, the web-based customer service system has exceeded the client's expectations for the project. Currently, the application lets customers view their service requests. In the next phase of development customers will be able to enter service requests through their web browser. I am looking forward to getting started on this next phase of development with Austin Programmers Group.
Chet Leighton
PresidentInfomark Software Corporation
376 Raven Way
Petaluma, CA 94954
707-766-6919
Minerva Associates, Lisa Minerd
May 24, 1995
Dear Sir/Madam,
I write this letter of recommendation for Mr. Michael D. Steffano with great pleasure. I am owner of a software development company in San Diego. All our systems are developed using the DataFlex product. We have been using DataFlex for more than 8 years.
Mr. Steffano has performed very well in meeting our design and programming needs, under aggressive schedule requirements. I am impressed with Mr. Steffano's knowledge of DataFlex and particularly in systems design.
Mr. Steffano conducts himself in a professional manner. He is a pleasure to work with. To-date, he has produced flawless work for us.
We are excited to have established a working relationship with Mr. Steffano, and plan to involve his services in our efforts to migrate our products to fully utilize DataFlex object-oriented programming features.
Sincerely,
MINERVA ASSOCIATES
Lisa Minerd
Principal PartnerMinerva Associates
12555 High Bluff Drive
Suite 170
San Diego, CA 92130-2056
(619)792-8626 Fax (619)792-8615
Owen Healthcare, Application Development
November 12, 1998
To Whom It May Concern:
Austin Programmers Group has worked with Owen's application development staff on multiple projects over the past several years, including "Year 2000 upgrade" work as well as enhancing business functionality in some of our company's key software products. Austin Programmers Group provided consistently high quality work and met the agreed upon target dates of each of these projects.
I found the working arrangement we had with APG to be cordial and professional. They accomodated me when I needed special arrangements for some projects. An example of this was providing special billing documentation for one of the projects. The Owen programming staff found APG easy to work with, very reliable and professional,and the end result always very satisfactory.
I will continue to consider APG for projects or needs which may arise in the future.
Sincerely,
William W. Lukefahr
Director, Application DevelopmentOwen Healthcare, Inc.
9800 Centre Parkway
Suite 1100
Houston, TX 77036
Owen Healthcare, Interface Systems
July 18, 1997
RE: Michael D. Steffano, Austin Programmers Group
Subject: Reference
Owen Healthcare contracted with Austin Programmers Group to help us design and develop a key system for use with our application. In addition, we needed them to educate our staff in the object oriented features that would be used in the design and development of our product.
Michael Steffano did an excellent job for us. He met with the staff and discussed all of the features that needed to be included. He was very professional and calm during these meetings. As the staff probed his knowledge he came across as an expert without an ego problem. They soon adopted him as a member of the team and used him as a resource to aid their learning.
Michael took our requirements and developed an architecture for our system. He did an excellent job documenting this material so that both management and the technical staff could see where he was going. He presented this material and sold each of our technical review team. This was the start of a significant amount of documentation that he produced.
Michael and my staff worked together to develop a project plan. We decided to have Michael do the architectural component development and the internal staff develop the business rules portions of the application. Michael then taught our people the object oriented approach that was to be followed. He developed coding standards and examples that made it easy for the staff to pick up and become productive quickly.
The components Michael was responsible for were developed very quickly. This gave our people something to work with as they developed their pieces. Michael operated in a lead role helping each of the assigned people to bring their part up to the required operation for the system.
It should be noted that Austin Programmers Group is not based in our city. This was never an issue. Michael stayed in touch through phone and email and was always on-site when we needed him for face-to-face meetings. He did whatever it took to make it happen.
We did a successful beta of our product and had Michael attend with us. He insured that work continued the way it should at the same time keeping my staff in a position where they felt they had enough knowledge after he left. The product was a success and met all of our requirements including enhancing the knowledge of our staff.
I have recommended Austin Programmers Group for several other jobs within our organization and everyone has been happy with their performance. I would hire them again. Michael is truly an excellent consultant.
James M. Hull
Director, Interface SystemsOwen Healthcare, Inc.
9800 Centre Parkway
Suite 1100
Houston, TX 77036
The Flyer, Kyle Plate
October 9, 2002
To whom it may concern:
The Flyer has engaged Austin Programmers Group on a number of projects since 1999. APG was instrumental in bringing our legacy applications to year 2000 compliance well before established deadlines. In addition, APG has delivered many enhancements that we have been able to dream up, but did not think was not possible within our legacy systems. This has significantly extended the life of our systems, significantly saving our organization money while providing additional revenue opportunities.
We continue to partner with APG because we know that we can count on professional service, the highest level of expertise, and an established company with experienced people who understand business.
Sincerely,
Kyle C. Plate
Director of Information and Technology
The Flyer
Transportation Casualty Insurance, Mark LoGiudice
March 3, 1995
To Whom It May Concern:
This is an open letter discussing our business relationship with Austin Programmers Group. APG began contract programming work for our company, a large commercial insurance company, in October 1994. As Manager of Information Systems for my company, I have urgent need for qualified individuals who can maintain and extend our existing computers systems. I consider myself most fortunate to have Mr. Steffano and his staff working for us. They are experts in programming and networks, understand business issues well, deliver products that work better than expected (and on time), and have a high level of interpersonal skills. I only wish they would come work for us full-time!
I have had several contractors work for me over the years, but none have shown the ability of Austin Programmers Group. It is obvious they care about their work and their clients. I highly recommend APG to anybody considering their services.
Please feel free to call me if you have any questions about this letter.
Cordially,
Mark LoGiudice
Manager, Information SystemsTransportation Casualty Insurance
Transportation Financial Building
First Floor, 1600 West Commercial Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33310-9088
(305)493-6565