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No-A Architects have precision in their DNA. They pay attention to quality, they carefully choose materials, and they care about the details. It is not surprising that they were looking for a professional solution for the company’s internal management that valued the same qualities as they did. We talked with the team leader, Vlado Hrivňák, about the team‘s reasons for choosing Teamogy – what the system offers them in daily use. We also talked about projects and the best types of clients.

Petr: Before we talk about the expected topic, why you chose the Teamogy system – I would like to ask you another question. Why should clients choose you and your studio?

Vlado: We can design an attractive space that is suitable for the location and in line with the client’s needs and preferences.

Petr: What are your most frequent projects?

Vlado: They all involve hard work and a lot of communication on all sides. As far as what type of projects, we most often provide housing in the form of family houses or smaller urban buildings.

Petr: What projects do you like to work on the most?

Vlado: Projects designed for enthusiastic clients. In a close second are projects which include an enthusiastic supplier. The human factor is very important to us.

Petr: And who is a typical enthusiastic client?

Vlado: It is a client who wants to share his ideas and is actively interested in what we are creating but then leaves the final decision to us. He is open and says right away what he thinks of each proposal.

Petr: Do you have a good and efficient workflow?

Vlado: In one word – consistency.

I am a fan of the “design thinking” practice, which was invented and promoted by the IDEO company. At work, we call it “buy a puma.” The name has no logical explanation, but it took over. In short, it is a wheel in which design is evenly balanced between analysis, prototyping, and testing. One can thus gain more inspiration and arguments for and against the proposed solutions. We are also very happy to work in the form of sketches in the first phase.

Examples of sketches in the first phase created by No-A Architects

Petr: Can you tell us about one of you recent project?

Vlado: One of the most recent projects that we are proud of is the territorial study of public spaces in Kyjovice. We worked there to set the principles for the future use of public spaces in a small village. Unfortunately, the project has stopped after approval by the acquirer. Another project is an apartment building in Rousínov. It is on a narrow plot, surrounded by noise from nearby trains and the road. Thanks to the investor’s confidence, we have managed to overcome the negatives so far, and, hopefully, we will soon be able to conclude this with the implementation of nice, new rental apartments.

Petr: How did you choose the system?

Vlado: My colleagues and I tried the trial version of Teamogy. One colleague mentioned how nice the graphic side of the system was. Personally, I was primarily convinced by the ability to see the state of corporate finances in real-time along with the ability to grant viewing permission to only those you assign. I also consider the overall integration of the system and the opportunity to extract important information whenever I need it. This is one of the greatest benefits. I was interested in Teamogy’s ability to combine project management and communication with time reporting and a current overview of the financial side of projects in one program. I haven’t found it in any of the other existing systems yet.

Petr: What is different in your company now since the implementation of Teamogy?

Vlado: Since our deployment, things have happened to us that are not related to Teamogy that have forced us to solve completely different situations than we initially planned. Therefore, I cannot easily say what is related to the implementation or how, but one area that Teamogy has definitely helped in is the division of events into sub-projects and their time relationship. The simple logic of Teamogy helped us clarify the divisions. From the point of view of planning and time, the introduction of the Gantt chart at the beginning of this year was a huge benefit for us. So Teamogy definitely helped in regard to the structure of our work.
Thanks to a clear overview of the financial status of individual events, we were also able to start working in more detail on setting performance rewards. So far, we are still in the planning stages, but we will be in pilot operation starting in July. I am personally looking forward to that.

Petr: Who uses everything in the studio system?

Vlado: Everyone – me as the chief architect, other architects, builders, our assistant, and interns.
We bought the system when another “covid wave” began. Colleagues with small children had to deal with distance learning from home, and I must say that thanks to Teamogy, we managed their work from home very well. Teamogy Chat helps us a lot. There is a lively discussion in it, and we share the developed proposals in it. Thanks to this experience, we realized that we can easily recruit even working colleagues into the team to become a full-fledged part of the team. Specifically, I mean daily cooperation with colleagues from other cities.

Petr: Is it Teamogy also useful for your clients?

Vlado: Yes. Thanks to Teamogy, we can now more accurately tell our regular clients the status of our capacities and free dates for the start of other projects. We can also provide them with very accurate time records as needed.
These are things that directly benefit our clients. Then, you can also attribute a few other things to Teamogy that the client does not directly see. For example, more effective communication is possible thanks to Teamogy, leading to the ability to respond better to unexpected change. There is also the great advantage of the financial overview, thanks to which we can direct our workforce efficiently. For example, when we see that we are faster on some projects, we can try some extra options.

Petr: Do you want to tell us anything else we didn’t ask?

Vlado: Yes. I would like to draw attention to Teamogy’s well-functioning customer support, from onboarding Mr. Pihík to providing chat support and help centers.  I’m also gradually discovering what Gems are for – also a great thing. I am slowly building a set of basic documents outlining the functions and processes of the company– basically a manual of corporate culture for training newcomers.

Petr: Thank you very much for the answers. Both my colleagues and I were very pleased.  Good luck to your studio.  We are always happy to help.

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