How On-Demand Devs Provide PGA of America Time and Budget for Testing New Ideas

Too often, staying on schedule means saying “no” to new ideas

While working on projects, the engineering team at PGA of America would come up with great ideas —the hey, what if…? moments—but they wouldn’t have time to build them out.

The team was caught between risking their timelines to impress stakeholders and ignoring new ideas to maintain their strategic roadmap. After years of doing the same thing with the same technology, Kevin Scott, Head of Technology at PGA of America, wanted change.

Upwork stretches time and budgets for testing possibilities

Scott knew if his team could access skilled talent on-demand, they could test new ideas and still get their work done on time. To encourage use, he gave the team a budget and broad permission to “get what you need” through Upwork.

Our large, global talent pool and AI-powered filtering system made quick work of finding specialized skills—including tough-to-find talent such as AWS, CSS, and React.js developers.  Compared to the team’s traditional solution, they saved 50% on average and started projects within days instead of weeks.

Now when a new idea surfaces, the team engages independent developers to test proof of concept while employees remain focused on higher-value projects. It’s an efficient and cost-effective way to prove an idea will extend capabilities before they invest internal resources into it. ‍

No more settling for status quo

“Independent talent changed how we handle development,” says George Whitaker, Director of Software Engineering at PGA of America. “They gave us the confidence to test new ideas and opened our minds to what’s possible.”

What’s more, engineering is providing better service to business partners because with Upwork, they can say yes to more projects—and deliver them three times faster.