IoT, also known as the Internet of Things, is a form of technology that offers devices the capability to create a global communication network by seamless data exchange via the internet.

Therefore, customers can access data remotely, manage smart devices seamlessly, and so on.

This is why businesses channel using the technology in their app development strategy to function smartly and efficiently.

This is what we are going to cover in the article here. After reading it, you will know how to develop an IoT app.

Reasons Why IoT is Popular

Simplifies Decision Making

With the device possessing a wide array of sensors, acquiring data from multiple sources gets streamlined. Therefore, it becomes easy to act on those data seamlessly.

For instance, smartphones keep a smart tap on the user behaviour. Based on the behaviour, they provide suggestions to the companies so that new features get included, and user retention is maximum on the device.

Due to the constant influx of data, it becomes easy for businesses to gain insight into the latest trends in device usage and gain an idea of their multiple strengths and weaknesses. This is a possible courtesy of the presence of embedded sensors and processors that make it easy to perform data analysis. Hence, in a nutshell, it ensures that decision making gets streamlined for the business.

Automates Daily Tasks

IoT allows to automate daily tasks and ensures that workload is not much. Smart fridges, for example, help users know beforehand if the food inside has passed or is about to pass its expiration date and they need to order more.

Allows to Maintain Control Over Different Operation Areas

One of the prime advantages related to the interconnection of smart devices is ensuring automated control over different areas of operation. This contains areas like inventory management, shipping, tracking, etc.

With multiple sensors in the device, it becomes easy to perform all these different tasks with utmost ease and convenience.

Ensures Operational Safety

The presence of IoT devices like surveillance cameras and motion sensors allows for ensuring the utmost security of an enterprise.

It ascertains that mishaps such as thefts, and corporate espionage do not happen, thereby making its way into the good books of investors and business partners.

Using smart interconnected devices offers the following advantages.

• Ensures better staff productivity
• Allows better resource and asset usage
• Helps in achieving better business opportunities
• Creates a trustworthy image of the brand

With knowledge of these different benefits associated with IoT, let us now gain insight into the architecture and the buildup of this technology that allows achieving these advantages with utmost ease and convenience.

IoT App Development – Components and Tech Stacks Used

In the image above, you can observe there are six main aspects that are particularly used for IoT app development. These include connectivity and network layer, user interface, software, endpoints, cloud computing and hardware. We explain each of these in detail below.

Components Used during IoT App Development

1. Internet access to transmit information to the cloud database.
2. UI for seamless communication between the user and the computer system.
3. Software like framework, embedded systems, partner systems, and middleware are necessary as they help in tasks like data gathering, device integration, etc.
4. Endpoints allow for extending computing power so that acting on the information received from the internet is straightforward.
5. Cloud computing simplifies the way huge packets produced by IoT get sent across the internet.
6. Hardware to control different processes and features like system activation, authentication, communication, etc.

Knowing the different components, let’s understand the tech stacks used.

1. Programming languages like Java for seamless data transfer to the conventional databases
2. Cloud platforms to protect the business against possible losses which may take place due to service outage
3. Sensors do not require a direct internet connection. Hence, it becomes easy to transmit data without even the presence of an active internet connection.
4. Frameworks help to seamlessly handle data chunks, design the app architecture, and write codes of a particular nature.
5. Protocols help to extract information of crucial nature from the different data components.

With the idea of the different tech stacks and components involved in IoT app development, you must get knowledge on how to perform this task so that you can allow seamless data privacy, smooth communication, and so on.

How to Build an IoT App?

In the image above, you can check the different paths you have to cross when you have the goal of achieving successful IoT app development.

They include

• Project discussion
• Formulating an app development strategy
• Creating a prototype and app design
• Embarking on the journey of app development
• App Testing
• App Release

Continue reading to know each of these aspects in detail.

Project Discussion

Project discussion is extremely important as until and unless the development experts have thorough knowledge of the project, its success cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, a comprehensive conversation with the IoT project manager must take place to ascertain that the developers have knowledge of comprehending user interaction with different goods through the app built.

Formulating an App Development Strategy

The next crucial step is to have an app development strategy in place to ensure tasks like cross-platform interoperability and privacy protection are easy to achieve.

Collaborate with the project manager to create a robust plan with a timetable and project scope for the different hardware and software so that the end solution is high-quality. Also, it will ascertain the app allows data collection and processing to take place conveniently.

Creating a Prototype and App Design

Creating a prototype helps achieve two main aspects by analysing the different aspects of the product’s business case. Most importantly, it helps validate the product’s business case as well.

Therefore, you must place focus on creating an app prototype and on the app design to get a vision of how the end-product will appear.

Embarking on Journey of App Development

Connecting with a company having specialisation in the task is another main step you need to follow.

Channelling their aptitude in issue resolution using algorithms and data structures, programming, and error handling, they will give you access to a solution that provides you with long-term business benefits.

App Testing

The next important step is to test the app to assess the app’s performance on functional parameters, service compatibility, based on safety, based on connectivity, and so on to know if these areas are met by the final app and if it can get launched to the public in hindsight or not.

App Release

Once you identify safety, privacy, and have comprehensive clarity on the parameters like privacy getting met, you can have the app released.

Adhering to all these steps will ascertain the IoT app development journey for you remains unique and help you achieve industry growth and success side-by-side.

It is equally recommended that you keep these tips in mind to maintain data privacy and keep interconnection between devices seamlessly when you use this technology within your app development journey.

Tips to Ascertain Successful IoT App Development

Embarking on the journey for successful IoT app development? This demands you first to know the architecture. It helps you build a robust IoT app. Plan strategically and remember these tips. These together will give you the support to develop an app that successfully protects user data, automates operations, and enhances how customer service and retention take place.

• Create a roadmap—a well-defined project scope comprising deliverables and timelines for the project to move systematically.
• Select a platform that allows you to get maximum ROI and helps you get an estimate of your performance seamlessly.
• Assess different security concerns by using the right set of firewalls, and anti-malware products making sure they are updated.
• Check if speed and scalability are achieved through the end-solution so that tasks like data streaming become easy to perform and also it becomes easy to match up to increased data volumes.

Concluding Words

With these tips, you can go ahead and embark on the journey of IoT app development for your business. Following the right set of steps along this path will allow you to conveniently collect real-time data and attain maximum business advantages in the shortest time possible.

The post Steps to Follow during IoT App Development—Its Ultimate Business Value appeared first on Simple Programmer.

IoB is an extension of IoT, the Internet of Things, a technology that has become familiar to us in recent years. Basically, IoB revolves around analyzing the huge amount of data generated by IoT devices and using them to understand human behavior.

User data is fundamental and invaluable today, thus IoB has huge potential. This article will shed light on the importance of IoB, its usage in various fields, and the challenges and opportunities in the field.

What Is IoB

The term IoB was coined by Professor Göte Nyman, a psychology professor at the University of Helsinki in 2012. With an intention to bring more light to understanding human behavior, professor Nyman introduced the concept of IoB, a combination of three fields: technology, data analytics, and behavioral science.

IoB can be defined as the gathering, analyzing, and using of data to understand, predict and drive human behavior. Data is collected from IoT devices and other sources like the internet, household devices, and wearables. The data is then interpreted to understand individual behavior in the light of behavioral psychology and used to influence people’s decision-making.

According to Professor Nyman, for each behavior, an address can be assigned, similar to IoT devices. Once an address is assigned to a behavior, different types of data can be linked to it. The data could be IoT data, biometric data, social media interactions and purchasing data, to name a few. The IoB data analysis can also be integrated into a central database just like IoT devices.

Understanding the Importance of IoB

Data is invaluable, but rarely so in its raw format. When data is analyzed and transformed into knowledge, it becomes an asset. IoB has tremendous importance as it can influence the entire customer experience, from the initial stage to the final touchpoint. As IoB gives information about users from different points of contact, identifying users’ discovery points, it becomes easy to track users’ journey and analyze their actions.

What does this mean for businesses? Powerful insights to make the user touchpoints engaging and deliver personalized information! The result? More interactions and engagement. With the extensive behavior analysis and its contextual application, IoB provides excellent value to users and businesses alike. As such, companies are heavily investing in IoB to improve their fundamental relationship with users.

To sum up, IoB can benefit in several ways, such as:

• Close sales quickly with personalized marketing
• Quick resolution of user concerns owing to a better understanding of user behavior
• Eliminate time-consuming user surveys
• Get a comprehensive image of target users with data from multiple channels
• Perform real-time targeting of users for improved sales

Role of IOB in Various Sectors

As human behavior is an elementary aspect in many sectors, IoB has an impactful role to play, no matter what a given company sells or how big it is. This section will discuss the role of IoB in certain sectors but it is in no way an extensive list. The bottom line is that wherever there is human involvement, IoB has an influence.

Insurance

Insurance companies can use IoB to prevent incidents of driving under influence, identify medical emergencies, and monitor driver activities. IoB can help analyze accident scenarios accurately and identify if it was due to driver error.

Many insurance companies already use driver tracking tools. IoB can take it to the next level with its behavioral evaluation, benefitting the insurance agencies.

Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is a field where close involvement with many types of people is a necessity. As a result, IoB provides effective tools for behavioral analysis and interpretation, enhancing the end-user influence and thus improving conversion rates.

For instance, IoB can be used to analyze and optimize marketing campaigns. With IoB data, it is possible to understand people’s behavior comprehensively. Hence, personalized marketing can be done so that each person is targeted with advertisements that catch their attention.

In fact, Google and YouTube are already using IoB to show targeted ads to people. Remember how ads related to products you searched for show up during browsing Google or YouTube? Yes, that’s IoB in action.

IoB can also be used to generate real-time marketing notifications which have proven to be a great sales generator. Understanding individual behavior and sending notifications at the right time highly increases the chances of conversion. To see a practical example, think of how many times you have ordered food from an app just because they sent a notification during your lunchtime!

Production

From analyzing customer behavior to employee behavior and demand for products, the role of IoB in production is multifaceted. IoB data can be used to analyze the behavior of production staff to discover new ways to improve the quality and efficiency of production.

Moreover, analyzing data about customer behavior and how they interact with products can provide useful insights to improve customer satisfaction and safety. IoB can also be used to analyze behavioral data and determine the demand for products, based on which production can be planned. This can eliminate the problems of excess or dearth of stock.

Healthcare

As technology is advancing in the healthcare industry, creating diagnoses with minimum error margin is a key focus area of healthcare platforms. IoB can impact this area significantly. UI UX design services can make use of IoB to perform cohesive user research and build digital applications addressing user challenges and concerns such as ease of consultation and finding the right doctors.

Tracking patient activities, gathering insights from them, and sharing them in a cohesive way with the doctors greatly aids the accuracy of diagnosis.

IoB also tremendously assists healthcare providers in continuously monitoring patient behavior and relaying real-time data. For patients with chronic illnesses or needing post-surgical care, IoB is a useful tool. Moreover, iOB can be used to track patients’ responses to treatments or the impact of medical drugs.

Government

Governments can use IoB technology to gather the collective interest of citizens and thus adjust policy making.

Moreover, IoB can be deployed to enforce law and order by tracking people or groups who threaten the secure functioning of societies, thus reducing crime rates. Though the political or judicial aspects are another matter, beyond the scope of this post, this application of IoB is certainly possible from a technological standpoint.

Challenges of IoB

Gartner predicts that by 2023, 40% of the worldwide population will be under digital tracking. IoB will be a real game-changer, and while it promises tremendous opportunities, there are some serious privacy and security concerns associated with it.

The extent to which IoT tracks sensitive personal information is unnerving to many. Most aren’t comfortable with that level of intrusion. Moreover, there are concerns regarding many companies’ practice of sharing data behind the scenes with their subsidiaries.

Three key challenges that IoB has to address are:

• Regulations: Clear regulations have to be stipulated across jurisdictions to address data privacy concerns.
• Value: If people are willing to surrender their sensitive, personal information for better experiences, the value that they receive must be well worth it.
• Security: For attackers, IoB opens up yet another attack area. Measures must be taken to eliminate data breaches and attacks.

Opportunities in the Field and Skills Needed

As the popularity of IoB technology is increasing, career opportunities in the field are also on the rise. Some in-demand jobs in the IoB field are IoB architect, IoB developer, IoB solutions engineer, and sensor architect and designer. There is also a rising demand for technicians, as a huge number of devices have to be deployed and managed.

Skills needed to venture into the IoB field include analytical skills, behavioral science, data management, sensor development, and data acquisition and management. Programming knowledge in Python, JavaScript and embedded languages is also a great skill to get started in a career in the IoB domain. People with software development and testing skills can try their hand to grab opportunities in IoB.

The Future of IoB

According to Gartner, by 2025, more than half of the global population will be interacting with at least one IoB system. Personalizing information is the key to delivering distinguishable experiences to people in the future.

With more than three billion people expected to interact with IoB technology in the next two years, its impact on improving service efficiency looks promising. By addressing the challenges it poses in the best possible way, IoB will deliver as much value to people as it will to businesses.

As Peter Sondergaard, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Research at Gartner said, “Information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine.”

The post What you need to know about IoB (Internet of Behavior) appeared first on Simple Programmer.

For your optimal success as a programmer and/or developer, you might have to try a couple different options before finding your perfect fit for a job. Let’s explore the options for temporary IT jobs and the associated rights and benefits of temporary employment.

Whether you’ve never worked in the industry or you’re currently working in it but want a job that fits you better, temp work can be a great solution or stepping stone when you know your rights and your options. As with any temporary position, workers should understand the range of benefits and rights associated. Knowing this, you can take advantage of what’s out there, exploring options for where you could work and what you could do.

There are so many possibilities for where you could fit as a computer programmer and developer. Temp work can open doors you wouldn’t have even considered going through if you had only looked into traditional positions. Before dipping your toes in this fast-moving water, here are the temporary employee rights and benefits that you need to know.

What is Temporary Employment?

Temporary employment, often called “temp work,” is just what it sounds like: a type of employment that has a fixed, limited term. Sometimes companies directly hire workers for short-term jobs. More often, temp workers are hired for a specific time period and contracted through a staffing agency. This way, the company gets the benefit of hiring vetted workers for a limited time, and the workers get the benefit of finding quality positions they can try out for a few months.

Staffing agencies act as go-betweens for companies and workers, matching people to positions at other companies. Most of the time, staffing agencies will work with candidates to find one position that is a good fit; though, sometimes, temp workers can have several concurrent part-time assignments. Working through a staffing agency typically involves going to the same job every day for the duration of that temp contract and then switching to a new opportunity.

Temp work is not the same as freelance, contract, or self-employed work; instead, it is essentially a short-term regular job, similar to a trial period. Often, temp work can transition into regular work. This is called temp-to-hire, and temp agencies typically spearhead that transition.

Enjoy Stable Flexibility

The primary benefit of temporary IT jobs is stable flexibility. In other words, programmers with temp work can continue earning an income, fleshing out their resume, and building their network all while still searching for the best fit for their skills and lifestyle.

It might seem like a temporary job is the opposite of stable, since this type of employment is usually only for a few months. However, during the term of your temp work, you get the stability of a steady paycheck while you gain experience and knowledge toward finding the long-term job that is your perfect fit. In this way, temporary employment is a stable way to explore different potential careers and experience different employers’ cultures without making an initial long-term commitment.

While looking for the best job, programmers and developers can work as temporary employees, getting income and experience plus more information about the ideal fit for their skills and interests. This then provides more flexibility to jump to better job positions as the opportunities arise.

That flexibility is especially important when programmers are aiming toward a career change to SEO or a similar aspect of their development expertise. With options to try out different possibilities without making long-term commitments, programmers can still stay online, keeping the pulse of what’s happening in programming, while enjoying the confidence of having stable employment during the job search.

This type of stable flexibility makes it possible to maintain an updated and robust developer LinkedIn profile to find their dream programming job while continuing to work the whole time. With this established understanding of the benefits of this type of balance, let’s look into the rights afforded to the programmers and developers who do this type of temporary work.

Possibility for Benefit Qualification

Not all temporary IT jobs give programmers and developers the same opportunities, so it’s important to recognize what the range of possibilities could be. In some cases, temporary workers are employees of the agency that places them in positions, making them eligible for benefits offered through the agency. Working full-time hours, even if spread across more than one part-time placement, brings eligibility for full-time benefits.

Temporary workers placed through a full-service agency can depend on their placement services to explain to them the benefits options for their matched opportunities.

In other cases, temporary workers are employees of the organization where they are working, and so they are entitled to all the same rights as any other employee at that organization. The company should provide the information as to what rights these employees have. Whether temp workers are considered full employees at their current company or not, federal and state employment laws apply. The laws for what benefits are required for temp workers vary from state to state.

One of the most notable rights of temp workers is the right to a clearly defined employment agreement including length of term and payment specifications. That explanation should include recognition of what benefits are covered. Working with a temp hiring agency allows temp workers to understand the scope of their employment agreement offer, with support on evaluating the agreement’s merit and potentially negotiating for different terms when applicable.

While paid time off, holidays, and healthcare benefits will not be a part of every temporary IT job, some programmers and developers will get access to those benefits, depending on how many hours they work and the terms of their contract. Staffing agencies can help programmers and developers navigate the uncertainty so temp workers know what benefits they qualify for and how that would look in their positions.

Understanding ERISA: Retirement Plan Considerations

In addition to the state requirements, federal guidelines do apply for temporary employee rights and benefits: most notably, ERISA. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), temporary employees who work for at least 1,000 hours within a 12-month period will automatically qualify for that company’s retirement plans. Even if they do not meet the requirements of the 1,000-hour rule, temporary employees are still protected by labor laws which dictate various types of benefits.

Benefits vary from state to state, so it’s important to research the laws of your state. For example, some states might require all employers who employ temps at least half-time to provide them with health insurance while others may stipulate one week of vacation per year or sick leave.

Understanding the ACA: Health Insurance Coverage

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires employers to offer health insurance to any employee working at least 30 hours per week (or 130 hours per month). Temp employees working full-time or almost full-time will fall into this category. That means that even if you’re only working with a company for a few months, during that time, they need to give an option for health insurance coverage. That should be a clear section in the employment agreement.

Leave and Vacation Time

Depending on the agreement, temp workers can qualify for sick leave, holidays, and paid time off. Just like for regular workers, benefits vary significantly from company to company and position to position. It’s worth investing time up front to discover the details for your particular circumstances. Temp work agreements should make specifications here, but any ambiguities should be addressed up front with the employer.

Unsure of the Rights? Just Ask!

If you’re considering temporary employment as a programmer or developer, make sure to prioritize your knowledge of the associated rights and benefits. Any uncertainty on benefits offered or possible options—from health insurance coverage to sick leave—should be resolved before accepting your assignment. The staffing agency as well as the terms of the temporary work arrangement will clearly explain these rights and benefits. With that clearly understood, you can focus on what programmers and developers do best—computer work!

The post Temporary Employee Rights & Benefits You Need to Know appeared first on Simple Programmer.

But it was more than simply the logistics of working locations; general processes also ran into trouble. This meant disruptions to supply chains, cybersecurity, and much more. Systems were exposed, and many businesses struggled to keep up. Suddenly, organizations needed to deploy automated systems to stay afloat.

The truth is, this change was inevitable. Pre-Covid, we had already seen a push toward artificial intelligence-powered robotic process automation. The pandemic only hyper-accelerated this change. The businesses able to adapt the quickest were those that had already taken steps toward automation.

If you’re new to the world of automation, you might be wondering what robotic process automation is, or maybe you’re looking to grow your understanding. Well, let’s start here: What exactly is the process of automation?

What Is Robotic Process Automation?

Robotic process automation (widely known as RPA) is a form of automation unlike any other. Whereas automation relies entirely on coding, a process that has preset outcomes, RPA uses artificial intelligence (AI) to complete tasks more autonomously. AI has had a bad rap in the mind of the public—largely thanks to pop culture—but it isn’t a terrifying machine coming to take over the world (at least, not yet!).

Artificial intelligence, in short, is when a machine tries to mimic human thought patterns to complete certain tasks. In today’s world, this technology is found everywhere, from self-driving cars to race recognition technology.

RPA uses AI to process tasks, removing the element of human error. Think about all the different processes in your business. Each will probably need the oversight of an experienced worker. If, for whatever reason, a worker is unable to activate a process, your business could grind to a halt.

Not only does AI keep your business running efficiently, but it can also provide data-based insights, helping to improve processes. Organizations that have adopted RPA have seen improvements across the board. This includes improved compliance (92%), improved quality/accuracy (90%), improved productivity (86%), and cost reduction (59%).

How Automation Is Transforming the Workplace

Some form of automation is present in practically every modern business and there’s a good chance your organization might have invested in some of the following forms:

Sales: When you make a sale, it’s unlikely that you’ll process the order yourself. The majority of organizations have a system in place to process and track orders. It’s always a good idea to run crowd testing to make sure your store functions as it should.

Customer Service: An increasing number of businesses are turning to automated chatbots to deal with certain queries. This helps keep your phone lines less busy and means that agents can focus on more difficult queries. Also, VoIP software, such as Vonage or one of these Vonage competitors, is another excellent use of AI in the workplace.

Website: Your website likely contains several automated elements. This could include a contact form, mailing list sign-up, or downloadable files. For all these different elements to operate smoothly, you need the right support (from AI!).

If interested in learning more on how AI powered automation is transforming the workplace, check out Intelligent Automation Simplified by Debanjana Dasgupta, which provides some fantastic insights.

What Does RPA Mean for My Business?

Put into action, AI-powered automation can affect almost every aspect of your organization. Let’s look at some of the benefits of the technology, and why it might be time to revamp the automation within your business.

Speed Up Processes and Slash Costs

With RPA, data can be copied into a spreadsheet in a matter of seconds, and with a much-reduced risk of (human) error occurring during data entry. The decrease in time and error are reasons enough to see the value of AI.

Think about the difficulties of handling manual processes. You’re probably collecting a large amount of data. Even after carrying out process mapping, data can be difficult to keep up with since information needs to be stored properly so it can be accessed later.

There are two significant issues with properly storing data. First, there’s a time factor to consider. Your employee is entering each piece of data manually, and the scale of data means that this task could take an unknown amount of time. Second, it only takes one slight error for your data to be rendered useless unless more time is spent trying to find a correction.

Remember, the faster data is added to the database, the quicker it can be used to improve your business. For example, this might mean new and inventive forms of marketing. Or it could be used to help show how to improve product quality.

Additionally, RPA can be a great way to reduce costs. With an automated system, you’ll need to employ fewer people, saving you some cash. The workers you do employ can move away from data entry and put their skills toward other valuable tasks that can help you grow your business.

Stay On the Right Side of the Law

Another aspect of properly handling data is the legal side. Today, people are much more aware of their data and how it’s being used, and this has brought about new legislation to regulate the ways businesses can collect and handle data.

Many of the new laws come with painful fines attached. For example, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (more commonly known as GDPR) sets fines of up to €20 million. It’s fair to say that most penalties won’t reach anywhere near this number, but it does show how seriously the issue is being treated.

These new laws pose challenges for many businesses—big or small. To reduce the risk of breaching legislation, it’s better to limit data access to as small a number of employees as possible. Again, this is where RPA can come in handy. Because processes are automated, there’s a limited need for human oversight.

More Secure Data

The idea of data leaks is becoming an increasing concern for many businesses. According to a recent report, small to medium-sized businesses are hit by a cyberattack every six months. Similarly, contracting a computer bug can be extremely damaging to your data.

The less secure your data is, the more damage will be done to your reputation.

Some people have expressed concern about RPA and how easy the system may be to exploit. But this concern is largely ill-founded, and it’s your responsibility to show customers their information is safe in your hands. Most modern RPA tools come with end-to-end encryption, meaning your data is extremely secure.

Important note: Do proficient research to make sure the RPA solution you choose comes with the right security features for your company. 

Provide Better Customer Support

Customer support is a lifeline for businesses. If you get something wrong, your support line is your best chance to stay on good terms with a customer. But handling customer support isn’t easy. Many businesses suffer for their lack of attention when it comes to valuing customer support.  

You need to make customer support a priority. There’s a good chance that you’ve experienced frustration when an organization misses the mark on your support. This usually means long hours stuck waiting in queues, only to find that your query isn’t resolved. The average customer feels the same frustration.

One of the main reasons that customer support is slow is that staff are bogged down in admin tasks. Although obviously important, these jobs are repetitive and often take up a lot of time (especially if careful attention is needed, as with data entry).

With RPA, you can automate these tasks so they don’t consume your employee’s valuable time with otherwise delegated responsibilities and allot more time to customer support. In other words, shorter queues and more query help!

It’s important you learn how to calculate CSAT to see if customers are responding positively to changes that you make.

For additional help overcoming common issues with customer support, check out The Customer Support Handbook by Sarah Hatter.

Engage with Data

Data is king in the modern world. With the right data, we can improve every aspect of our organization. This could involve improving workflows, creating better marketing, or making a more engaging website. But first you need to gather the right data. You’ll also need the right analytics software to unpack data into usable information for your business.

RPA operates on a constant feed of data, and you can learn from this information in a multitude of ways. For example, you can put RPA data into a machine learning algorithm, which can be used to spot issues with your processes and suggest steps toward optimization. This way, you can boost the overall efficiency of your organization.

Better Email Automation

Email can be a great way of staying in touch with customers—most businesses use email for marketing. With an email referral program, you can even grow your customer base.

But sending all emails manually isn’t practical. For this reason, almost every business uses some form of email automation. This ensures customers receive regular communications and reduces the workload for your staff. But could this automation be improved upon?

There are several ways RPA can help your email automation. While other automation tools require you to write lines of code, RPA does not. It has been specifically designed to be integrated quickly and easily without any previous programming experience.

This means your RPA can get to work scheduling your emails, validating email addresses, and cleaning up your email list.

It can also be adapted and modified to suit your changing email needs without having to employ an experienced programmer. Not only do you save money, but you also have the flexibility to make modifications to your email campaigns as needed.

Improve Admin

No one enjoys doing administrative work, but it’s a necessary evil. RPA can make this irritation a thing of the past, dealing with menial tasks and letting staff focus on more important matters.

It can, for example, complete data entry for invoice processing, help onboard new employees, and support the payroll process from start to finish by checking time records and generating paychecks. It can also help with accounts reconciliation, placing sales orders and keeping customer information updated.

You can use RPA alongside other tools to further help with admin, too. For example, a free online contract generator can help reduce the amount of time spent building contracts. There really is no end to the ways RPA can support your team.

Will This Affect the Number of Workers I Need?

You might be thinking that with the rise of AI, you won’t need staff at all. But this isn’t quite the case. Bringing automation into your organization will reduce the number of manual tasks that you’ll need to complete—say goodbye to time-consuming data entry, basic customer service, and emails! This will inevitably mean a smaller number of staff is needed. But effective automation needs a knowledgeable workforce to go alongside it.

AI has limitations and is far from reaching its full potential—there are tasks that go beyond the skill set of AI. Meaning, you’ll need employees with the right skills if these tasks are to be completed effectively. Similarly, while AI may be able to learn, you won’t be able to assign it an innovation challenge since it can’t think creatively.

Used in tandem, a strong workforce alongside the right RPA technology can make a strong team.

Will My Workforce Need to Change?

Automation is the future. Whichever way you look at it, the world is changing. But as technologies change, so must employees. This isn’t unusual. Look at the world 30 years ago compared to now: technology has changed dramatically, and workers now have different skills to complete tasks.

Looking to the future, this kind of change will need to happen again. Your existing staff will need time and training to adjust to new technology. Staff will need to be capable of working with AI-powered systems from the back end.

For example, this could involve learning to work with drones when handling the supply chain. They also need to know how to test automation metrics to ensure systems are working correctly.

You should also consider the skills you look for in new employees. These, too, will need to change if you’re to find the right people. It’s always good to introduce people who already have experience working with AI so they can share their expertise with their teammates.

Start Preparing Now

The change to automation is well underway. It’s understandable if this change seems daunting; new systems and procedures can be difficult to get your head around. There’s no doubt, however, that automation can give your business a boost.

As we’ve explored here, there isn’t really an aspect of your business that wouldn’t benefit from automation. From HR to finance, and customer service to marketing, RPA can revolutionize the way you do business and make life easier for your employees. But, remember to take your time when introducing new systems and really evaluate which areas of your business would benefit most. Review each department carefully and make sure that you carry out automation testing to ensure that it’s working as it should be.

Of course, change needs to start from the bottom up. Your staff will also need support to adapt. Make sure you give time for training, and that your employees know it’s okay to ask questions.

So, start preparing now and embrace the future today!

The post Understanding Post-Covid Automation and Artificial Intelligence appeared first on Simple Programmer.

According to IDC, spending on compute and storage infrastructure products for cloud infrastructure, including dedicated and shared environments, increased 13.5% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2021, to $21.1 billion. For the entire year 2021, cloud infrastructure spending totaled $73.9 billion—an increase of 8.8% over 2020.

IDC also predicts the global “whole cloud” spending to reach $1.3 trillion by 2025.” The likely reason is that enterprises are increasingly using cloud services for new initiatives or to replace their entire existing systems. As a result, spending on traditional IT solutions is being reallocated to the cloud, resulting in a cloud shift due to a growing preference for “cloud-first” solutions.

Nevertheless, organizations are struggling to control their spendings, and public cloud spending sometimes goes out of budget. This makes it more critical than ever to handle cloud cost optimization. 

As the number of cloud services increases, having a team of professional DevOps and following DevOps practices can do wonders, resulting in less cost for software development, deployment, and maintenance.

In this blog post, I’ve compiled a list of some key DevOps practices that can help you to prevent unnecessary expenses and cloud costs.

Key DevOps Practices That Can Reduce Cloud Costs

A 2020 report by Flexera states that cloud cost reduction has become a priority for 73% of businesses. Moreover, the report also mentions that organizations usually exceed their budget by an average of 23%.

Cloud bills are skyrocketing due to multiple reasons, such as over-provisioned resources, unnecessary capacity & poor visibility into the environment.

DevOps and cloud computing play key roles in building standardized and consistent build-test deploy environments. These practices help businesses reduce overall cloud costs by eliminating waste, identifying mismanaged resources, and reserving capacity for higher discounts. This way, they help strike a balance between cloud performance and speed.

With the above in mind, let’s take a closer look at some key practices to help you reduce cloud costs.

Tip #1: Leveraging Third-party Services

Once you analyze the project requirements, you can go with third-party services, if they are affordable for your business. Doing so helps reduce operational overhead and save hefty money. Here’s how your third-party service provider can help you to achieve this.

Several cloud providers, such as Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud, offer services that can be leveraged during the development process. For example, Amazon RDS provides a managed database service that offers excellent features, such as:

• Monitoring
• Multi-regional Setup
• Backup
• Scaling
• Reliance

It takes a significantly higher budget and even more time to build such a service from scratch. If the project is already in progress, then the DevOps team will audit infrastructure resources and services being used. After that, if there is still a way of reducing costs, there can be some suggestions regarding adjustments or use of new services.

Pro Tip: When it comes to the cost-benefit analysis, you can start using third-party services to save costs and reduce operational overhead.

Tip #2: Resource Code Optimization

The main objective is to use optimal pricing types of cloud resources, which allows users to get maximum efficiency for a lower cost. Now, the question arises: How can the DevOps team help you achieve this?

From fast delivery time to excellent customer experience and early defect detection, businesses can leverage multiple benefits from hiring a DevOps team. Cloud providers offer various compute and storage resources with different payment options and tiers.

For example, AWS-based services provide compute resources called EC2, allowing users to choose different types of instances. It includes dedicated, on-demand, spot, or reserved ones. Selecting the correct type of instance for a specific case significantly optimizes costs.

• On-demand instances: When using it, you pay per hour. This is perfect for apps with short-term, irregular workloads which cannot be interrupted. It is also suitable for usage while testing and developing apps on EC2.
• Dedicated instances: They run on hardware that is dedicated to a specific customer and they are the most expensive ones. You can choose this option if you deal with sensitive workloads and when security and compliance are crucial.
• Spot instances: They are low-cost options. It is best to use spot instances if the high availability of services is not required. One can use such cases with up to a 90% discount.
• Reserved instances: This option provides a significant discount, up to 72%, compared to on-demand instance pricing. One can invest in reserved cases if there is a need for a capacity reservation.

Furthermore, you can check some cloud cost optimization practices, which are as follows:

• Using discounts and deleting underused instances
• Setting alerts if there is a crossing of predetermined spend thresholds
• Searching if hosting in a different region or availability zone could reduce costs
• Moving infrequently accessed storage to cheaper tiers

Tip #3: Change Software Architecture

You can save big bucks by simply adjusting the architecture and software code, for example, by using PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service), runtime, container management, and a serverless pay-per-execution environment rather than a virtual machine.

On the other hand, you can also use containers as they contain microservices that are activated upon request and unloaded from virtual memory when no longer required.

Tip #4: Get a Subscription

Though most cloud services are usage-based, some cloud service providers offer another usage option: a subscription for a specific period. It helps many businesses save money if they are used in the correct manner.

Tip #5: Infrastructure & CI/CD Process Automation

CI/CD automation eliminates the need to manually manage servers, OS, database connections, storage, and other infrastructure elements during development, testing, and deployment phases.

DevOps team can help you to achieve this by undertaking the infrastructure audit and planning to understand the needs, potential risks, and opportunities. The team prepares core infrastructure resources, such as configuration, compute resources, etc.

Once the infrastructure resources are ready, service integration generally starts with a preparation of a pipeline configuration. In most cases, the DevOps team analyzes the requirements and suggests the most suitable approaches to the service delivery—the Docker containers or Amazon Lambda are the most common.

Regarding cost benefits, Infrastructure as a Code enables its users to use template-based solutions and stop spending precious development time manually provisioning IT infrastructure. Moreover, engineers are more focused on the development of additional services and features instead of the way they are delivered and deployed, saving a lot of time and money.

Use These Tips to Reduce Your Costs

In this post, I shared with you some tips from DevOps that can help your organization to spend less and make the most out of its resources. By implementing these cloud reduction tips, you can expand the horizons of cloud computing with reducing cloud cost. 

Keep in mind, however, that potential savings will take a hit if you misuse resources. Therefore, companies need to realize the importance of having a team of DevOps engineers while migrating their infrastructure to the cloud.

To determine the strategy that is right for your needs, consider the size and individual requirements of your business. Outsourcing a team of DevOps engineers is often the best option, ensuring efficient management of your cloud budget.

The post How to Reduce Cloud Costs: Tips from DevOps Engineers appeared first on Simple Programmer.

Indeed, the statistics are telling. In May 2021, Tinder saw 6.5 million downloads. It was followed by Badoo with 3.9 million and Bumble with more than 1.7 million.

Dating apps—particularly for casual dating and hookups—are a growing trend. The forecast for 2024 indicates a total number of 280 million users of dating apps, with 113 million users seeking a match and 70 million users looking for casual dating.

Nonetheless, the dating app development process is not as easy as it may sound. A lot of homework must be done before creating a dating app like Tinder.

Though it would be unlikely for your app to dethrone Tinder, people are still likely to use it if it’s been properly developed by considering factors like graphics, UX, and features. If you are thinking about how to create a dating app, I’ve got you covered. Keep reading and I’ll give a walk-through of everything you need to know to set up a dating app like Tinder.

Identify Your Competition

There are already so many dating apps active in the market—why would we need another one? Simple: Because there’s always room for something new if it fills a gap in the dating app world.

If a new dating app has a unique feature that can delight users, it can promise better results in terms of more downloads and increased conversions.

Hence, competitor analysis is mandatory, since it gives deeper insights into creating the right dating app. Competitor analysis identifies the weak and strong points of your rivals. Such details will help in determining an effective strategy for building a dating app.

Taking a closer look at the features of a competitor’s app never did any harm. It is vital to figure out what a competitor does that makes it stand out from the crowd. Similarly, noting their blunders can help prevent you from making potential mistakes in your own development process.

Matching Algorithms

Popular dating apps like Bumble, OkCupid, Tinder, Hinge, Grindr, etc., have a similar tech stack and a different set of algorithms. It is the algorithm magic that binds all dating app users together. Users tend to stick with an app as long as the app’s algorithms are displaying desired results.

Users are divided based on the search results shown in these apps. For instance,  some users prefer potential matches who have common tastes, whereas some prefer those who appear charming.

Consequently, there are not many mathematical calculations involved; it’s mainly preferences that matter. And here is where experimenting with artificial intelligence comes into the picture. Dating software development companies (and this section) focus on certain algorithms that cannot be ignored.

Location-Based Algorithms

The location-based algorithm specifies results for the user within a particular area. Individuals can find their potential partner as per their preferred location within a city or state.

Many dating app developers monetize the app by offering in-app purchases for expanding the search radius. Users need to render a certain fee for expanding their specified location.

Behavior-Based Algorithms

Nothing feels better when you and your potential partner have the same tastes and choices! A behavioral approach is another way of accumulating users’ data and bringing up profiles with similar interests.

Since people do not disclose everything related to their interests, the behavioral-based algorithm is the best solution. It gathers the data of the user based on their social media handles, preferred playlists, etc., which helps in determining the right match based on common interests.

Non-Overwhelming Structure and Design

The golden, unspoken rule for making a successful dating app like Tinder or OkCupid, is zero complexity for the user. An app that doesn’t overwhelm its users comes out ahead in the long run. Let’s dive in and understand more about the specifics of design for dating apps.

A Catchy Name

The name should complement the core functionality of the app, helping to make it relatable to users. OkCupid, undoubtedly, is the best example of a catchy name for a dating app.

Target Audience

An app cannot sustain itself in the competition unless it is being utilized by the target audience. This applies to every dating app on the Google Play Store and App Store. Young adults are the prime demographic for dating apps, and it is vital to integrate the right set of features for the target audience.

For example, Bumble has a set of advanced features in its premium version. It allows users to filter the preferences based on physical features like height, weight, smoking/drinking habits, education, etc.

Pleasing UI Design

Modern yet intuitive UI design keeps the user hooked on the dating app. Be it Tinder, Bumble, or OkCupid, the UI design is trendy yet simple. Look at the login designs of Tinder and Bumble compared below.

They neither overwhelm nor confuse the user. In fact, such designs are easily understood by new users because they’re directing the user to log in through different options. Simple as that!

Technology Stack Needed

It’s now time to… pop the question: How do you make a dating app?

Software developers must choose the correct software for each development. Dating app development is no different and has its own specific requirements.

• Programming: Java, Kotlin, Swift. These languages do not require hardcore coding skills. The code can be easily amended without starting from scratch.
• Database: MongoDB, SQL, Redis. All these are open-source platforms with features like ad-hoc queries, replication, file storage, load balancing, etc. These databases are considered perfect for storing user data in the cloud.
• Framework: React Router, Node.js, Express.js. These open-source frameworks help in building scalable network apps.
• Cloud Storage: AWS. For many dating applications, AWS is the king of storage, because it gives access to data anywhere, at any time. It eliminates the demand for buying your own storage space.
• Web Server: Nginx. A web server is a vital element for distributing content on the web/app. Nginx is one of the top choices for handling over 10K connections simultaneously.
• Payment Gateways: Stripe, PayPal. Users need to render a fee for utilizing paid features of the app. PayPal and Stripe are regarded as useful because of the international usage of these payment apps.
• General Utilities: Google Maps, Google Analytics, Optimizely. Tracking the number of users from every location helps developers to bring in custom features/services that are desired.

The MVP Requirements

Everyone wants to create a dating app that stands out from the competition and has unique features. However, a particular set of features must be present in every dating app development arsenal to ensure smooth operation. The following sections share which features must be included and what each entails.

• Easy Sign-in. The traditional sign-in process is history. Users appreciate the instant sign-in process that keeps the hassle of forgetting their password at bay. Hence, you should allow users to sign in using their Google or Facebook accounts.
• User Profile. The user profile is the identity of the dating app user. Here, all details and preferences of the user are shared. Since the information is extracted from social media handles, no user needs to put extra effort into filling in the information manually.
• Geolocation. This feature makes it easier for the user to identify the location of the potential match. They may change their location preferences for dating purposes.
• Chatting. The feature of chatting allows the user to initiate a conversation with potential matches. Such a feature makes it easier for both users to break the ice and strike up a friendly conversation.
• Matching. The matching feature is the heart and soul of dating apps. When there’s a match, users can then initiate a conversation and may choose to meet in person.
• Push Notifications. Dating app users will receive all notifications related to chats, profile visits, heart ratings, etc., under the push notification section.
• Swiping Feature. Swiping is common in dating apps. Such a feature simplifies selecting/rejecting profiles of potential matches. Swiping right indicates selection, whereas, swiping left means not interested.

How Do Dating Apps Generate Revenue?

Dating apps can generate revenue through widely accepted monetization strategies. Here’s a quick look at some of the ways to monetize a dating app.

• Ad-free Content. Users can pay a certain amount to subscribe to the ad-free content of the app. This is a biannual or annual subscription where users do not receive any ads.

• Gifts. Premium subscription app users can gain access to additional features, such as sending gifts to potential partners while chatting. This feature can be integrated with a fixed fee.

• Unlimited Right Swipes. Dating apps like Tinder and Bumble follow this evergreen strategy. They offer unlimited swipes through the premium upgrade where users get the benefit of more right swipes.

How To Build a Dating App Like Tinder

The concept of dating apps has proved to be a superb innovation. Building a dating app isn’t rocket science, but a streamlined development approach with the right set of strategies related to its marketing is required.

By integrating the right features, algorithms, and tech stack, building a successful dating app will be smooth sailing. It doesn’t demand out-of-the-box thinking, just addressing specific requirements and desires of users.

The ideas and points shared above will help you on your journey to creating a stellar dating app. And if you already have a unique idea for a dating app that will fill a gap in the market, you’re well on your way!

The post How To Create a Dating App Like Tinder appeared first on Simple Programmer.

However, this is easier said than done. User and internal feedback can come at inconvenient times and in inconvenient ways, precipitating disarray unless a formalized system is put in place. What’s more, not all customer requests are of equal importance, and determining which product needs to act upon first can be tricky.

The following article draws upon my learnings as a Senior Product Manager and 17 years of related experience to help product engineers systematically collect and prioritize customer feedback for a clean, purposeful product development roadmap. In turn, you will be able to focus your attention toward projects that will yield the greatest impact for end users and your own company’s bottom line.

Receiving Insights Into Customer Needs

The worst thing a product engineer can be is disconnected from the end users. While your team may have their own ideas for improvements, it’s essential that they keep a finger on the pulse of existing customers’ experiences and industry priorities on the whole.

Collaborate to Gain Meaningful Insights

Due to the nature of their roles, it’s often Customer Success Managers (CSMs) who receive valuable, candid feedback about possible improvements and enhancements. Additionally, they analyze their client’s software usage to provide personalized guidance, but can also use the opportunity to gather observations to share with Product Engineering.

A recommendation from my product engineering colleagues and me is to create a designated email address for CSMs to message with feedback, which is then distributed to our whole team. From our experience, we found that creating a firm yet convenient process for CSMs helps prevent customer feedback from being forgotten or tabled.

A good rule of thumb to follow: there must be open, regular communication between Product Engineering and CSMs.

The wider distribution of the email is beneficial, as it means a quicker response time from us. After all, there are scenarios in which our intimate knowledge of the software can help CSMs better serve customers. For instance, if users seek a solution that already exists, we can mention it to their point of contact, providing a swift resolution.

Collect Feedback Prior to Implementing a New Change

There is a long journey from ideation to implementation. Your goal as a developer is to gather input from users and other teams as often and as early as possible to limit wasted resources. Helpful materials that you should keep on hand include:

• Design documents or interactive design. These blueprint the particulars of the tool update without a heavy investment in the execution. The product team can show the material to customers or stakeholders to hear their impressions and gather feedback. Product engineers strive for feedback on the design, usability, whether it adequately and efficiently solves the problem, as well as additional areas where they can improve.
• Beta programs to conduct usability and A/B testing. In this exercise, product engineers turn on a feature early for users who are willing to be a part of the beta program. The earlier beta groups are often those who expressed interest in the particular enhancement, before widening to encompass other existing customers, all the while tracking usage and collecting feedback.

While CSMs are essential for collecting qualitative input, product engineers also want to accumulate quantitative feedback through a survey distributed to all beta users. By using both forms of data collection, you can gain a more comprehensive perspective of all the feedback.

The Value of Consistent Documentation

Consistent documentation also helps with traceability throughout the many stages of the product update, so multiple team members can circle back to the same reference point (such as a JIRA tickets, Google sheets, etc.). Centralizing internal communications within the same forum makes it easier for everyone to stay informed, minimizing confusion between project participants.

Without a formalized system for accumulating and organizing feedback, important observations will undoubtedly become lost or forgotten. This is because of the sheer volume of ways customer and internal input can be communicated (email, chatbots, Slack, surveys, offsite review sites like G2, etc.).

Additionally, it may be unclear which member of your product team is responsible for documenting and assessing such observations. Therefore, you should outline a step-by-step approach for cataloging feedback that is uniformly applied across the team.

It would be impossible to act upon every piece of feedback right away. However, if your product engineering team decides to defer or skip potential projects, don’t delete any relevant documentation (such as customer complaints, product audits, etc.). Instead, save these notes annotated with the reasoning behind your decision not to make related software updates. This way, if your team ever changes their mind, you can pull upon such materials in the future.

Strategically Prioritizing Projects

Collecting customer feedback is only half the story. Product Engineering leadership needs to sort and prioritize suggestions to create a logic-driven roadmap that aligns with the overall company strategy and provides the most value to the customer.

One such method is to assess each prospective project through the lens of R-I-C-E (reach, impact, confidence, and effort).

• Reach. Determine whether the new feature or upgrade is applicable to most current or prospective audiences. After all, SaaS Product Engineering doesn’t want to be in the business of creating custom solutions for individual users.
• Impact. How much will the modification affect the product and business? On one end of the spectrum, you will have initiatives that will be overlooked by most and yield minimal measurable results. On the other end, some software updates may entirely transform elements of the business, from our ability to sell to new audiences to improved tool functionality.
• Confidence. How confident is the team that they both understand the request and can execute it? There are many reasons for low confidence, such as a request that falls well outside the intended use of the product or tech debt that may need to be addressed before further analysis can be conducted.
• Effort. Some initiatives can take hours, others may take years. For this exercise, you don’t need to nail down specific timelines, instead use generic t-shirt sizing like “extra small, small, medium, large, or extra-large” to gauge relative effort. Keep in mind that this applies to upfront engineering and ongoing maintenance.

When you consider all the elements of R-I-C-E, you’re able to compare the perceived ROI of one project versus another and prioritize accordingly. Other factors that will influence project prioritization may include assessing urgency and subsequent “tech debt” as well as other stakeholders’ interpretations of R-I-C-E.

In regard to assessing urgency, product engineering professionals often face the decision of whether to find the quick solution or the right solution. In scenarios where teams swiftly launch a metaphorical “band-aid,” it is only a temporary fix that buys them time to find a more permanent answer and may create more accumulative work over time (tech debt).

With the help of other internal stakeholders, reflect upon both the level of urgency for the update and the added effort of creating both short-term and long-term solutions to determine the right course of action.

As for other stakeholders’ interpretations of R-I-C-E, share your initial order of execution with Customer Success and other teams for their sign-off. They may have different insights into the reach and impact of potential projects, further influencing priority levels.

These project elements can guide the team’s annual or quarterly roadmap, as well as determine if such product fixes are small enough and/or urgent enough to justify immediate action.

Measuring the Results of Updates

Product engineering isn’t done once you successfully launch an update. Use specialized analytics tools to track interactions (both at the beta and post-launch stages), looking for patterns in both users and their behaviors. Directly compare engagement levels pre-update to post-update to form (or verify) hypotheses as to why.

If the product update delivered the anticipated results, great! If not, you should once more start the cycle of collecting feedback and data to create new hypotheses that will inform additional updates.

By systemizing customer feedback, prioritization, and impact measurement, your team will improve operational efficiency and the underlining strategy behind your decisions. The result? A SaaS product that tactically evolves to better serve the needs of customers and the marketplace.

The post How To Evolve SaaS Product Offerings Based on Consumer Needs appeared first on Simple Programmer.

UX design works on two principles: consumer experience and problem solving. These principles are used to create aesthetic product designs. The product can be physical or digital, but the core goal stays the same: to enhance user experience and provide value when they interact with your product.

For example, several ride-sharing apps give users rewards points that they can convert into money and donate to several charities. There’s no practical reason for a digital taxi service to provide this feature, yet it exists. This is because apps with additional features add a sense of value for the user, creating an emotional experience.

The modern consumer wants to be won over with empathy. They’ll also interact positively with a brand when they feel that the brand cares about their problems.

Good UX design takes users on a meaningful journey. This is why UX design teams combine content strategists and creative thinkers along with interaction designers. All of these professionals share one goal: to provide value through clever design. We shall be taking a look at why UX is important, what distinguishes it from UI, and examine some of the exciting trends in UX that we will see more of in 2022 involving augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence, among others.

Why Is UX Design Important?

According to Forbes, UX has an ROI of 9,900%, which is a pot of gold for brands that aim to settle in their users’ minds. Meaning, a $100 investment in UX can return nearly $1,000.

Good UX design can lead to an increase in customer retention and loyalty and build positive association for your brand. Happy users are also more likely to tell their networks about their experience, earning you new customers. Strong and aesthetic UX design should be the core focus of a brand’s marketing plan, especially one that’s based in the digital space.

Amazon Web Services reports that over 80% of online customers will turn away from a brand if they have an unfulfilling web interaction. Websites that feature cluttered and unintuitive designs can cause users to permanently blacklist the business they’re representing.

UX design should be an immediate priority for brands that are launching a new product or app. Early app testing is a great way for developers and designers to fix any bugs prelaunch. It can cost about 100 times more to pick out bugs once your app is launched, according to UX Planet, and the ongoing process can hamper app performance.

So, don’t ignore the writing on the wall here; set your sights on good UX design. Give users an experience they’ll enjoy and reap the benefits.

UI vs. UX: What’s the Difference?

People often use UI and UX design together. Sometimes, they mix up these terms and use one when they mean the other. UI and UX are connected, but they’re not the same.

UX design looks at the function of a digital or physical product. UX designers research user requirements and find efficient ways to create unique experiences for them. They’re called interaction designers because they plan out the user’s journey from start to end.

Interaction designers work with information architects to identify users’ pain points and needs and figure out how to solve them. Interaction designers all develop prototypes and wireframes to ensure satisfying user experiences.

Good UI design involves visuals and intuition. UI designers, also called visual designers, are responsible for color palettes, typography, and graphics. They aim to create layouts that are pleasing to the eye. They also work on interactive graphics like menus, buttons, and text boxes.

A successful user experience is a culmination of UI and UX designers working in perfect harmony. Neither one exists without the other, and seamless design happens only when they’re used together.

Take Medium, for example. It’s an online publishing platform where users can read and write articles. It features clean lines and a minimalistic design (UI) that makes it easy to navigate.

When users want to write something, they just click on a text box that instantly opens up onto a larger page with infinitely customizable options (UX). There’s no loading time or clutter to turn users away.

UX Trends to Watch in 2022

When made well, UX design drives retention and conversion rates. The three things to watch out for are that it’s simple, usable, and visually stunning.

Keeping its importance in mind, let’s take a look at some of the UX trends gathering speed in 2022.

1.   AR, VR, and the Metaverse

At least one person you know, if not yourself, would have recently attended training or workshop in the metaverse. There are five popular and well-developed metaverses out there right now and all of them use a combination of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to give users unique experiences.

Companies like Gucci and Louis Vuitton have used VR and AR to give consumers more choices in the retail experience. The metaverse opens up almost infinite possibilities for UX design and plays a crucial role here. Apps that use VR and AR have given interaction designers the chance to take design a step further.

Building app or website infrastructure that connects to the metaverse allows for new possibilities to be creative through the transition from 2D to 3D based apps.

For those interested in continuing the conversation on artificial realities, such as VR, AR, and MR (mixed reality), this book is an interesting read: Immersive Metaverse e-Commerce : Metaverse UX enthused.

2.   Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Think Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri, and you’ve landed on AI. Modern tech has put computerized learning at our fingertips, and it’s evolving in real time. There are three kinds of AI, and one of them (the focus here) is disrupting UX design in innovative ways.

Artificial Weak Intelligence (AWI) detects behavioral patterns and is capable of making data-based predictions. For example, everyone’s Facebook timeline is different. It’s based on their interests and search history, including any groups they may have joined.

UX design is needed to revolutionize AWI. From a branded perspective, intelligent design means your consumers are exposed to suggestions they want, with added value. Bonus points if the design flows and gets them to click on the links you want.

Picture this (pun intended): you’re browsing for free images on Pixabay. You’ve searched for pictures of dogs riding bicycles. You’ll see a list of results from Pixabay, but the top of the page will show better images.

These will be arranged in an attractive carousel, and you’ll want to find out more. Before you know it, you’ve landed on Shutterstock, where you’ll pay to access high-quality pictures.

This is the finesse of good UX design. It breaks through clutter, solves users’ problems, and shows them added value. It is designed with users in mind and focused on providing users with what they need. AWI users will get a personalized impactful experience that will get faster and more accurate as UX designers continue to craft experiences with it. This works exceptionally well with e-commerce.

3.   The Rise of Dark Mode

Dark mode is still relatively new, i.e., designers are changing the typical user experience from light to dark. Apple may claim that it started the dark mode trend, but developers know that’s untrue. Either way, everyone with a smartphone has the option to turn dark mode on with the press of a button. The background becomes dim, text is flipped from black to white, and bright colors are reduced.

UX designers gravitate toward dark mode because it’s minimalist. The aesthetic has a calming effect, and visuals automatically look more graceful when paired with black.

Apps that traditionally used white tones are shifting to black. This requires a new level of mapping and path creation. Wix does this particularly well. Users can switch their site into dark mode without having to write code.

UX design is increasingly being employed to give users uncomplicated experiences in the dark. Information architects love working on it because reading is easier on a black screen. They’re constantly trying to refine this process for end users.

4.   Personified Animations

Scrolling through the Internet is a personal experience. It’s not something users consciously think about. There’s reason to believe that getting notifications activates dopamine receptors in the brain. Dopamine is a happy chemical, and the Internet has it in spades.

Scientifically, the time you spend online is an emotional one. UX designers aim to create emotional experiences for users so that they keep coming back. Personified animations are one of the tools they use.

An anthropomorphic or personified animation is a quick animation that delivers results. For example, if you searched for a list of sales enablement tools and saw an animated infographic in the listicle, you’d remember it. The animation could be basic, like a flashing pop-up or text bubble, but it would help you retain information.

UX designers are playing around with these animations, especially on web pages. They can be deceptively simple, and still they get results. Users enjoy interacting with animated content on apps and websites. Brands should hop on this trend if they want to boost their engagement rates.

5.   A Win for Widgets

Interaction is king. Facebook changed the game when they launched their like, share, and react buttons, giving users a new way to express how they felt about the content they consumed. It also made sharing intuitive and paved the way for virality.

Take the like button as an example of a micro-interaction. Every time a user likes something, the app better understands their choices. UX designers are experts at studying users’ behavior and churning out intuitive interfaces.

Micro-interactions are trending in 2022. The purpose is to increase engagement rates by making users enjoy these small interactions. For example, certain websites enlarge buttons when you scroll past them. Others place widgets in clever positions so that you want to interact.

Aesthetic widgets and buttons can change the game for mundane software, too. Think about electronic signature software. It’s pretty standard for any business owner, but not an exciting experience. A UX designer can make this experience engaging by putting colorful buttons or widgets that the user enjoys.

In the Spotlight: Automated UX Testing

Brands are realizing the growing importance of UX design. These 2022 trends will continue to evolve into others. It’s an innovative time for designers and strategists. They work around the clock, so users can reap the fruits of their labor.

While I have listed the top trends of the year, remember that as technology advances, the behavior of the digital user evolves too. The book Designing Products for Evolving Digital Users: Study UX Behavior Patterns, Online Communities, and Future Digital Trends is a must-read for any product designer who wants to stay on top of new UX and UI trends to give their brand the edge it needs. UX designers put their focus on what their users need.

UX design creates experiences through empathy. Whether it’s seamless design, micro-interactions, user engagement, or animation, UX design can do it all. It’s at the heart of the tech movement and social media platforms. The process can be further simplified through automation.

Automated UX testing is one of the types of automation testing that can be used. It simplifies the design process for businesses. Automation involves performing tasks with little to no human aid. Testing UX can include A/B testing, where users interact with an interface and give feedback. Automating this process streamlines feedback, cuts down on costs and can be used to identify design problems.

UX designers use automated testing to highlight bugs in their designs. Automated testing allows for high coverage and variations. It’s possible to test your design against endless scenarios, such as slow Internet speeds, different smartphones and devices, and user behaviors.

Automated testing reduces costs, too. Testing against multiple scenarios ensures that UX designers can fix any bugs they find pre-release. It’s comparatively costly to streamline bugs post-launch, and automated testing takes care of this, ensuring that your products are more profitable.

It also promises a higher return on investment (ROI). The testing process can be shared with all the stakeholders for the software. They can add comments, concerns, or improvements. The ongoing feedback collection process is efficient, gives a competitive advantage, and allows for personalized solutions.

Kickstart your automation testing by finding the tool that directly fits your needs. You’ll want a tool that collects qualitative and quantitative data. It should also display results in a visually uncomplicated way. You’ll be able to share your findings with your team and get their feedback in record time. All you need is the right tool.

Now is the time to get on UX design. With automation testing in place, there are no limits to what good design can do. Brands should combine UI and UX design to create authentic and interactive experiences for their end users.

The post UX Trends That ‌Will Shape 2022 appeared first on Simple Programmer.

This article highlights the journey from junior developer to senior manager. It breaks down the qualities required at each step (junior developer, middle manager, and senior manager) and how you can check if you possess these qualities.

Being a Junior Developer

What Does A Junior Developer Do?

Being a Junior Developer can be a rewarding and financially fulfilling job. A Junior Developer is a Software Developer at the entry-level position who assists the development team in all aspects of coding and software design. The primary role includes:

• Writing basic code
• Fixing bugs
• Learning the codebase
• Attending design meetings
• Assisting the development manager in all design-related tasks

The Skills That You Will Need

As a junior software engineer, your employer does not expect you to have the same level of expertise as a mid or senior level developer or programmer. You likely possess some crucial qualities, most of which are soft skills.

This does not mean that you can not improve and perform beyond your job description.

For instance you can access an open-source community of security experts from around the globe through OSWAP to help you understand the vulnerabilities, threats, and attacks you should be aware of and how to counter them.

Soft Skills are non-technical skills that are unrelated to your particular area of expertise. They are, however, related to how you work. For instance, how you engage in problem-solving, how you connect to your colleagues, and how you manage your work. Soft skills make it easy to work with you full-time.

The skills you should aim to develop include:

• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Being a team player
• Being competent
• Ability to learn
• Time management skills
• Being hardworking
• Have communication skills
• Being professional
• Paying attention to details
• Ability to visualize the bigger picture

On the flip side, hard skills are the intellectual abilities or know-how or technical skills you get through practice, repetition, and education. You are expected to be competent in software development, computer programming and codes, and object-oriented design (OOD) for junior developers.

Are You Ready To Climb The Corporate Ladder?

You are considering climbing the corporate pole, but you are unsure if you are ready. Below is a checklist to aid you in determining if you are prepared.

1. You should consider the challenge of having extra responsibility. You can determine this by evaluating whether you enjoy taking on work outside of your current duties. Do you view responsibility as a burden or as an opportunity?
2. Do you have strong organizational skills? As you move up the career ladder, bear in mind that you will likely be dealing with more reports and budgets.
3. How do others respond to your leadership? If you are approached for solutions or advice, that is positive. It means that you stand out as someone reliable or an expert. It would help observe how colleagues or clients respond when you take charge.
4. Are you prepared to travel or relocate? Holding a managerial position may sometimes require you to travel, or you may need to move to another city where your company’s head office is located.
5. Do you have a confidant or mentor, or have you studied the career path of others who inspire you to provide a guide? Having someone with first-hand experience can help you figure out where you want to go.

You Are Ready. Here Is What You Should Do:

You have checked all the points above, and you are confident that you are ready to rise through the ranks. How do you go about that?

Firstly, it is essential to make a plan. Just like with goal setting, you must outline a roadmap on how you will achieve your next career goal. You can start with a short-term strategy or establish a long-term plan; either way, it is vital to be clear on how you envision this rise.

Secondly, make sure you are networking. Getting to know people is crucial to your career. Interacting with people online and in-person is essential when you have a job. This makes it easy to reach mentors and connections when you need your career path to shift.

Thirdly, you should be prepared to go above and beyond at work. You must be ready to do more than just the bare minimum. You need to ensure that you contribute more and set yourself up as the go-to person. It is also crucial that you work smart just as much as you work hard.

Fourthly, look beyond your job description. Wherever possible, look for opportunities to help; however and whenever you can.

Lastly, establish yourself as an asset to your company. Study and follow industry leaders in software development. Constantly try to build upon your skills and learn new things. Marketing for customers is a skill that you can develop, as it helps you understand what your clients are interested in.

Middle Management

What Does a Middle-Level Developer Do?

The top management positions are expected to focus on the company’s overall strategy and long-term planning. Mid-level developers concentrate on interactions with employers and the day-to-day functioning of a development team. You will be expected to ensure that your team is equipped with all the tools they need for Unit Testing and API testing.

Middle managers deal with day-to-day problems in a particular workplace or a particular department within the company. Some typical duties and responsibilities of middle-level managers include:

• Writing and maintain a code
• Analyzing and implement best coding practices into the project code
• Analyzing technical requirements of the project and adapt the code in line with them
• Identifying and developing areas for revisions in current projects
• Executing and implementing software tests, through the use of service virtualization tools
• Good grasp on programming languages
• Developing quality assurance procedures for software projects
• Analyzing the needs of users and designers, QA testers, and other software development team members
• Developing quality assurance procedures
• Coordinating the efforts and cooperating with other developers, designers, system and business analysts
• Documenting all parts of the development process for further work and maintenance

The Skills That You Need:

An excellent middle manager requires the following soft skills:

• Transparency
• Excellent listening skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Being consistent and reliable
• Being trustworthy
• Empathetic and sensitive
• Being rewarding and recognizing the efforts made by subordinates
• Being willing to change for the better
• Being empowering and motivating your team
• Having conflict resolution skills
• Decision-making skills
• Having the drive to set goals

A mid-level developer has around 2-4 years of prior experience and is expected to be a fully-functional programmer who can write their code while helping the senior members out. You require little to no supervision and are expected to write most of the codebase. The skill set that is expected include:

• Having at least 2-3 years as a Java developer
• Having solid knowledge of the frameworks for building web projects (Maven, Gradle), frameworks for enterprise projects (Spring, Hibernate, Spring Boot), and tools for unit testing (JUnit, Mockito). They act as front-end developers.
• Coming up with new approaches and implement new technologies.
• Knowing how to program high-volume and low-latency systems meant for extensive scaling.
• Ability to clearly and concisely communicate with both technical and non-technical customers.

To best deliver what is expected of you, it is essential that you hold knowledge on components such as The Motor Industry Software Reliability Association (MISRA), which refers to the widely adopted and legendary coding standard for C and C++ languages.

Are You Ready To Climb The Ladder?

1. Do you have an adequate level of influence within your organization? If you want to become a senior manager, you must exhibit influence without looking arrogant.
2. Do you have an interest in personal development? It would be best to build your brand by encouraging yourself and those around you to constantly improve and learn more about their job, the industry, competitors, and emerging trends.
3. Have you established a working relationship with your subordinates and colleagues? You must be a people person; your team members should consider you an empathetic and understanding team member. You should be promoting and acknowledging individual contributors on your team.
4. What kind of feedback do your subordinates provide? You must understand if those who have worked under your guidance have any positive or negative things to share. This can help you improve.
5. Do those around you view you as a leader? You can verify this by examining whether people come to you for advice. Are you the person to go to when making decisions?

The Transition From Middle Management to Upper Management

Below are a few ways to ensure that you transition smoothly from middle to the next level – senior software engineer.

First, you must understand the new position and what is expected of you in the new role. You should not limit yourself to the part you held before Examine what the new responsibilities are and how they differ from those of a middle manager. It would be best if you also had a plan of action derived from understanding the goals you are expected to achieve.

Second, shift your focus from short-term goals to long-term endeavors. As a senior developer, the day-to-day running is no longer your responsibility; instead, you are expected to make decisions that have long-lasting effects on the company. You are also expected to engage the entire company at this level. You are no longer looking at a single team but the whole collection, so it is crucial to consider the larger picture.

Third, commit to self-improvement. The advisable way to lead others is to be competent yourself. Therefore, it is very important that you are always open to learning and improving yourself. Always research emerging trends in the industry to help you keep your company ahead.

Fourth, it is crucial that you can trust yourself. Trust yourself to make the right calls and engage with mentors and colleagues to come to a sound decision. Sometimes it is challenging to have confidence in a new position, but remember there is a reason you have successfully attained that position.

Finally, It is critical that you are able to maintain old relationships. Keep up cordial and professional relations because networks help you better navigate your new job. This new position does not mean that you have to distance yourself from your colleagues or subordinates.

Senior Developer

What Does an Upper Level Manager Do?

Senior level developers, such as CTOs (Chief Technology Officers), plan and direct a group of people within a department. The role of a senior manager is to supervise those individuals to ensure that business operations are running efficiently and that each individual’s performance meets company and industry standards. A senior developer acts as a project manager or team leader.

The Skills That You Need

The soft skills that you will need as a senior manager are:

• Senior leadership skills
• Good decision-making skills
• Emotional Intelligence
• Motivating your team
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Delegating tasks

Nurturing and identifying talent is critical for any tech company to grow. The hard skills expected of a senior manager are: It is vital that you can adequately engage in employee development. It would be best if you were an expert, for instance, as an engineering manager, with years of experience and educational background (computer science). Finally, have a good grasp of changing management skills.

I’ve Reached the Mountain. What Now?

Different companies have different job descriptions for the senior management title, meaning you have varying responsibilities depending on the company. Is the company a startup or a large established company like Microsoft? However, you have gotten to where you wanted to be and now you’re wondering what next.

It is critical to make sure that you have left your mark in your field, as you rise in the corporate ladder, engage other developers and build up talent. What milestones would you like to have achieved? You can establish yourself as a mentor for those behind you, offering them advice based on your experience. This is also a chance to build your company and be innovative, introduce new ideas and improve older systems to make them more effective.

Start Climbing

To successfully move along the corporate ladder, it is crucial that you have developed your soft skills (non-technical skills) and hard skills (technical skills). As a developer this means you will need interpersonal skills as well as a good grasp on software development. Ensure that you meet the checklists outlined above — and that you are ready for the additional responsibility that comes with advancing in your career.

If the signs listed above ring true for you, you must start believing in yourself and push for that promotion. No matter what level of your career you are at or what career goals you have, it is always important to remember that you can rise the corporate ladder.

The post From Junior Developer to Senior Management: How to Climb the Corporate Ladder appeared first on Simple Programmer.

As we speak, tens of thousands of companies are developing mobile apps, and even more startups and appreneurs are seeking funds to get their app projects off the ground. Yet only a few app ideas manage to win a VC’s attention.

“VCs invest in only one of the three hundred enterprises they are exposed to,” writes Jeffery Bussgang, author of Mastering the VC Game. They’re looking for deals that are as rare as a four-leaf clover.

As a result, VCs say “no” more than “yes” to pitches. According to the most recent Crunchbase data, global venture capital funding fell to $39 billion in May 2022, the lowest level in more than a year.

So, if you have a set business plan, you must rightly wonder how to structure a pitch that would attract the attention of a venture capitalist. Worry not! In this post I’ll show you how to support your idea and greatly increase your chances of getting noticed, by following the tactics below.

Fake It Until You Make It

An initial meeting with a VC may simply last 30 minutes—long enough for them to assess your passion, attitude, and personality. According to Bussgang, the first 15 minutes are critical, and the entrepreneur must be able to establish credibility and relevance within that time frame.

Moreover, as Venture Deal authors Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson mention, terms like “trying to raise money,” “testing the waters,” and “exploring other choices” should be avoided when pitching your idea. Feld and Mendelson comment that “Such phrases smell of uncertainty; thus, businesses should begin with an optimistic mindset that assumes success.”

Once the partners have given your pitch some thought, and if they find it fascinating, a second meeting is scheduled wherein the VCs will come prepared with some follow-up questions and concerns regarding your pitch.

Remember that entrepreneurship is associated with failures, and having the appropriate mindset can help you get through most of them. But, before you are ready to fake it, you need to get everything else within the creation of the app sorted so that you can fake it with some well-founded knowledge and skill. Timelines and financials, for example.

Chart out Timelines and Detailed Financials

VCs would want to know how long each stage of your app development would take to complete. They’ll want to know how long it’ll take you to deliver your MVP if you’re starting from the ground up. How many iterations are in the works? How much would the monthly expense be until you break even?

Most VCs are concerned with two things:

• the revenue drivers that will help your app startup reach a break-even point;
• monthly cash consumption.

Even if you know your business better than them, VCs will utilize their experience to determine how well you understand the financial aspects of your company.

The point is: Know every number and every detail of your app inside out before you enter a VC’s office.

Check out the financial features of a mobile app called Fit Strong for better understanding. Fit Strong creators intended to raise $345,000 in debt financing, with the majority of the funds going toward mobile app development, promotion, and photography. A portion of the money was also set aside for social media advertising and commercial airtime.

Likewise, it may be good to build multiple financial model scenarios (worst vs. base vs. best case) and check for common financial modeling problems for startups. Instead of presenting a VC with an overly optimistic or unattractive case, creating many scenarios and completing sanity checks will help you get closer to a realistic case since it is evident you are a reliable investment.

The Finances and VC Connection Matter

When obtaining funds for your app, one of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs can make is focusing on the wrong investors.

First and foremost, figure out how much money you want to raise before you begin, because if you don’t, you will end up barking at the wrong tree.

According to Feld and Mendelson, if you need $500,000 in seed financing, you should first contact angel investors, super angels, seed-stage VCs, micro VCs, and early-stage investors before addressing large VC firms.

Suppose you need to finance $10 million; in that case, you should start pursuing larger venture capital firms because you’ll need a lead investor willing to (and financially able to) sign a $5 million check.

Substance over Style

Don’t over-design your data. VCs are not really fond of highly stylized summaries; instead, they prefer clear, concise, exciting information that can be easily processed at home or in the office.

To prepare a perfect pitch, have a short description of your app startup ready, along with an executive summary and a presentation. Let’s break down what this means for what you need to do a little more.

The short description, also known as the elevator pitch, could be one to three paragraphs that directly describe the app, the team, and the business. The concluding paragraph could be the next step you plan to undertake.

Here’s an elevator pitch example of JustPark, a parking app, which caught the attention of Richard Branson.

“Let’s face it. Parking can be a real nightmare. It can be infuriating to find, extremely pricey and by the time you find that spot you would have lost time, petrol, and caused a lot of unnecessary traffic and pollution. Well, there’s an answer; parkatmyhouse.com. We are an awesome little company, backed by an awesome big company called BMW. Now, listen in: You can reserve parking in a private property and save up to 70%. Need to park at a sports match or local station? Sorted. … Just go to parkatmyhouse.com and simply type in where you want to park and what dates. It is that simple.”

An executive summary is critical, since it may be the most widely distributed document in a venture capital firm. It can be 1-3 pages long, and it should include a detailed description of the app, the problem you want to answer, and why it is vital to solving.

The big question to answer is: What makes your app stand out from the competitors’, and why is your team the best match to pursue it?

Be sure to add high-level financial data to show that you have lofty but realistic expectations for your company’s long-term success. Additionally, have it proofread by third parties to ensure that all-important aspects are addressed. Remember, presentations could make or mar a funding event… So make it count.

The presentation is a visual representation of your executive summary that would include more examples and a detailed explanation of your company. The length is typically 10-20 slides, depending on the audience. The scale of your presentation may need to adapt depending on whether you are pitching to a single investor, a partnership business, or an investment event.

Furthermore, some VCs would love to see a business plan, though these days most of them tend to ignore it. A business plan is an extension of your executive summary. It could be 30 pages long with complete details on the app, target market, customers, team, and even financials. Though considered an obsolete document because of its length, the idea of putting down your thoughts on paper will stand you in good stead in the future.

Due Diligence

Due Diligence is yet another essential criterion for seed funding. Meeting the due diligence objective as per potential investor requirements is one of the best ways to accelerate and complete the seed funding process.

As part of the due diligence process, the investors check your finances, legal documents, key personnel, employment contracts, vendors, clients, and more to determine their accuracy based on which funds would be released.

Besides looking to gain a complete financial analysis of your company, VCs will conduct a background check on all the founders, board members, and key company personnel.

You must deliver the due diligence documents before looking to raise funds, specifically if you are an app start-up. Otherwise, the investment process can be slowed.

Pro tip: Do not hide anything from the VCs because your relationship will suffer if they get a whiff of something you didn’t want them to smell in the first place.

Build a Prototype

Some venture capitalists prefer to see a demo of a prototype over a business plan or financial information, especially when the company is still in its early stages and they want to get a better picture of the concept you are creating. Not only do you get to inform the VCs about the challenges your app will solve, but you also get to tell them about your app’s benefits while they’re actively looking at your prototype.

Here’s what a prototyping process looks like for an app:

1. Identify the key functionalities
2. Make sketches of primary screen
3. Turn sketches into wireframes
4. Turn wireframes into prototype

And, yes, VCs won’t mind if the MVP is lacking in features or crashes during the presentation, because they understand that the app is still in development and will require multiple tweaks from the app developer before it meets market demand. In short, the most effective way to determine VCs’ interest is through a prototype of your app. For starters, use X-code for prototyping.The platform enables in building prototypes, akin to real apps, by making use of fake data and placeholder content.

Don’t Overpromise

Overpromise, overdeliver, says Grant Cordone—a real-estate mogul, motivational speaker, and best-selling author. Maybe that’s the success recipe for Cardone, but, generally speaking, it’s always better to underpromise and admit the risks involved.

Due to paranoia, Christoph Westphal of Sirtris always avoided overpromising his vision. “Odds are you’re going to lose this money,” Christoph allegedly warned one of his investors. But it was this openness that put him at ease with investors.

VCs are well aware of the dangers that come with starting a business; all they want to know is whether you are aware of them or not.

Reid Hoffman, founder, and chairman of LinkedIn, warns against overpromising during the pitching process. As he comments, “You may say to the venture capitalist, ‘I’m going to be able to do this, this, and this.’ But you’re gambling into the future, you don’t really know that you’ll get there.”

The Bottomline: Don’t oversell. Only 1-2 percent of the 5,000 business proposals Hoffman examined as a VC in the last few years performed better than their plans. Accept that it’s a gamble. It’s a risk.

Know Your VC Audience

VCs aren’t simply investors. They take on greater responsibilities, serving on the board of directors, and assisting the company with vision, direction, and other issues. In brief, venture capitalists love to have a “say” within companies rather than act as armchair critics. As Hoffman says, “In the end, I pick a VC that I most want to work with.”

Jack Dorsey of Twitter paired up with Fred Wilson of Union Square Venture not only because he was a daily user but also because he had a list of feature recommendations and many questions on his mind during the pitch presentation. Wilson, like Dorsey, was well-prepared and enthusiastic about the project, which led Dorsey to choose Union Square Venture as their investor.

Pitching to a VC Is not a Piece of Cake

Just because you have an out-of-this-world app idea up your sleeve—one that might address a smoldering problem head-on and usher in radical solutions—doesn’t mean the VCs will fall hook, line, and sinker for it and release funds without raising a finger.

VCs want a clear-cut view of all the financials, executive summaries, presentations, MVPs, and more.

They like to play with the MVP component in particular. Moreover, it would be best to admit the odds at stake, which might make or break up your startup experiment.

In short, be ready to be grilled and be honest. Most VCs are seasoned investors who know when the iron is hot.

The post How to Pitch to a Venture Capitalist as a Developer appeared first on Simple Programmer.