Dawid Pacholczyk

<p><strong>Design methodologies</strong> is a term that may sound a little vague but if we summon up things like Lean Startup, or Design Sprint approaches, everything becomes much clearer. Of course, there are many more items on the product development methodologies list. Using each one of them may be very beneficial for developers and save the day or, at least, a lot of time, money, and effort.</p><p>Increased efficiency and team members’ motivation as well as providing better products and more reliable software may be in the cards. But of course, the devil is in the details, and it’s necessary to know all the intricacies, pros and cons, highlights, and downsizes of all those design methodologies before deciding to choose one of them for your project. Also, knowing the use cases of particular methods may be crucial to assess things right.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Table of contents:</p><p>1. <a href="#trends">Design methodologies – top 2021 trends</a></p><p>2. <a href="#key-methodologies">5 design methodologies you should know</a></p><p>3. <a href="#choosing">How to choose the right design methodology for your project?</a></p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="trends" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Design methodologies – top 2021 trends</h2><p>Design Methodology ideas and developing digital products are what go hand in hand together very well. In the extremely competitive IT market, nothing should be left to chance, and selecting the right approach, philosophy or model, can tip the scales and make a given application, tool, or solution stand out, and in a good way. Moreover, they can make a business, especially a new one, stay afloat or go down. Certainly, being swift, flexible, willing to learn new things, and adapt to changing circumstances is on top of everything else.</p><p>For this reason, what’s still on track and very much up-to-date in terms of the product design process are solutions that are flexible, agile, and based on feedback and time-boxed iterations. All those can make digital product design more efficient, speedy, and aligned to the ever-changing circumstances of the hasty times we are living in. Whatever happens within or outside the project, it’s good to be able to change the course of action accordingly.</p><p>For those reasons, along with those product design approaches, Agile methodologies or Waterfall methodology for project management may be used once you decide which products or solutions to develop.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="key-methodologies" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>5 design methodologies you should know</h2><p>Among a plethora of project management tools and solutions available, there are some we should pay special attention to. What do those design methodologies look like in detail? Let’s see.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>1. Design Sprint methodology</h3><p>Reducing risk before a new product hits the market or a new feature is introduced is more than welcome in virtually any industry. And this is when Design Sprint comes into play, offering a five-phase process encompassing stages like Understand, Diverge, Converge, Prototype, and Test. Interestingly, this method of addressing strategic issues draws upon both design thinking and Agile methodologies – and time-boxed sprints as for the latter. Within the cycle, a <a href="https://ajsmart.com/design-sprints/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">high-fidelity interactive prototype gets tested by real users</a>. The bottom line is that guesswork is eliminated and you may find out within a few days, and not months, if the product in question is worth developing, or not.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>2. Lean Startup methodology</h3><p><a href="http://theleanstartup.com/principles" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Eliminating uncertainty</a> startups inevitably have to deal with is a hallmark of another design methodology – Lean Startup. It was born out of the willingness to engineer the startup success, by following the process suggested. It all started in the year 2011 when the book „The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses” by Eric Ries was published. But it was based on the author’s experience and failure to succeed with launching a new start-up enterprise. This led him to the conclusion that more emphasis should be put on understanding the needs of prospective customers, and not on the act of product launch – one that people may actually don’t want – per se. Moreover, by testing their visions continuously, new businesses may choose order instead of chaos.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>3. Product discovery</h3><p>This approach also puts attention to the greater importance of things like preparatory and preliminary actions and continuous learning about users. <a href="https://www.productboard.com/blog/step-by-step-framework-for-better-product-discovery/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Researching and validating ideas upfront</a> may be the new enterprise’s salvation. In short, users’ true needs or problems should be identified first, and next, solutions to them should be designed, developed, and delivered collaboratively. Not the other way round. Product discovery is to weaken risks involved that concern value, usability, feasibility, and business viability, and risk management, in fact, is product management.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>4. Wizard of Oz prototyping</h3><p>Trying to figure out what customers might think about given products is in the center of the Wizard of Oz (WOZ) prototyping. This method <a href="https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/Wizard-of-Oz-prototyping" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">involves some role-playing</a> with the use of a prototype test – a physical product or working model. There are two roles to be filled – of an end-user and the person that is to enact the completed product’s performance. The <a href="https://www.designthinking-methods.com/en/5Testen/wizardofOzTE.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">motive behind those actions</a> – which can only take one hour in some cases – is to test functionalities before they exist and find out which ones are necessary.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>5. Concierge testing</h3><p>This down-to-earth methodology is about immersing into potential customers’ natural environment (like shops or cafes) for gathering their insights on hypothetical products. Participants’ answers to directly asked questions as well as their emotional responses are collected. <a href="https://kromatic.com/blog/concierge-vs-wizard-of-oz-test/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Concierge testing is sometimes confused with WOZ</a> but the difference between them is that the former is designed for generating ideas, and the latter – for testing hypotheses.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="choosing" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>How to choose the right design methodology for your project?</h2><p>Because <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443720204578004980476429190" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">three out of four startups fail</a>, their originators need to thread carefully from the very beginning of their ways. Design methodologies may be very helpful not only in avoiding the disaster but also in shaping the future right. They may be proper both before launching a new product or service and in the next phases of the company’s existence when new features or functionalities are considered. If design methodologies are chosen well, they may obviously tip the scales in the world of similar companies offering similar apps or services.</p><p>Developing digital products is something that requires being flexible on one hand and firm support on the other. And the latter can take the form of an efficient product design methodology. And choosing the right one can simply make your project flourish or turn it into a failure.</p><p>A properly selected design method can make it or break it in the case of the majority of tech products’ development. During a decision making process, it’s good for a product designer to pay attention to the methods’ objectives, conditions, and use cases. But, first and foremost, it’s crucial to get to know all the ins and outs, benefits, and restrictions of using particular design methodologies.</p><p><strong>And you, which type of design methodologies in software development do you find the most proper for start-ups? Which kind is the most versatile and useful for product designers? Which methodologies are trending in the year 2021?</strong></p>

Top Design Methodologies - The 2021 Overview | Codete Blog

5 Popular Types of Design Methodologies You Should Know

<p>So, you have an amazing <internallink internallinkid="/blog/how-to-find-a-new-app-idea">idea for an app</internallink>, and now you'd like to bring it to life. Or you came up with a great solution that will take your enterprise process to the next level, and now you're ready to make it happen. In both cases, to realize your plan, you'll need to hire a development team.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>But how do you assemble the right team members? What is the best software development team structure?&nbsp;What are the roles and responsibilities in an IT project?</strong></p><p>Many of our clients ask us these questions, so we decided to share our insights from over a decade of providing <a href="/services" target="_blank">software development services</a> and setting up product development teams.&nbsp;Keep on reading this article to learn how to structure a successful development team and who does what to contribute to its success.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Table of contents:</p><ol><li><a href="#teamstructure">Everything about software development team structure</a></li><li><a href="#agilevswaterfall">Agile vs. Waterfall and the software development team structure</a></li><li><a href="#roles">Roles in a software development team</a></li><li><a href="#projectsuccess">The right software development team structure brings success to every project</a></li></ol><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="teamstructure" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Everything about software development team structure</h2><p>Every digital product starts with the right people. You need to map your business objectives to the roles in the software development team. When designing the team's structure, make sure that it reflects key factors related to your project, such as its type and complexity.&nbsp;</p><p>Before stepping into the recruitment phase or hiring an <internallink internallinkid="/blog/team-extension-model">outsourcing contractor</internallink>, determine the scope of your project. For example, if you're going to build a product prototype, a team of four people might be enough to accomplish that. But if you're planning to launch a brand-new application that has multiple features and third-party integrations, the number of people in your team will be higher.&nbsp;</p><p>Just to give you an idea, here are a few examples of product types and the correlating software development team structure:</p><ul><li><strong>A discovery or </strong><internallink internallinkid="/blog/what-is-proof-of-concept-and-how-to-do-it-right-expert-explains"><strong>Proof of Concept</strong></internallink><strong> project</strong> might take up to 5 specialists consisting of product manager, product owner (on the client-side), business analyst, software architect, and UX/UI designer.</li><li><strong>For developing an </strong><internallink internallinkid="/blog/building-a-minimum-viable-product"><strong>MVP</strong></internallink>, you're likely to have more than six specialists - among them the product owner, product manager, business analyst, UX/UI designer, software engineers, and software testers.</li><li><strong>A product development project</strong> will require more specialists - but that depends on your methodology. If you're using an agile approach, the team will usually include up to nine specialists. If your project is large-scale, then several agile things might work together. For a waterfall project, there's no size limit, and the number of people in your team will depend on the type and complexity of your application. Apart from the specialists listed in the previous point, you might want to add test automation engineers, performance engineers, DevOps, and security engineers.</li></ul><p>As you can see, the nature of your product will determine the shape and size of your software development team. There are two key factors you need to take into account here.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Your project timeline</h3><p>The speed with which you need to turn your product around will impact the team structure as well. With fewer team members, completing the project might take longer. So, if you have an idea for an impactful app that needs to be developed from scratch within a very tight deadline, you might have to assemble a larger team of senior engineers who can cover all your needs and bring results quickly.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Your budget</h3><p>Naturally, your budget plays a key role as well. It will affect every decision you make about how many team members you can hire and the seniority of these specialists. To reduce product expenses, opt for agile product management methodologies that allow delivering software in increments and focus on high-priority tasks first to give you more cost flexibility.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="agilevswaterfall" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Agile vs. Waterfall and the software development team structure</h2><p>The methodology you select will impact your work process and the software development team roles. The project methodology shapes the size of your team but also the responsibilities of individual team members and relations within the team. Just to give you an idea, here are some key facts about waterfall and agile approaches.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Waterfall</h3><p>In the Waterfall model, the development process is divided into distinct phases, and its scope is always defined in advance. This gives the team a limited amount of potential changes to apply. The features are prioritized at the start of the project, and the team is focused on completing the project. Quality assurance is provided by software testing that follows software engineering.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Agile</h3><p>Within agile methodology, the development process is broken into smaller increments (called <i>sprints</i>) that usually last from 2 to 4 weeks. Scope changes is the daily bread of such teams. Features are always prioritized at the beginning of each sprint, and issues are managed according to their priority. The team has a different approach – a product mindset that focuses on delivering value to the customer. Another important difference is that testing is always performed in parallel with the development work.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>How do these models influence the team structure?&nbsp;</h3><p>In the waterfall model, the team is based on hierarchical relations between team members. There are project managers and subordinates who have well-defined responsibilities. The team structure offers the managers more control over the work, and they are the ones responsible for making critical decisions.&nbsp;</p><p>Let’s take a look at Agile now. One of the more popular Agile frameworks is Scrum, which prioritizes a self-managed and -organized Scrum team supported by the Scrum Master. The latter focuses on fostering relationships within the team and creating a good working environment that allows the members to be productive. This doesn’t mean that Agile prevents any form of management - just like a waterfall doesn’t prevent self-organizing teams.&nbsp;</p><p>Still, Agile teams count no more than 9 to 10 people. They allow a certain level of autonomy as team members have the freedom to prioritize their workloads and carry out the work as they see fit.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="roles" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Roles in a software development team</h2><p>Here are the most common roles you can find across all development teams.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Frontend developers</h3><p>Frontend developers are tasked with creating the part of your application that users actually see and interact with - the user interface. Their job is to make sure that the experience is smooth and user-friendly.&nbsp;They work in line with the guidelines and recommendations of the UX and UI designers. The most programming languages for frontend developers are JavaScript, HTML, CSS. They often use JavaScript frameworks as well.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Backend developers</h3><p>A backend developer takes care of everything that goes "under the hood of an application". Backend engineers are the key problem solvers in the development process. They plan and develop the application architecture, make decisions about services and databases communication, establish how API and external integration will work, and ensure that the product is fully secure.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Quality assurance specialists and testers</h3><p>These team members are there to make sure that your application is bug-free and has adequate support across all the devices and browsers, meeting all of your key requirement. They pay a lot of attention to the application's performance, security, usability, and portability.&nbsp;</p><p>Naturally, a quality assurance engineer also looks at the application from the perspective of end users to make sure that all the implemented features meet the requirements. They write documentation and create test cases to help developers deliver a high-quality end product.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Quality assurance automation engineers</h3><p>Those engineers are tasked with writing automated tests. An automated test is a small piece of software that runs in the background and constantly tests the application. If something goes wrong, the project team knows what happened immediately. This is a key capability of agile teams where testing goes hand-in-hand with development.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>DevOps engineers</h3><p>DevOps engineers ensure that the solution is available 24/7, cost-effective to maintain, and easy to upgrade. They also work hard to guarantee that they can handle sudden use or activity spikes or downtown. They basically take care of your infrastructure.&nbsp;</p><p>Their specialty is implementing solutions such as Infrastructure as Code, automated deployment processes, and robust <internallink internallinkid="/blog/what-is-cloud-computing-software-development-benefits-and-challenges-for-business-owners">cloud solutions</internallink>. Their work is all about making the application secure, reliable, available to everyone.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Product designers</h3><p>Product designers transform your product vision into user-friendly designs. They also develop user journeys optimized for the best experience and high conversion rates. In short, they make sure that the product reaches your business goals.&nbsp;They track all the necessary data to make conclusions and propose solutions to help you reach your business objectives and ensure that users fall in love with your product.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Project managers</h3><p>The project manager's responsibility is thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong in the project and then making sure that it doesn't. Their job is also to ensure that your product is delivered on time and within budget.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Business analysts</h3><p>Business analysts are responsible for verifying the business idea and checking whether you're investing your time and money into building the right solution. You need to verify that your app solves an existing user problem that is also in line with your business model and customer expectations – and that's what a business analyst (BA) can help you with.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Product owners</h3><p>In an agile team, the product owner is responsible for prioritizing tasks in the team's backlog to streamline their execution. All the while, this role keeps an eye on the conceptual and technical integrity of the features being implemented to make sure they're in line with the overall <internallink internallinkid="/blog/benefits-of-digital-transformation">business strategy</internallink>.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="projectsuccess" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>The right software development team structure brings success to every project</h2><p>As you can see, software development teams are made of a variety of team roles and responsibilities. It's more than just a few developers who code. Writing the code is actually the easiest part of this equation.&nbsp;Successful projects require development teams composed of various people with different skill sets.&nbsp;</p><p>There are many other factors that contribute to the success or failure of an application - and many of them can be addressed by bringing the right people to your team. If you have the best specialists on board, you can be sure that your project is in good hands and gets the attention it needs.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>If you're looking to hire a dedicated software development team, get in touch with us and </strong><a href="/estimation" target="_blank"><strong>let's discuss your software project</strong></a><strong>. We know how to structure a team to deliver a successful project within the specified timeline and budget.</strong></p>

Software Development Team: Structure & Roles | Codete Blog

Software Development Team - Structure and Most Important Roles

Managing Director at Codete. Master of Law, a graduate of postgraduate studies at the University of Economics in Krakow. In his daily work, he masters the combination of business strategy and technology.

Artur Olechowski

<p>Software development teams use many various project management methodologies today. Picking the right one might be difficult when they all have their pros and cons.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>In this article, we explore and compare the three most commonly used approaches: Kanban, Scrum, and Scrumban. By the end of this article, you will have a clear idea about what each can bring into your project and whether it's a good candidate for your team.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>Ready to dive into the most common project management methods in the tech industry? Let's get started.</p><p>Here's the table of contents:</p><ol><li><a href="#kanban">Kanban: about, pros &amp; cons</a></li><li><a href="#scrum">Scrum: about, pros &amp; cons</a></li><li><a href="#scrumban">Scrumban: about, pros &amp; cons</a></li></ol><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="kanban" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>What is Kanban?&nbsp;</h2><p>It might come as a surprise, but Kanban is actually a <i>manufacturing system</i> developed by Toyota in Japan many years ago. In Japanese, Kanban is translated as “signboard” or “billboard”. The method uses visual cues that communicate what is to be produced, when, and by how much.&nbsp;</p><p>Today, the Kanban methodology finds many uses in software development and business teams. It's a great method for creating and delivering both products and services. The learning curve is flat, and Kanban allows teams to stay flexible in production by adding no extra complexity to their processes.&nbsp;</p><h3>How does Kanban work?&nbsp;</h3><p>Kanban is based on visualizing the workflow in the form of a board with cards that are sorted into columns. Every column on the board represents a different step in the workflow, and each card represents a different task or work item.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>The main idea of Kanban is to establish maximum items for each stage. That way, you make sure that your team isn't multitasking too much. By limiting the work in progress, you can quickly identify problems in your flow and resolve them before they become serious.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>In Kanban, what you manage is how work items move through the production process. Instead of micromanaging team members, managers focus on understanding the work process and removing bottlenecks.&nbsp;</p><p>Kanban also assumes that you formalize the rules for moving cards from one column to another – for example, the conditions a card needs to meet to be transitioned from <i>In progress</i> to the <i>Done</i> column. This method helps to improve work gradually, so your team handles small changes instead of being trumped by an entirely new workflow.</p><h3>Pros of Kanban</h3><ul><li>It keeps everyone on the same page.</li><li>It's flexible in production due to being event-driven, not time-boxed.</li><li>You can easily remove tasks from the to-do list or add new ones, whereas in Scrum, you can't do that until the sprint is finished.</li><li>Kanban is a great method for identifying bottlenecks in your workflow - you can see which column contains the most cards to tell which stage of the work slows the delivery process down.</li><li>The gentle learning curve of Kanban is another important advantage. It's incredibly easy to adopt and doesn't require any role changes or new roles like Scrum Master.</li></ul><h3>Cons of Kanban</h3><ul><li>Kanban doesn't perform so well in scenarios where team members share resources. For example, a marketing team and a software development team might share one graphic designer. While the former needs marketing materials, the latter wants UI design. When both teams face increased demand, it's hard for the designer to prioritize their work. Both projects can get blocked.</li><li>Kanban assumes that your workflow is stable.</li><li>The methodology is not flexible enough to accommodate mixing different products and flow changes in the delivery.</li></ul><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="scrum" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>What is Scrum?</h2><p>Scrum is a framework that helps to address complex problems and finish tasks on time. The Scrum methodology took its name from the rugby formation where all the players pack closely together and try to get the ball.&nbsp;</p><p>In Scrum, you take advantage of user stories, tasks, story points, and sprints. Both user stories and tasks are estimated using story points. Based on that estimation, they're located in sprints that have clear deadlines and goals. The direction of the sprint is the responsibility of the Product Owner, who represents the business side of the matter, and the Scrum Master, who manages the work process.&nbsp;</p><h3>How does Scrum work?</h3><p>The Scrum methodology is based on four <i>ceremonies</i> – which is just a fancy word for meetings. Here is the Scrum sequence:</p><p><strong>1. Backlog refinement&nbsp;</strong></p><p>The <i>backlog</i> is the core of Scrum and looks more like a very long to-do list that includes all the different tasks, features, and user stories the team needs to deliver for a product or service. During the backlog refinement phase, the Product Owner and Scrum team work together on the details and estimate all of the items in the backlog. All user stories and tasks need to be immediately executable when put into a sprint.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>2. Sprint planning meeting</strong></p><p>The goal of this meeting is to prioritize which tasks from the backlog will be added to the sprint. Sprints typically last two weeks, but their duration can be easily adjusted to match the specific needs of the business or team.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>3. Daily standup meeting</strong></p><p>This meeting happens every day, and it doesn't take longer than 15 minutes. Most teams organize this meeting at the start of each working day. The goal here is to synchronize the work of the team, the Scrum Master, and the Product Owner by unblocking the ongoing tasks. Every team member answers the following three questions:</p><ul><li>What did I do yesterday?</li><li>What will I do today?</li><li>What are the challenges or obstacles for my task at hand?</li></ul><p><br><strong>4. Sprint review meeting</strong></p><p>Sprint review happens at the end of every sprint. The goal is to review what was delivered, how it was delivered, and what the team could do better. It usually starts with a demo of the added functionality created during the sprint to get approval and feedback from the Product Owner.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>5. Sprint retrospective meeting</strong></p><p>Retrospectives last 90 minutes and allow the Scrum team to reflect on what went well and wrong in their previous sprint and how to improve that.&nbsp;</p><h3>Pros of Scrum</h3><ul><li>It sets clear goals and deadlines for the team and commits the team to a single goal that needs to be delivered within a specific timeframe (the sprint).</li><li>It helps teams to handle large projects that consist of multiple features and tasks to be delivered in the course of months or even years.</li><li>Scrum works really well in fast-moving development projects that may require continuous changes in priorities and features.</li><li>The contribution of every single team member is visible thanks to the daily standup meetings and sprint reviews.</li><li>Scrum helps in team collaboration because it prioritizes frequent communication, which helps to eliminate obstacles as soon as possible.</li></ul><h3>Cons of Scrum</h3><ul><li>Scrum assumes that the tasks planned for each sprint are fixed, and adding extra ones is impossible. But in reality, emergencies happen in projects all the time – like a critical bug or sudden demand change. This may add scope creep, unplanned work and result in missed deadlines and frustration for the team.</li><li>Reacting to sudden changes is difficult in Scrum because it's time-based on all the work that is planned in sprints that can't be modified once started.</li><li>The Scrum framework is complex and requires experienced teams.</li><li>Updating the team on all the roles and responsibilities and complying with all the Scrum ceremonies can be time-consuming and frustrating for the team.</li></ul><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="scrumban" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>What is Scrumban?&nbsp;</h2><p>Scrumban is a project management methodology that brings Scrum and Kanban together to form a flexible hybrid. It was developed to help Scrum teams in transitioning into Kanban and exploring other than methodologies.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Scrumban takes the structure of Scrum and combines it with the visualization and flow-based methodology of Kanban.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>Teams can be just as agile as in Scrum and as simple as in Kanban.&nbsp;</p><h3>How does Scrumban work?</h3><p>In Scrumban, all teamwork is organized in iterations and monitored using a visual board. The on-demand planning meetings happen when the team needs to identify which user stories and tasks are to be completed within the next iteration.&nbsp;</p><p>Scrumban uses work in progress limits to keep iterations short and make sure that the team can easily adapt to the quickly changing environment. All the planning in Scrumban is based on demand and happens when the planning trigger is on. The planning trigger itself is related to the number of tasks left in the <i>To-Do</i> column on the board. When it goes below a specific number, the team holds a planning event to add tasks for the next iteration. The planning event is also an occasion for prioritizing all the tasks. This can be done either by adding numbers to the tasks or simply ordering them by priority in the column.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>A basic Scrumban workflow consists of three columns: </strong><i><strong>To Do,</strong></i><strong> </strong><i><strong>Doing</strong></i><strong>, and </strong><i><strong>Done</strong></i><strong>. As team members work on tasks, they move cards into Doing – and once the task is complete, it's moved to Done. Just like in Kanban.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>For long-term planning, Scrumban offers bucket-sized planning. It's based on a system of three buckets that a work item needs to pass before being included in the Scrumban board. These buckets represent different stages of the plan – usually one year, six months, and three months. The one-year bucket is for long-term ideas and goals; the three-month bucket is for tasks ready to be implemented.&nbsp;</p><h3>Pros of Scrumban</h3><ul><li>Since there's no need to estimate or plan sprints every second week, the team can save lots of time.</li><li>Scrumban comes in handy for handling large projects that consist of multiple features and tasks to be delivered on a long-term basis.</li><li>Scrumban is a great tool for revealing bottlenecks in the workflow because the entire workflow is visible on the board.</li><li>It keeps everyone on the same page, it is easy to adopt and presents a simpler process than Scrum.</li></ul><h3>Cons of Scrumban&nbsp;</h3><ul><li>Since it's a new methodology and a mixture of two that are known to most developers, Scrumban still doesn’t have clearly defined practices. This can create some methodology mishmash that requires teams to start inventing things on their own.</li><li>It might be harder to track the individual effort and contributions of team members.</li><li>The project manager will also have less control over the process.</li><li>Just like in Kanban, an outdated board can cause many issues - for example, having two team members working on the same task because nobody updated the board.</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><h2>Key takeaway</h2><p>We hope this article clarifies these agile methodologies and shows you the clear differences between them.</p><ul><li>While<strong> Scrum</strong> is the most complex, challenging, and strictest methodology of them, it still comes in handy for experienced teams working on a project that is longer than one year.</li><li><strong>Kanban</strong> is the simplest and easiest one to adopt. A great fit for support and maintenance teams, delivery teams, or continuous product delivery where you have a stable workflow.</li><li><strong>Scrumban</strong> is a hybrid version of these two methodologies and a good match for plastic projects, startups, which means teams can sacrifice the strict rules to gain some extra freedom and efficiency.</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Are you looking for software development teams that know how to pick the right methodology and deliver results within the set timeframe? Get in touch with us and <a href="/estimation" target="_blank">let's talk about your project</a>. We have an excellent track record and know-how to tell which methodology will serve your project best.</p>

Scrum vs. Kanban vs. Scrumban Comparison | Codete Blog

Scrum vs. Kanban vs. Scrumban: How to Choose the Right Framework for Your Project

Marketing Manager at Codete. Interested in modern technologies, e-commerce and fashion. Trend researcher.

Agnieszka Krawczyk

<p>In 2020, consumers all over the world downloaded a smashing <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/271644/worldwide-free-and-paid-mobile-app-store-downloads/#statisticContainer" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><u>218 billion</u></a> mobile applications.&nbsp;</p><p>The mobile app market is overcrowded, and the competition for consumers' attention is higher than ever. If you want your app to stand out from the crowd, it's not enough to just build an outstanding product. You also need to come up with an effective strategy for its promotion, a critical component of a successful launch. But here's the good news: it doesn't have to cost you lots of money.&nbsp;</p><p>Here are 12 ideas to help you promote your app for free and capture your target market.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Table of contents:</p><ol><li><a href="#launch"><u>What is app promotion a key element of a successful launch?</u></a></li><li><a href="#12tips"><u>12 app promotion tips you must know</u></a></li><li><a href="#techniques"><u>Use our techniques to boost your app for free!</u></a></li></ol><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="launch" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>What is app promotion a key element of a successful launch?&nbsp;</h2><p>Mobile marketing is critical if you're looking to launch a product in this overcrowded market. Even if you build a flawless app that delivers an amazing user experience and helps people solve a real problem, you need me to find a way to present it to your audience.&nbsp;</p><p>Apart from rare cases, the app isn't going to promote itself on its own. If you want to win this game, you need to be one step ahead of your competition. You can bet that your direct competitors are using all kinds of strategies available to them for promoting their applications. If you end up not doing anything and believe that the quality alone will attract customers, you're wrong.&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>Users browse through millions of apps in app stores every day. You need to help them find your product. A well-executed marketing campaign ensures that you attract new customers but also inspire them to bond with you and even recommend your app to other people.&nbsp;</p></blockquote><p>Mobile technologies allow creating long-term relationships with customers by nature. And mobile app marketing allows connecting with users in a truly personalized way. You need to bring your solution in front of the people who will find it valuable. Otherwise, you risk missing out on an amazing chance to build that rapport early on and get ahead of your competition.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="12tips" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>12 app promotion tips you must know</h2><h3>1. Try guest posting</h3><p>Take a look around your niche and find high authority blogs where that receive a fair amount of traffic. Write an expert article and try to get it published on one of them.&nbsp;</p><p>That way, you will not only share your knowledge and help people solve problems but also earn valuable backlinks to your website. The more backlinks you gain, the higher your domain authority will be – and this translates into your position in the search results.&nbsp;</p><p>In the long term, this strategy puts your brand in front of your potential customers. Building that type of brand awareness early on is critical if you want to capture your market segment.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>2. Leverage social media</h3><p>Create channels on the social networks your target audiences use. You can't be present on every single channel, so select them carefully. Always share updates about your app and other related content. Curate content on your channel and bring your audience things they want to consume – this is how you build a relationship with them.&nbsp;</p><p>Don't turn your social media channels into purely promotional media. Instead, use them to start conversations with your customers.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>3. Get your app featured on Product Hunt</h3><p>Product Hunt is a great place for sharing unique designs and fantastic mobile apps. Promote your app to gain more exposure and use it as a source of leads. If you end up on the list of the top three products of the day, the chances are that more people visit your site and download your app.&nbsp;</p><p>Take RobinHood as an example. This free brokerage app is an incredible ProductHunt success story - the campaign there helped the app to score $176 million in total funding.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>4. Try your hand at podcasting</h3><p>The popularity of podcasts is rising. Did you know that in 2020, there were over 900k podcasts available on iTunes?&nbsp;</p><p>The podcasting space is still less competitive than written content, so it's smart to reap benefits from it while they're not so many competitors out there. Pick a few podcasts that cover topics your target audience is interested in and try to get featured there is a guest speaker. This is a brilliant way to spread the word about your application to a larger audience and increase your brand awareness.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>5. Attend webinars and meetups</h3><p>Every niche is full of online and offline events that offer plenty of opportunities for connecting with your target audience in a context that feels comfortable to them. You can either become a speaker at the meeting or use the opportunity to talk to people who could become your potential prospects.&nbsp;</p><p>Avoid an overly salesy attitude and be more interested in the people – and how can you help them solve problems in the most efficient way? Invite them to try your app and give their feedback - who knows; you might score a few early evangelists that way!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>6. Take advantage of social media groups</h3><p>Facebook and LinkedIn have a large number of groups that allow sharing content and promoting products for free. Make sure that you read the rules of a given group before sharing your content.&nbsp;</p><p>Some of them might not allow overly promotional content, and your brand might end up looking bad in the eyes of its members. To be on the safe side, stick to educational content and save your marketing messaging for your company pages.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>7. Get featured in popular blog articles</h3><p>Many blogs publish articles about the best tools for carrying out a task or solving a problem. Do your best to get mentioned in one of them. Focus your efforts on blogs with high domain authority. Most of the time, they run higher on Google, which means they will bring more traffic to your application.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>8. Partner with influencers</h3><p>Involving influencers in promoting your app doesn't have to cost you a fortune. Sure, if you'd like to collaborate with a business celebrity, it might break your wallet.&nbsp;</p><p>But what if you pick micro-influencers or tech enthusiasts who have a decent number of followers and significant engagement? Then the situation looks completely different. This is still a smart way to gain more credibility.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>9. Create a referral system</h3><p>If you have existing users, they're an excellent resource for increasing your reach. You can start by building a referral system and encouraging your users to invite their friends and family to download your app. This can take the form of a Share this with a friend button in your application. You can also offer rewards for every referral. <a href="https://referralrock.com/blog/mobile-referral-program-examples/#12-Best-Referral-App-Examples" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><u>RobinHood</u></a> offered one free share of stock for each new friend that joined the app so the referee could end up getting a stick worth from $2 to even $200.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>10. Feature your app in app directories</h3><p>It's worth listing your mobile app in a few app directories such as androidapplog, appchatter, apps400, or preapp. The more listings you get, the higher the chance of getting discovered by new users.&nbsp;</p><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>11. Develop partnerships with other apps</h3><p>Another idea for free app promotion is partnering with applications that offer services complementary to yours. For example, if your app helps people to create surveys, you could partner with an app that sells Customer Relationship Management systems. That way, you can engage in what is called cross-promotion.&nbsp;</p><p>They could feature your app in their newsletter, and you could do the same for them. This is by far the best way to reach new audiences at a low cost.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>12. Submit your application for awards</h3><p>Entering a mobile app competition is an excellent method for getting more exposure and increasing your credibility if you manage to win one of those contests. Here are a few competitions that might come in handy:</p><ul><li>Appy Awards</li><li>Best Mobile App Awards</li><li>Appsters Awards</li><li>Apple Design Awards</li><li>Best App Ever Awards</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="techniques" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Use our techniques to boost your app for free!</h2><p>The mobile marketing best practices are bound to help you increase the awareness of your brand and encourage more users to try your app. If you believe that what you've built is truly outstanding, it would be a shame not to let other people know about that - especially if you're solving a real problem.&nbsp;</p><p>We hope that this list of free marketing tactics helps your app stand out from the crowd and capture the attention of your target audience.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>And if you ever need help in the technical aspects of mobile development, don't hesitate to </strong><a href="/estimation" target="_blank"><strong>reach out to us</strong></a><strong>. Our mobile development has plenty of experience in building mobile products that outshine their competitors.</strong></p>

12 Tips on Mobile App Promotion for Free | Codete Blog

Mobile App Promotion for Free – 12 Tips You Must Know

<p>Coming up with a brand-new business idea is really exciting. No wonder that you'd like to jump straight into the process and bring it to life.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>But what if there's no need or market for your product? What if the current state of technology makes realizing your idea impossible?</strong> <strong>Or worse, what if the technology is available, but your timeframe and initial budget can't fit it?&nbsp;</strong></p><p>At this point, it's smart to take a step back and start with a Proof of Concept as the first stage of the software development process. Building your digital product without completing the Proof of Concept stage means that your idea lacks validation, and you can't prove its feasibility. This might break your business later on - even before you get into the product to the state of the MVP.&nbsp;</p><p>How to avoid that? By building a <strong>Proof of Concept</strong>. In this article, we zoom in on the topic to show you what PoC is and how to future-proof your product vision using it.</p><p><br>Table of contents:</p><ol><li><a href="#definition"><u>Proof of Concept - definition</u></a></li><li><a href="#vsprototype"><u>How does Proof of Concept differ from a prototype?</u></a></li><li><a href="#vsmvp"><u>What is the difference between Proof of Concept and Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?</u></a></li><li><a href="#when"><u>When to consider building a Proof of Concept?</u></a></li><li><a href="#why"><u>Why consider building Proof of Concept?</u></a></li><li><a href="#nextstep"><u>Proof of Concept - what's the next step?</u></a></li></ol><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="definition" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Proof of Concept - definition</h2><p>Proof of Concept (PoC) is the very first step you can take on the way to launching a functional piece of software that will solve the problem of its target audience and generate revenue. A Proof of Concept is not a product yet since it doesn't offer any specific solutions regarding scalability and performance.&nbsp;</p><p>But what it does offer is this: an opportunity to understand what your business idea is all about. In other words, a PoC helps you to test whether your product idea is feasible by mobilizing the minimum amount of resources.&nbsp;</p><p>The goal of Proof of Concept is to answer this question:</p><p><strong>Can my business idea be executed with the current state of technology and in line with my timeframe and budget?&nbsp;</strong></p><p>It's an exercise that provides you with an easy reality check. In many cases, it helps to avoid a range of problems that might end up costing you a lot.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="vsprototype" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h3>How does Proof of Concept differ from a prototype?&nbsp;</h3><p>PoC allows running a quick reality check on the feasibility of your product or product feature. A prototype, on the other hand, focuses more on bringing the idea to life in order to assess its usability and gather valuable user feedback.&nbsp;</p><p>The key difference between these two tools lies in the level of their <i>complexity</i>. A prototype is basically a working model of the application that focuses on its user interface - its look and feel. A PoC is much simpler as it engages the bare minimum of resources required to understand whether taking the next step in developing your product makes sense.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="vsmvp" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h3>What is the difference between Proof of Concept and Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?&nbsp;</h3><p>If you've been exploring the tech world, you probably ran across the concept of a Minimum Viable Product. The Lean Startup made it an incredibly popular approach and standard procedure of many development teams.&nbsp;</p><p>A <internallink internallinkid="/blog/building-a-minimum-viable-product">Minimum Viable Product</internallink> is a version of a new product that allows collecting the maximum amount of validated <i>feedback</i> about customers with the least effort. An MVP is made up of nothing more but the core features that deliver value to users. It's also functional enough to be released publicly and not destroy your brand.&nbsp;The idea is to test the product idea in the actual market conditions and gather feedback to help identify user pain points further and address them in the following iterations of your product.&nbsp;</p><p>You can probably tell by now how MVP and Proof of Concept differ from one another. Building a PoC is a much simpler undertaking because it focuses only on the technological feasibility of your solution. It's not used for gathering user feedback or assessing the market value of your idea.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="when" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>When to consider building a Proof of Concept?</h2><p>When it comes to product ideas, we basically divided them into two types:&nbsp;</p><p>1) &nbsp; Ones that are groundbreaking and offer something completely new.</p><p>2) &nbsp; Ones that improve upon products that are already available on the market.&nbsp;</p><p>If your business idea is a greenfield project and there are no similar solutions like that on the market, starting out with a Proof of Concept is a smart move.&nbsp;</p><p>Every year, millions of startups are established, and very few of them survive to enjoy long-term success. Why do startups fail? Most of the time because they build a product for which there's <strong>no market need</strong>. This is the top reason <a href="https://conferences.law.stanford.edu/vcs2019/wp-content/uploads/sites/63/2018/09/001-top-10.pdf" target="_blank"><u>Stanford research</u></a> showed back in 2018 – but it's still true. The second most common reason behind startup failure is <strong>running out of cash</strong>. That might happen because you underestimate the cost of building the product.&nbsp;</p><p>That's why starting your process with a Proof of Concept is a good idea. That way, you get to avoid these pitfalls. And if your business idea is based on improving an existing product, you don't really need to build a PoC because your competitors have already proven the feasibility of that application.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="why" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Why consider building Proof of Concept?&nbsp;</h2><p>Creating a Proof of Concept project is an excellent method for checking the feasibility of your idea – but it brings many more benefits. Below, are all the advantages of this approach to software development.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>PoC gives you hands-on experience in building your product.</p></blockquote><p>When you're just sketching things on the whiteboard, it's easy to overcomplicate your business idea. You might end up with lots of new functionalities that address all the possible pain points your customers might have. Even if you're forced to rethink your vision in a demo or pitch, you might still fail to uncover its flaws.&nbsp;</p><p>A Proof of Concept will get you thinking about <strong>the real-life limitations</strong> surrounding your product and other viable solutions. It will give you the hands-on experience you'll value once you start building an actual product later on.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>PoC helps to mitigate risk.</p></blockquote><p>Your idea will go a long way from a PoC to the first product iteration. But if you decide to skip this step to save time and invest in building your product anyway, you might end up losing a lot.&nbsp;</p><p>By developing a PoC first, you'll have a chance to find out whether you actually have<strong> enough resources</strong> to build an MVP of your product. You will also make sure that you don't break your wallet by trying to launch a product that isn't viable in terms of technology.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>PoC gives you solid evidence for investors.</p></blockquote><p>Few entrepreneurs are able to raise millions of dollars with just a pitch deck. Most investors look for startups that can provide solid <strong>evidence of feasibility</strong> before they decide to pour millions into it. With a Proof of Concept, you will attract angel investors to your business and show them that you're aware of the real-life limitations around your product.&nbsp;</p><p>And if you're launching an innovative in-house project in an enterprise, a PoC will help you demonstrate the expected return on investment and gain buy-in from the upper management.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="nextstep" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Proof of Concept - what's the next step?&nbsp;</h2><p>In software development, PoC is an essential exercise for entrepreneurs and enterprise innovators who can test the assumptions about their business idea. It's an excellent way to check whether the business concept is viable and feasible in terms of technological solutions available on the market.&nbsp;</p><p>That's why Proof of Concept is an excellent first step to take on your journey and continue with towards the prototype, MVP, and a full-fledged product.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Are you looking for a team skilled in bringing Proof of Concepts into life? Get in touch with us and </strong><a href="/estimation" target="_blank"><strong>let's talk about your project</strong></a><strong>. At Codete, we help both startups and enterprises to run PoC projects to verify their ideas and provide them with expert consulting services to guide them in product development.</strong></p>

What Is Proof of Concept and How to Do It Right? | Codete Blog

What Is Proof of Concept and How to Do It Right? Expert Explains

<p>Digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation. These words are constantly used to talk about how businesses embrace modern technologies today. Generally, the three concepts end up sounding very similar - no wonder that they're sometimes used interchangeably. But in reality, they refer to completely different activities with different purposes, goals, and implications on business operations.&nbsp;</p><p>In this article, we dive into the details of digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation. We show you the most important differences between these terms and provide some helpful use cases to prepare you for your digital transformation journey.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Table of contents:</p><ol><li><a href="#definitions"><u>Digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation – here's what should you know</u></a></li><li><a href="#digitization"><u>What is digitization?</u></a></li><li><a href="#digitalization"><u>What is digitalization?</u></a></li><li><a href="#digitaltransformation"><u>What is digital transformation?</u></a></li><li><a href="#differences"><u>What is the difference between digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation?</u></a></li></ol><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="definitions" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation – here's what should you know&nbsp;</h2><p>Using these three terms interchangeably is a mistake since they refer to completely different things. While digitization is about converting information from a physical format to a digital one, digitalization harnesses the potential of digitization to actually improve business processes.&nbsp;</p><p>And digital transformation is the last step in the journey where organizations get to transform their business activities, models, processes, and products to reap the full benefits of modern digital technologies.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="digitization" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h3>What is digitization?&nbsp;</h3><p><strong>Digitization is the process of moving information from a physical format to a digital format.</strong> It basically means transforming something non-digital into a digital representation that can be used in computer systems and employed in digital processes and workflows.&nbsp;</p><p>Nothing more important for creating business value than data. And digitization creates excellent sources of data. That's why you can think of digitization as an activity that helps to build a strong foundation for business use cases that are meant to be data-driven and processes that can benefit from access to data.&nbsp;</p><p>Examples of digitization:</p><ul><li>Writing notes on paper and then typing them out into a Word file or an Excel spreadsheet.</li><li>Scanning a document and saving it on the computer's hard drive as a digital file in a format such as PDF.</li><li>Converting analog VHS cassettes to DVD, CD, or Blu-ray discs that include additional data.</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="digitalization" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h3>What is digitalization?&nbsp;</h3><p>As you can probably tell, digitization and digitalization are closely related. You already know that digitization is about transforming information from analog to digital format. Digitalization is a process that takes advantage of digitization in order to improve business processes.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Digitalization means putting the digitized information to work. It's about using digital technologies and data to improve business processes, create new revenue streams, and building a digital culture.</strong> The idea is to put digital information at the core of business processes – all to become more efficient and productive.&nbsp;</p><p>Examples of digitalization:</p><ul><li>Uploading a PDF file from the computer's hard drive to the cloud so that it can be shared with many people at once and analyzed using yet another tool based in the cloud.</li><li>Uploading digital movie files from CD, DVD, or Blu-ray discs to online services to allow people to download, stream, or rent them online.</li><li>Converting a Word document or Excel spreadsheet to a file in Google Docs or Google Sheets stored in Google's cloud platform - that's how the document can be shared among several users at once.</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="digitaltransformation" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h3>What is digital transformation?&nbsp;</h3><p>Digital transformation is the last stage in this journey - a process that takes advantage of both digitization and digitalization. In its essence, digital transformation uses digital technologies in order to create new or modify the existing business models, processes, cultures, and customer experiences. The goal? Addressing the changing business and market requirements.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Digital transformation is all about reinventing the business for the digital age. It's a customer-centric process - it starts with how a company thinks about and engages with customers.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>When your employees move from paper notes to digital documents uploaded in the cloud, they also gain a chance to reimagine your business operations - and how that change affects the customers. By planning and building processes with the digital opportunities in mind, organizations set themselves for success - they become more agile, flexible, and prepared for market changes.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="differences" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>What is the difference between digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation?</h2><p>Let's sum up everything we've mentioned so far.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p><strong>Digitization is about moving from analog to digital format.</strong></p></blockquote><p>Some businesses used to keep their records on paper in handwritten or typed physical documents. All this business data carries a lot of value, but as long as it's locked in an analog format, it's basically useless. Sharing this information is troublesome as well since it involves dealing with even more physical documents such as binders or xerox machines.&nbsp;</p><p>It's only natural that once digital formats became mainstream, most organizations converted their paper-based records into digital files. Digitized files made finding and sharing information much easier.&nbsp;</p><p>However, business systems and processes were still designed around analog formats and old ideas about how to find, share and use information. This is where digitalization comes in.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p><strong>Digitalization is about using digital data to streamline processes.</strong></p></blockquote><p>Access to digitized information is at the core of digitalization initiatives. Digitalization doesn't go as far as changing business models or creating new types of businesses - it's more about keeping on doing what we do but being faster and better at it because our data isn't trapped in a dusty archive.&nbsp;</p><p>Digital technologies opened the door to new ideas about process acceleration but also the creation of entirely new processes. These new ideas are the driver behind digital transformation.&nbsp;</p><h3>&nbsp;</h3><blockquote><p><strong>Digital transformation is about reinventing the business with technology.</strong></p></blockquote><p>It's a transition in how organizations use digital technologies to add value to customer interactions and invent new business models. Netflix is a great example of this process.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Digital transformation case study – Netflix&nbsp;</h3><p>Did you know that Netflix started out as a mail-order service for renting videos? That move already disrupted the sector, which back then was based on brick-and-mortar video rental stores.&nbsp;</p><p>As digital technologies evolved, streaming video online became possible – and <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.businessmodelsinc.com/exponential-business-model/netflix/&amp;sa=D&amp;source=editors&amp;ust=1628524879929000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0GYTmzr1YhmWlQh2N9AVvp" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Netflix instantly jumped on that opportunity</a>, developing a streaming platform used all over the world. Users can stream video content directly but also get personalized recommendations that are perfectly in line with their thanks to the AI recommendation engine.&nbsp;</p><p>But that's not everything. Today, Netflix assumes the role of a traditional broadcast and cable TV network and production studio all at once as it develops a library of on-demand content at competitive prices.&nbsp;</p><p>Netflix is such a great example because it took advantage of all the available technologies to inform how its business developed and continues to grow today.</p><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Prepare your business for the future</h3><p>One of the key elements of <internallink internallinkid="/blog/benefits-of-digital-transformation">digital transformation</internallink> is understanding the potential of new technologies in helping companies to respond to new market trends and customer demands. Digital transformation aims to reshape how organizations approach every single part of their operation - from customer service to product development.&nbsp;</p><p>In the past, organizations would wait until customers found them. But the rise of digital technologies that ensure 24/7 connectivity changed the face of all the fields related to the customer, such as sales, marketing, advertising, and customer service. In order to become truly customer-centric and meet customers halfway, you simply need to invest in your digital transformation.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>If you're looking for an expert to guide you through the process, </strong><a href="/contact" target="_blank"><strong>get in touch with us</strong></a><strong>. Our experts helped multiple companies leverage digital tools to streamline their processes, accelerate operations, and deliver a fantastic experience to their customers.</strong></p>

Digitization, Digitalization & Digital Transformation | Codete Blog

Digitization, Digitalization, and Digital Transformation – What Are the Differences?

<p>Although technologies, tools, and solutions utilized within the IT world are changing lightning-fast, there are some<strong> enterprise software development</strong> trends we may be sure will still be vivid and valid in the year 2021. Just like we may be certain that this area of development will grow rapidly in 2021. An impressive 10.8% rise (compared to the year 2020) is <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/203428/total-enterprise-software-revenue-forecast/"><u>forecasted by Statista</u></a> when it comes to IT spending on enterprise software. It is to reach the level of 517 billion USD worldwide.&nbsp;</p><p>But which tendencies and regularities are to add up to achieve this huge amount?</p><p>In this blog post, we’ll highlight those software development trends it’s good to know in 2021. We’ll pay special attention to tendencies regarding enterprise applications development.&nbsp;</p><p>Here's an outline of the article:</p><p>1. <a href="#stayingahead" rel="nofollow">Software Development Trends – how to stay ahead</a></p><p>2. <a href="#2021trends" rel="nofollow">Enterprise software development trends to watch out for in 2021</a></p><p>3. <a href="#enterpriseapps" rel="nofollow">Enterprise applications development – why it’s worth it</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="stayingahead" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Software Development Trends – how to stay ahead</h2><p><a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/203428/total-enterprise-software-revenue-forecast/"><u>Statista’s data</u></a> also shows that this rise will appear following a decrease in global IT spending in 2020 that was due to COVID-19’s negative influence on the economy. But now, when the pandemic is slowly being tackled in many countries and whole industries and particular entities look to the future with growing optimism, enterprise software development is on the rise again.</p><p>That’s why we may expect that modern business applications will be in increasing demand. One of the reasons for this is that many stationary stores have decided to go digital during lockdowns, and other entrepreneurs have been forced to change the industry entirely. Very often, they switched to online businesses built from scratch.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>We’ve seen a boom in online sales, and along with it, many interrelated businesses skyrocketed, such as huge warehouses and delivery ones. Freelance contractors, as well as doctors enabling online medical appointments and pharma in general, were on a rising wave, too.</strong></p><p>Moreover, within <internallink internallinkid="/blog/benefits-of-digital-transformation">digital transformation</internallink>, all phases of hiring went online or remote, just like many traditional offices and their employees. And they all need great enterprise software to succeed or even survive because competition is more and more hard and fierce. To stay on top of the latest industry trends, they should look not only at the current market situation and trends but also ahead – tracing some general social moods and lifestyle changes, especially among young people. They need to consider not only what has already been achieved but also anticipate the future and forecast some tendencies.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="2021trends" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Enterprise software development trends to watch out for in 2021</h2><h3>1. Cloud technology dissemination</h3><p><internallink internallinkid="/blog/what-is-cloud-computing-software-development-benefits-and-challenges-for-business-owners">Cloud computing</internallink> or wireless servers dissemination is one of the top software engineering trends of 2021, continuing the 2020 tendency. Within the recent State of the Cloud Survey, 90% of respondents said that the planned cloud usage <a href="https://www.flexera.com/blog/cloud/cloud-computing-trends-2021-state-of-the-cloud-report/"><u>has been surpassed due to COVID-19</u></a>. Cloud technology is used <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/what-is-cloud-computing/#uses"><u>not only for storing, backing up, and recovering data</u></a> but also for creating cloud-native applications, streaming audio and video, delivering software on demand, and analyzing data, to name but a few.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>2. Blockchain shifting towards the mainstream</h3><p><internallink internallinkid="/blog/blockchain-technology-explained">Blockchain</internallink> technology – a revolutionary way to store a plethora of information – is literally transforming the lives of the millions. Some of the most prominent applications of this growing trend in software development include cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) exchange, <a href="https://builtin.com/blockchain/blockchain-applications"><u>personal identity security</u></a> as well as Healthcare and Life Sciences which, combined with <a href="https://consensys.net/blockchain-use-cases/"><u>supply chain management</u></a>, makes things like <a href="https://unitedperfectum.com/news/7-enterprise-software-development-trends-to-look-out-for-in-2021/"><u>COVID-19 vaccine management and shipment</u></a> possible. With Blockchain, you may also reduce the risk of counterfeit, enable <a href="https://consensys.net/blockchain-use-cases/"><u>digitalization of financial instruments as well as easier and faster access to Capital Markets</u></a>, and much more.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>3. Low-code and no-code development</h3><p>Low-code or drag and drop editors enable building applications to virtually anyone, with no relevant experience or even understanding programming necessary. Some even say that development can soon get to average people even more and announce the beginning of the <a href="https://unitedperfectum.com/news/7-enterprise-software-development-trends-to-look-out-for-in-2021/"><u>no-code coding era</u></a>.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>4. Rise of Internet of Things (IoT) along with 5G networks</h3><p>Traffic monitoring, energy saving, water supply, health control along with autonomous vehicles, and drones and wearables such as smartwatches or fitness trackers – are some of the areas where the Internet of Things is in vast use already. But the 5G technology is expected to enhance this process greatly. When connected to 5G networks, IoT devices are to realize their full potential and provide „<a href="https://www.gsma.com/iot/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/201911-GSMA-IoT-Report-IoT-in-the-5G-Era.pdf"><u>support for ultra-reliable and low latency communications</u></a>”.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>5. Artificial intelligence augmenting</h3><p>Artificial intelligence, associated with areas such as cybersecurity, machine learning, deep learning, data analysis, robotics, and NLP, is utilized in such diversified areas as education, healthcare, finance, smart cars, <a href="https://www.mobinius.com/blogs/use-cases-of-ai-and-machine-learning-in-fintech-industries"><u>online search and recommendations, and personal and data security</u></a>. As many as <a href="https://assets.teradata.com/resourceCenter/downloads/ExecutiveBriefs/EB9867_State_of_Artificial_Intelligence_for_the_Enterprises.pdf"><u>80% of businesses</u></a> already apply some form of AI but this trend is expected to strengthen in 2021.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>6. Big data growing bigger</h3><p>Huge sets of complex data mining – often with tools and databases we use anyway, by simply tracking consumer behaviors – is a relatively cheap but very beneficial step. Organizations of all sizes may gain certainty, and <a href="https://onlinebusiness.umd.edu/blog/data-analytics-tools-for-stem-teachers-students/"><u>correlations and patterns instead of guesses</u></a>, enhancing their business decisions greatly. And this tendency of analyzing large volumes of, usually unstructured, data coming in different formats and extensions, is here to stay with us in 2021. It simply pays off, enabling acting faster, increasing online sales, and satisfying customer needs better.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>7. Cybersecurity strengthening</h3><p>When businesses and services went digital at an unprecedented scale, data breaches or leaks have become more and more common and dangerous. Both small businesses and big enterprises are threatened by malicious software, ransomware, DDoS attacks, and cybercrimes including phishing and other frauds. Some of the security solutions to be implemented in 2021 include <a href="https://eleks.com/blog/enterprise-software-development-trends/"><u>hashing protocols, specific machine learning algorithms</u></a> as well as encryption, firewalls, <a href="https://consoltech.com/blog/cybersecurity-saas/"><u>access management, and data loss prevention</u></a>.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>8. Progressive Web Applications popularization</h3><p>Progressive Web Applications are mobile apps combined with a web page, or „installed” on one’s system, revolutionizing the way users reach online content. They impress a growing number of users with a huge set of advantages which include being intuitive, lightweight, linkable, and traceable by search engines as well as the ability to work offline and send push notifications.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="enterpriseapps" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Enterprise applications development – why it’s worth it</h2><p>Even though we are in awe of the revolutionary changes regarding software industry trends, happening right now, it’s definitely not enough. To stay on top of the game, modern companies need to learn how to translate those brave names into day-to-day business reality. Especially that technologies, languages, frameworks, tools, and methodologies that have been with us for years may simply become insufficient or obsolete due to low capacity, team enlargement, or new functions performed.</p><p>In general, some of the most promising application development trends cover areas such as <a href="https://unitedperfectum.com/news/7-enterprise-software-development-trends-to-look-out-for-in-2021/"><u>Progressive Web Applications, Robotic Process Automation</u></a>, Artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things. Dreaming big, however, keep in mind that aligning products with the latest industry trends and application of new technology in software development is usually not that cheap. <a href="https://www.formotus.com/blog/figuring-the-costs-of-custom-mobile-business-app-development"><u>Formotus suggests</u></a> that the cost of developing an enterprise mobile app ranges between 100,000 USD and 500,000 USD on average.</p><p><strong>If you're thinking about developing an application for your enterprise, don't hesitate to </strong><a href="/contact" target="_blank"><strong>contact our experts</strong></a><strong> and talk about your project.&nbsp;</strong></p>

Enterprise Software Development Trends in 2021 | Codete Blog

8 Enterprise Software Development Trends You Must Know in 2021

Managing Director at Codete. He is a Master of Law and has a Harvard Business School degree. A business leader with extensive experience in finance and team management. Specialist in startups and business development.

Grzegorz Śmiałek

<p>For professionals around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic had a massive impact on their daily lives and especially their work routines. Self-imposed isolation, quarantines, and lockdown restrictions pushed tens of millions of people around the world to work from home. It's as if the workplace experiment that struggled to gain traction suddenly accelerated on a global scale.&nbsp;</p><p>Today, we're well into the pandemic and can now see the benefits and limitations of remote work with more clarity. As economies reopened, many people are returning to their workplaces – and some might never stop working remotely.&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>In surveys carried out recently, executives admitted that hybrid models of remote work for some employees are definitely here to stay. It's clear that the work-from-home model broke through technological and cultural barriers that prevented it from flourishing in – and set in motion a deep structural shift across entire industries.&nbsp;</p></blockquote><p>But is remote work here to stay now that vaccine programs are gaining steam all over the world?&nbsp;</p><p>In this article, we share some reflections about remote work based on surveys and research to show you where remote work stands and how employees and employers approach it today. We also share some predictions about the future of remote work after the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h2>The current state of remote work</h2><p>According to <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/whats-next-for-remote-work-an-analysis-of-2000-tasks-800-jobs-and-nine-countries"><u>McKinsey</u></a>, more than 20% of the workforce could work remotely from 3 to 5 days a week just as effectively as they do when working from the office. Imagine that remote work has become the new standard. This would mean that 3 to 4 times as many people would be working from home than before the pandemic. Naturally, this would have a profound impact on the urban economy, consumer spending habits, transportation, and many other aspects.&nbsp;</p><p>A report from <a href="https://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/how-many-people-could-work-from-home"><u>Global Workplace Analytics</u></a> showed that 56% of the US workforce had a job that is compatible (at least partially) with remote work. The organization predicts that the longer people are required to work from home, the greater the adoption of remote work we're going to see once the dust settles and we all go back to living our normal lives. Their estimation holds 25 to 30% of the work being done from home on a multiple-days-a-week basis by the end of this year.</p><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Employees will demand work from home options</h3><p>The pandemic had a massive impact on the job market. As more and more workers embrace remote work, it's likely that the demand for flexibility in both where and how people work will finally come to its peak. After all, this trend has been building up for decades. Before COVID-19, surveys often showed how much employees wanted to work from home for at least some time during the week. Many workers would even agree to take a pay cut in exchange for this flexibility.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>People enjoy the work-from-home setup. Even </strong><a href="https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/lenovo-research-people-working-more-120000076.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvLnVrLw&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALjziE-7ymiCS2hgbx5EDRFqy6U_m0amyOyB4KE7UmgcRJdeKjmubMS6nMa76HJHjeNrPx3eUG3AbDqciWl1iSjc-sPilKiEdBmRWGLhDa5NxeT6GTMiP_afaz-6-jpeGjTGGZVCezYKnCfha88kxWyRaczGGYrvFQLGjFPss3e3"><strong><u>63% of the global workforce</u></strong></a><strong> feels that they're more productive working from home than in an office.</strong></p><p>On the other hand, <a href="https://www.cityam.com/remote-working-is-causing-employees-to-feel-overworked/"><u>86% of respondents</u></a> to another survey said that they feel the need to prove to supervisors they're working hard and deserve to keep their jobs. And <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2020/07/08/future-work-good-challenging-unknown/"><u>more than half of parents</u></a> surveyed said that balancing household demands while working from home was a challenge. So, if remote work is here to stay, employers need to create the right environment for it.</p><p>Sure, the experience of working from home during the pandemic wasn't ideal as entire families were forced to shelter in one place. But it still gave people a taste of what it could be like. Now that they know it, there's no turning back. So, it's likely that employees are going to demand this flexibility more and more often.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Less fear around remote work from executives</h3><p>One of the blockers to remote work around the world was trust. The truth is that many managers simply don't trust their employees enough to allow them to work away from the office.&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>Some managers are used to managing by presence rather than results. But just because they can see the back of someone's head doesn't really mean that the person is actually effective. That's why management by results is a much smarter approach.&nbsp;</p></blockquote><p>We know that micromanagement doesn't work. And managing by walking around the office also stopped to make sense in the increasingly globalized and mobile world. Our digital technologies are at the stage where forcing people to stay in the office at all costs just doesn't seem smart. And this is exactly what the pandemic revealed. It suddenly forced people to work from home for an extended period, and managers learned that results matter much more than presence.&nbsp;</p><p>Research from <a href="https://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/work-at-home-after-covid-19-our-forecast"><u>Global Workplace Analytics</u></a> shows that managers who had to work from home themselves are now more likely to endorse this model for other employees. That's because they experienced it firsthand, and their fears about lost productivity or control are weaker now. They got used to all the virtual tools like videoconferencing and instant messaging, which showed that remote collaboration is possible.&nbsp;</p><p>Without the stress of commuting, workplace interruptions, and being away from their loved ones, people are happier and more engaged in work. Managers aren't blind to this, and they're more likely to embrace remote work with trust.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Serious cost-saving opportunities</h3><p>Before the pandemic, the primary point of work-from-home programs was attracting and retaining talented employees. But last year, organizations did all they could to save money, and remote work was one of the strategies.&nbsp;</p><p>Organizational leaders working to reduce costs discovered that they could do much more with less real estate. Occupancy research shows how inefficient office space was being used. For example, it revealed that employees around the world aren't present at their desks from <a href="https://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/work-at-home-after-covid-19-our-forecast"><u>50 to 60% of the time</u></a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Keeping a desk like that makes no sense. It's likely that this experience will inspire employers to rethink the where and how of work in the future.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Impact on sustainability</h3><p>One reason why climate change experts find inspiring people to change their habits difficult is that it seems impact is next to impossible. But during the early days of the global response to the pandemic, we saw a dramatic reduction in congestion, pollution, and traffic.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>While sustainability didn't serve as the primary driver for remote work in recent years, many people now see the difference. This experience could become the motivation for employees and employers to change their habits and embrace remote work.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>The annual environmental impact of remote half-time work is the greenhouse gas equivalent of taking the entire workforce off the road. There's no faster and cheaper way to reduce a person's carbon footprint than by reducing their commuter travel.&nbsp;</p><p>The same goes for reducing business travels. This caused many organizations to rethink the need for travel to meetings and conferences. While virtual meetings might not bring the same benefits as face-to-face encounters, organizations will now weigh the costs of these travels against their benefits - not to mention their impact on sustainability.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Cost savings are real</h3><p>According to <a href="https://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/work-at-home-after-covid-19-our-forecast"><u>research</u></a>, an employer can save around $11,000 per year for every person who works remotely half of the time. Employees can save between $2,500 and $4,000 a year while working remotely half of the time. They can save even more if they move to a less expensive area and work remotely full-time.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/work-at-home-after-covid-19-our-forecast"><u>Global Workplace Analytics</u></a> revealed that work-from-home initiatives in the United States saved employers over $30 million a day during the pandemic that would have otherwise been lost productivity during office closures. This might be exactly what remote work needed to grow.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h2>What's the future of remote work?&nbsp;</h2><p>The shift towards remote work was one of the most fundamental impacts of 2020. When looking back at last year, we should acknowledge how game-changing the pandemic has been and how it affected practically every area of our lives. It was probably the most disruptive force in the global economy, affecting changes in every home, business, social organization. With scattered teams and virtual means of communication, many companies were forced to rethink their business processes so they could be completed virtually instead of based on paper.&nbsp;</p><p>Employees definitely got used to the time and cost savings that come from eliminating their commute. A mobile work environment is now being pushed among a lot of companies that experienced a technological shift and launched their digital transformation initiatives. They invested in mobile technologies and learned that they work. These companies are especially comfortable with change – and if embracing remote work leads to better results, they're ready to do that at all cost.&nbsp;</p><p>Yet while some jobs can be easily done at home just as efficiently as in the office, the same can't be said for all roles.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>Conclusion</h4><p>Reports and research studies clearly show the benefits remote work brings, starting from employee lifestyles to cost savings and sustainability. This makes us believe that remote work is likely here to stay. For people working in the <internallink internallinkid="/blog/distributed-agile-teams">IT industry</internallink>, it's nothing new. Many professionals in IT consider this type of flexibility is one of the key perks of working in the industry.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Codete embraces remote work thanks to the right culture and digital environment. Want to work fully remotely from any coroner of the planet? Check out our open positions, we’re always on the lookout for talents: </strong><a href="https://codete.com/career"><strong><u>https://codete.com/career</u></strong></a></p>

Remote Work One Year Later: Statistics & Predictions | Codete Blog

Remote Work One Year Later: Thoughts, Statistics, and Predictions

<p>If every project was completed without any issues and every task went according to plan, life would be boring – wouldn't it? But this isn't the reality most project managers live in. The truth is that many things go differently than we planned or estimated because some things influence the project in an unexpected way. Every project manager knows this.&nbsp;</p><p>These factors are called risks.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Risks are events that haven't happened yet, but they're more or less likely to happen – and potentially impact the project.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>That's why it's critical for project managers to increase the probability of good events and reduce the likelihood of negative events like critical risks that might cause delays.&nbsp;</p><p>In this article, we go over risk management processes used in software development by skilled project managers who are well aware of what could go wrong when building software and how to mitigate the most painful risks that end up costing other teams way too much.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><ol><li><a href="#intro"><u>What is the risk management process?</u></a></li><li><a href="#steps"><u>Risk management steps that every project manager needs to know</u></a></li><li><a href="#riskreduction"><u>First of all, try to reduce risk in your project</u></a></li></ol><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="intro" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>What is the risk management process?</h2><p>&nbsp;A <strong>risk management process</strong> is an ongoing process of identifying, assessing, treating, and managing risks.&nbsp;</p><p>While it takes some time to set up and implement a risk management process, it's definitely worth it because it works like a fire alarm. It's here to help you when a fire happens in your project. You can sleep well at night because you know that your project is protected.&nbsp;</p><p>Software development is riddled with different risks that might cause even the best idea for an app to crumble down.&nbsp;</p><p>Here are some of the <strong>most common risks in software development</strong>:</p><ul><li>missed deadlines,</li><li>unrealistic time and cost estimates,</li><li>frequent staff turnover,</li><li>low performance,</li><li>misunderstanding the project requirements,</li><li>frequent changes in the project requirements,</li><li>delay in providing permissions or creating accounts,</li><li>involving unstable technologies in the projects,</li><li>lack of customer management commitment or support,</li><li>delays in communication with customers,</li><li>misunderstood project scope or objectives,</li><li>inability to manage end-user experiences.</li></ul><p>By <strong>identifying risks</strong> that might arise projects and developing a risk management process, your team gets to reap some pretty important benefits such as:</p><ul><li>better resource planning by revealing previously unforeseen costs,</li><li>smarter estimates of project costs and more accurate return on investment,</li><li>improved awards of legal requirements,</li><li>more flexibility instead of panic when a challenge arises,</li><li>more effective prevention of physical injuries that might happen on the job.</li></ul><p>A risk management process is usually composed of several steps. Read on to find out what they are.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="steps" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Risk management steps that every project manager needs to know</h2><h3>Step 1: Risk identification</h3><p>Anticipating possible challenges and problems within a project doesn't mean that you're becoming a pessimist. You're becoming a realist.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Identifying risks offers your team a great opportunity to learn.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>Take advantage of the collective experience and ask team members to identify risks they have experienced before in similar projects. This process is amazing for teams and encourages cross-functional learning and greater collaboration.&nbsp;</p><p>Nothing helps in identifying risks like a risk <strong>breakdown structure</strong>. This is how you create a landscape of potential risks to your project and organize them according to different variables. The idea is to recognize which risks are high level and which ones aren't a priority at all. Those that are most important should be at the top of your to-do list, while the more granular ones at the bottom. Visualize all of this for your team to help its members learn where risks might occur.</p><p>Once you compile a list of all the possible issues, you need to develop responses to them and come up with a risk monitoring scheme while the project is running. This is called a <strong>risk register</strong> – a key part of any risk management process. It's like a database listing all the potential project risks.&nbsp;</p><p>It helps to manage current risks and serves as a valuable reference point for future projects as well. This is how you learn from your mistakes. By outlining the risk register with proper data points, your team will be able to quickly and correctly identify all the possible risks for your project.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>Brainstorming&nbsp;</h4><p>Other smart techniques are <strong>brainstorming</strong>, <strong>documentation</strong>, <strong>interviewing</strong>, and <strong>root causes analysis</strong>. A combination of brainstorming and root cause analysis is an interesting approach because it helps to identify the most complex and nonstandard risks.&nbsp;</p><p>During brainstorming, you need to explore all the possible risks that you can think of.&nbsp;</p><p>Here are a few questions to help your team with that:</p><ul><li>What's the worst possible outcome of the project?</li><li>Imagine that you can look into the future – what newspaper headlines do you see that cover the failure of your project?</li><li>What would be the most successful outcome of the project – and what would be the worst ones?</li><li>How can the project fail without anyone being guilty? Could it be a change in the competitor landscape or a natural disaster?</li><li>How can team members contribute to project failure?</li><li>How can customers cause your project to fail?</li></ul><p>Make sure that there's a dedicated person on your team during the brainstorming session responsible for <strong>taking notes</strong> about all the risk items. Create a comfortable space so that your team members aren't afraid to speak up and share even the craziest ideas.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>Root cause analysis</h4><p>Once you have your list, it's time to think about the root causes of each and every scenario. As a result, you will get your risk registry. But this is not the end.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>You also need to estimate the probability of a risk occurring and the potential impact the risk might have on the project.&nbsp;</strong></p><p><strong>Qualitative analysis</strong> is more descriptive and describes whether the probability of a risk occurring is low or high. <strong>Quantitative analysis </strong>– on the other hand – gives you numeric values of how the risk could affect the project's schedule, budget, timeline, team, and any other aspect.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Step 2: Risk analysis</h3><p>This can already be part of the risk identification process, but it's important to pay attention to this step in your risk management process. Once you find all the possible issues that may occur during your project, it's time to take a closer look at them. Most importantly, you need to answer the question: <strong>how likely is this risk to occur, and if that happens, what will its implications be?</strong></p><p>In other words, you need to estimate the probability and fallout of each and every risk. The goal here is to come up with a<strong> list of priorities</strong>, so your team is clear about which risks to focus on first if they happen. Take into account factors like potential financial losses, the severity of the impact, delays, and other factors.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Examine each risk to discover common issues across the project and refine your risk management process for the future.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>Don't forget that the risk can also bring great benefits. That's why it makes sense to divide into two different types –<strong> threats </strong>and <strong>opportunities</strong>. While the former has a negative impact on the project, the latter a positive one.&nbsp;</p><p>Naturally, opportunities don't bring any danger to your project. So, let's focus our attention on threats. To understand the likelihood of a risk, use values such as:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>high,</li><li>high/medium,</li><li>medium,</li><li>low/medium,</li><li>low.</li></ul><p>What about impact? Here are a few values that can be helpful:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>catastrophic,</li><li>significant,</li><li>moderate,</li><li>mild,</li><li>insignificant.</li></ul><p>Now you're ready to create a <strong>heatmap </strong>where you can place all the risks you came up with in addition to their values.&nbsp;</p><p>Risks that have a high probability of happening and high impact are the worst and need to be addressed first. Next, you will be looking at risks where the probability is medium or impact isn't that significant.&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>If you manage to reduce the number of important risks to a minimum, you'll be ready to start the project. You can't get to that without addressing these risks first and preparing for them.&nbsp;</p></blockquote><p>Lastly, you have risks that come with low probability and low impact. In general, if anything happens at all, it will be easy to overcome. Don't be afraid to have a lot of risks listed in this section because they're not going to impact your project very much.&nbsp;</p><p>Naturally, every project manager has their own gradation level and stricter rules for classification. You can take into account other factors such as budget, scope, quality, and schedule. So, a certain risk can be mild by schedule scope and quality but quite significant for the budget. If so, then you can classify it as a significant risk.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Step 3: Risk prioritization</h3><p>When prioritizing risks, factor in both the <strong>likelihood </strong>of a risk happening and its <strong>potential effect</strong> on the project. Prioritization is an essential step in the holistic view of the project that you're about to realize.&nbsp;</p><p>It instantly gives you an idea of where your team's focus should be when working on the project. Moreover, it gives you a chance to come up with workable solutions for each risk.&nbsp;</p><p>That way, you decrease the chances that your project gets interrupted or delayed significantly during the development stage. The treatment stage will be much easier because you're already prepared for the potential risks that might come your way.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Step 4: Plan your risk responses</h3><p>Once you have all the information about potential risks in one place, you can divide all the risks into a few groups depending on your potential response. Your team will focus their energy on the most critical ones that might happen in your project.&nbsp;</p><p>There are a few things you can do when facing a risk – you can:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>avoid it,</li><li>accept it and move on,</li><li>transfer it somewhere else,</li><li>or work to reduce it.</li></ul><p>Let's take a closer look at these 4 strategies.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>Avoidance</h4><p>How do you avoid having the risk at all? Is it possible to change a framework or stop doing something? Can you outsource the entire functionality or part of it to avoid risks? Or maybe you can remove a feature from the product?&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>Retention or acceptance</h4><p>Some risks are very unlikely or come with a very low impact. So, you can just embrace them and not do anything about them when they show up. Another thing you can do is come up with a contingency plan to overcome the potential consequences of such risks. For example, you can increase your budget or find scope to be able to fight the consequences of the risk.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>Transferring or sharing risk</h4><p>Another idea is to simply move the risk to someone else. For example, you can hire a subcontractor to carry out the specific type of work for you or outsource an entire part of your project – for example, customer support.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>Reduction or mitigation</h4><p>In this strategy, your job is to reduce the costs of loss due to the risk or its probability of happening. This is the most popular approach for handling risk. How you do with it will differ depending on the risk at hand.&nbsp;</p><p>For example, if you'd like to reduce the risk of a person leaving your project, you can introduce a rule that at least two people are familiar with one area at the same time. When one person leaves, you can continue the development without any interruptions. This is quite common in software development, where staff turnover might happen often.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Step 5: Risk treatment</h3><p>When the worst happens, and a risk emerges in your project, it's time to dispatch your <strong>treatment plan</strong>. Sure, you can't anticipate every single risk. But your risk management process should help you to deal with whatever comes your way.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Make sure that your team starts with the highest priority risks. They can either try to solve it or mitigate it so that it's no longer a threat to the project. By treating and mitigating risks, you will be using your team's resources more efficiently without derailing the project.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>With time you'll build a large database of knowledge and become more capable of anticipating possible risks. That way, you'll develop a more proactive rather than reactive approach to risk management.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Step 6: Risk monitoring</h3><p>Potential threats will be popping up all over your project. It's essential that your team and all the project stakeholders can communicate clearly about this and have ways to monitor risks in an ongoing manner. Once you have your process and risk register, keeping up with all these risks will become much easier.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="riskreduction" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>First of all, try to reduce risk in your project</h2><p>Developing and implementing a risk management process is a priority for every project management out there. That's especially true if they work on a software development project that has a lot of moving parts that are difficult to coordinate.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>After you identify, analyze, and prioritize all of the risks, you need to plan some actions. But that's not the end of your job. You also have to update your project plan accordingly. For example, you might have to add some more time, money or even rethink the development process because of a change.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>Make sure to keep track of your identified risk so they can be monitored and analyzed. Pay attention to trigger conditions for contingency plans and review the execution of your planned risk responses.&nbsp;</p><p>At this point, you won't have to dedicate so much time to this as during the project planning phase. And remember that with every close project, you'll be learning more about how to handle risks and refine your risk management process.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>WRAP UP</h4><p>Building a risk management process is a smart move to make during project planning. We hope that the article helps you in taking all the critical steps in risk management to boost the chances of your project's success.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>If you're looking for more expert advice on project management in IT, keep a close eye on our blog. Our experts share their tips and insights to help teams build digital products faster. And if you’d like to work with us – don’t hesitate to </strong><a href="https://codete.com/contact"><strong><u>contact us</u></strong></a><strong>!</strong></p>

Risk Management Processes - 101 for Project Managers | Codete Blog

Risk Management Processes - 101 for Project Managers

<p><strong>Although one may associate Big Data – or large volume of data – with something only huge companies can handle, the benefits of Big Data may be enjoyed by both corporations with limitless resources and small businesses.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>Indeed, processing and analyzing complex digital data sets that often come unstructured and diversified may be quite demanding. But the outcomes, or Big Data pros, like insights and knowledge obtained, are precious if not priceless for business entities of any size and representing virtually any industry. Wherever there’s a wealth of data or information available, it can be utilized and analyzed to increase the company’s market share or business position in general – by identifying customers' needs and addressing them accordingly.</p><p><a href="https://www3.microstrategy.com/getmedia/cd052225-be60-49fd-ab1c-4984ebc3cde9/Dresner-Report-Big_Data_Analytic_Market_Study-WisdomofCrowdsSeries-2017.pdf"><u>Big Data is mostly used</u></a> in very large companies and institutions, hiring over 5,000 employees – 70% of them did so in 2017. As for small organizations hiring 1-100 people, this percentage accounted for 44%. Industries that are <a href="https://www.scnsoft.com/blog/big-data-use-cases-stats-and-examples"><u>most active in Big Data usage</u></a> embrace telecommunications (87% of companies), financial services (76%), and healthcare (almost 60%).</p><p>In this article, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of Big Data, paying special attention to the benefits of Big Data for small businesses. The threads that will be discussed here include:</p><p>1. <a href="#intro"><u>Big Data – what it’s all about</u></a></p><p>2. <a href="#benefits"><u>5 benefits of Big Data for small businesses</u></a></p><p>3. <a href="#prosandcons"><u>Big Data pros and cons – more advantages and some downsides</u></a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="intro" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Big Data – what it’s all about</h2><p><strong>Big Data stands for massive amounts of data that any company produces within its day-to-day operation.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>Whether a given entity decides to use it to its advantage or not, it’s up to them. It requires some effort to dig through the data – some parts are easier and some more difficult to gather, process, analyze and clarify. Also, they come in different formats and extensions, like PDF, HTML, MP4, and many more. But, first and foremost, it’s just the managers’ willingness that is needed to start, and not profound knowledge of the methodologies or the money.&nbsp;</p><p>We may take advantage of tools and databases we use anyway, and that is often free of charge. Some of them include <internallink internallinkid="/blog/salesforce-customization">CRM tools</internallink>, spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel, web analytics, including Google Analytics, and analytics provided by social media, email marketing metrics as well as data that are open to the public. Of course, small companies may acquire some data from other organizations but they can obtain the majority on their own – usually by simply tracking consumer behavior.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="benefits" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>5 benefits of Big Data for small businesses</h2><p>Just because Big Data is a huge set of information, that doesn’t mean that small enterprises cannot take advantage of mining it. To get the competitive edge and predict consumer behavior, they may utilize the same tools as big corporations do. It’s enough to pay once for an external data scientist’s consultation – there’s no need to hire one in-house. This way, small businesses don’t have to waste money on learning from their mistakes but may take advantage of the experience of Big Data specialists.</p><p>Here are 5 key benefits of Big Data analytics for small companies:</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>1. Using Big Data pays off</strong>.&nbsp;</h3><p>Without big financial expenses or investments, we may get cost reduction, increase return on investment and customer retention, as well as improve business decision making and effectiveness in general. It may also help us detect fraudulent behavior and save many troubles.</p><h3><strong>2. Big Data enables acting faster</strong>.&nbsp;</h3><p>Being agile and able to adapt to circumstances that change lightning-fast is crucial these days. If we know the customers’ preferences well, have the most up-to-date knowledge, and can trace some regularities, we may create new services and products to satisfy their needs – ahead of our competitors.</p><h3><strong>3. Big Data helps gain certainty</strong>.&nbsp;</h3><p>By utilizing Big Data, small companies uncover and take advantage of <a href="https://onlinebusiness.umd.edu/blog/data-analytics-tools-for-stem-teachers-students/"><u>correlations and patterns instead of guesses</u></a> that might be very expensive, e.g. if we decide to open another shop based on what we think and not on analyzed customer behavior and traffic. With Big Data, we may identify the company’s mistakes or weaknesses at an early stage.</p><h3><strong>4. Big Data helps trace and satisfy customer needs</strong>.&nbsp;</h3><p>A small enterprise is very often a retail company, and Big Data may help identify and name customers’ shopping preferences, and understand them better. A thorough analysis of things like receipts or email marketing reports is a great means for providing the clients – of both traditional and online shops – with products and services tailored to their needs.</p><h3><strong>5. Big Data increases online sales</strong>.&nbsp;</h3><p>Small businesses are also immensely present online, and utilizing Big Data may boost sales as well as improve customer experience and satisfaction. It can help shape online ad campaigns, and direct customers to items that may be interesting to them, based on their previous purchases, their profile, current and approaching season, etc.<br>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><section id="prosandcons" style="height: 20px;"></section></div><h2>Big Data pros and cons – more advantages and some downsides</h2><p>The advantages of big data analytics are numerous and very encouraging.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Small business owners are usually closer to their clients than big corporations anyway, but adding some amount of Big Data to those relationships can make them stand out from the crowd and positively tip the scales.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>Having detailed information about a customer, their previous purchases, needs, and habits at hand, we may provide cutting-edge customer service and assistance – eg. within a help desk or call center.</p><p>What many companies utilizing Big Data value, is <a href="https://www.scnsoft.com/blog/big-data-use-cases-stats-and-examples"><u>rapid access to relevant data</u></a>. As a result, e.g. by using advertising algorithms based on search, Big Data may <a href="https://www.georgiasbdc.org/how-can-small-business-thrive-in-a-big-data-world/"><u>increase sales by 15%</u></a>. It helps diagnose the current problems and predict future events, e.g. regarding customer behavior, and shape the companies’ actions accordingly. Very often – by just using the data they already have, e.g. media streaming, as Facebook or Twitter feeds.</p><p><strong>Big Data makes marketing more personalized and enables running targeted campaigns.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>It can help segment and profile customers and show them various content or advertisements accordingly. Also, Big Data use enables being alert, swift, and agile, and reacting fast to the newest findings, which may give the company an unrivaled position. It may help trace and identify the reasons why the company’s performance is getting worse, and find some solutions to it.</p><p>Certainly, the benefits of Big Data analytics outweigh Big Data cons. As for downsides, we may outline privacy concerns regarding mass data collection and analyzes that are brought up more and more often. We may bet that not every customer is aware that such a huge amount of data is being gathered when visiting particular websites or shops. And that this is being done only to make him spend more money. And sometimes people grant access to their data, unaware that it will be used for profiling reasons. And they might not like that, for many companies, they are just a set of data or a number.</p><p>But for businesses of all sizes, Big Data is a tool of tomorrow.&nbsp;</p><p>Just yet, it’s utilized by corporations having millions of customers worldwide, such as Amazon with access to millions of records <a href="https://www.icas.com/thought-leadership/technology/10-companies-using-big-data"><u>regarding payments and search histories</u></a> but also other kinds of organizations and institutions such as governments (data about citizens), cities (traffic control), financial institutions (<a href="https://www.newgenapps.com/blog/5-practical-uses-of-big-data/"><u>fraud detection and preventing cybercrimes</u></a>), or hospitals (personalized treatment, tracking medication efficiency) as well as <a href="https://onlinebusiness.umd.edu/blog/data-analytics-tools-for-stem-teachers-students/"><u>scholars, teachers, and students</u></a>. Big Data also offers interesting and well-paid job opportunities and is set to grow fast within the following years.</p><p><strong>And you, what advantages and disadvantages of Big Data can you spot? What is your experience with utilizing it? Which of the </strong><a href="https://codete.com/services/big-data-data-science"><strong><u>Big Data analysis</u></strong></a><strong> techniques do you find the most useful and accessible?</strong></p>

Consulting

Want to find out more?

Leave us your email address and you'll hear from us soon.