Surviving Covid-19

Surviving Covid-19

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From astronauts on the ISS (International Space Station) to crew members on submarines, to scientists conducting research on remote islands, people throughout history have survived challenging living arrangements; some have even thrived despite them. The coronavirus pandemic has been referred to as ‘unprecedented’ because pandemics of this scale and scope in modern history have been scarce. But over the course of hundreds of years, in some form or another, by choice or by force, people have experienced some version of self-isolation and sacrifice: access to the usual employment, people, places or routines is suddenly reduced, if not eliminated entirely. At a minimum, the situation mandates resourcefulness, resilience, and a significant restructuring of the day-to-day. For those that are newly unemployed with no income, the situation is more desperate and more will be required to survive. Drawing from the vast reservoir of experience and wisdom out there and with the recognition that each person’s experience with COVID-19 is unique, let us structure a very basic, “applicable to most” COVID-19 survival toolkit.

Respect the Emotional Roller-Coaster

We are dealing with a raw and jarring new reality. Even experts and national leaders with historic composure are suddenly without words. If you find yourself in a panic or acting in ways that are completely atypical of your norm, do not be alarmed. We have witnessed a range of emotions within our own households as quarantine orders kicked in and large-scale changes brought about by the pandemic gained momentum across the globe. Fear over the well-being of loved ones and friends becomes real. You may hit an entirely new level of depression, the likes of which you have never before experienced.

Anxiety and Fear is Normal

Our ‘fight or flight’ reflex has been triggered. Multiple unknowns that range from whether your job will survive the pandemic, to where the world will be in 3 months, to whether your supply of basic essentials will last, loom large. Experts have pointed out that feelings of helplessness may linger well after the threat from COVID-19 has lessened. This, too, is normal. But if you need help now, do not hesitate to seek it out; many sources of assistance can be accessed remotely.

Recognize What You Can Control

The modern philosopher, Eckhart Tolle, is famous for pointing out that we bring unnecessary stress into our lives by dwelling on what we cannot change. Although it is a hard concept to internalize, we actually have no ability to change the future in fundamental ways. We can adjust our lives now to place ourselves in a better position to deal with future situations, but we cannot change major outcomes. Tolle advises us to focus on what we can do at this moment—whether trying to find remote work, tending to a child’s needs or our own—and avoid worrying about the future. Don’t listen to the news (or take it in small doses) if it has the effect of increasing your level of anxiety.

Maintain Physical Exercise

Experts stress the importance of physical exercise for the healthy release of emotional energy. My daughter has built a small obstacle course in her bedroom out of simple furniture and random objects. My son is pushing himself to do more sit-ups every day. A neighbor is playing ping-pong on his dining room table (at least that is what it sounds like). Add some new yoga positions to your daily program. Even submariners, with no access at all to an outdoor space, have managed to find ways to stay fit with little or no exercise equipment. If you are limited to a small space or an apartment, you can still find creative ways to move. This part of the COVID-19 routine is called 101 ways to maximize the use of four walls and a chair.

The Life-Saving Benefits of Structure and a Routine

Routines and structure could not be more important than now. You may not be able to control the global environment, the risk of infection or any other side effect of the pandemic, but you can control what happens in your home. A routine creates structure for daily goals and helps you stay productive and moving forward, all of which is key for your mental well-being.

Shift Thinking from Yourself to Others

If there is one certainty, it is that you can always find someone that is in a worse situation than yourself. So, think about these folks and what they may need. Studies have shown that becoming engaged in work that benefits others has significant benefits for your mental health. Inquire if older, frailer neighbors are in need of assistance. Volunteer to make PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) or help at your local food pantry. Masks will be an important staple for months to come. Bolster the community’s supply by making them.

Find Points of Light in Your Day

Let us take a moment to put this situation in perspective. In most cases, even though our circumstances are far from ideal, we have more space, freedom, and flexibility available to us than many. We may have access to an instrument (or something that can be made into one), a book or two, paper and other material that can be repurposed, a few family members, and our good health, if we’re lucky. Carve out time in your life for the things that bring you (and potentially others) joy. An example of just this kind of resourcefulness can be found within the archives of the International Space Station. Hats off to Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield for his ISS-inspired version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity. Now that is putting limited space and a can-do spirit to good use!

Mindfulness at Work

Mindfulness at Work

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A technology company can be a beast to run on a day-to-day basis and Highlands is no exception; our tech company wrestles with its share of hassles and urgencies on a daily basis. Looming deadlines, personnel issues, software glitches, or any other set of troublesome, but inevitable business concerns are here to stay. The question is not how to avoid them—because we can’t—but rather how to address the daily headaches calmly, thoughtfully and with as little unnecessary upheaval as possible. 

We have our corporate “coping mechanisms”: the office protocols, hierarchies of people with specific responsibilities, and SWAT-like teams designed to swoop in and fix crises as efficiently as possible. But is there another tool we can use to both improve employee well-being and gain a competitive edge? 

Turns out that Google, Intel, General Mills and many others have implemented their own training programs for a field of study once considered incompatible with the no-nonsense climate of business. Google’s “Search Inside Yourself” program, in use since 2007, has presumably reduced stress levels, and helped employees across the organization develop greater levels of empathy and inner calm. As abstract as it may seem on one level, mindfulness has a very real and concrete part to play in the tech world. 

Mindfulness Moves out of Medicine… and into the Office Breakroom 

Mindfulness as a program got its start some 50 years ago when Professor Jon Kabbat-Zinn of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center developed the course as a supplement to traditional medicine. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teaches people how to cope with stress, chronic pain and depression by changing thought patterns and encouraging patients to focus their energy on meditation and openness to the present. Medical practitioners noted that patients practicing some aspect of mindfulness generally had more positive experiences when dealing with serious medical conditions. 

Mindfulness principles have become mainstream in recent years as their ability to benefit areas outside of medicine, like the work environment and everyday life, have become more apparent. To better manage the stresses of a typical workday—from interacting with clients to coping with deadlines—many have found mindfulness principles useful and clinical studies have supported these findings as well. Companies have found that mindfulness training helps employees develop a higher level of emotional intelligence, greater creativity and focus, and helps with a company’s productivity as well. 

At Highlands we believe that practices that can help employees maintain a balanced emotional state and outlook are beneficial to both the individuals and the company as a whole. Here are some key points about mindfulness to consider and use right away: 

Determine What is Important NOW and Focus on That 

Eckhart Tolle, a well-respected spiritual leader who has amassed a substantial following writing about the destructive patterns of living in the past or fearing the future, writes in his book, The Power of Now, that the present moment is all that really matters. Everything else that you may be thinking of is a distraction from what you could be doing now. Thoughts that lead you to worry about future scenarios or past mistakes clutter your focus and prevent you from taking action or fully enjoying and maximizing the present moment. 

Don’t Dwell on the Past or Fret about the Future 

In the context of work, once you have carved out time in your calendar to work on a future project, stop thinking about it. Similarly, don’t dwell on past mistakes. Ruminating on yesterday’s flawed PowerPoint presentation won’t allow you to go back in time and fix it. Instead, make a mental note of how to approach the project differently next time and then move on to the assignment that needs your attention now. The more time we spend dwelling on a past incident, the more negative power it has over our thinking. Random thoughts about the past or future that swirl around in your head add up to mental “clutter” and don’t allow you to move forward. 

Listen More and Judge Less 

A workplace where people listen to each other is the ideal but is rarely the norm. Adopting a more mindful state of being means listening more and resisting the urge to speak first and judge. Take the time to hear and understand another’s point of view. Consider your own strengths and weaknesses as you relate to your peers. Approach questions that come up at work with careful thought and deliberation. Greater openness and understanding of another’s point of view and greater self-awareness leads to a calmer, more productive work environment. 

Tap into Calm Energy to Fuel Work at Highlands  

It may just take 5 minutes or less to feel the energy in your hands or feet, become aware of your senses, listen to your breathing, and center on the present moment. You won’t find yoga mats at Highlands, but we do encourage you to try mindfulness techniques to refocus and recover a balanced state of mind. 

Project Management in the Age of Covid

Project Management in the Age of Covid

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If there is one positive to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s that we’ve been knocked out of our comfort zones, forced to recalibrate and reevaluate the important things in life and in business. The virus and global economic downward spiral have driven home the fact that we and our businesses are significantly more vulnerable than we thought. Seasonal flu and its annual culling of the human population have always been a fact of life, but COVID-19 is now one more potentially deadly and unknown variable in the mix. Clearly, modern medicine can only do so much.

What does all of this mean in the context of running a business? We’ve always known that time is valuable, and that lost time is lost money, but these clichés seem more relevant and poignant today than ever before.

If you only had so much time available and your business’s financial viability depended on making the right decisions and effectively executing on them, how would you go about it? How, in other words, would you manage a project in the age of COVID-19?

Planning: Identify the Mission (and then Carve it to Down to Core Objectives)

Beware the nonessential in any plan. If your plan of action is cluttered with multiple objectives and ambitious vision statements, you are wasting time. This is the time to be clear, concise and ruthless: What is primary to the mission and what is secondary?

Identify the essential goals without which the mission is certain to fail. It can take time and substantial effort to whittle it down to the bare bones of the mission, but it is necessary. Accomplished businessmen have always understood this. Steve Jobs once remarked, “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.” Ideally, you identify three or four essential goals to control the scope of your project. Examples of essential goals: A new product line must be preceded by extensive market analysis. The development of effective drug therapies cannot move forward without an exhaustive period of controlled research and study.

Prioritize Your Objectives as if your Life depended on it

If you only had so much time to execute on the goals identified in the exercise above, how would you do it? Clearly, you would prioritize and deliver on the most important objectives first. Among the essential project goals identified above, which are absolutely vital to the mission? If time is short, these get done first.

Find Darwin’s Fittest and Delegate to Them

Who would you trust with your life? If this seems too extreme a criterion, consider who you would trust with your business, or better yet a particular business task? Identify the team members that have specific strengths and leadership skills. These are the people you want at the helm of the project’s sub-teams. The principle of “survival of the fittest” applies here; in the age of COVID-19, raw talent wins. It is that simple.

Execution: Identify Non-Negotiable Benchmarks

A plan needs to include measurable benchmarks that show that the project has reached key targets. Identify business metrics, like response rate to email campaigns, or statistically significant study results, that are an indicator of success. Design your plan of execution so that attainment of benchmarks is a condition of moving forward.

Identify the Timeframe to hit specific Milestones

When do the project’s objectives need to be met? Time your own benchmarks so that they are in sync with key user group timelines or the larger industry. Examples here could include peak customer use periods, product conferences or holiday sales.

Monitor your Progress with a Sharp and Uncompromising Eye

Early signs of dysfunction need to be addressed as soon as they become apparent. Don’t dither and lose time hoping that flawed systems will magically turn around on their own. Take steps to remediate flaws in process or execution.

Value proactive measures. If there is one lesson we’ve learned in the age of COVID-19, it is that a business cannot afford to be reactive. The time to act, as they say, is now.

A Day in the Life

A Day in the Life

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I’ve been told that software engineers are a mysterious bunch. I suspect that even my own family doesn’t really understand what it is that I do every day. Too polite to probe further, they stay quiet. I feed and support my family, take vacations, and seem to enjoy a good life; people close to me reason that all must be well. Here’s my take on life as a software engineer for those that are too shy to ask.

From Chaotic Morning Commute to Quiet Campus in Electronic City

The morning commute for people who live in the neighborhoods surrounding Noida, India is going to be pretty much the same whoever you are and wherever you work. We know traffic is snarled and difficult in the morning and that it can take up to an hour or more to get where you want to go. But the morning commute is probably as stressful as my day gets.

Once I get to Noida Electronic City and the “Graphix” building, which is where Highlands is located, the day improves, in large part because the office is located on a quiet, 5-acre campus well away from the noise and chaos of Noida. For the software programmers and engineers at Highlands we have the flexibility to start the day at variable times, anywhere from 9:00 to 11:30 am, depending on how late we worked the previous day.  We are granted some discretion in how we structure our workday, a freedom that is greatly appreciated.

A note on the building itself: A few have compared it to the high-tech office buildings of Microsoft or Google. It is one of the newest buildings in the area, with floor to ceiling windows, large open spaces, filtered air via Blue Air Systems, and other amenities that I’ll discuss shortly. Highlands occupies the entire 3rd floor. The programmers at Highlands have state-of-the art equipment, two to three computer monitors, and large desks for their own use. The programmer’s workspace doesn’t have the feel of a coding mill or factory; it’s more like a low-pressure think-tank or creative space found on the campus of a university. Some people have headphones on as they work to play music to help their concentration and enjoyment.

Once I arrive at work, I review the notes I wrote at the conclusion of the previous workday. These permit me to get up to speed early on what tasks I need to tackle first. I also review the benchmarks that were set at yesterday’s stand-up meeting and assess what I need to do to prepare for the day’s meetings. I review and refine code until the stand-up meeting, which takes place daily around 12:30 pm.

The Stand-Up Meeting is at the Center of a Programmer’s Universe

Here’s a key insight into the spark that fuels the direction of a programmer’s day: the stand-up meeting. The stand-up meeting is integral to the agile development process (more on this in a future post) and nothing much is accomplished in the way of coding without it.

Hard Work, Midday Break at a Cricket Field and Flexibility

Lunch at Highlands can be anywhere between 1:00 and 2:00 pm. We have a cafeteria in our office and a full restaurant and coffee bar on the top floor overlooking the city. People can also take their lunches up to the rooftop terrace as well, which can be pleasant when the weather is good. Did I mention that everyone’s birthdays are celebrated at Highlands? We eat plenty of cake, and we eat it pretty regularly.

The remainder of the afternoon, which can stretch to 7 pm or possibly later at times, consists of carrying out the goals outlined at the stand-up meeting. Programmers work independently, writing or refining code for most of the day. The daily stand-up meeting, combined with a company culture that depends on team effort and collaboration, means that we check in with each other regularly to see if there is need to change direction or alter course slightly.

If we have a particularly intense morning due to deadlines or other factors, we take breaks as necessary. We are encouraged to unwind in the cafeteria or leave the office and walk the campus grounds for some stress-release; perhaps even play a short game of cricket at a nearby field.

The job of a software engineer at Highlands is not as mysterious as it seems. We are intensely focused on the mission at hand, which is to write code for software that tackles important engineering tasks. Our software is used on very important engineering projects throughout the world and it feels good to be working on something that has such important global implications. In my opinion, working as a software engineer is one of the best jobs you could have at Highlands.

Grit for the Ages

Grit for the Ages

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Several years ago, psychologist Angela Duckworth triggered national interest when she shared research findings on grit in a well-viewed TED talk. With the use of pointed survey questions that gauged a test subject’s likelihood of giving up in the face of distractions or other obstacles, Duckworth and her team tried to predict who in West Point’s entering class of freshman would make it through the rigorous pre-training period and who among National Spelling Bee contestants would advance to later rounds of the competition.

Duckworth discovered that the people who were successful were not those with the highest IQs or other competitive advantages; rather the people that pressed on through challenges to arrive at successful outcomes had something she defined as “grit.” Grit is the quality that makes a person stick with a task and follow through on long-term goals even when obstacles mount. Grit, in Duckworth’s words, is “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.”

Grit is Inversely Related to Talent

Even though it is tempting to attribute someone’s accomplishments to natural ability, what is really at work, Duckworth claims, is grit. Talented people frequently give up if they hit a “wall” enough times. Successful people, on the other hand, don’t give up easily. High achievers are not so much naturally skilled, Duckworth says, as they are conditioned to accept obstacles and hard work as a necessary part of working towards a goal. Our culture tends to romanticize the superstars of our times and gloss over the fact that countless hours of work went into the flawless performance that we ultimately see. An acclaimed soccer player didn’t learn how to score goals overnight. Thousands of hours of practice (and countless moments of frustration and despair) shaped the success we see today. Interestingly, Duckworth discovers that talent is inversely related to grit, a finding she emphasizes in her famous TED talk.

From the Lab to the Field: Grit at Work

Highlands looks for grit among new hires because grit is what it takes to build and grow a business. Today’s business climate is such that the unexpected is often the norm. The figurative “wrench” is almost certain to disrupt business on a daily basis. Cheers to the employee who catches the wrench and creates a win for the company regardless. A dogged, single-minded employee with plenty of grit is a blessed thing for a business.

How does grit come into play at work? Let’s suppose you have a deadline that is approaching for a new software release. Customers have been asking for an updated version for several weeks and many are grumbling that the release is long overdue. Within 48 hours of the projected release date, software testers discover a significant bug. What do you do at this point? Give up? Or do you regroup, figure out what needs to be done, and press gamely on? Employees with grit don’t skip a beat but roll up their sleeves and target the software bug with more gusto and passion than before. (i.e., “We will fix this bug and we will go the extra step to make sure it never happens again!”).

Similarly, let’s say the market is crowded with a particular product. The chances of developing a product to successfully compete with existing brands are slim; the players are seasoned warriors and won’t go down without a fight. Nevertheless, an opening in the field becomes apparent because existing products are deficient in one or more key features. A business with grit buckles down, develops a laser-like focus on the end game, and moves forward, prepared to do battle and take the product from conception to final shipment.

Encouraging a “Growth Mindset”

Duckworth focuses on a “growth mindset” as key to understanding the motivation of people with grit. A growth mindset means believing that failure can eventually become success or that the ability to learn can grow with enough effort and determination. With this attitude, failure is merely a step in the process of achieving mastery. With a “can-do” approach among employees at Highlands Infotech, obstacles become a launching point for innovation and “failure” becomes the new catchphrase for opportunity.

The word grit (and everything that it represents) resonates now with people more than ever because it is the fighting word of champions, underdogs and any business that works hard to be competitive. Grit means your fortune can change. Grit means positive outcomes are on the horizon with enough effort and determination.

What makes a Technology Firm Work?

What makes a Technology Firm Work?

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We can’t escape the obvious fact that technology plays an increasingly dominant role in our everyday lives. Many of the world’s biggest economies are fueled by high tech innovation. Venture capital and public funds are quick to chase the next big breakthrough in science or engineering. With this culture, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that programmers, scientists and other techies are the only ones that can propel innovation forward. If your end goal is to find employment, some say, the only fields that are worth the cost of a college education are the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). The logic of this argument is apparently hard to dispute; students from the United States, China and India opt to study math, business or engineering over history or philosophy. But if there is one thing that can be learned as an engineer and businessman, it is that there are many skills that are needed to effectively run a corporation—not just the ones gained through a purely technical education.

The Myth that STEM is Best

Several universities in the U.S. made headlines a few years ago by threatening to cut academic departments in the humanities. (Humanities courses delve into subjects that explore the human condition and its institutions. Think political science, language and philosophy.) Where STEM subjects focus on hard analysis and fact, the study of history can explore the grayer areas that are subject to interpretation. Why are schools cutting these programs? The reasons are varied, but most did so in order to reroute funding to programs with more “practical” outcomes, producing graduates equipped with immediately marketable skills. People opposed to these initiatives argued that these programs help students to think deeply, empathize with their peers and tackle problems creatively. Many of these colleges and educational institutions back tracked and revised their proposals, but the movement is still active, and these programs are still under fire.

What do Microsoft and Google Look for in a New Hire?

Microsoft Corporation is arguably one of the most successful technology companies in the world with annual revenues exceeding $120 billion dollars. Surprisingly, however, this tech empire’s hiring practices do not focus on technical skills to the exclusion of everything else. Rather, like powerhouses Google and Apple, Microsoft looks for strong technical talent, but qualities that indicate a high level of emotional intelligence are equally important in a new hire. These are the qualities that provide the “grease” for the company’s “mechanical”, day-to-day processes and these are the qualities that help a company manage people and thrive in tough times. Would the person work well with co-workers and tackle problems in a collaborative style? Is this person able to manage a lob from left field or sort through a major crisis? Today’s business culture depends on people who can do all these things and more.

A Meeting of Minds (and Skills) at Highlands InfoTech

Technology is not developed in a vacuum. Maybe it once was, but it isn’t anymore. People need to talk to one another, listen, compromise and collaborate. Never before has the development of technology been so interactive. Agile software development is based on and frankly thrives on teamwork. Every department at Highlands, from software development, to human resources, to tech support, is grounded in teamwork. Not only do we need people who are creative, analytical and good at communicating, but we need team players who are empathetic and balanced. We need people who approach problems resourcefully and people who can turn difficult circumstances into positive outcomes.

What does this mean in terms of recruitment at Highlands? We are looking for creative, hard-working and gritty individuals in STEM fields, yes, but others as well. Those with backgrounds in the humanities can help our team as well, especially if they approach work and learning with a “can do” spirit. If you think you have what it takes, step up and apply!

Top 7 Benefits of Learning Management Systems for Organizations

Top 7 Benefits of Learning Management Systems for Organizations

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A Learning Management System or LMS is a software application that functions as an online virtual classroom and facilitates the documentation, administration, reporting and delivery of e-courses or online courses.

eLearning has become integral to professional development, and as employees are quickly becoming tech-savvy, more companies are giving up on traditional models of learning in favor of LMS.

There are multiple benefits to using online training courses to help employees expand their knowledge base. Not only is the potential for learning options limitless, but one can also access the expertise of experts across the globe. Furthermore, an LMS system is far more cost-effective than investing in personal training.

With that in mind, here are the top seven benefits of using LMS in your organization:

1. Lowers Costs

Organizations typically spend a considerable amount of money on staff training and development. A central LMS provides a database that tracks the details of company investment in employee training and development. In addition, there will be no more need for printed materials, accommodations for travel and on-site facilitators. Moreover, training administration will be conducted with greater ease.

2. Provides Access to Interactive & Engaging Multimedia Content

The times when you sat in a conference room and spent hours listening to an instructor are long gone.

Today, learning experiences are comprised of robust learning management systems that offer features like video conferencing, podcasts, video tutorials, threaded discussions, interactive learning, and HTML courses.

The large variety of media is available for interactive learning to serve multiple learning needs and preferences. LMS is highly student-specific and ensures an engaging experience during the learning process.

Also, program outcomes are more consistent with an LMS, which are discussed below.

3. Central Tracking and Reporting of Training Programs

An LMS offers excellent reporting tools, which allows administrators to easily track each employee’s progress. It is possible to track how quickly employees are moving through the courses, areas they are struggling with, and qualifications that will soon expire. Even better—a good LMS will save all these reports in a single and easily accessible database. The tracking and reporting capabilities of these systems is by far one of the most beneficial aspects of their adoption.

4. Automates Mandatory Training & Improves Compliance

Organizations are required to provide mandatory training to employees on issues of health and safety, anti-harassment and bullying, diversity and inclusion, etc. Compliance training requires a lot of “tick-all-the-boxes”; delivering training via traditional decentralized methods is time consuming, laborious, error prone, and management intensive. An LMS eliminates unnecessary complexity and the need to tick boxes by making use of automation in scheduling, booking, delivery, tracking and reporting of mandatory training.

5. Provides Personalization Options & Easy Access to Information from Anywhere

LMS makes organization-specific training possible. Companies can add their corporate image and brand to the platform, and tailor the platform’s features to suit their needs. Different portals and user IDs encourage personalization and can be created without the need for additional installations. A platform can be multilingual or monolingual and can function simultaneously with web access. Courses, multimedia content, archives, calendars, etc. can be accessed with a single mouse click, anytime and anywhere. The content is available 24/7 and offers a seamless learning environment.

6. Provides Consistent Learning Experiences

An LMS creates a virtual learning environment that can be replicated for all participants. Users can set the order of modules, create time limits, share training materials and ensure uniform content for all employees at all company locations.

7. Enables Integrating Social Media for Collaborative Learning

An LMS makes it easy to integrate social learning into the employee training strategy. Because the LMS is online, organizations can include links to Facebook and Twitter pages, LinkedIn groups, online forums, etc. to encourage collaborative learning, which may be beneficial to employees and help advance company goals. Additionally, administrators can easily and quickly expand courses with an LMS and then deploy them to all participants through notifications on various social media platforms. This is in stark contrast to traditional learning methods, where updated manuals or handouts need to be sent out to each participant.

Verdict

Not all LMS platforms are the same and it is important to look for a vendor that best understands the needs of your particular company. Keep in mind that finding the ideal LMS is the only way to truly reap the benefits of an LMS. So, make use of free trials, research the features and pricing, and read as many reviews as possible. If you do your homework in advance, you are sure to get the most out of the LMS you select and create a program of successful eLearning for your employees.

5 Ways Virtual Reality Will Empower Businesses in 2019

5 Ways Virtual Reality Will Empower Businesses in 2019

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For a long time, virtual reality (VR) seemed to be a distant reality—something to look forward to in the coming years. However, now VR is a reality that businesses have access to today. The increasing affordability of VR headsets has contributed to making VR a strong and growing market. This in turn has stimulated a greater number of VR leveraged platforms designed to assist businesses with process improvements. Although virtual reality has historically been associated with the gaming industry, it is important to note it is not limited to this single domain. Today, one can find the use of virtual reality in healthcare, business, travel, and many other sectors.

The market for virtual reality is estimated to reach $485 billion by 2025. Considering how quickly virtual reality has become mainstream and how rapidly companies are endorsing and embracing virtual reality, this estimate is not an exaggeration by any means. In this guide, we are going to explore how virtual reality will impact and empower businesses in 2019.

Immersive Branding

There is no question that virtual reality can transform media. For businesses, it means exciting, new opportunities for branding. Clearly, it is one way to differentiate a brand’s promotional campaign from the competition and convey a clear message of technological supremacy. Interactive messaging will be a crucial component of branding and product promotion in the future.

The richness of the message and the level of engagement that such branding delivers is unmatched. Never before was there such an opportunity for a brand to occupy the mind space of a target audience with a truly immersive marketing experience, and virtual reality is spearheading this movement.

Boosting eCommerce

One of the main reasons for the often negative sales of eCommerce businesses is the fact that buyers are unwilling to spend on stuff that they haven’t tried. VR technology overcomes this issue simply as it can make product trials and demonstrations possible for various product categories. Hence VR can provide an authentic product experience to potential buyers.

For example, in the real estate industry, VR enables home tours from any location on the globe. Also, Airbus lets airline executives take aircraft tours without actually visiting the facility. Along similar lines, Audi offers “an R8 test drive from your living room”, a VR powered experience, which has played a significant role in boosting sales.

Product Designing and Prototyping

Although VR enhanced shopping experiences and VR immersive experiences enjoyed from the comfort of home are still far off, the use of VR to implement futuristic product prototyping is a reality now. Because it is cheaper to design a product or a complicated component of a large machine virtually rather than physically, the application of virtual reality is likely to grow tremendously.

Ford is one of the most innovative companies in the world. The company claims that it saves about $8 million per year by using VR technologies for designing and testing parts of new cars before moving on to making pre-production parts.

Of course, the cost to set up an advanced VR tech-enabled prototyping lab is steep, but greater cost efficiencies are inevitable, encouraging more businesses to invest in these facilities.

Novel Business Opportunities

Virtual reality technology is helping entrepreneurs create novel businesses. For example, VR cafes, just like traditional cafes, will act as social places and gateways for people looking for unique and virtually enriched experiences. These cafes include entertainment options like games, videos, social media experiences, 3D book and multi-media content, team building opportunities, and virtually enhanced meditations.

VR gaming centers or hubs could also soon be a hit. Avatarico, a VR platform, offers team-based VR entertainment franchising and licensing opportunities to entrepreneurs who can simply install VR technology in place and start offering unique entertainment in their cities, with large ROIs.

Next Level of Remote Work

Ten years ago, working remotely was still a thought experiment that only established enterprises could afford to consider. However, today, the technology is a part and parcel of startups, SMBs, and enterprises alike. Virtual reality can take things to the next level. It can empower businesses to deliver better experiences to remotely connected employees and get the best outputs from these employees. Whether it is a team meeting, training session, plant tour, or rewards and recognition program, virtual reality can make remote work experiences more realistic, enriching, and fruitful.

No business can afford to sleep on virtual reality. As the number of VR uses increases, more opportunities will be created for businesses to incorporate them into their daily operations. What are your thoughts on how we will be using VR in the workspace five years from now? How will your company leverage VR to reap more benefits? Send us your ideas; we would love to hear from you.

Top Seven Software Testing Tools of 2019

Top Seven Software Testing Tools of 2019

Top Seven Software Testing Tools of 2019

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According to the World Quality Report 2018-2019 – a study on the current state of QA and testing conducted by Sogeti, a part of Capgemini – there is a major shift underway in the practices of quality assurance and software testing. The report confirms that end-user satisfaction is now one of the many responsibilities of quality assurance teams. This significant shift in industry practice will dramatically change the QA and testing skills landscape, and jobs such as AI QA Strategist, AI Test Expert, and Data Scientist, etc. will see greater demand.

Software testing tools are getting better at automating aspects of your job as a tester every year. Here are the top seven software testing tools you should learn in 2019.

Unified Functional Testing

Unified Functional Testing (UFT),also known as HPE Unified Functional Testing, is a widely popular tool for functional testing and regression testing for software applications. It provides a comprehensive set of features that supports API, GUI and browser testing for applications on any platform. It achieves high-level automation through the use of reusable test segments, automated documentations, smart object recognition, and a comprehensive error administration mechanism.

UFT uses VB Scripting Edition for registering test procedures and object control. It also coordinates with other quality control devices like CI and Mercury Quality Center for integration into existing work processes without any difficulty.

Selenium

Selenium is a powerful and comprehensive automation tool for software testing. It is considered the industry standard for the automated testing of a web application user interface. Almost nine out of ten testers are either using or have used Selenium for their projects.

Selenium offers flexibility; users can write test scripts in multiple languages, including Java, C#, PHP, Ruby, etc., all of which can run on Windows, Mac, and Linux devices across multiple web browsers. However, one must know advanced programming in order to use Selenium. Also, users may need to spend considerable time building automation frameworks and libraries. These are some major setbacks of Selenium; however, most can be addressed with the use of Katalon Studio and other integrated tools.

TestComplete

TestComplete still manages to be one of the top software testing tools in 2019 thanks to its powerful and comprehensive set of features for application testing on web, desktop and mobile. Like UFT, TestComplete uses an object recognition engine to accurately detect dynamic user interface elements. Testers can write test scripts in JavaScript, Python, VBScript, or C++. They can also easily record and playback using features like Katalon Studio, as well as insert checkpoints into test steps for verifying results. The TestComplete object recognition engine is especially useful in testing applications that have dynamic or frequently changing user interfaces.

Jmeter

Apache Jmeter is a Java desktop application designed for load testing and performance measurement of websites. It was developed for testing web applications; however, its application has expanded to perform API and service testing, especially for API performance. Its architecture is centered around plugins that simply enhance the capabilities of the tool. It supports multiple applications, servers, and protocols such as web, SOAP, FTP, TCP, shell script, Java objects, and database. Other features include dynamic reporting, portability, caching, multithreading, etc.

Ranorex

Ranorex is a household name when it comes to software testing. With over 13,000 major initiatives depending on Ranorex, this automation testing tool is often the first choice of industry giants and well-known IT ventures. The tool provides multiple types of automation features designed to test applications across web, desktop, and mobile. With Ranorex users can run tests in correspondence as well as simulate cross-browser testing on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.

The software works effectively with ERP and SAP packages and can also run tests locally as well as remotely. Plus, the tool eliminates time wasted fixing issues with unstable tests, which gives users more time to evaluate application conditions.

Appium

Appium is an open source test automation tool, mainly intended for mobile applications. It is based on a client/server architecture and uses automation frameworks provided by vendors. The tool supports automation for native as well as hybrid web applications that are built for iOS and Android platforms. Testing native applications does not require SDK and the tool offers automation APIs that can be used across multiple platforms. It is easy to install and easy to use, and therefore has gained popularity and stability over the past few years as one of the best automation tools for mobile testing.

Watir 

Watir is yet another open-source cross-platform web application testing tool, which is made up of Ruby libraries for automating web application testing. It allows for the testing of web applications that are based on any programming language for Opera, Firefox, IE, and headless browser. It facilitates simple, compliant, readable and easy to maintain automated tests. The tool is compatible with business-driven development tools such as Cucumber, RSpec and Test/Unit. It is a powerful yet lightweight tool and is supported by an active, growing community of testers. Some of the key users of Watir include Facebook, Oracle, SAP, etc.

Conclusion

The above list of software testing tools is not exhaustive but includes some of the best tools available based on popularity, maturity, and capability to address a variety of software testing challenges. The list also includes tools that solely support API and essentials of service testing for successful implementation of Agile and DevOps transformations. The choice of tool will always depend on the requirements of a particular project as well as on potential QA and testing trends and improvements.

What are your thoughts on the software tools included in this list? How many of the tools listed above are you either using or have used in the recent past?

10 Android App Development Tips for 2019

Android App Development,Android App Development Tips

10 Android App Development Tips for 2019

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Let’s summarize first—you have an idea, you have sketched it out on paper, and you have created a wireframe prototype. You may feel like most of the job is done, but in reality the work has just begun!

Whether you are building your first, second or 50th Android app, a few important things should be kept in mind in order to stay on top of your game. Here are 10 essential app development tips that can help you in your next Android app development project.

1. Believe in Your Idea
Believing in your idea and maintaining your level of commitment is your first step to success. Your idea for an app could be revolutionary or relatively simple. Do your research, identify the great things your app has to offer, and never hesitate on your road to success.

2. Understand and Research the Market
Understanding the Android market is a must for developing a workable and successful strategy. Start with the typical Android user: how does he or she normally behave? The number of Android users exceeds all other operating systems in the world. However, Android users don’t pay as much for apps as do iOS (i.e., Apple) users. Android users are more likely to install an app that follows a freemium model, and generally top revenue comes from games. Understand these aspects before developing your app.

3. Know the Latest and Upcoming Trends
It is important to stay on top of all the latest trends because these trends tell us what users normally expect regarding features in an app. As trends change and technology advances, a good app developer must contemplate all options and be familiar with ideas that have the potential to disrupt the market.

4. Know Your Competition
In order to get funding for your app idea, you must be aware of similar apps that are already on the market. Learn from them; familiarize yourself with their unique features or business models. This knowledge will help you put a price on your app as well as identify key features and benefits that your app needs to provide to be competitive.

5. Keep It Simple
You have heard it countless times. Don’t complicate things, keep it simple. This holds true in app development as well. Trying to do too many things at once or putting too many features in your app can make it complicated to be usable. Cut out any unnecessary design elements and features. Make sure that the app is well designed and highly focused. An app must be simple, straightforward, easy-to-use, and as uncluttered as possible.

6. Good Design Goes a Long Way
One thing that’s common in all successful apps is good user interface (UX) design. Each app may be different in its mode of operation, functionality and features, but you can be sure that all successful apps have a good UX design. There are over 2.6 million apps in Google Play, and your app must be built well and be as visually appealing as possible in order to stand out from the pack. The good thing is that Google provides a solid set of guidelines regarding good app design principles.

7. Test New Features and Keep the Best Ones
A good app developer strives to integrate easy solutions into an app. The developer observes how users react to different features and keeps those features that receive positive feedback. Flappy Bird and Instagram are two perfect examples of this. Both represent two innovative ideas that against all odds found their way to success. Over the years, multiple features were added to both apps and, following exhaustive testing, only those features that added positive feedback were kept.

8. Listen to Your End Users
Listening to the preferences and recommendations of your end users earns their trust and loyalty. A platform that welcomes feedback can even grow the user base. Users always appreciate when their opinions are heard. Most importantly, the feedback users offer gives you an opportunity to add value to your app and offer a better product.

9. Test Early and Often
One critical rule of thumb is that an app should never be released without prior testing. Test as often as possible because frequent tests at each phase of the development process identifies bugs, fixes possible crashes, and/or improves the UX design.

10. Get Certified
If you are serious about app development, strive to become one of the best developers out there! Consider getting certified to amp-up your game. Google Associate Android Developer Certification is probably the best; what better recognition than being certified from the company that provides the platform for which your app runs on! Keep learning the latest technology and constantly work on your skills.

Achieving success as an Android developer is not easy, but it is not impossible either. You need to focus on the basics and not get overwhelmed by unnecessary detail. Also, keep in mind that every piece of advice you get and recommendation you hear could be instrumental in getting you to the next most-downloaded app.