For our list, we have chosen scrum and kanban metrics that can be useful to both in-house agile teams and agile dedicated teams  in measuring software quality, productivity, performance/well-being, as well as general project metrics. We will also take a look at lean kanban metrics and how to ensure your product ends up with clean code in two separate sections.  

Let’s start.

Types of Agile Metrics

There are three main types of agile metrics:

• Scrum metrics. The most commonly used metrics in software development.
• Kanban metrics. An agile software development framework similar to the scrum methodology.
• Lean metrics. Metrics used to streamline the manufacturing of physical products, from which both kanban and scrum originate. 

Agile Quality Metrics

This group of agile software development metrics will help you assess the quality of your software product and predict whether the target audience will like it.

Escaped Defects

Escaped Defects will help you identify the number of bugs in a build or release after in enters production. This metric allows your team to access the quality of your software, although in a rather raw form. This is one of the agile quality metrics you should consider using: bugs on production always pose problems.

Failed Deployments

This metric will help you access the number of deployments to testing and production environments. Failed deployments can shed light on how reliable those environments are and whether a team is building working software at all. Concurrently, you can use the the failed deployments metrics to understand whether a given sprint or release is ready to go to production. As far as quality metrics in agile software development go, failed deployments is incredibly useful.

Release Net Promoter Score (NPS)

NPS measures the reaction of users to a given release. The metric can help teams predict whether users will recommend the software product. Net Promoter Score is measured right before the release. Although one of agile software quality metrics on our list, NPS can also be regarded as a customer satisfaction metric.

Agile Productivity Metrics

The following selection of agile development metrics will help you assess your team’s productivity in completing stories, tasks, and bigger bodies of work. The many useful agile productivity metrics will also aid you in predicting the productivity of your team in forthcoming sprints, prevent bottlenecks, and tackle unexpected scope changes.

Lead Time

Lead Time allows for monitoring a story from the point when it enters a backlog to a sprint’s end (or to the moment of release). The lower it is, the more effective your development process is. Lead Time is one of those agile metrics that allows for gaining an overarching perspective on the productivity of your development efforts.

Cycle Time (Control Chart)

Part of the previous metric, Cycle Time will help you measure the average time your team needs to fulfill a task. If your team has short cycle times, it means they are highly effective. Concurrently, when your team’s cycle team is consistent, you can better predict how they will work in the future. This metric will also help you to quickly pinpoint the emerging bottlenecks in your agile software development process.

Sprint Burndown

Before starting a sprint, a team forecasts how many story points they can complete in its course. Sprint Burndown allows a scrum/kanban master to track the completion of those story points and ensure a team will finish the planned scope of work within the set time frame.

Sprint Burndown chart example (Source: Scrum Institute)

Sprint Burndown is one of the most effective agile productivity metrics for a few more reasons. First, it allows you to track the progress of a sprint closely and in real time. Second, the metric shows how agile your team really is.

Epic & Release Burndown

These metrics allow teams to track bigger bodies of work than Sprint Burndown can cover. One of the major benefits of Epic Burndown and Release Burndown is that they help to manage the scope creep — the addition of new requirements after the project scope was already defined. These agile metrics will help you ensure your team will not lose in productivity after, for example, the product owner on the client’s side tasks your team to add a new massive feature.

Epic Burndown chart example (Source: Atlassian)

Release Burndown chart example (Source: Atlassian)

Velocity

Velocity is one of the most essential metrics in agile software development, allowing you to assess the average quantity of completed story points over several past sprints. You can use the metric to foresee how effective your team will be in the forthcoming sprints, making it a rather powerful planning tool.

The benefits of Velocity also include:

• Easy to measure
• Shows a clear result right away
• Lower Velocity may signal about emerging sprint inefficiencies

As many factors can affect productivity, it is crucial to follow how your team’s Velocity changes over time.

Velocity chart example (Source: Atlassian)

Agile Project Metrics

A handy addition to the metrics above, agile software project metrics will provide actionable information on your development processes, helping to your team to avoid issues both big and small.

Cumulative Flow

Cumulative Flow is arguably one of the most powerful agile project metrics for kanban. It gives you a bird’s-eye view on the statuses of your tasks in a sprint, release, and across software teams. With this metric, you will be able to view all statuses for all workflow stages and immediately identify bottlenecks — all in a single diagram.

Cumulative Flow Diagram example (Source: Kanban Tool)

Code Coverage

Code Coverage will help you calculate how much of your product’s code is covered by unit tests, presenting it in a raw visualization. It can be measured by the quantity of methods, conditions, statements, and branches that comprise your unit testing suite. You can also run Code Coverage automatically as part of every build.

While Code Coverage is one of the most effective agile metrics, it does not measure the input of other types of testing. So, if your  numbers are high, it doesn’t necessarily mean your product has solid code. Still, the metric will give you a good perspective on the quality of your product.  

Health Metrics for Agile Teams/Agile Performance Metrics

While most agile software development metrics are aimed at assessing software quality and team productivity at different stages and from different perspectives, monitoring the well-being of your team is as crucial.

Happiness

There is no single, tried-and-true way to measure happiness in a software development team. Still, a common solution is to ask every team member to rate current happiness on a scale from 1 to 5. According to organizational psychologist Christiaan Verwijs, this can be followed by several questions, for example:

• How happy are you with your company? (on a scale from 1 to 5)
• What feels best right now? (open question)
• What feels worst right now? (open question)
• What would increase your happiness? (open question)

Team Morale

Still, Verwijs argues that measuring morale in an agile software development team is more effective.  The Happiness metric can be unreliable due to its subjectivity and measuring it entails many nuances that don’t help in solving the problem. Team Morale, on the other hand, offers a more subtle approach that accounts for mood swings. 

So, Verwijs suggests to measure Team Morale by asking team members to rate the following statements on the scale from 1 to 5 (or from 1 to 7, for more nuanced results):

• I feel fit and strong in my team
• I am proud of the work that I do for my team
• I am enthusiastic about the work that I do for my team
• I find the work that I do for my team of meaning and purpose

The questions are more specific, allowing you to better access the well-being of your team members.

Still, approaching and accessing such aspects is a complicated matter. It is up to a scrum/kanban master to choose the one that fits best (they can also propose a different approach altogether). If you doubt whether you need to use these metrics for agile teams, try starting small by measuring happiness monthly, and see how it goes. Agile team performance metrics might just be what you need to improve your development process.  

Core Lean & Kanban Metrics

Now, let’s explore the key metrics in lean and kanban methodologies. These metrics are often common to both software development and goods manufacturing. 

Story Lead Time

Story Lead Time (SLT) is the analogue of the Lead Time metric used in agile software development. SLT helps you measure how much time has passed from the moment a user story entered a backlog to the point when it is completed. That includes the time the story was simply sitting in your backlog. The main aim of SLT is to help teams assess and reduce the speed of a value chain.

Not only that, but the metric may also prompt your team to gain speed if your value chain has slow cycles: the amount of sitting is added to the overall SLT. If a story had been sitting in a backlog for two months and then was completed in two weeks, the SLT will be two and a half months. 

Story Cycle Time

Story Cycle Time (SCT) is a metric that is part of Story Lead Time. It covers only the time a story is in progress, helping to measure and reduce the hours spent on it. Story Cycle Time is always shorter than Story Lead Time and takes up half of a sprint or less. If a story goes from one phase to another, for example from development to testing, you should count in that time as well. 

Feature Lead Time

User stories often form features, and measuring how much time does it take to create and release a feature is also important. This is the aim of Feature Lead Time (FLT), the analogue of Story Lead Time for features. Like the latter, FLT covers the time between the moment a feature has entered a backlog and the point when it is released to customers. The countdown begins when the first user story for a feature enters a backlog.

Feature Cycle Time

This is the equivalent of Story Cycle Time, but for features. The aim is the same: Feature Cycle Time will let you know for how many hours a feature was in progress without counting in the sitting time. The clock on FCT starts ticking when the first user story of a feature is sent to the development phase. 

Story Wait Time

Story Wait Time (SWT) helps you measure the sitting time of task, and is also part of the Story Lead Time. Every team should reduce SWT as much as possible.

Story Throughput

Story Throughput (ST) is similar to Sprint Velocity and helps to count the number of stories finished in a sprint. ST is easy to measure and encourages smaller stories. With this metric, stories should be included into the sprint they were completed, not started in. 

Story Throughput is a highly useful metric. If all your stories are similar in size, you can use ST instead of Velocity. If your stories have a normal distribution (one part of your stories has a specific average size, and the other part goes below and above that average), you can also use ST instead of Sprint Burndown and Sprint Burnup.

Created-to-Finished Ratio

If you see that too many items are going back to backlog and few are finished, this metric may prove useful to access bottlenecks and the overall progress of your team. Early on in the project, the ratio can be high, but it is a rather common scenario. When a product is being shaped, your team members test different ideas and create stories for them. Expectedly, many of those ideas will not prove viable (or simply give birth to new, more effective ones). Still, Created-to-Finished Ratio needs to gradually go down over time. If it doesn’t, there are setbacks in your development process or issues with some of the team members. 

Measuring Software Quality in Agile

Today, customer demand prompts companies to deliver and update their software products faster. This means frequent changes to source code that can lead to both small and big defects. Although agile helps teams streamline the software development process, it is inseparable from security. While you will use metrics like Code Coverage, it is also important to assess code quality.  As a result, conducting a comprehensive code analysis becomes crucial alongside using agile metrics.

There are two types of code analysis and one more comprehensive approach that can help teams streamline their quality assurance across projects. Let’s explore them below. 

Static Code Analysis

Static code analysis lets you inspect the source code without running the software. It will help you detect bugs, security soft spots, and various shortcomings early on in the project, allowing your team to build a product with clean code. Your QA experts can also automate or semi-automate the process with dedicated tools, most of which are available for free online.

Dynamic Code Analysis

Dynamic code analysis is the opposite, and lets you evaluate code quality of running software to see how it really works. Although static code analysis plays a bigger role, dynamic code analysis allows QA experts detect issues that arise when different elements of software communicate with each other. Still, it doesn’t mean that dynamic code analysis can be skipped — you should use it alongside its counterpart. 

Quality Intelligence 

Often, code analysis is not enough. In a time when software needs to be delivered and updated quickly, you may want to make a comprehensive assessment to pinpoint soft spots in your development process related to quality assurance, and streamline your software delivery further. Quality intelligence tools provide a solution by helping teams gather data from across the entire software development lifecycle, analyze this data, and use it to improve their quality assurance workflows. 

What Are the Key Agile Software Development Metrics?

Our selection includes agile software development metrics that will aid you in delivering quality software on time while ensuring the well-being of your team members. Still, using each and every one of the metrics on out list is not a precondition for success. In the end, the choice depends on your team’s scrum/kanban master, the team, and the agile culture in your company.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is KPI in agile?

When it comes to the software development process, a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is any agile metric. Although the concept of KPI may be associated with rigid rules, agile software development still manages to be the most flexible approach to managing software development project as compared to the waterfall methodology.

How is velocity calculated in agile?

To calculate velocity for a project, you need to take the total number of finished story points and divide them by the number of finished sprints. If your team finished 90 stories over three sprints, its velocity will be 30 points per sprint. 

What is throughput in agile metrics?

Story Throughput is one of the core metrics in the kanban framework. It helps to count the number of stories that were completed in a single sprint. It is the analogue of the Spring Velocity metric in scrum.

What is Agile Productivity?

Agile productivity may refer to how well a team performs on one agile metric or a number of them. 

What does APSI in agile metrics stand for?

APSI has a wide array of meaning in different industries, but there is no such term in agile software development.

What is agile matrix?

There is a type of company structure called matrix, but there is no such thing as agile matrix in agile software development.

What is agile productivity?

Agile productivity may refer to how well a team performs on one agile metric or a number of them. 

The post 15+ Useful Agile Metrics in Scrum & Kanban: Measure Quality, Productivity & Performance appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

That expert is a solutions architect, one of the most significant and client-facing roles in the IT industry, whose importance is nonetheless often overlooked or even completely ignored by companies at both ends. For a software solution to work effectively, scale, and meet the set business needs, it needs to have a well thought out architecture that accounts for numerous technical and customer nuances. Put simply, the long-term success of any IT project relies on the input from a solutions architect, who needs to have wide-ranging technical expertise, business analysis skills, project management skills, and more.

In this post, we will explain what a solutions architect’s role is, what are their responsibilities, take a look at the required skill set, how the role differs from other similar positions, as well as average salary and why having a solutions architect is critical for organizations and projects.

Let’s start. 

What is a Solutions Architect’s Role in a Company?

A solutions architect is responsible for creating a comprehensive architecture for a software solution and providing strategic direction throughout the development process. This person needs to ensure that the new solution fits into the existing enterprise architecture from the technical, business, user, and other perspectives. They cooperate with all the teams involved in the development process and need to know how every product and service works in an architecture. A solutions architect needs all this knowledge to oversee a successful delivery of a quality end product to its end users.

What Does a Solutions Architect Do?

Having a clear vision for the project, and a clear understanding of the client’s business needs, a solutions architect maps out the parts that will constitute the software solution and how they are going to work together. A solutions architect starts very early in the project, laying out what is to come. Their tasks usually begin from choosing the right technology for the business problem(s) and managing architectural concerns to ensure more productive and effective outcomes. A solutions architect is responsible for translating the vision for the project to the development team and plays a pivotal part throughout the entire systems development lifecycle. They are also involved in the future updates to the solution. 

Solution Architect Responsibilities & Detailed Role Explanation

As the job title implies, a solutions architect primarily focuses on solution-level decisions and evaluation of their impact on a client’s overarching business objectives and their outcomes. In most cases, a solution architect’s responsibilities revolve around ensuring that the software solutions aligns with a client company’s resources, risk identification, and planning. Here are some of the main responsibilities of a solutions architect: 

• Creates and leads the process of integrating IT systems for them to meet an organization’s requirements.
• Conducts a system architecture evaluation and collaborates with project management and IT development teams to improve the architecture.
• Evaluates project constraints to find alternatives, alleviate risks, and performs process re-engineering if required.
• Updates stakeholders on the status of product development processes and budget.
• Notifies stakeholders about any issues connected to the architecture. 
• Fixes technical issues as they arise.
• Analyzes the business impact that certain technical choices may have on a client’s business processes.
• Supervises and guides development teams.
• Continuously researches emerging technologies and proposes changes to the existing architecture.

Core Solutions Architect Skills

To successfully design, create, and lead the development of a software solution, a solutions architect needs to have a certain skill set. Let’s take a closer look at the most important skills of a solutions architect below:

• Excellent Communication. Being able to communicate effectively with stakeholders, project managers, developers, and other individuals involved in the software development process is essential for a solutions architect. As the architect has a central role in any project and leads every team on it, ineffective communication can lead to big bottlenecks. So, a solutions architect should be able to clearly explain, understand everyone’s point of view, listen, advise, and influence. 
• Project and Resource Management. Although a solutions architect is not directly involved in project development, they still need to ensure that project resources are being used efficiently and impactfully. They should be business-minded, capable of identifying the most effective solution at every turn, for every part of architecture. It is their responsibility to focus on business goals and understand how to achieve them in the set timeframe and within the given budget.
• In-depth Analysis. A software architecture and systems integrated into it are comprised of numerous details that work together. A solutions architect needs to be very attentive to those details, as overlooking something may hinder the development process, lead to breakdowns, or make the software solution inefficient. They also should be able to understand technical specifications of many different software solutions and hardware and perform analysis of different business layers.
• Risk Identification and Management. A solutions architect must be capable of analyzing and identifying potential short and long term risks that may cause technical issues and impede business operations in the future.
• Technical Skills. Expectedly, the role of a solution architect requires technical education and hands-on experience across all major areas of the software development process as well hardware engineering expertise (for software projects that rely on hardware). Thus, a solutions architect should have at least six to eight years of experience in the following areas:
  • Business analysis
  • IT infrastructure
  • Software architecture design
  • Cloud development
  • DevOps 

Enterprise Architect Vs Technical Architect Vs Solution Architect

There are three different architecture-related roles in the IT industry. Each of these roles is equally essential for the success of a project they are involved in and cannot be replaced by any other positions:

• Enterprise Architect
• Technical Architect
• Solution Architect

Now, let’s learn more about these roles and how they differ from one another:

Enterprise Architect vs Solution Architect Role

An enterprise architect operates is responsible for overseeing a company’s entire enterprise ecosystem. Enterprise architects focus on constructing and managing complex solutions that solve the company’s critical strategic issues. The overarching goal of an enterprise architect is to ensure that the company has smooth development lifecycles and uses available resources for every enterprise application effectively. Meanwhile, a solutions architect has a much more practical role. They take the business requirements and turn them into new software solutions that solve a company’s emerging technology.

Technical Architect vs Solution Architect Role

A technical architect chiefly oversees the software architecture, technical engineering, and implementation technology. Their main task is to provide technical leadership and make decisions regarding the most vital parts of the system that is being developed. They work closely with development teams to communicate IT strategies and outline practices that are meant to be followed throughout the project. The main difference between a technical architect and a solution architect these two roles is that the first focuses primarily on the engineering side. 

Here’s an image that gives a general perspective on how these three roles differ:

Source: Altexsoft

Solutions Architect Salary

According to Career Explorer, the average salary of a solutions architect in the U.S. is 8% hire than the salary for technology-related positions in the IT industry. As of 2018, the average salary of a solutions architect in the United States is nearly $99,769 per year. Their yearly income typically starts from $78,484 and goes up to $196,175.

Source: CareerExplorer

Let’s take a look at the salaries that solutions architects have at the start of their career an as they climb the career ladder:

Source: CareerExplorer

Source: CareerExplorer

Source: CareerExplorer

Source: CareerExplorer

Source: CareerExplorer

Source: CareerExplorer

Importance of Solutions Architect in a Company

One of the main reasons why a company should employ a solutions architect is to successfully design and develop new technology solutions that align with its business needs, as well fill in the communication gap between technical and non-technical experts involved in an IT project. As the process is always heavy on the budget and highly risky, every company should have a solutions architect to implement new solutions and scale them successfully. A solutions architect can be introduced to a company’s enterprise structure through software architecture consulting services.

Conclusion

A solutions architect is responsible for building and implementing IT systems architectures that meet the set business requirements. Their role starts with gathering the requirements, understanding the specifications, evaluating the systems that are in place, and working closely with stakeholders to deliver the right solution. In general, the solutions architect’s role is to explain the business requirements to the development team and lead them in building a product that can solve real business issues effectively. The position is very responsible and requires a wide-ranging IT skill set and knowledge. With companies increasingly relying on software and emerging technologies, the role of a solutions architect will continue to gain weight.

The post What is the Role of a Solutions Architect: Importance, Required Skills, Responsibilities appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

We did not include Headspace and Calm, as these are highly popular and well-advertised applications, instead opting to focus on unique mental health apps recognized across different categories. 

Lets’ start.

BlueIce 

Category: Evidence based mental health apps for youth and kids

BlueIce is aimed at helping teenagers manage their emotions and prevent self-harm with a wide variety of different features. Available for both Apple and Android devices, the application was developed by Paul Stallard from Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (Foundation Trusts are NHS’s organizations with a strong local reach). To make it as effective as possible, teenager with lived experience of self-harm took part in the process of creating BlueIce.

Here are the key features:

• Mood checker with notifications
• Simple mood diary
• Mood lifter with a set of proposed activities
• Emergency contact numbers
• Additional protection and privacy layer with PIN
• Personalized sections
• Smart safety checks for self-harm prevention

Now, let’s take a quick look at BlueIce’s biggest features — Mood Checker and Mood Lifter. 

The first relies on a “mood wheel”: a user chooses how they feel from a wide range of options on the wheel, take short notes, and then can identify mood patterns and triggers in the Mood Calendar across long periods of time. 

Meanwhile, the Mood Lifter section offers a comprehensive activity suite aimed at lowering stress. 

Here are its key components:

• Music and photo libraries
• Physical activities
• Mood-changing activities
• Mindfulness and relaxation exercises
• Contact a friend
• Negative thoughts spotting

BlueIce’s trial showed that the app can help teenagers manage their stress levels and self-harm urges alongside traditional face-to-face communication with a mental health professional. This and its comprehensive approach make BlueIce one of the top mental health apps available. The application is free, but prescription-only.

Cove

Category: Music Apps For Mental Health

Not everyone will enjoy writing down their thoughts into a mood journal, looking for other ways to improve well-being. Highly praised by top publications like Wired, The Next Web, and Guardian, the Cove app address that by offering simple music-making tools and eye-pleasing visuals designed for reducing anxiety and stress through self-expression. The process is easy: a user selects one of the six moods and then taps to choose chords, melody, and instruments (more than thirty are available) to create their own songs.

Cove was developed with the help of clinicians and other medical experts as well as tested, evaluated, and trialed in the NHS and other health organizations. Although Cove won’t replace professional treatment, it can be used alongside talking therapy and counselling, or simply to relax for a few minutes and enjoy the process of creating music anywhere you find comfortable.

Users have met Cove with high praise, mentioning its therapeutic effect, that it helps to cope with negative thinking, and has easy-on-the-eye visuals. As for the media, Guardian called it one of the best medical apps, and Wired UK wrote that Cove will upend user expectations when it comes to what a journaling app can be (Cove can be referred to as a music journaling app). 

The app is available for free for iOS devices only. 

Xmed Health

Category: Social Media-like Apps for Mental Health 

Although social media platforms have grown to be stress-inducing for many users, people’s love for socializing online can channeled to alleviate modern stressors and solve other mental health issues. The Xmed app may be the best example of that, offering users a health and lifestyle mobile ecosystem, a social network, and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in one package.

Here is how it works: AI asks a series of questions to identify a user’s health issue, juxtaposes that data with available medical data and information provided by other app users, and arrives at a conclusion. The user can then start talking with certified mental health professionals to tackle the problem, as well as discuss it with people who have the same issue in the app’s in-built social media network. 

Apart from its uniqueness and technological capabilities, the Xmed Health also has a well thought out flow, whose primary focus is to help a user solve their issue, beautiful design and animations, and gamification with levelling up and achievements. 

On top of all this, you can use the app to identify other health issues. making Xmed Health not only one of the best mental health apps, but also a solid health app in general.

Xmed Health is available in the Appstore. 

My Possible Self

Categories: Mental health therapy apps, Mental health tracking apps

My Possible Self promises to help its users lower stress and anxiety levels in eight weeks with a range of features backed up by clinically approved content. To deliver on the promise, the app offers over a wide range of learning modules aimed at various stress-inducing situations in life. 

The modules include:

• Stress and overload management
• Fear and anxiety management
• Overcoming loss and big life changes
• Problem solving
• Happiness and well-being management
• Tackling negative thinking
• Returning to pleasant activities
• Improving daily communication

The list does not end there, as the app’s creators continuously update it with different new modules. The first learning module is free, but to access the rest users needs to have a subscription. 

Still, the app has a number of other aspects that make it one of the best mental health apps. There is a comprehensive mood tracking tool/dairy, created with the help of the company’s in-house psychologists. A user can track their mood daily, selecting how they feel and pinpointing activities, people, and places that influence their mood and well-being. 

Working alongside the tracking tool is the Mood History and Insights features that help users detect mood patterns and act accordingly to improve how they feel. The latter displays mood shifts in a comprehensive chart, showing the patterns and proposing potentially suitable lifestyle changes with the help of custom algorithms. What is more, users can add written notes and images to every mood entry — a small but nice touch that enriches the experience.

The content used in My Possible Self is clinically and statistically proven to lower stress and improve well-being in an eight weeks’ time. To ensure that, the creators partnered with a leading non-profit mental health research facility called The Black Dog Institute. 

My Possible Self was warmly received by users and praised by media outlets like London Evening Standard and Buzzfeed. Is is available both in the Appstore and Google Play.

Happify

Categories: Event based mental health apps, Gamified mental health apps

Happify has a lot to offer. The app uses a set of comprehensive features that rely on science-based games and activities to help users fight stress consistently across all life areas. 

At the app’s centre are Tracks, a section with stretches of different simple activities that help users improve their well-being on a daily basis. These include, for example, singling out small moments in your day that made you feel good and choosing a person to be thankful to. Every user has a progression scale for each track as well as six skills they upgrade by completing it: Savor, Thank, Aspire, Give, Empathize, and Revive. There over sixty available tracks for different aspects of life, part of them only through subscription.

For those who want small bits instead of a long progression, there is an Instant Play section. Here, users can complete activities separately for each of the aforementioned skills. 

Other features include: 

• Happify Daily — articles, videos, infographics, and other types of content related to improving emotional well-being
• Community — a minimalist social network users can choose to be part of and share the activities completed for the skills with others
• Negative Knockout — a game where you bring down your negative emotions in style of Angry Birds.

The feature list is bigger still. For example, the app offers a twenty-page character strength report for each user, compiled in partnership with The VIA Institute. Meanwhile, Happify’s approaches were developed by leading scientists and experts in positive psychology, cognitive behavioural therapy, and mindfulness. 

Happify was widely praised by users and media, including reviews in ABC World News and The New York Times. The company also claims that eight-six percent of their regular users report improved well-being in two month since they started using the app. 

Happify is available for iOS and Android. Part of the features are free, while the rest can be accessed by subscribing. 

What Makes Top Mental Health Succeed

There is a pattern to why the aforementioned mental health apps enjoy success — they all tick the same important boxes. Here are the success factors:

• Mental health professionals should be involved in as many stages as possible
• The app should have a diverse set of features for a user to choose from 
• The features should be backed up by scientific research
• The app should have its unique feature, or approach a common feature from a different angle
• Mood journal is an important feature
• Gamification helps to keep the users engaged
• The app should have an appealing design

Now that you have taken a closer look at the top apps for mental health and what makes them so, you can start planning your own unique mobile product for those who want to tackle their mental health issues in a handy, clear, and pleasant way.

Good luck!

If you want to learn more about digital healthcare technologies, see some of our recent articles on the topic:

1. Trends in Connected Health & Wellness Devices
2. The Current State of IoT in Healthcare

If you need a consultation about your mental health app or other healthcare project, get in touch with our experts.

The post The 5 Best Mental Health Apps (& What Makes Them Succeed) appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

Before you decide whether you need enterprise software for your business, you should know what it is, how it works, and in what ways it would benefit your business. 

In this guide, we highlight all the key details related to enterprise applications, their development, and how they help enterprises improve their operations.

What Are Enterprise Software Solutions

Enterprise software is a subcategory of application software. Also known as enterprise application software (EAS), it is similar to any other application or software software solution you know at their core. However, EAS has a different focus: solving a problem of an organization instead of an individual user. EAS aims at increasing the efficiency and output of an organization by following, following the set business logic and organization’s overarching strategy.

Organizations that use enterprise application software include commercial companies, educational institutions, charity organizations, government institutions, and other organizations.

As every company has a different approach to business operations, enterprise software solutions are tailor-made to fit their unique business needs. This means that software solutions for procurement, accounting, or product management will differ from company to company. Indeed, there are software-as-as-service (SaaS) companies offering cloud-based enterprise software platforms for different business operations, but they still offer many customization options, so that their platform would fit each company’s unique needs. 

Regardless of the path you choose, each enterprise application will be integrated with your organization’s IT system, becoming its integral part. 

Specific Types Of Enterprise Software

As mentioned before, enterprise software is built to address the needs of an organization related to a business process. Each business processes deals with a different aspect of managing an organization, so different types of EAP exist.  

Here are the common types of enterprise application software.

1. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

An ERP software application usually connects operations of different departments. The main aim of ERP software is to streamline the cooperation between them with simple digital tools for planning, procurement, document management, reporting, and so on. ERP software usually integrates sales, project management, marketing, accounting, and supply chain management operations.

2. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

CRM software focuses on the most important aspect of any business – sales. This type of enterprise software addresses all core issues and challenges related to maintaining an effective sales and marketing workflow. A typical CRM application helps to manage orders, communication, reporting, client status tracking, feedback, as well as automate a number of sales processes. A CRM system’s ultimate goal is to help maintain an effective sales cycle yearly.

3. Accounting

Managing accounting in a large organization is always hard. The biggest challenge is establishing a consistent financial data flow from all departments. Custom enterprise software for accounting helps organizations to solve the issue with tools for data gathering and processing. These tools aid accounting experts in ledger maintenance, project accounting, budgeting, payroll management, billing, tax reporting, and so on.

4. Enterprise Asset Management (EAM)

EAM software assists in keeping a record of an organization’s physical assets and managing their life cycles. More specifically, EAM systems facilitate planning, optimization, execution, and maintenance of assets to increase their lifespan and help an organization cut costs.

To achieve that, a solid EAM system offers numerous useful features. They include digital tools for asset lifecycle management, inventory management, maintenance management, parts management, warranty management, vehicle maintenance, work order management, and so on. Some EAM tools also offer mobile enterprise asset management features. 

5. Business Intelligence (BI)

Business Intelligence enterprise apps help large organizations in getting a bird’s-eye view of their business operations. The tools in BI software suite primarily help data experts to manage data mining, analysis, visualization, reporting, benchmarking, and other aspects by using existing data sets. As a result, BI software suites make data management easier and quicker for enterprises. With BI apps, an organization’s financial experts and top managers can get a comprehensive overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the business and develop effective long-term strategies for further improvement. 

6. Supply Chain Management (SCM)

SCM tools allows enterprises streamline and automate core supply chain processes, including logistics. Specifically, an SCM system helps companies gather, manage, and store all the supply chain-related data. SCMs are usually built from the ground up for a particular company and aimed at speeding up processes and cutting organizational costs.

7. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)

As product life cycle is a long and complex process that involves everything from concept ideation to building the final product, PLM software aims at helping enterprises to effectively manage every step of the cycle. Consequently, PLM software suites help employees at every stage perform their tasks easier and quicker.   

Advantages Of Using Enterprise Software Systems

Here are the common advantages of all enterprise software solutions:

• Improved efficiency across the enterprise
• Increased employee productivity
• Comprehensive enterprise data management
• Impactful data insights 
• Less employee errors
• Higher customer and employee retention rates
• Increased revenue

Enterprise Software Engineering: What to Consider

At its core, the process of enterprise software development does not differ from how other types of software are developed. However, software development teams still should consider a number of important factors.

Interconnectivity

Enterprise systems usually comprise of numerous applications and tools running together and executing many tasks at the same time. Therefore, an enterprise application should have an architecture that allows for integrating it with other applications successfully. For an enterprise suite to work properly, every part should be properly connected.  

Performance and Scalability

Unlike other types of software, enterprise applications should be scalable to enable company growth over time. It should also work well across all needed platforms.

Security

Large organizations have a lot of sensitive information. In case of data breach, a company risks losing customers and leading positions on the market of operation. So, an enterprise application should have multiple security levels to prevent cyberattacks, leaks, and security bugs. 

Cloud Storage

Since enterprise software solutions aim at elevating business operations, these programs should ideally offer cloud storage to enable successful scalability over time.

EAS versus SaaS

Enterprise software can be divided into two categories — custom or SaaS (we already described both above). They differ across a number of parameters.  

Enterprise Software Trends

As modern economies increasingly rely on software, enterprise software trends come and go relatively quickly. Here are the recent ones.

Microservices and Serverless Architecture

This trend involves designing software with individual shortcodes to enable software teams manage separate tasks (microservices). You can then directly deploy the shortcodes to a cloud provider, which frees developers from managing a complex architecture.

Machine Learning

Today, top-of-the-line enterprise software uses these Artificial Intelligence-driven algorithms to automate some process and operation, saving an enterprise and its employees a lot of time.

Blockchain

Since it is decentralized and unhackable, blockchain is a safe storage for enterprise data. Plus, blockchain smart contracts can automate complex solutions that involve many parties, and can be paired with other technologies (like Internet of Things) to create big enterprise systems that elevate core operations, for example supply chain management.

Mobile Applications

Both enterprises’ employees and customers rely on mobile, so if it is possible to make an enterprise software solution available as a native mobile app, it is better to do so. 

Enterprise Software Market

As more and more companies grow into large organizations, the enterprise software development market keeps growing. Owing to the tremendous advantages offered by these tools, there is no sign the market will stop growing in the coming years.

According to the Global Enterprise Software Market Outlook to 2022 report, the enterprise software development market is projected to demonstrate a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 5.47 percent in 2016-2022. 

Besides, another report reveals that by 2024 the global enterprise solutions market would exceed $575 billion. Enterprise software solutions will be adopted on a bigger scale. The largest marketplaces in the world would include:

• United States
• Germany
• Canada
• United Kingdom
• China
• India
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Singapore

Enterprise Software Industry

Considering the ever-changing requirements and continuous growth of enterprises, the key players of enterprise solutions market have to adapt in order to thrive. Interestingly, most of these market leaders share countries of operation.

Prominent leaders of enterprise application industry include:

• Microsoft Corporation (U.S.)
• Oracle Corporation (U.S.)
• IBM Corporation (U.S.)
• Sap Se (Germany)
• Salesforce.Com Inc. (U.S.)
• Amazon.com, Inc. (U.S.)

Enterprise Software Pricing Models

different software development companies have adopted different pricing models for their services. The most commonly employed pricing models for enterprise solutions include:

• Different outsourcing models 
• Package pricing (an organization pays for customized software packages)
• Modular pricing (basic software module delivered for a fixed price with additional charges for updates)
• Per-user licensing/Per-device licensing

Popular Enterprise Software Examples

Here are some of the most popular companies that use enterprise software:

• HootSuite
• Salesforce CRM
• Zoom
• MailChimp
• Google Analytics
• BambooHR

Quick Summary

Enterprise software aims at addressing the core needs of large organizations by providing effective digital tools for different operations. Enterprise software solutions allow for cutting costs, improving employee productivity, acquiring useful insights, improving cooperation and communication between different departments, and offer other big benefits. Enterprise applications have evolved over the years since they emerged, and now use the latest technologies to help companies elevate their operations further still. Although EAS is expensive, its benefits are big and clear, and that is why enterprise software is used and provided by the world’s top companies. 

The post Essentials: What Is Enterprise Software appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

This post is a comprehensive analysis of a system development life cycle. By reading it, you will learn what an SDLC is, its stages, advantages and disadvantages, as well as why it is important. 

Let’s start.

What Is System Development Life Cycle

A system development life cycle (SDLC) is a structured project management model that outlines the phases required to build an IT system, from inception to the final result. The aim of a system development life cycle is to enable effective production of a high-quality solution that would meet or exceed a client’s expectations throughout all its stages, within the given budget and timelines.

7 Stages of System Development Life Cycle

A system development life cycle is a conceptual process that explicitly breaks down the stages required to develop and implement a system. Each stage plays a significant role in the development and differs from others in complexity, required assets, and expected functionalities. 

Let’s take a look at these stages further.

System Development Life Cycle Phases

There are seven phases in a system development life cycle:

Now, let’s discuss each of them separately.

1 — System Development Life Cycle: Planning

Planning is the most crucial stage of the SDLC process. It involves identifying and defining the project scope to determine a comprehensive action plan for the project, and pinpointing the issues the solution it would resolve. This phase outlines what will happen throughout the entire life cycle, and determines the success of the entire project. Team structure, timeframe, budget, security, and other fundamental factors should be accounted for at this stage.  

2 — System Development Life Cycle: Analysis

The planning is finished and the team is in place. Now, the team needs to perform an analysis of the system’s functional requirements to ensure it will meet the expectations of the target audience. Those expectations are then finalized and documented. The next step is performing a feasibility study to ensure that a system makes sense from financial, technological, and organizational standpoints.

3 — System Development Life Cycle: Design

Once the analysis is over and the requirements are set in stone, the design phase begins. This phase describes how to approach the design of a system’s architecture, user interface(s), network, databases, and security so that they will satisfy the requirements and enable future updates. 

4 — System Development Life Cycle: Development

The development marks the end of the preliminary part of the process and signifies the beginning of the production. Then, software engineers write code and fine-tunes the technologies involved in the project (this can also include hardware, for example if an IoT project is in question). This is probably the busiest stage of the life cycle, as it involves a lot of hard work from all the experts involved in it. 

5 — System Development Life Cycle: Testing And Integration

This phase involves testing and integration of the system and all related procedures to assess if it performs as expected and fully delivers on the requirements. The quality assurance (QA) team is responsible for this phase.

6 — System Development Life Cycle: Implementation And Release

At this stage, the new system is rolled out to the production environment, replacing the old one. This stage is performed by moving new data and components to where the old system was. After the implementation, the system is available to end users.

7 — System Development Life Cycle: Maintenance

After the release, any software system enters the stage of continuous maintenance. Today, any software product needs to be frequently checked for bugs and updated with features big and small. Indeed, you product may perform well upon release, but bugs can arise anytime. As for updates, your software solution needs to adapt to quickly changing needs its end users.

System Development Life Cycle Models

Further, we will look at two different and most popular SDLC models, and one sub-model — Waterfall, Agile, and data system development life cycle, respectively. Each comes with its pros and cons that must be weighed to make a solid decision. 

Waterfall Model System Development Life Cycle

One of the oldest SDLC models, the Waterfall model is a linear, sequential approach that is popular in IT product development; it emphasizes the need for consistently advancing from one stage to the next one. Each stage must be fully completed before proceeding to the next; after the stage is finished, it cannot be revisited. 

The Waterfall model is composed of these non-overlapping stages

Pros:

• Simple to understand and follow
• Clear milestones and deadlines
• Clear documentation
• Reinforces good coding habits
• Provides a solid structure

Cons:

• Unsuitable for complex or object-oriented projects
• Highly inflexible to scope changes
• Difficult to estimate time and budget precisely
• A working product emerges only on later stages of the cycle

Agile System Development Life Cycle Methodology

Being a dynamic and interactive framework, Agile has replaced the Waterfall system development life cycle methodology and became a significant driving force behind software development in the vast majority of companies across industries. This approach produces many release cycles where each iteration is tested, issues are addressed, and feedback is obtained from stakeholders throughout the process. It involves evolutionary development, continuous improvements, and flexible in the face of any changes.

Pros:

• Enables fast development and testing
• Issues are detected and fixed quickly
• Accommodates changes or enhancements
• Face-to-face communication and continuous feedback
• Less emphasis on design and documentation
• Scalability

Cons:

• Employees need prior experience in agile software development
• Less emphasis on design and documentation (this may be a disadvantage for some)
• A project manager with experience in agile software development is required
• No perspective on how the final product will shape up at the start of development

Database System Development Life Cycle

A database system is an integral component of a big organization’s IT system. The database development life cycle involves planning, designing, implementing, and maintaining a database system so it would fulfill an enterprise’s functional requirements. It is closely connected to a system development life cycle; the database development process begins right at the Requirements phase of an SDLC.

Database System Development Life Cycle Diagram

Here is what happens on the stages from the diagram above:

• Database planning — planning how to move through the life cycle stages more effectively.
• System definition — determining the limits of a database system, like the number of users and application areas. 
• Requirements gathering and analysis – gathering and analyzing the requirements for a database system.
• Database design – the process of designing a database according to all of the requirements.
• DMBS selection – picking the right database management system/DMBS for your database.
• Application design – designing the software that will make it possible to use and process a database.
• Prototyping – creating a working model of your database system that allows for evaluating how the system will look and perform.
• Development and implementation – building the database and database-related software and implementing them into the IT infrastructure.

Advantages and Disadvantages of System Development Life Cycle

System Development Life Cycle is a conceptual model that can be applied to both software and non-digital systems. Knowing both the advantages and disadvantages of a system development life cycle will help you make the right choice for your system. 

Here are the main advantages and disadvantages of a structured/non-Agile/standard SDLC:

Advantages of Structured SDLC:

• Gives a defined view of the entire system, resources, timeline, and goals
• Design reviews help to ensure the reliability and quality of the final product
• Enhanced control over large or complex projects
• Involves comprehensive and explicit steps
• Provide goals and deliverables that meet the standards of each party involved in the project, requires keeping detailed documentation throughout the entire process
• Easy evaluation of costs and growth of the developed system

Disadvantages of Structured SDLC:

• Increased development time and cost
• System details should be specified beforehand
• The volume of documentation increases with time
• Inflexibility when it comes to changes
• Outdated processes
• Testing may not be suitable for all development teams

Importance of Systems Development Life Cycle

A system development life cycle helps to lower the complexity of developing a system from scratch. It is important to have an SDLC in place as it helps to transform the idea of a project into a functional and completely operational structure. In addition to covering the technical aspects of system development, SDLC helps with process development, change management, user experience, and policies. Another benefit of an SDLC is that it allows for planning ahead of time, determine costs and staffing decisions, define goals, measure performance, and validate points at each phase of the cycle to boost the quality of the final product.

System Development Life Cycle Implementation

If the Waterfall model is a fitting choice for your project, you will only need an experienced project manager (or employee in a similar role) who will ensure that every stage is completed successfully and on time by working closely with the in-house team or an outsourcing partner’s team. Everything else is mapped out in the structure of this model, step by step. 

If Agile is your option, you will need to find a project manager with experience in agile software development, or a dedicated expert, for example a Scrum master. Agile software development is an entire field, so having an expert here is a must. You can find out more about Agile in our posts with insights into the methodology (see part one and part two) and about its metrics.

Briefly Summary

Whenever someone starts developing a new product, it is important to follow the system development life cycle. In this way, teams are enabled to work according to a structured approach for development of new solutions in a controlled and well-organized environment. Before the work on a new system begins, it is important to learn how an SDLC will meet the overall requirements, so it would help deliver the best outcome. Selecting the right SDLC will help you create the system you need quickly and effectively.

The post What Is System Development Life Cycle [Guide] appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

From benefits to salaries to IT hubs across the country, our guide details everything connected to finding and hiring talented Ukrainian software developers that will help you create a solid software product while integrating with your company culture and values.

Why Is Ukraine Good In Software Development?

Ukraine is a major IT outsourcing destination thanks to its highly skilled developers with outstanding ingenuity and problem-solving skills, cost-effectiveness, and a favorable geographical position. The main cities of Ukraine boast well-established tech centers, seasoned developers, and a constant influx of new talent, all thanks to its excellent level of technical education.

Why Ukrainian Developers Are Top Choice?

In this section, let’s explore the many reasons why Ukraine has become an attractive country for IT outsourcing and why world-famous companies recruit Ukrainian developers for their important projects:

Reasons to choose Ukraine for IT outsourcing

1 — Extensive talent pool

A vast talent pool is a major reason why software development outsourcing is booming in Ukraine. After the U.S., India, and Russia, Ukraine has the highest number of IT employees. In 2018, there were approximately 160,000 tech employees in the Ukrainian IT market. What’s more, the software developers pool in Ukraine is expected to cross the 200,000 mark in the coming years. According to SkillValue, Ukraine holds the eight spot on the list of the world’s top countries with highly skilled programmers, with an average score index of 91.26%.

Average score index of top countries with best IT developers (Source: DAXX)

2 — Attractive rates

Ukraine is one of the most cost-effective IT outsourcing countries in the world across different software development categories. Compared to the neighboring countries like Poland, Belarus, and the Czech Republic, Ukraine offers more affordable outsourcing rates and a more diverse tech talent pool. If you want to hire a highly skilled software developer while saving a significant amount in development costs, Ukraine is a great choice. Ukrainian developers charge between $25-$50 whereas developers with the same skill sets in North America or Western Europe with will cost a project at least $100 per hour.

The average hourly rate of Ukraine compared with other countries (Source: Clutch.co)

3 — Convenient time zone

Ukraine’s time zone is one to two hours ahead of most European countries. This makes Ukraine a convenient destination for nearshoring as well as offshoring. European clients can work and communicate comfortably with Ukrainian developers due to insignificant time differences. If the client company is located in the U.S., Canada, or Australia, they can still get in touch with the developers without any impact on their own working schedule. Simply put, Ukraine’s location allows for better monitoring and easy project communication and control as compared to other outsourcing destinations like India, the Philippines, or Vietnam.

4 — English proficiency

English is not widely used in Ukraine, but many people are fluent in it, and the number only keeps increasing. Approximately 80 percent of software developers in Ukraine have an Intermediate or higher level of English. Also, it is worth mentioning that the vast majority of software development companies in Ukraine offer free in-house English lessons that help their employees improve their English skills and vocabulary on a regular basis. So, the level of English of Ukrainian developers lifts the language barrier and enables them to work on any international project.

Source: DAXX

5 — Education

Every year, over 36,000 students graduate from local universities in Ukraine with IT related degrees. They are obsessed with technical innovations and technologies including Ruby, Python, C++, C#, PHP, and JavaScript. Additionally, the World Economic Forum has listed Ukraine among the top 10 countries worldwide for producing around 130,000 graduates annually in engineering and tech related fields. In Ukraine, the students are offered various educational opportunities to join the tech community. In collaboration with local IT companies, regional IT markets frequently launch educational programs at universities and colleges.

Main Software Development Cities of Ukraine

Source: QubitLabs

Leading IT companies in Ukraine are located in big cities. The biggest IT hubs are Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and Odessa. They home not only big, medium and small outsourcing companies but also startups, R&D centers, and other IT related organizations.

Source: QubitLabs

Let’s take a closer look at every city that contributes to the progress of the IT industry in Ukraine:

• Kyiv. The capital and most populous city of Ukraine, Kyiv has the biggest number of IT experts (40 percent) in the country. Kyiv, together with Lviv, is home to almost half of Ukrainian developers. It is said that 43 out of 50 biggest Ukrainian IT companies have their development centers in Kyiv. Kyiv is one of Ukraine’s fastest growing cities and has the highest level of business activity among Ukrainian cities. Major global companies have their offices and R&D centers situated in Kyiv.

Source: N-iX

• Kharkiv. Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine and has a long-established engineering tradition, which includes building software system. The countries important business hub, it has a well-developed IT outsourcing industry with over 25,000 IT professionals and almost 450 active tech enterprises.

Source: N-iX

• Lviv. A big and beautiful city located near the borders of Europe’s developed countries, Lviv is one of the most popular cities among Ukrainian software developers and IT outsourcing companies. Of 800,000 people living in this city, over 20,000 work in the IT industry. There are around three hundred and seventeen IT companies in Lviv that offer software development services to clients located in Western Europe, the U.S., UK, and many other countries. Also, a lot of conferences focused on the IT field take place in this city.

Source: N-iX

• Dnipro. Another big IT hub in Ukraine is Dnipro. It is home to nearly 12,000 IT experts and over one hundred and seventy software development companies. The city boasts a highly educated and experienced IT talent pool.

Source: N-iX

• Odesa. Odesa is another big city of Ukraine offering great opportunities to tech-savvy people who also want to work in close proximity to the sea. What is surprising is that Odesa offers higher salaries to the software developers than other Ukrainian cities, making it a quite popular destination for IT talent. It is estimated that the number of IT professionals in Odesa has grown from 6,000 to 10,000 in recent years.

Source: N-iX

10 Steps to Hire Top Software Developers in Ukraine

Following are the 10 steps that should be performed to hire top Ukrainian software developers. If you have a big project or plan to scale, it is better to delegate the hiring duties entirely to a trustworthy outsourcing partner.

Step 1 – Select a company

Make a primary analysis, and then narrow down your list to 2-3 options. Select a company based on client reviews and what your partners/associates have to say. Top managers usually have many connections and can easily acquire an informative overview on a range of potential IT partners. 

Step 2 – Inquire about the chosen vendor

Before the commencement of communication, it is important to find out as much as possible about your vendor. This includes inquiring about the vendor’s how many years the vendor has been operating in the industry, pricing, procedure for candidate selection, skills, etc. If several vendors fit your initial requirements, find out the information regarding their services and prices and compare them.

Step 3 – Provide enough project/job details

Try to provide as many details as possible regarding your project or position you need to fill. The more details, the better the outcome. 

Step 4 – Set up a dedicated team structure

If you have an approximate team structure for your project, discuss it with your partner. In reality, you may need more or less developers for your project.

Step 5 – Familiarize with your recruiter

Once the negotiation stage ends and you sign a contract with the chosen company, you get a recruiter for your project. To know that you and your recruiter are on the same page and can develop a long-term work relationship, you need to communicate your requirements/preferences to them to get an effective result.

Step 6 – Check your email frequently

Knowing that the Ukrainian IT market is growing fast, most of the candidates have numerous job offers to choose from. So, once you have contacted the recruiter, you need to check your emails regularly. The candidates’ resumes or any questions asked by the recruiter may need to be reviewed/answered as quickly as possible so that the candidate is not hired by any other organization before you make a decision.

Step 7 – Interview candidates

Enlisting an IT recruiting company has its own benefits. If you work with an IT outsourcing provider, you will have a recruiter assigned to your project. In any case, a recruiter arranges a fitting schedule for you and your candidates to conduct an interview. You can then determine the duration of the interviewing process, completion criteria, etc. 

Step 8 – Provide feedback

Needless to say, both the recruiter and candidate expect to receive feedback from you. If anything goes wrong, the recruiter should know what needs to be adjusted.

Step 9 – Recruit developers

Before you make a decision, double-check whether a candidate fits the position but don’t take too long as the candidate may accept the offer from another employer. 

Step 10 – Get started

Once you hire the right candidate for your project, it is time to introduce him to the rest of the team. Like the in-house staff, do the briefing, share the responsibilities, and introduce the working toolkit.

Average Salaries for Software Developers in Ukraine

The average salaries of software developers in Ukraine range from two thousand dollars for junior positions to more than five thousand dollars for senior level positions. The salary depends on the level of expertise, technologies, demand, and location. Let’s take a look at average monthly/yearly salaries for 2019.

Salaries of Ukrainian Java developers

According to fresh reports, Java is the most widely used programming language in Ukraine (20% of Ukrainian IT industry’s experts use Java). Here are the salaries of Ukrainian Java developers:

• Entry-level experts make around $1000 per month
• Mid-level engineers earn around $2500 per month
• A senior level programmer makes between $4000 and $5000 monthly

Salaries of Ukrainian JavaScript developers

JavaScript skills are in high demand in Ukraine as well, so the salary of a JS developer can exceed the income of fellow experts in other coding languages. A junior JS developer can earn around $6000 annually whereas a seasoned programmer with JS skills can make up to $54000.

Salaries of Ukrainian C# / .NET developers

At this time, the demand for C# programmers is extremely high in Ukraine. It is estimated that around 400 vacancies for .Net developers are opened every month all over Ukraine. The salary of a .Net developer in Ukraine falls between $8000 and $50000 annually depending on place of residence, seniority, and other factors.

Salaries of Ukrainian PHP developers 

Though PHP has seen a decrease in popularity in the past few years, it is still regarded as the fourth most commonly used programming language in Ukraine. A huge number of skilled programmers studied PHP as their primary programming language in Ukraine alongside other languages. If you plan to hire a mid-level Ukrainian developer, the annual cost ranges between $3000 and $6000 while senior level PHP programmers earn $24K000-$50000 per year.

Salaries of Ukrainian Python developers

Python has become more popular in the Ukrainian IT market in recent years and it undoubtedly dominates the Data Science field. This language is the most wanted skill to learn in the country, so senior Python programmers have very high salaries in Ukraine. Normally, a Python developer can make between $7000 and $50000 annually, depending on the candidate’s expertise, experience, and other factors, whereas the salary of a senior programmer can reach $60000.

Salaries of Ukrainian Ruby on Rails developers

Ruby on Rails (RoR) developers charge more than PHP programmers. The average salary of an entry-level RoR developer is around $800 per month while the mid-level and senior developers make $2500 and $4500 on average respectively.

Top 5 Ukraine IT Outsourcing Companies

There is an extensive range of IT service providers in Ukraine, from large international corporations having thousands of employees to smaller IT outsourcing vendors. Here is the list of Ukraine’s top 5 IT outsourcing companies for you:

Top Software Development Companies and Teams from Ukraine

Intellectsoft

Providing end-to-end software and technology solutions for over 12 years, Intellectsoft is one of the leading software development companies in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Intellectsoft employs many experts with niche skills and delivers comprehensive solutions for companies across all major industries. The company’s clients include SMBs, Fortune 500 companies, and well-funded technology startups. They include the likes of Harley Davidson, Eurostar, Ernst & Young, and many more. Intellectsoft has unique expertise in the latest technologies, including Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented Reality (AR), and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Ciklum

One of the best outsourcing companies in Ukraine, Ciklum is a major IT consulting and outsourcing services provider that greatly emphasizes continuous training of new software developers. It is an international company with offices across the world. The range of its services spans fields like software development, R&D, Quality Assurance (QA), UI/UX consulting, and other.

Infopulse

Infopulse is another long-established IT service provider with great expertise in software, telecommunication, automotive, banking, and financial industries. Currently, it is serving clients from 22 different countries worldwide and employs over three thousand IT professionals. The company’s core competencies include SAP solutions, data security services, app virtualization, customer service, and much more.

Eleks

Eleks is a software development provider that focuses on software engineering services for large companies. Since its first days, Eleks has been striving hard to deliver products that improve the quality of life. That being said, the key areas of expertise include blockchain, data science, mobility, Augmented and Virtual Reality, IoT, and cloud management. Moreover, it has five Research & Development centers across Eastern Europe employing over a thousand IT professionals.

EPAM

EPAM is one of the oldest and largest IT services providers in Eastern Europe and worldwide. Its operates across four continents and in twenty-five countries and has twenty three thousand IT experts on board. The company’s core competencies involve SAP solutions, IT consulting, web development, and data science. 

IT Svit

IT Svit is one of the top IT outsourcing companies and has been providing DevOps-as-a-Service for more than 13 years. The company has worked on over six hundred projects with top European firms in industries like telecommunication, finance, and marketing. The range of its services covers web development, QA, Data Science, AI, and other.

How to Hire Dedicated Developers From Ukraine?

If you are looking for a developer or dedicated developers to hire or create a software development outsourcing team in Ukraine, it is an easy task that still involves many important things.

This task becomes simple with the extensive talent pool, IT staffing companies, connections in the outsourcing sphere, and establishing a great corporate culture.

What Are The Possible Risks Of Ukraine It Outsourcing?

Needless to say, everything that has great advantages carries some risks as well. Ukraine is one of the biggest destinations for IT outsourcing, but there are still some overarching risks that should be considered when hiring Ukrainian developers:

• Some bodies of government are permeated by corruption
• Intellectual Property laws are rather weak
• There are no tax breaks for most software organizations

The Takeaways from Our IT Outsourcing Ukraine Guide

There is a very high chance that hiring Ukrainian from a reliable outsourcing partner may be the most effective and impactful move your business has made in years. The country has an extensive talent pool that includes engineers with unique niche skills, and regardless of project size and scope you can stay cost-efficient. On top of that, there are many long-established vendors to choose from, and Ukraine has long established itself as a go-to IT outsourcing country. We hope that this post helps you make an informed decision and choose the best Ukrainian programmers for your upcoming project.

The post Steps, Tips, Salaries: How to Hire Software Developers in Ukraine?  appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

This post will show you whether offshore outsourcing of software development projects is beneficial for your business, and how to avoid mistakes in selecting the right company and cooperating with them.

How Offshore Software Development Works?

The process of software development offshoring starts by hiring new employees overseas. Experts hired on the basis of offshoring work full-time and the cost of their services is almost three times lower as compared to employing in-house employees. The offshore team is responsible for the entire software development, testing, and maintenance and communicates with the client in the process. 

Pros And Cons Of Offshore Software Development Outsourcing

Following are some of the advantages that you can expect from the offshore software development process:

Pros

• Cost-effectiveness. With offshoring, companies can save up to 30% of their expenses. This includes costs on recruitment and salary. Also, they do not need to spend money on hardware and software as these costs will be taken care of by the offshore software development company.
• Attention to core activities. The management can spend more time on planning and directing the company’s business strategies while the offshore software development partner handles the technology-related project. Thus, it allows companies to focus more on core business activities.
• Task-specific experts. With software offshoring, you can hire a scalable team only for a certain project, without committing to long-term hiring. After the release of the product, you can scale down your team to a small unit that would maintain and update your software solution. The vast majority of offshore software development companies offer the option. 
• Access to a larger talent pool. Choosing to offshore your software development gives you access to a vast tech talent pool whose engineers have the experience in creating software with the latest technologies, and will help you stay ahead of the competition. 
• Faster time-to-market. Modern businesses understand that speed is essential to staying competitive. The option of turning to offshore software development company is the shortcut to reducing your product’s time-to-market dramatically.

Cons
Delegating some of your business tasks to a third-party vendor may sound like a good idea. However, we are going to shed light on some of the shortcomings of offshoring:

• Demands continuous management. As it is not your in-house team and every software solution consists of an endless number of details, you need to monitor your offshore team to see if everything goes as planned and according to the project requirements. Or, you can hire a project manager who will manage the team, which means allocating additional costs. 
• Differences in time zone and culture. Your company and your offshore team will work in different time zones and may come from different cultures. This will inevitably affect the productivity of both sides and might extend the deadline. 
• Hidden costs. While companies go for offshoring to save some money, some offshore software development companies include hidden costs into the price of their services. Partner only with reputable offshore providers that do not raise any suspicions.  
• Risk of data theft. When you offshoring, you inevitably share ideas, innovations, and sensitive information with a third-party, and the risk of data theft is always present.

Top Offshore Software Development Risks

Similar to in-house software development, offshore outsourcing involves potential risks. Before starting to cooperate with an outsourcing software development company, business owners might need to consider the following risks: 

• Data privacy risk. Privacy has always been a top priority. So, you need to find a reputable offshore software development company with comprehensive security policies and sign an NDA agreement with them.
• Communication risk. Communication risks come into play due to the lack of face-to-face communication, ESL (English as a Second Language) barriers, time zone differences, and cultural differences. You can mitigate these risks by partnering with an offshore software development company that offers flexibility in your engagement with their team. This may include bi-monthly visits to your offshoring partner’s office, hiring more experienced engineers with advanced English, and other. 
• Quality risk. “You get what you pay for” does not always apply to software development offshoring. Not every company delivers quality results. So, select a trusted company that can meet your technical requirements and follow project documentation thoroughly.
• Management risk. Managing a remote team can be difficult. Still, you can succeed in it by organizing a streamlined workflow. External and internal teams should collaborate closely to stay informed on the current state of the project and cooperate on issues that need involvement of both sides. This way, management risks can be reduced and the project can be better coordinated.

How To Manage an Offshore Software Development Team?

Managing an offshore software development team is challenging. To face them successfully, managers needs to coordinate employees and leverage all assets effectively. 

Here are the essentials of managing your offshore team:

• Communicate effectively. Maintain continuous communication with the offshore team to see if they follow deadlines and requirements.
• Arrange visits. Visit your team to work with them for a few of days for better collaboration and team building. 
• Use collaboration tools. Use JIRA or similar systems for task tracking and reporting, Slack for instant messaging, and Skype or Zoom for video calls.
• Provide feedback. Discuss the project’s progress and give feedback to your team frequently.
• Treat your offshore team as your in-house team. Avoid keeping your offshore team at an arm’s length. Instead, try to make a connection with them on your meetings by having short discussions on casual topics, asking them how they are doing, and so on. You can also give bonuses and increase salaries if you have a long-term project.

Offshore Software Development Best Practices

Most companies today leverage software development offshoring. Still, if you are offshoring for the first time or need to guide someone responsible for managing an offshore team, we have some basic tips. 

Here are the best practices of offshore software development outsourcing that will help you cooperate with your development partner effectively:

• Define your goals. Establish clear, actionable goals and document everything in detail.
• Choose the right partner. Carefully explore available companies and evaluate the potential offshoring partner. Do they have a clear understanding of your business requirements? Do they have experience in your industry? Does your potential partner have a time-tested development approach? Are their previous clients satisfied with the company’s work?
• Stay in the loop. Collaborate with the offshore team to know the current project progress and whether there are any issues or obstacles. 
• Maximize engagement by recognizing the offshore team’s input and success and hold them accountable for problems.
• Store reusable components. Build a library of frequently your in-house team or other outsourcing provider you may hire in the future can use for quick development of new software to time, costs, and efforts.

Offshore Software Development Common Issues

Below are some of the most common issues of offshore software development outsourcing that you need to be aware of beforehand:

• Culture gap. The employees of the vast majority of offshore companies will come from cultures different from yours and be less fluent in English. This means their approach to work may be different from yours, among other things we discussed above.
• Lack of transparency. Handing over some of your in-house projects means that you often disclose sensitive corporate information. Some companies prefer not to share it with their offshoring vendor under any circumstances, which may impede the software development process. 
• Replicated/sold code. In some countries, breaking an NDA agreement is not enforced by law. In case your offshoring partner comes from one of these countries, you need to have legal agreements that confirm your company owns the code.
• Lack of documentation. The absence of software documentation or unclear business requirements may lead to a poor quality end product.

What Are the Cost Components Of Offshore Software Development?

The key cost components of software development offshoring are infrastructure cost, service cost, and maintenance cost.

Below are other major cost components common to offshore software development outsourcing:

• Hiring and training 
• Development
• Project management 
• Quality assurance
• Maintenance
• Auxiliary costs

Top Countries For Offshore Software Development

When it comes to outsourcing, offshoring has become the ultimate solution for businesses that need quality software developed quickly. As a result, many companies emerged to address this need across the world. 

Here are the top 8 countries for offshore software/IT project outsourcing:

Offshore Software Development Billing Rates By Countries

Essential Offshore Software Development Statistics

• The global IT outsourcing industry generated $62 billion in revenue in 2018
• China has become the second most popular offshoring destination according to Statista
• Ukraine can potentially challenge the dominance of the biggest offshoring providers like China in the first part of the next decade

How To Choose the Right Offshore Software Development Company?

With the availability of numerous outsourcing companies worldwide, choosing the right one can be a complete game-changer for your business. Before going to headhunt potential companies, outline your software development goals, success criteria, and growth targets. Once you have a crystal-clear view of your expectations, make a list of top offshore companies offering IT services. 

Here are the key factors to consider:

• Great communication skills and fluent English
• Small difference in time zones
• Experience in your industry
• Fitting technology skills
• Cost-effectiveness 
• Ability to meet your standards

On top of that, seek out a company that has an established software development process, uses time-tested practices, and employs innovative approaches.

Quick Summary

In the era of technological advancement, offshore outsourcing helps companies get an advantage over their competition. Offshore software outsourcing is challenging, but with the right approach and information, you can end with solid software at a fraction of the cost as compared to hiring, managing, and maintaining a software development team.

The post Basics: What is Offshore Software Development? appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

Now, the concern is: can a new language replace the good old Java? In this article, we will make a comprehensive Kotlin vs Java comparison, discussing their advantages, differences, performance, and future to help you better grasp who is winning in this big battle.

What is Kotlin?

Kotlin is an modern, open-source programming language developed by JetBrains, a software development company behind software development tools like IntelliJ IDEA, PhpStorm, and other. At its core, Kotlin is a statically-typed language that combines the features of functional and object-oriented programming. Kotlin is fully compatible with Java Virtual Machine, and it was declared by Google as the official IDE for Android development. It is employed in the development of server-side and client-side web and Android apps.

What is Java?

Java is a powerful high-level programming language which is concurrent, object-oriented, and class-based. Released by Sun Microsystems in 1995, Java is a fast, reliable, and safe computing language, with which you can develop powerful applications for a single or distributed environment on the internet.

It is a platform-independent language, based on philosophy of WORA (Write Once, Run Anywhere), which allows for running the compiled Java code on any platform that supports Java. Used by approximately nine million developers, Java is one of the most famous programming languages in history, especially when it comes to server, web, and Android application development.

Kotlin vs Java: Features

Below are the features of Kotlin and Java that have played a vital role in making them popular:

Kotlin

• Open-source – Kotlin is an open-source programming language designed by JetBrains to work across platforms.
• Full Java Interoperability – Kotlin is fully interoperable with Java. It can run on Java Virtual Machine and supports all Java tools and libraries.
• Easy Maintenance – Not only Kotlin is easy to learn, but it also supports a lot of development tools that make the maintenance of code easy.
• Conciseness – Kotlin is more concise than Java as it solves the same problem with fewer lines of code. This enhances the code readability and makes the code more effective and efficient.
• Supportive Community – Although Kotlin is a fresh language, it has quite a supportive community where developers help each other in solving issues.
• Fail-fast System – Kotlin has a built-in fail-fast system that aids in avoiding errors and minimizing bugs in the code using its three standard library functions.

Java

• Object-Oriented – Java is an object-oriented programming language. It contains every OOP feature, including inheritance, polymorphism, abstraction, and encapsulation.
• Platform-Independent – Java code is compiled into a platform-independent bytecode that can be executed on any platform to which JVM is ported.
• Robust – Java is a strong language that uses memory management, an automatic garbage collector, and exception-handling to eliminate error-prone codes.
• High Performance – Java enables high performance due to its bytecode that is highly optimized by the Just-In-Time compiler.
• Secure – Java has built-in security features which include run-time and compile-time static type-checking.
• Multi-threading – Java supports multi-threading that allows for handling multiple threads simultaneously.

Advantages of Kotlin vs Java

Here are some major advantages of Kotlin and Java:

Kotlin

• Seamless Integration with Android Studio – Kotlin offers Integration with Android Studio that makes it easy for developers to create new projects with Kotlin files.
• Mature Language – Before the final release, Kotlin has gone through multiple stages. So, it has no problems in functioning and works smoothly with the IDE plugin.
• Safety – Kotlin’s simple and easy-to-understand code prevents a wide variety of common mistakes.
• Easy Android Development – When talking about Kotlin vs Java Android development, Kotlin makes it easier, as it has concise code and enhanced productivity.

Java

• Rich APIs – Java provides powerful APIs for different operations, including DB connection, I/O, networking, utilities, and other.
• Allocation – Java has a Stack Allocation System that makes data storage and retrieval easy.
• Distributed – Java makes distributed computing easy with its integrated networking feature.
• Power Development Tools – Java provides powerful development tools such as NetBeans and Eclipse SDK, which comes with debugging capabilities.

Kotlin vs Java: Differences

In general, Kotlin is similar to Java in many scenarios. However, if we make head-to-head comparison of Kotlin vs. Java, the differences become more noticeable:

Kotlin vs Java: Comparison

Below is the table with Kotlin vs. Java comparison:

Kotlin vs Java: Usage

Kotlin

A modern programming language, Kotlin was only used by professionals on its initial stage. Still, since Google made the announcement, Kotlin usage exploded, especially in students. Apart from being used for Android development, Kotlin is also used in web development, front-end and back-end.

Java

Java is the most extensively used programming language that is currently running on three billion devices. It is used to build commercial websites, mobile, desktop, enterprise, and scientific applications, games, application servers, big data solutions, and software tools.

Kotlin vs Java: Which One Is Easy to Learn?

There are different factors that attribute to the learning curve of a programming language. When it comes to syntax, Kotlin is more demonstrative than Java. Kotlin provides several methods to generate a cleaner code, which makes it more readable and understandable.

However, learning a programming language is not just about the syntax. Finding a helping hand when issues arise, that is having an established community, is important. As Java has been around for decades, it has a larger community of developers, online code libraries, and references that are particularly helpful in case any support is needed. Still, it is worth remembering that Kotlin is relatively new, so it is evident that Kotlin will stay behind Java.

On top of that, although Java is quite similar to Kotlin, programmers should learn Java to start grasping Kotlin, as the latter comes from the first. Kotlin is easy to learn only if a programmer is already familiar with Java.

Kotlin vs Java: Which One Uses Less Energy?

Only Android developers can explain how tiring it becomes when they have to write lengthy code using Java. Java is an old programming, language and requires developers to spend hours writing the code, thereby increasing the chances of errors and bugs in it. Meanwhile, Kotlin is built to be more effective and less time and energy consuming for developers. As compared to Java, Kotlin uses 20% less code as it has various built-in features which remove the need to write boilerplate code on a regular basis. It enables developers to get more functionality with concise and compact code.

Kotlin vs Java: Example of Code

Below is the code example that shows the Java vs Kotlin difference in terms of number of lines required to perform the same task:

It is evident that Kotlin cuts the quantity of code lines by almost 40% compared to Java. After performing thorough research on Android Java vs Kotlin development, Java developers definitely move to Kotlin to enjoy this feature.

Kotlin vs Java: Performance

The performance of an application is highly dependent on various factors, like the nature of OS it is being built for, developer expertise, actual code, and so on. When comparing Kotlin performance vs Java, both of them are pretty much the same. Since they share similar bytecode structure, there is no measurable difference.

Still, when it comes to clean builds, Java compiles 10-15% faster than Kotlin. On the other hand, Kotlin offers some amazing built-in structures, like data classes that result in efficient and cleaner code. For consecutive incremental builds with single or no file, Kotlin can be even slightly faster than Java. However, we conclude that in this battle of Android Kotlin vs Java development, the efficiency depends on the performance of the specific JVM implementation.

Kotlin vs Java: Statistics

Since 2017, when Google declared Kotlin as an official language for Android development, many major companies switched their Java-based apps to Kotlin. As of March 2019, around 35000 applications are using Kotlin, with the overall market share of 4.8% across Google Play.

If we notice all the demerits of Java, Kotlin seems to be better in the Kotlin vs Java development battle. However, Java language enjoys success in other areas.

Kotlin vs Java: Future

Regardless of the unquestionable position of Java in the programming world, Android needed a modern language to support applications. Kotlin filled that place perfectly, being branded as a first-class language for Android apps by Google. Kotlin was developed to offer solutions to the problems Java did not come to resolve over the years. As Google itself has become Kotlin-oriented, this fact is causing developers to move towards adopting Kotlin. Be it as it may, Java will continue to be a famous programming language, while Kotlin is now the official language for Android that will be widely adopted by forward-thinking developers and businesses in the future.

Conclusion: Java vs Kotlin. Who is the winner?

Wrapping it up, anyone who wants to work with Android must have good knowledge of Java, especially if mastering Kotlin is a priority. Java is the basis of Android development efforts, so if you are a newcomer who wants to gain some experience in the programming world, get started with Java. If you are already a Java developer, learning and starting development with Kotlin, the language of the future, would be a great idea. Finally, it is all about choosing the language you are comfortable with, and the one that will fit your project work!

Kotlin vs Java — Further Reading

If you want to know what developers think and you want to dive deep on Java vs Kotlin, visit the websites of official developer communities of both programming languages.

Here is Kotlin, and here is Java.

Good luck with your development efforts!

The post Kotlin vs Java: Selecting a Language for Android Projects appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

Adero, formerly TrackR, whose shareholders include Amazon, Foundry and Revolution, developed a series of products and software solutions along with Activefield, a platform that can scale across many products, many companies and unlimited use cases.

Adero, being a well-funded startup, has been successfully reinventing itself to stay relevant as it grows together with its addressable market. Like any early stage ventures, one of Adero’s challenges hinged on a need to scale its software development together with its engineering bandwidth, with the required growth vs. available local resources.  

Competing in a rather fragmented market of IoT-based consumer solutions for organizations, Adero aimed high, worked hard, and raced against time to go to market with an offering that would win over millennial and Generation X consumers alike.  

During its quest, Adero partnered with Intellectsoft, which was able to integrate its efforts smoothly into the strides undertaken by Adero’s in-house team. Understanding  IoT technologies, the intricacies of hardware design and embedded software, coupled with an innate understanding of the needs and wants of Adero’s core consumers, Intellectsoft was able to contribute its skills and knowledge to the partnership, resulting in a product that lies at the core of the intelligent, easy and stress-free organization concept of Adero.

Shortly after the product’s release, Fast Company awarded Adero the #10 spot on their list of Most Innovative Companies, alongside tech giants Apple, Google and Microsoft.

About Adero & Smart Tagging System

Adero (formerly known as TrackR) is a Santa Barbara, CA-based technology company that provides an intelligent organization system aiming to end the stress and chaos that comes with managing personal things. Converging consumer electronics, hardware, the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, software, and wireless in one place, Adero’s Smart Tagging system lets a user’s life essentials manage and keep track of themselves.

1 Smart Tag (parent beacon) and 3 Taglets (smaller beacons) connected to it

No matter how many things you have and the number of bags you use to carry them, Adero is built to ensure you never lose anything in a simple way. The logic behind Adero’s product is the following. The Smart Tagging system consists of small tracking devices, parent trackers, and a custom mobile app. You place the parent beacon (called a Smart Tag) on a bag, the smaller trackers (called Taglets) on the things you usually put in that bag, and then register the bag and its tags in the mobile app. When you leave something from the bag behind, the app sends you a notification after communicating with trackers. You can organise the bags, trackers, and notifications in the app.

How hard was the road to the seamlessly working final product and the customer? And where did Intellectsoft step in to play the part?

Challenges, Challenges, Challenges

At the start, Adero faced fierce competition in the tracking solutions market. The only option was creating a pitch-perfect product that would fully deliver on the premise of keeping track of personal belongings at all times.

The final result needed to be simple, work seamlessly, and stand out among competitors. Adero’s talented team had experience  creating similar products that enjoyed success, including the wireless speaker system from Sonos, XBox from Microsoft and the Tesla.

The accompanying mobile app is an important part of Adero’s product

Adero began working with various development partners focusing on design, firmware, hardware, and software. The two unresolved pieces of the fully-developed product puzzle were: a) ensuring interoperability between all product components and b) simplicity of the solution that would resonate with users of diverse tastes, age groups and abilities.

For those tasks Adero selected Intellectsoft to partner across mobile, cloud, and microservices development.

Building the Team & Getting to Work

While the right expertise and niche skills were critical to the product development success, contracting planned time to market put both companies under significant pressure to perform fast and, most importantly, to deliver robust and superb performance.

For Intellectsoft such a time-pressed environment is actually a modus operandi, as many domestic and foreign enterprise clients come to Intellectsoft “in a pinch.” The company has a well-oiled system of acquiring, training and onboarding the resources with required core domain and technology prowess and compiling an outstanding team within Adero-required deadline.  Intellectsoft has been working with Adero through a combination model from its offshore development centers in Kyiv and Minsk, as well as on-site in a client-facing capacity at Adero’s offices in Santa Barbara.

The project epitomised success of this close collaboration between Intellectsoft and Adero teams that enjoyed great synergies in the process, consisting of knowledge sharing across a wide array of subjects from general technology challenges to particular relevant  intricacies in software development.

Areas of Collaboration:

• iOS app MVP architecture (Swift)
• Android app MVP architecture (Java)
• Custom Bluetooth communication protocol
• Advanced rule validation and notifications engine
• Custom User Interfaces and Motion
• AWS cloud backend solution
• Platform build on Ruby and Node.js
• Advanced platform rollout
• Mobile app development
• Hardware onboarding and communication security
• AWS Cognito for authorisation
• ELK Stack for Logging and Metrics
• Installation of microservice architecture

See how Adero’s product works:

Abundant Payoff Was Commensurate With The Efforts

Intelectsoft’s cooperation with Adero could not have resulted into anything short of an award- winning product that stands out among competition.

Fast Company ranked Adero #10 in their list of Most Innovative Companies of 2019 in the Consumer Electronics segment. Adero stands beside the majority of the tech industry’s giants, including Apple, Google, and IBM. Meanwhile, the customers enjoy Adero’s simple and elegant product that helps manage essentials without leaving behind vital items for all upcoming engagements in an easy and sleek manner.

“Smart devices were supposed to make our lives better.  However, over the past decade we’ve discovered that users are quickly becoming overwhelmed in this overly-connected blue-chip stuffed IoT driven world,” said Adero’s Chief Executive Officer Nate Kelly. “More apps to manage, more devices to keep an eye on, more cords to untangle and remember about—it’s way too much! Adero is giving the users  an opportunity to passively manage and keep track of their essentials in a non-invasive way that allows for confidence and a peace of mind for our customers. ur system of tags, effectively “taking care” of the items,” freeing consumers’ minds to focus on more rewarding matters. Without Intellectsoft’s expertise, getting a product of this quality to market, especially within the outlined time constraints, would have been nearly impossible.”

The post Tech Story: How Adero Created a Stellar Product that Consumers & Top Tech Media Love appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

JavaScript is a robust scripting language used to build web, desktop, and mobile apps with rich features and functionality. With it, one can make a website that is more user-friendly and highly interactive. Things like updating web pages, UI improvements including animations, interactive maps, graphics, and much more can be created easily using JavaScript.

What is a JavaScript Framework

In the development sphere, the term JavaScript Framework means a library that provides developers with pre-built website templates and pre-written JavaScript code for standard programming tasks. Millions of developers use JavaScript Frameworks to speed up the development workflow and enforce the best practices.

A huge number of web development frameworks have joined the JavaScript world in the past few years. Their use depends on the main goals, general platform functionality, project requirements, and how it can be implemented within each specific scenario.

By using the best JavaScript development frameworks, a huge amount of time and effort can be saved on developing JavaScript-based websites and applications. It simplifies the entire procedure and allows developers to make large-scale web applications efficiently.

Most Popular and Top JavaScript Frameworks List

Tons of JavaScript frameworks and libraries are available for use, and at least two new frameworks emerge each month. Even the process of choosing from top JavaScript frameworks for your next project can be an intimidating job. To make the task easier for you, we have gathered a list of the best JavaScript frameworks, so you could get more quality work done in less time. In this article, we will be taking a closer look at the top-ranked JavaScript frameworks, and we think that these frameworks will gain traction in the future.

So, let’s start going through the list of best JavaScript frameworks.

1) JavaScript Frameworks: Angular.js

Developed and maintained by Google, Angular.js is one of the most efficient and popular JavaScript frameworks that give developers the best solutions to combine JavaScript with HTML and CSS. It is an open-source front-end web framework that allows software engineers to build interactive single-page web applications (SPA) like no other.

2) JavaScript Frameworks: React.js

Developed by Facebook, ReactJS is a highly efficient open-source JavaScript library used for creating interactive UIs. This fast-growing JS framework is used by webmasters to handle the view layer of complex apps and websites. React.js is faster than Angular.js and is a perfect choice for those who want a simple, scalable, and fast framework.

3) Best JavaScript Frameworks: Vue.js

Vue.js is one of the most famous JavaScript frameworks and was created by Evan You in 2014. It is an open-source lightweight library that is used to build creative UIs. Presently, more than thirty six thousand websites are using this platform, including the websites of many major companies. Vue is designed to be adaptable and make the UI development process more organized.  

4) JavaScript Frameworks: Ember.js

Ember.js is an open-source front-end JavaScript framework that allows programmers to build scalable single-page, desktop, and mobile applications. It works on the principle of MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) pattern and is packed with several amazing features to help developers along.

5) JavaScript Frameworks: Meteor.js

Meteor.js is a full-stack JavaScript framework developed by Meteor Development Group. It is written using Node.js and allows rapid prototyping and production of cross-platform projects. Meteor is an ideal platform to create concisely written mobile apps regardless of platform.

6) List of Top JavaScript Frameworks — Mithril.js

Mithril.js is a modern client-side JavaScript framework commonly used to develop Single Page Applications (SPA). It has built-in modules for routing, XHR, and customizable data binding. Moreover, it offers faster library load time and update performance than other frameworks.

7) JavaScript Frameworks: Node.js

Node.js is a server-side JavaScript framework that runs on Google Chrome’s V8 JavaScript Engine. This open-source platform is used in creating networking and back-end applications in cross-platform run-time environments. NodeJS is capable of managing a huge number of simultaneous connections with maximum throughput, which gives applications high scalability.

8) JavaScript Frameworks: Polymer.js

Polymer.js is an open-source JavaScript library used in building cross-browser compatible web applications with reusable web components. It is the first JS library to allow for building interactive applications using web components. With the help of the polyfills (web component specifications), customized and reusable elements can be created.

9) JavaScript Frameworks: Aurelia.js

A more modern take on app development frameworks, AureliaJS is an open-source JavaScript framework designed for mobile, desktop, and web development. It is called a next-generation UI framework and is built from a collection of JS modules, allowing developers to build amazing apps with ease. Aurelia.js promotes pure JavaScript and features ES 2016, which enables developers to write better code using object-oriented techniques.

10) Most Popular JavaScript Frameworks: Backbone.js

Backbone.js is one of the most popular JavaScript frameworks that enables developers to build and structure client-side applications that run in a browser. It provides an MVP network to present the data as Models, Document Object Model (DOM) into Views, and binds both using Events. This lightweight JS library allows developers to pick the right tool for the given project. It may be the last on our list of top-ranked JavaScript frameworks, but definitely not the least.

Top 10 JavaScript Frameworks Comparison

There are different JavaScript frameworks, and assessing their advantages and drawbacks can be a challenging task. This section aims to provide a detailed comparison of JavaScript frameworks. Now, we will walk you through the pros and cons of all top JavaScript frameworks covered above.

AngularJS

Pros

• Two-way data-binding – data synchronization between the Model and View. Any changes made in the Model are instantly displayed in the View, and vice versa.
• Directives. With directives, Angular.js gives developers the freedom to repeatedly use specific functions, create custom directives, and it keeps the HTML pages organized.
• Dependency injection – an AngularJS built-in mechanism that defines the way software components are dependent on each other. Dependency injection makes components easier to manage as well as more usable.
• MVVM architecture – Model-View-View Model and Model-View-Controller can be implemented using AngularJS to separate the data from the View, as well as make complex applications easy to manage.

Cons

• JavaScript support required. There are many devices that do not support JS. So, your website or app may be at risk of losing a chunk of audience.
• MVC Knowledge. If a developer is unfamiliar with MVC architecture, using Angular.js can become extremely difficult and time-consuming.
• Performance issues. As the AngularJS framework is used to develop dynamic apps, they often end up big in size and start exhibiting glitches as a result.

ReactJS

Pros

• Virtual DOM. React.js uses the abstract copy of the real DOM – Virtual DOM. With it, developers can work faster, use hot reloading, and make UI smoother.
• Unidirectional data flow. One-way data flow in ReactJS ensures that any changes made to child elements will not affect the parent elements.
• JSX. React utilizes JSX (basic JS that uses HTML-like syntax) to make components code readable and display how components get put together.
• Reusing code components. With this feature, developers can create isolated ReactJS components that can be modified later and make the development process speedier and more precise.

Cons

• Poor documentation. With technologies advancing and updating so fast, it becomes difficult for developers to write proper documentation, and they end up following the information that lacks clarity and completeness.
• High development speed. With the constantly changing development environment, it gets hard for developers to adapt to every change and  roll-out continuous updates.
• Steep learning curve. If you want to integrate a UI library into the MVC framework, learning to do it with React.js requires extensive knowledge and putting in a lot of effort.

VueJS

Pros

• Templates. VueJS uses HTML-based templates that combine its instance data with DOM.
• Two-way communication. Similar to some other famous JavaScript frameworks, Vue facilitates two-way communication and speeds up the HTML blocks handling.
• Reactivity. Vue has a highly reactive system in which changes in models instantly update the View.
• Easy integration – Vue.js couples nicely with other applications and server-side frameworks.

Cons

• Unnecessarily high flexibility. It is nice to have a flexible framework, but a framework that is too flexible can over-complicate a project and may lead to errors in the code.
• Poor support. It is a relatively new library, with a small team behind it. Do not expect timely updates and plan accordingly if you decided to use Vue.js.

EmberJS

Pros

• Ember-CLI — a command-line utility that comes with Ember stack. Ember-CLI provides support for tools including HandleBars, LeSS, SaSS, CoffeeScript, and other.
• Ember templates. Built into Ember’s UI, templates are coded using the HandleBars templating language. They help developers create stunning UIs using less code.
• Ember Inspector. This tool allows developers to inspect Ember objects in the development and debugging processes easier.
• Convention over Configuration. Ember.js is based on Convention over Configuration (CoC) software development paradigm, which helps developers focus more on their app’s features and functionality.

Cons

• Steep learning curve. Ember.js’s learning curve is very steep. The framework is not beginner-friendly, and small young companies with a lot of junior developers need to invest time and money, if they want their engineers use Ember.js.
• Outdated resources. Ember has a small community loaded with outdated tutorials.
• Not suitable for big projects. It is extremely challenging to use this framework in large-scale projects, as it will consume too much time and affect overall team productivity.

MeteorJS

Pros

• Full stack solution.Meteor.js provides a full-stack solution to build and use web applications.
• Extensive packages and libraries. The framework offers a vast collection of libraries and smart packages that are up-to-date and highly reliable, if you aim at boosting the speed of the development process.
• Real-time web applications. MeteorJS is a perfect solution for creating real-time applications, as all the layers between the database and the template update automatically. It also has a built-in testing tool that integrates with the most popular JavaScript frameworks for testing.
• Single language development. With Meteor, developers can use the same code for front-end and back-end, making in one of the top javascript front-end frameworks. Thus, teams using Meteor can save time, and they do not need to switch context between JavaScript and server language.

Cons

• Complex integration. Meteor is difficult to integrate with other frameworks; hence, it is unsuitable for beginners.
• MongoDB Support. From the long list of popular SQL databases, Meteor only syncs with MongoDB.
• Internet connection flexibility. Meteor.js requires a good internet connection. If the internet connection is weak, the chances to lose synchronization between front-end and back-end are high.

MithrilJS

Pros

• Main feature – Mithril.js facilitates hierarchical MVC components, safe-by-default templates, customizable data binding, and URL routing.
• Flat learning curve. Mithril offers beginner tutorials and a huge API references section that can help developers with everything on the road to building applications.
• Components. Components can be created with the help of an optional controller and the View property.
• Speed – Mithril loads in less than 5 milliseconds, compared to other most popular JS frameworks.

Cons

• Unsuitable for complex projects. Due to its simple structure and small API, it might not be a good idea to use this framework for any complex project.
• JavaScript knowledge needed. Mithril requires developers to know JS and DOM well. On top of that, it doesn’t normalize the events or DOM.

NodeJS

Pros

• High performance. With V8 JS Engine, Node.js allows for quick JavaScript execution, as well as allowing for scalable and faster creation of web applications using multiple connections simultaneously.
• Suitable for large web applications. Node can use JS to perform functions on both the client-side and server-side of the application. It makes Node suitable for server-heavy application programming.
• Easy integration. With Node.js, no extra effort is required to integrate client data with server data. The same language can be used in working with persistent layers for both client and server sides.
• Corporate Support. Unlike other top JS frameworks, NodeJS is blessed with a large community that keeps on contributing to its further development and improvement.

Cons

• Unstable API. Node.js API constantly changes at frequent intervals and remains unstable. When this happens, developers have to make changes to their code to stay compatible with latest Node API.
• Poor third-party software management tools. Node’s numerous tools that are used in installing and managing third-party software are of poor quality. It seems that they have not been supervised properly and fail to meet common coding standards.

PolymerJS

Pros

• Web components. Built on the idea of reusable web components, Polymer employs them to break apps into portions of fitting size and create usable widgets in web documentation.
• Data binding. Polymer supports both one-way and two-way data binding, which makes the application area extensive.
• Polyfills. Polymer uses modern APIs for web interfaces and offers polyfills for browsers.
• Speed. Polymer works three times faster on Chrome and four times faster on Safari than other top JavaScript front-end frameworks,
• Custom elements. Polymer.js allows developers to create their own custom HTML elements.

Cons

• Lack of server-side rendering. While developers can work with PolymerJS on the client side, it cannot be rendered on the server side. As a result, page load speed is affected.
• Limited resources. Polymer.js has a small support community and limited resources available on the web, which makes it less popular in the industry.

AureliaJS

Pros

• Web Standards. AureliaJS is one of the cleanest modern JavaScript frameworks, and the one which focuses on the web standards without any concern for needless abstractions.
• Extensible HTML. With this feature of Aurelia.js, developers can create custom HTML elements for data binding and dynamic loading.
• Multi-language support. Aurelia’s APIs are designed to be compatible with every today’s and tomorrow’s popular programming language.
• Modular framework. Aurelia is made up of small modules, with each serving a particular purpose. They can be used together as a full-featured framework, or employed in building a custom solution.

Cons

• Low traction. Unlike other top JS frameworks, AureliaJS does not enjoy much popularity.
• Limited resources. Aurelia.js has a little community and limited resources. As a result, the framework has a steep learning curve.

BackboneJS

Pros

• Backend synchronization. Backbone.js provides great support for RESTful APIs, so Models can be easily tied to the back-end.
• Event-driven communication. The framework provides an event-driven communication between Models and Views to prevent the code from being difficult to read.
• RESTful JSON Interface. Backbone has a RESTful JSON interface based on the MVP application model. This format is used to perform data serialization and provide better support for browser clients.

Cons

• Difficult to learn. Backbone.js has a steep learning curve.
• Unsuitable for large data sets. The framework does not provide any data binding process, which makes it unsuitable for pages with that usually exhibit high data loads.
• Underscore templates. Backbone.js uses Underscore templates that are not as comprehensive as those provided by other top JS frameworks.

Future of JavaScript Frameworks

Many top JavaScript frameworks continue gaining traction among developers, so their future looks bright. Still, if we talk about top javascript front-end frameworks, Angular.js is an absolute champion with rocketing demand, with ReactJS and VueJS catching up in popularity. When it comes to back-end JavaScript frameworks, Node.js definitely continues to grow in terms of performance and features more rapidly than other back-end frameworks.

Final Thoughts

We hope our round-up provided you with a really comprehensive and actionable overview of JavaScript top frameworks to choose from for your upcoming project. The JavaScript (JS) frameworks list that we have discussed above shows the benefits and shortcomings of each framework, so you can clearly see where each framework works best. Still, do not forget that prior to picking the right one for your project, you need to have the feature list, the architecture, and required performance level.

Good luck with your project!

The post Top 10 JavaScript Frameworks in 2020 appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

As learning always takes time, the deadlines are pressing, and consumer demand changes fast,

the question of how to find an app developer or an entire team to complete a project could arise at any moment. Still, projects differ in size, and budgets are not limitless. How do you find the right app developers then?

In this article, we show and explain how to find an app developer or development team for any project and business size, as well as different scenarios — so you can find the solution for your case as soon as possible.

First, we address four common situations when you might need hiring app developers, and provide possible solutions, explaining how you can hire the right experts. Second, we list six ways you can find app developers for any project.

Let’s start.

4 Ways You Can Hire App Developers

1 — How To Hire App Developers & Teams For Big Projects

Outsourcing mobile app development has long emerged as the top choice for businesses across industries. When you outsource, you hand over your project to a team of external experts, provided by an outsourcing company.

Companies turn to this service for a number of reasons:

1. Lack of the necessary expertise. Some companies might have an in-house software development team, but it could lack the expertise in a certain technology or be involved in another project. For example, a business needs to create an AR app, but they only have a busy web development team. As a result, finding and hiring app developers with AR expertise from an outsourcing company emerges as a good option.
2. Pressing time frame. Today, customer demand changes extremely fast, and the quicker you deliver the product, the better. If you do not have the right experts, training the existing team or hiring new developers may take up a substantial amount of time. Outsourcing companies are built to solve that issue and help you find and hire app developers that would suit your project demands and company culture.
3. Cost-efficiency. Maintaining an in-house team brings many benefits, but it is also highly expensive. Count in monthly salary, office and equipment expenses, as well as other costs, and you will get big numbers, especially if you need niche expertise. With outsourcing, you have immense budget flexibility in hiring app developers: you can scale your team up and down — or add an expert only for a period of time needed to finish a certain part of the product. On top of that, you do not have to pay for equipment or office space, as the outsourcing company covers that costs.
4. High Flexibility. There is more to outsourcing’s appeal when it comes to flexibility. As outsourcing services have been growing in toe with customer demand, modern providers offer a multitude of benefits for companies that want to hire app developers on specific terms. With outsourcing, a team can work onshore (a provider’s office are located in the same country of origin as your business or business branch), nearshore (a nearby country), or offshore (faraway countries). Whether you want close collaboration, satisfied with video meetings, or need a combination of both, there is an option for every business case.

When It Is Better To Outsource?

Outsourcing is the best option for well-funded startups, medium-sized companies, and enterprises. All of them might lack either resources or expertise for certain projects. If you are in charge of a relatively small company, you may only need to hire an app developer that will single-handedly cover all your needs. Otherwise, it is not cost-efficient (find out more on how to find an app developer for small projects and companies below)

2 — How To Hire a Mobile App Developer With Niche Skills, Without Hiring an Entire Team

Let’s say you have a large project rolling forward at full speed. It is innovative, and involves multiple technologies. Everything is going according to plan, and there seems to be nothing ahead to prevent your team from meeting the deadline. Suddenly, one of IoT experts on your team (for example, a very experienced embedded software engineer), receives a job offer they cannot refuse. No matter what you say and how satisfying everything is, the engineer says they cannot simply ignore the offer. Unfortunately, you are left without an important expert.

A service called outstaffing will help you fill in the gap as quickly as possible. With this model, you can hire a mobile app developer with the right skills who can quickly fit in with your team and help you get your project back on track and further to the fast lane.

If you need to add a certain technology to an existing product, but do not have the right experts, you can use outstaffing services to find and hire app developers with the right skills. For example, you want to add AR to your mobile product, which has Android and iOS versions. In this case, you will need to hire mobile app developers for both platforms who also have AR expertise (and, maybe, an AR solution architect).

Another big benefit of outstaffing is shared knowledge. Any developer prefers to share their knowledge and expand it beyond the field they started from. For instance, you have mobile app developers, but they lack AR expertise for one of the projects. When you hire app developers with the skills that your team lacks, they will share that knowledge in the process of cooperating on a project. That is, when you outstaff you also invest into education of your employees and, consequently, into your business. More so, your developers will be learning not from a lecture, workshop, or else, but a real-life project with an expert in the field.

Outstaffing is also cost-efficient and flexible. If you need to add a DevOps engineer for a limited time to the experts you already hired for a project, you can do so. Outstaffing providers offer scalability as required.

3 — How to Hire Mobile App Developer for a Small Project/Company

Turning to outsourcing, outstaffing, or similar ways of hiring mobile app developers (you would also come across team extension, for example) is rarely the option for small projects or companies. These services are aimed at bigger companies, projects, and teams, and do not make sense for smallers ones from the business perspective. Instead, small companies or projects can win from more suitable options to hire a developer to make an app.

Upwork

• Freelance websites are a great option for short to mid-term projects. Existing freelance platforms like Upwork and Fiverr have many app developers for hire across a wide array of technology areas and programming languages. With simple and streamlined user experiences and rating systems, you can use these platforms for hiring app developers you can rely on. However, if you consider hiring freelancers for the long-term due to tempting cost-efficiency possibilities, we do not recommend doing so. Freelance app developers usually like to have a number of different projects, and often they take on several at a time. Therefore, with this option, you cannot count on long-term consistency and commitment.
• Job search websites. Although freelancing is a popular mode of work/lifestyle choice, it does not fit everyone. Hence, you can rely on a tried-and-true option and hire mobile application developer with a job search website. This option can work both for long and short term, it all depends on what a developer expects and what you both can agree on. You can also expect a large number of CVs to choose from.

4 — How To Hire Mobile App Developers For an In-House Team

So, you need to build a reliable in-house team. This is the most expensive way to go, but it has some major advantages over other options. First, high dependability and consistency. An in-house team is always there, ready to get to work and solve an issue. Second, an in-house team would be familiar with your IT infrastructure, software projects, and how your business works in general. As a result, they would be able to provide better solutions to issues and challenges, and do it faster.

On the other hand, building a solid in-house team for the long-term takes a lot of time and effort. You will need several in-house HR experts or help from a recruitment agency to secure the developers you need. Here, finding an experienced project manager could be a great start.

In any case, an in-house team will be a costly option in every aspect. Your company would need to allocate costs to monthly salaries, equipment, office space, training, as well as other costs. The good news? Big urban centers offer flexible workspaces that provide office essentials and a comfortable environment in general. Some of them are built solely for software and mobile development companies, so your experts will also gain benefits from sharing knowledge with colleagues from other companies. If your business is small and growing, or you are a startup, you can find options to stay flexible.

6 Ways You Can Find App Developers

When you finish selecting the most fitting mode of operation for your business, it is time to compile a list of potential partners/developers. There are many different places and platforms online where you can find mobile app developers.

1 — Find mobile app developers with B2B research firms & ratings

If you need to find an outsourcing or outstaffing partner to hire app developers from, this is a solid option. B2B firms like Clutch offer comprehensive rating systems, which allow for finding the right partner quickly by putting the spotlight on reviews and concise company profiling.

Clutch

2 — Hire a team or developer based on recommendations

Whether you need a team or only looking for mobile app developer, getting in touch with partners and friends who currently have or had the same challenges may solve your problem. They would recommend an outsourcing service provider or a developer, providing you with front-row feedback that is often missing from reviews and elsewhere online. That is, you will know the real advantages and disadvantages of your potential partner. When you are investing a lot of money in a project, this is the best way to go.

3 — Find & hire a mobile app developer on freelance platforms

As we detailed above, you can always find an app developer on freelance websites like Upwork. If you only need to solve a small issue or have a small project, you can hire an app developer shortly after finding them at the website. Rating and profiling systems like Upwork’s are clear and feedback-driven, providing a foundation to make a reliable decision.

Fiverr

4 — Looking for an app developer with niche skills? Check out their blog

As we pointed up earlier in this article, developers enjoy sharing the knowledge, and a great many have their own blogs where they share insights and expertise. This is how developer communities work and the software world spins. So, if you need an IoT engineer, you can browse IoT publications on, for example, Medium, and try and find the right expert there.

5 — Find a programmer for an app by doing online research

If you know how to choose reliable outsourcing partners and where to look on their websites, this option may prove to be a good starting point. If not, look at these three things first and foremost: clients and case studies, years on the market (ten years of experience is great), and a clear and established development process. Also, couple this option with other ones on the list, like checking potential partners you found on B2B firms’ ratings and getting in touch with your partners.

6 — Find a programmer for an app on GitHub

While not the most evident way to find an app developer, the world’s largest code hosting has millions of experts from across technology areas who contribute source code to millions of repositories. There, you or an expert on your team can find the right experts and check their code quality as it is.

The post How to Find & Hire App Developers for Different Projects appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.