Are You A New UX Designer?

Being a UX designer is an exciting job as you get to be creative and assist in how people see the world. For those who understand the intricacies of UX designing, they will know that UX designers have a job that constantly expects them to create and innovate following deadlines. Apart from that, there are numerous challenges, one faces due to to workplace atmosphere, colleagues and clients as well.

So, we have these points you might like to ponder upon before your first job as a UX designer!

1. Know when to say yes.

Do not hold back for it is unknown territory or if you feel you are not competent enough. This is the time to learn!

2. Don’t jump into using Sketch straight away.

Get your basics right first. Make sure your skill sets on Photoshop and Illustrator are up to the mark first.

3. Get feedback often and as early as you can.

Criticism is essential for a newbie. Get as much as you can and keep improving in the long run.

4. Know when to say no.

If you think the task at hand and deadlines are not realistic, let them know!

5. Think on your feet and be adaptable.

Something will always come up last minute regularly in your job. Be flexible and understand your importance.

6. Work with developers.

Start interacting with developers early to understand the intricacies and nuances of development.

7. Think and plan first, then prototype.

Follow the steps of the design thinking approach. Do not skips steps. I repeat, never skip the steps.

8. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help.

Try to solve it for yourself first. If you cannot, then there is no shame in asking for help.

9. It is okay to come across as stupid at times.

Find a person that you feel comfortable asking ‘stupid’ questions. It is the best way to innovate and learn.

10. Organize team social events and have fun.

Have fun at your job. Let it not be a monotonous routine where you just wake up, come to work and go back home.

11. Never say ‘I do not know’.

If a developer or major stakeholder asks a question about a design that you’re unsure of avoid saying “I don’t know”. Instead, come up with something like ” I will get back to you”.

12. Always explore a stakeholder’s feedback, even if you don’t think it will work.

It is always good to explore options and test them even if you think the idea probably will not work.

12. Take opinion from different developers.

One developer might reject your design, probably some other might approve of it. Take opinions from everyone possible.

14. Plan a ‘hour of power’ for yourself to focus on something other than work.

Regularly update yourself with the latest UX trends from around the world. Explore and research daily.

15. Always be prepared.

Be prepared for presentations and client meetings beforehand. Planning and preparation is of utmost importance.

 Now, go out there and conquer the world of UX Designing.

Image Source: Giphy & Tumblr

In a world where consumer-centric approaches and integrated operations is the trend, business organizations have to think out-of-the-box to survive cut-throat competition. With large work volumes and critical data sets, companies need the best resources to deal with critical projects. When it comes to software development, human resources play the pivotal role in the entire process. Outsourcing your projects to offshore developers will be a smart decision.

You need to handle huge work volumes, and none other than the top developers can help you do that. Assigning every project to in-house developers won’t be a smart move, as they have to concentrate on other operations too. If you are planning to work with an efficient offshore development team, here are some practices you should follow!

Statistics speak

Before you start planning the project with offshore developers, take a look at the crucial stats in the market. A whopping 43% of IT companies in the US outsource their projects, and 44% of them chose it for cost reduction. That says a lot about the significance of offshore software development. To be honest, offshore development services are critical to the success of a software company.

Following the best practices

While working with a team of skilled offshore development partners, you must develop crystal clear ideas of the best practices. Start with a targeted identification of critical issues and devise strategies to mitigate them. Here are some of the significant practices that every company should follow:

1.     Identifying critical operational challenges

Working with offshore developers isn’t an easy task. Since the entire development project demands proper communications, linguistic barriers will surely create problems. Without mutual understanding and linguistic intelligibility, it would be tough to explain projects to your offshore partners.

2.     Consolidating outputs

You might outsource software development projects to various developers. Quite naturally, each of them will belong to diverse locations. Consolidating the outputs from multiple sources and locations will be the best thing to do.

3.     Due Diligence

The development process involves reviews of implementations or designs. While working on a software development project, you must pay attention to technical reviews from peers. Conducting targeted assessments at every phase of the project will help you identify operational glitches thus rectifying them at the right time.

4.     Component reusability

While working on a software development project, you will find that some of the components are used quite often. Building a dynamic library of these components will help you assemble new programs within the shortest time span.

5.     Managing ‘Change Control.’

Change Control is an integral and inseparable aspect of agile development. The term refers to the introduction of changes made to a system or product in coordinated and controlled environments. By following this particular practice, you can prevent the introduction of unnecessary processes in the development stage.

6.     Check time zones

Outsourcing your work to offshore development partners will lead to working in different time zones. Although it has numerous benefits, there are disadvantages as well. Before you start working, make sure you have profound ideas of the time zones.

Get, set, go!

With these practices in mind, you can embark on a successful business journey and start working with your offshore software development team.

What can you expect with Android O?

The official Android O release date is still unknown but we should get official confirmation and a glimpse into the first developer version of Android O at the Google Developer conference between May 17 and 19 this year. However, a few of its features were announced recently, and we have gone all guns blazing to get you the best of Android O.

Here is what you can expect from the new Android update:

Adaptive icons: The system will display icons in different shapes and animate interactions with them from several screens. This should make the UI more beautiful from the launcher to the settings menu.

Background limits: To safeguard user’s battery life and performance, Google has put automatic limits on app’s background activities. These background limits will specifically include restricting implicit broadcasts, background services and unnecessary location updates.

Picture-in-picture: Apps will be able to put themselves into Picture-in-Picture mode, and there will be more robust windowing features. For example, apps will be able to do native overlay windows rather than using system alerts. There will also be multi-display support, so you can launch apps on a remote display.

Notification channels: These are new categories for notifications that give users very detailed control over notifications – not just by app, but by channel or topic. These channels will be visually grouped together on the notification shade.

Superior Settings: The most obvious front-facing change in the first Android O Developer Preview is the Settings app. Not only does it have a new icon, it’s been revamped from the ground up, with a new look and smarter organization. And we’re hoping Google extends it to the rest of its apps, because it’s vastly superior.

Better security: Whether it’s a Google beta or the newest version of WhatsApp, a lot of us side-load apps onto our phones. Over the past few versions of Android, Google has taken steps to help ensure that malicious apps can’t make their way onto your phone, and in Android O, Google has made it even more secure.

Extra navigation buttons: It will give you extra options in the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen. Along with the usual back, home, and overview, you can add things like a screen capture and notification shade shortcut.

Lock screen shortcuts: We’re all familiar with the lock-screen shortcuts for the camera and voice assist, but on other phones, we’re able to change them to apps that we use more often. In Android O, Google is giving us the same ability. In the System UI tuner there’s a new Lock screen option that lets you change the left and right shortcut to just about anything you want. Along with launching one of the apps of your phone, you can also add shortcuts for a ton of useful actions like opening a new tab in Chrome, taking a selfie, or composing a new Gmail message.

Keep Your Fingers Crossed and lets hope this update is going to deliver all that it promises.

Image Source: Google Developer Site.

How Will AR transform the future?

We are constantly updating our technology to make our lives simpler and our jobs free of unwanted hassles. Augmented Reality is one such technological advancement that has already started to make a buzz in the industry with its varied applications. Its uses seem to be limited to our imagination. It can be anywhere and anytime. It is all set to change our future as we speak.

With multiple benefits ranging from incredible RoI to innovative feature implementation, a strategically designed software can be a substantial revenue driver for organizations. Developing software is important and critical to the success of various operations. However, the entire process demands exceptional skills, in-depth knowledge, and technical expertise. Knowing the effective tips will help you create highly functional, scalable, and feature-rich software programs. Here are the eight keys that will help you develop an exceptional software program.

Identifying the crucial factors

When it boils down to developing a dynamic software program, you should be aware of the significant aspects involved in the purchase process. Right from conceptualizing the project to executing it, you will need to implement targeted and proper strategies. The following tips will surely help you out.

1.     Know the development type

Before developing and creating a software program, you should know which particular type interests you. When it boils down to software development, developers have two options, namely, Systems and Applications development.

While applications like Smartphone apps, ERP software solutions, and high-end video games play the vital role in meeting user needs, systems help in the creation and maintenance of OS. Quite naturally, these differences make it imperative to know the development type.

2.     The programming script

Knowing a programming script is the key to developing high-end software applications. You can have millions of ideas and creative brainstorming sessions. However, that won’t be enough to create a software program. Developers will need to choose the right programming script from the following options:

• C
• C#
• C++
• Java
• PHP
• Python
• Objective-C

The right programming language will help you create a highly functional, scalable, and feature-rich software application.

3.     Gain access to valuable resources

Software development involves numerous processes and aspects. If you wish to know these factors and aspects, it will be imperative to gain access to crucial resources. Some of the popular online resources will share informative tutorials and guides with you, thus helping in the software development process.

4.     Working on pet projects

Before implementing your freshly acquired programming expertise, try to work on a few pet projects. That will help you develop ideas of the nuances involved in the software development project.

5.     Connect with professional developers

You can also connect with a group of professional developers having profound knowledge of software development. They will help you gain targeted insights into the entire process.

6.     Creating prototypes

It is highly imperative to create a prototype while working on a software development project. The prototype keeps on changing, and you can make iterations throughout the SDLC.

7.     Writing design documents

Designing is an integral part of the software development process. While embarking on the project, make sure you create full-fledged and comprehensive design documents. That will keep you informed about the entire process and help you stay in line with the developments.

8.     Rigorous Testing 

After the completion of the development process, you must start testing the final product. It is during this particular phase that you will come across severe operational glitches and get opportunities to correct them.

Start working

These essentials will help you develop and design a highly functional, high-performance, and scalable software program.