Let’s Get This Straight: Software Product Development Isn’t The Same As Application Development

PDMS

The difference between Application Development, Maintenance and Support (ADMS) and Product Development, Maintenance and Support (PDMS) is not always obvious to businesses. But if an enterprise is considering a software product launch, it is imperative that the management team understands that difference! Employing ADMS skills and resources to complete a PDMS project is very likely to result in project failure.The investment and time required to conceive, design and develop a software product is significant, and it can be overwhelming. The software product development and design process includes competitive analysis, technical feasibility, product roadmap management and implementation and timely upgrades of the product to satisfy the ever-changing user and technology needs. If your business wants to successfully create and launch a software product, the project must be managed with optimum standards of software engineering and it must comply with the business plan and financial projections for the product. Software Products Development must include state-of-the-art software engineering practices, appropriate technical architecture, versioning control, detailed technical and user documentation and high development and quality standards.

###

Content First, and Mobile First: How To Factor Them Into Responsive or Adaptive Web Design

RWD

If your enterprise is considering Responsive Web Design (RWD) or Adaptive Web Design (AWD), it is important to understand that the decision process does not end with RWD and AWD. To successfully design, develop, configure, integrate and implement a flexible web design, the business must also consider the questions related to ‘Content First’ and ‘Mobile First’.’Content First’ and ‘Mobile First’ methodologies are designed to put the emphasis on content prioritization, and to ensure that important information reaches the users, no matter what device they are using. These methodologies are often part of a responsive design strategy, and reflect an approach that allows the enterprise to display important business information to users quickly and with established priorities. If the navigation menu or company message is not clear or if it does not load fast on a smart phone the business may lose clients, customer trust, credibility and revenue. Having a content first strategy will help the enterprise to establish and sustain trust by respecting the user’s time and attention.

###

PHP is a Magic Potion: Looking for a Dependable, Affordable Software and Web Site Development Framework? Look No Further

php

PHP is a server-side scripting language that enables web development, and can be used for all types of programming. Its popularity has exploded in recent years. So much so that the last estimate of PHP installations and site designs indicated that PHP was used to power nearly 250 million web sites around the world. There has been an explosion of PHP Development frameworks, like CakePHP, Zend Framework, Symphony and others, and these frameworks and tools add significant value for developers. PHP developers can also leverage the large global development community to discuss issues and find tips and tricks to make the development process easier, more flexible and more successful.The PHP hypertext preprocessor language is interpreted by a web server, and generates a page, or a set of pages using PHP embedded codes within the HTML document. One of the reasons PHP is so popular among developers is that the PHP license is free to use and it can be deployed on nearly all web servers and on most platforms and operating systems without any licensing costs.

###

The Story of Mr. Singh- Part Two: Business Intelligence Drives BPO (and Mr. Singh) Into the Future

BI-for-Business-Process-Outsourcing-BPO

When last we saw Mr. Singh in ( The Story of Mr. Singh – Part One: BPO Project Success Driven by Business Intelligence), he had been transformed from an overwhelmed team leader to a hero. With the help of his friend, Raghav (an IT pro who worked in the same building) and a sophisticated, intuitive business intelligence solution, Mr. Singh helped his company to sign a lucrative contract with a client and managed to get himself a promotion in the bargain. Today, Mr. Singh uses a mobile, affordable, practical Business Intelligence solution to manage and monitor all of the data from his projects, his budget, his team resources and more!

###

The Story of Mr. Singh – Part One: BPO Project Success Driven by Business Intelligence

BI-Tool-for-Business-Process-Outsourcing-BPO

The coffee urn was nearly empty and the team was still knee-deep in problems. Mr. Singh was trying to export data from his CRM solution and other systems into an excel spreadsheet to create a report that would offer analytical insight into the performance of his team and its members. Mr. Singh was the leader of the largest team working on an all-important business process outsourcing (BPO) project, and he was in desperate need of concise, clear information. The reports he needed would, in all likelihood, determine the success of the project (and whether he got the promotion he wanted) and dictate whether his team, and the organization for whom they worked, would be granted another project by the same, lucrative, client.

Mr. Singh’s team had performed admirably on their first BPO outing for this client but in order to seal the deal and get the repeat business, they had to illustrate that the team met the project deadlines and worked within the budget. The team had to produce a report that illustrated that the project outcomes were delivered within the quality standards guaranteed by the Service Level Agreement (SLA). In addition, Mr. Singh had to demonstrate that each team member abides by quality standards and performed within established guidelines, and that there was an improvement in the client’s sales performance.

###

The Business Case for Flexible Web Design Must Distinguish Between Responsive & Adaptive Web Design

RWD (3)

There has been some confusion about the difference between RWD and AWD, and within the last year, the terms have often been used interchangeably in the press. The concept and practice of flexible design is critical to creating websites that respond and flex to the display environment on desktops, smart phones, tablets and mobile devices. Credit for coining the ‘Responsive Web Design’ term is typically given to Ethan Marcotte (ethanmarcotte.com). The term AWD and ‘progressive enhancement’ is credited to Aaron Gustafson (easy-designs.net), and is considered a more global approach to website that takes into account CSS, assistive tech support, levels of markup, and JavaScript. Both terms describe the design, development and deployment of technology and techniques to make a web site flexible enough to accommodate the various sizes of smart phones, tablets and desktops.

###

Don’t Chase Social Media Bot Phantoms! Use Business Intelligence to Focus on Real Customers/Markets

BI-for-Social-Media-and-Internet-Marketing

Have you noticed that it is getting harder to tell the difference between human beings and bots? Bots are getting smarter and more sophisticated, and because they simulate human behavior, it is getting harder to tell the difference between bots and human beings. To complicate issues further, there are service providers who offer ‘pay-for-followers’ services to make it look like your business social media page has more fans and followers, e.g., http://socialbuzzstore.com/facebook-likes/ Pay $50, and they will give you 100,000 followers!This brave new world can make it difficult for a business to determine what is happening in the competitive market and, even, how their product, new pricing strategy or promotions are received by customers and prospects. But, if you are a businessperson, there is no reason to despair. It is important to understand that, despite the popularity of bot use, bots will not corrupt true business intelligence or prevent the business from recognizing and pursuing real customers.

###