DEV Community: Selleo Web and Mobile

How To Start Writing Gherkin Test Scenarios?

Tomasz Jakobiec — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 11:00:42 +0000

Gherkin Syntax is a buzzing word nowadays in the software development world. But many developers and businesses are yet unfamiliar with Gherkin technology.

Some time ago, I published a Beginner’s Guide to Gherkin. Now it is time to tackle the topic in more detail. In this post, we will finally learn how to write Gherkin test scenarios successfully. Are you ready? Let’s begin.

Step 1: Get Familiar with the Basics of Gherkin Syntax

Gherkin is a machine-readable business language that allows you to define business activity without getting entangled in technical specifics. It's a domain-specific language for defining requirements tests in Cucumber format. It describes use cases in simple Terms and helps users to eliminate logic elements from behavior testing.

What is Gherkin Syntax?

Gherkin, like YAML and Python, is a line-oriented programming language. Each line in the terminals is referred to as a step, and it begins with keywords and ends with a stop. Indentation is done with a tab or space.

A comment can be placed anywhere in this script, but it must begin with the # symbol. After deleting Ghrekin's keywords like given, when, and so on, it reads each sentence.

The following are examples of typical Gherkin steps:

Gherkin Scripts: bridges the gap between the human idea of cause and effect and the software model of input/process/output.

Gherkin Syntax:

Feature: Title of the Scenario
Given [Preconditions or Initial Context]
When [Event or Trigger]
Then [Expected output]

Step 2: Know the Gherkin keywords

Each line that isn't blank must begin with a Gherkin keyword and then be continued by any content you choose. The functionality and scenario explanations are the only exceptions. I described those keywords in more detail in the post Beginner’s Guide To Gherkin.

Primary Keywords

Feature
Rule (as of Gherkin 6)
Example
Given, When, Then, And, But for steps (or *)
Background
Scenario Outline (or Scenario Template)
Examples (or Scenarios)

Secondary Keywords

" (Doc Strings)
| (Data Tables)
@ (Tags)
# (Comments)

Step 3: The Simple Rules for Gherkin Developers

There are some golden rules to always keep in mind for Gherkin and these are as follow:

The Golden Rule of Gherkin

The Golden Rule of Gherkin is straightforward: treat other readers the way you want to be treated. Create functionality files in a way everybody can comprehend them easily. By defining the behaviors you wish to cultivate, a successful Gherkin should increase team cooperation. If Gherkin scenarios are tough to read, teams can’t develop good behaviors

Write scenarios in an intuitive manner and test scenarios shouldn’t be ultra-declarative or ultra-imperative.

Ultra-Declarative Example:

What seems to go wrong here:

It is too vague
Steps are not procedural - not automatable
Lacks accountability - it omits conditions for success

Let’s check Ultra-Imperative example:

Now,

It is too much in detail
Steps name manual, low-level interactions
Wall of text worsens the understandability and collaboration

Here’s the correct Example:

The scenario has declarative, descriptive steps
Given-When-Then order is followed
Interaction and desired behavior are clearly shown
Concrete example helps the reader to understand the scenario

The Cardinal Rule of BDD

The cardinal rule of BDD is a one-to-one rule: each scenario should cover precisely one single, independent behavior. Concentrating on one behavior at a time provides several advantages:

Collaboration: More clarity and less ambiguity
Automation: Each test failure identifies a separate issue.
Efficiency: Less complicated Work has a shorter cycle time.
Traceability: consists of one behavior, one example, one situation, one test, and one outcome.
Accountability: Teams are not allowed to hide or avoid behaviors.

Example of an Incorrect Scenario:

What’s wrong here?

Covers two separate behaviors (two When-Then pairs)
If you included two or more Given-When pairs in your test, it’s better to split them to a different Gherkin scenario (below)

There are times when it is more convenient and acceptable to write multiple ‘When-Then’ pairs but it should be avoided in general.

The Unique Example Rule

When it comes to instances, sometimes less is more, therefore leave out the ones that aren't required. Instead, concentrate on unique equivalence classes. While testing "everything" may seem appealing, it is a waste of time. Instead, focus on the most critical aspects of your project and minimize testing duplicates.

Example:

What’s Wrong Here!

In the example above, the scenario would run 6 times - 1 for each row in the examples table
Though testing “all the things” may be tempting, it’s better to test the most important things, and avoid testing duplicates

The Golden Rule of Grammar

Because language is important, write as though your high school English instructor is grading your Gherkin. The goal of behavior scenarios is for them to be legible and expressive. Steps are designed to be reused. The benefits of behavior specification can be ruined by poor syntax, misspellings, and contradictory phrasing. Scenarios might get perplexing, and team members may employ actions that aren't relevant to the situation.

Example # 1:

What’s Wrong Here!

The above scenario is inconsistent and ambiguous - it’s not clear whether “I” am “the user” or if there is a third party involved. Moreover, using the third-person perspective exclusively is more elegant.
Phrase steps as you would write regular sentences

Example # 2:

What’s Wrong Here!

Phrase steps as you would write regular sentences
We don’t know if the above steps verify the existence of the links or click them - we need to clarify them:

Correct Example:

Step 4: Write Good Titles

For well-written scenarios, creating strong titles is simple. An excellent Gherkin scenario concentrates on a single specific action. Take a pause and ask yourself, "Is this scenario a good scenario?" To help you build amazing scenarios, see the post 4 Rules for Writing Good Gherkin or Paul Merrill's blog.

A title should be a short one-liner.
When using conjunction words like "and", "or" and "but" be cautious since they imply that more than one action may be done.
Avoid using conjunctions like "because", "since" and "so" since they explain why the scenario exists, while we should be concentrating on what the action is - why may be derived from the stages or described with comments.
Avoid assertion language - don't use terms like "verify" "assert" or "should" since they focus on the statement rather than the action.

Step 5: To Make Your Life Easier, Install Plugins or Packages

Cucumber is easier to work with when you have the appropriate tools.

Editors

Gherkin syntax highlighting is supported by the majority of popular text editors.

Advanced Cucumber support is available in certain IDEs, including the ability to run Cucumber from inside the IDE, view results, navigate between Gherkin phases, and so on.

Atom

It is a text editor for Windows, macOS, and Linux that offers several different packages to use with Gherkin.

TextMate

It is a dedicated text editor for macOS to use with Gherkin. It helps boost the documentation process while developing scenarios.

Visual Studio Code

It is not a text editor but a code editor specifically designed for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It can be used with a plugin with Gherkin Syntax.

IDEs

IDEs is another plugin that can be used for different languages keeping as a plugin for Gherkin. There are different IDEs such as:

Build Tools

You can run Gherkin using build tools rather than from the command line.

Conclusion

Gherkin is the cucumber specification format. Like YAML and Python, it is a line-oriented language that combines the human idea of cause and effect with the technical concept of input/process and output. It makes extensive use of the terms feature, background, scenario, given, when, then, and but.

Gherkin is easy enough for non-programmers to comprehend. If you are looking for a team expert in Gherkin Syntax, don't hesitate to contact Selleo. We have Gherkin specialized developers to answer all your concerns. Contact us Now!

Ruby On Rails Staff Augmentation: How To Scale Your Team?

Marek Caputa — Tue, 25 May 2021 11:48:35 +0000

Are you a startup or thinking of building a new SaaS project but confused in choosing the right technology? Well, Ruby on Rails is the best technology and the correct answer to all your questions.

The popularity and success of businesses like Airbnb, Shopify, and GitHub have made it very clear that Ruby on Rails is an excellent tool for startups to reach the heights of success. Ruby is perfect for developing SaaS solutions, MVPs, and cross-platform applications.
Whereas, Rails still has the most popular communities on GitHub with over 4k contributors.

The quality level and fast development pace have increased the demand of Ruby on Rails developers. They are highly appreciated and desired by companies worldwide. As a startup, you might want to hire such experienced developers, but how to hire them?

Hiring An In-House Ruby on Rails Developer is Hard

According to Indeed.com, there are 2,642 Ruby on Rails job posts in the US and only 278 resumes available on the Indeed website. Hiring an in-house or full-time Ruby on Rails developer is hard. However, it brings many benefits, such as a dedicated focus on your project, timely and robust communication, and easy management. No such developer would wish to work for a small web app project, and it will be costly to hire someone like that in a startup.

This article will discuss Ruby on Rails staff augmentation and how to scale a team in a startup using the same tactic.

So, let’s begin:

What is Ruby on Rails Staff Augmentation and how it’s Different from other Hiring Models?

Before learning more about RoR staff augmentation, let's first discuss the options to hire a Ruby on Rails developer via a company using traditional methods such as in-house or freelance.

Employ In-House Ruby on Rails Developer

In-house hiring means that the developer will sit in your office and work only on your project. The pros and cons of hiring in-house developers are as follow:

Pros:

In-house developers will give full consideration to your project and will be available when you need them. With dedicated resources, you can complete the project development in a short time.
With an in-house developer, it is easier to communicate without any silos. Face-to-face communication makes it easier for the developer to understand your expectations.
Having a developer in-house makes it easier for you to manage their time and tasks. You can manage a developer's workflow with daily meetings, demos, and retrospectives.
With an in-house developer, the secrecy of your project is kept within the company, and the ideas remain unshared with other companies.

Cons:

With the shortage of experienced and qualified Ruby on Rails developers, it is not easy to hire one for your team.
Such experienced and many in-demand developers won't accept your offer to work on a short-term project.
Even if you find a Ruby on Rails developer to hire for your company, it will be too costly for you to manage.

Hire a Freelance Ruby on Rails Developer

If you can't afford to hire an in-house developer, or if you already have a software development team, need a Ruby on Rails specialist, then you can consider the freelancing option.

Here're the pros and cons of freelancers.

Pros:

A freelance Ruby on Rails specialist will be cheaper considering an in-house developer.
Experienced Ruby on Rails developers can easily take freelancing jobs as a sidekick for their monthly income.

Cons:

The speed of development will be slow considering the in-house developer.
There can be a lack of communication once you start the project.
Freelancer developers work on multiple projects simultaneously so it can cause delays on your project

Now, we have seen the pros and cons of both in-house and freelance options, and in both cases, your company may have to compromise either on speed or cost. But, what about if you can get the pros of both options using one single method. This is the best hiring method, as we called it Staff Augmentation.

What is IT Staff Augmentation?

Staff Augmentation is hiring an outside specialist to fill the gaps on projects in compliance with the current business objectives. It means that a Ruby on Rails specialist will be employed temporarily to augment your organization's capacity. May it be a web services project or an app development, project management is easier with the staff augmentation method. You can also hire a specialized Ruby on Rails developer for a trial period.

When Should you Consider Staff Augmentation?

Staff Augmentation, especially for Ruby on Rails developers, can be considered in the following scenarios:

The company has a limited budget or wants to save up on the cost of development.
In case of launching a new project and need extra staff for short term
When the project needs specialized knowledge
For detailed testing of the project before launching

One of the best ways to scale a project is Staff Augmentation. Suppose your company's in-house developers cannot provide the solution or don't have the required expertise. In that case, staff augmentation is the most affordable option as it is cheap and flexible.

Pros & Cons of RoR Staff Augmentation

There are pros and cons attached to the RoR staff augmentation method as well. Let’s have a look at the pros and cons.

Pros of RoR Staff Augmentation

Experience & Expertise

Integrate exceptional software engineers into your team quickly to boost the capability and add value to your project.

More Hiring Options

Search and recruit the different tools and techniques required for each project easily. There is no need for talent retention to think about. What is more, software development houses also have access to experienced designers and front-end specialists. With a trusted partner like that, there is no need to go through the entire recruitment process - you ask, you will get.

Instant Know-How

Support the experience of an extended team to reduce any project delays and interruptions.

Flexibility

With on-demand talent, you can scale up or down the development team as required, no matter if means more back-end engineers or specific domain experts.

Cons of RoR Staff Augmentation

Possible Ramp-ups

Projects that necessitate a high understanding of the company's culture and context may necessitate ramp-up times.

Reliance on Internal Processes

Internal operational flaws can have a detrimental impact on outsourced staffing solutions.

Workflow Matching

Working with large teams is unfamiliar territory for many companies. It can take some time to adjust to their speed.

Where to Find a Ruby on Rails Development Company

There are many methods for locating and evaluating a Ruby on Rails Development Company.

Option #1: Portfolio

One of the best pieces of evidence of a company's competence is its portfolio of projects that they helped create, design, and launch. You can find case studies of completed projects and consumer testimonials in a portfolio. You can correlate a customer's testimonial to his or her feedback on Clutch and GoodFirms to see if the feedback is genuine and appropriate.

Option #2: Rating Websites like Clutch

Platforms like Clutch and GoodFirms collect customers' reviews and suggestions. You can trust the feedback since it is moderated and reviewed by non-involved experts.

Option #3: Events and Conferences

Many development companies can also be found at IT conferences and other new technology-related activities. Some development organizations not only attend but also organize such activities to express their views. If your project involves blockchain or machine learning, search for vendors that have successfully implemented these technologies at conferences.

Option #4: Company Blogs

Another way of judging the expertise of a development company is by analyzing their blog section. A good development company maintains a high-quality and informational blog section with stories and case studies related to their expertise and past experiences. You can read about their process to develop software, such as “Steps to build Healthcare Web & App.” From the blog section and the content on the website, you can judge if they have expertise in RoR staff augmentation.

Option #5: LinkedIn Profiles

Companies in the development industry use LinkedIn to extend their internet presence and inform potential clients about their history, community, values, and all of the great products they've released. On LinkedIn, you can find out what path an organization wants to take and what its objectives are in the long run.

What Questions Should You Ask A RoR Developer In the Interview?

Before you ask, "Will you join our company?" make sure the two of you are a perfect fit. The best way to conduct an interview is to gather all the information on call by an HR assistant. Later, call on the candidate for an Interview in the office premises.

The interview should be conducted by the CTO and Senior Ruby on Rails Developer. Get detailed information about the candidate's technological expertise, involvement in emerging technology, and motivation for self-development in the IT sector during the interview.

Here are some of the questions that you should ask a RoR Developer:

Knowledge about Object-oriented programming languages, structures and algorithms
Experience and level of expertise in Ruby language and its concepts
Knowledge of Ruby on Rails framework that allows creating a simple CRUD application at different levels
Expertise in SQL language and ActiveRecord ORM
Understanding of generated SQL queries
Knowledge and experience in HTTP protocol
Knowledge and experience in HTML & CSS
Knowledge and experience in JavaScript language and frameworks: JQuery, ReactJS

The degree of knowledge needed is highly dependent on the position (Junior/Regular/Senior) for which the applicant is applying. Don't just ask questions. Create some basic tasks to test the candidate thought processes.

Soft skills such as communication (Level of English) and proactive approach is also a very important aspect to measure during the interview. English proficiency in speaking and understanding is important because you may have clients from different regions, English is a global language to overcome the language barriers.

Final Thoughts

Hiring Ruby on Rails developers is demanding as they know their worth. Therefore RoR staff augmentation is the best method to scale your Software Development team in the company.

Hire an outside Ruby on Rails specialist to fill the gap in your current development team.

If you are looking for an experienced Ruby and Ruby on Rails development team, contact us to schedule a call with our experts. We are serving in the industry since 2005 and have worked with many clients from startups to big enterprises. Our software solutions have brought tremendous success to our clients in their businesses. We can provide you with a fully-fledged team of designers and QA engineers to make your project the best it can be.

Why Choose React Native For Your Mobile Tech Stack?

Wojciech Rupik — Tue, 25 May 2021 11:43:09 +0000

React Native developed as an internal project during a hackathon session in Facebook headquarters. The task was to create Native UI elements using JavaScript as the answer to developers’ needs.

Fast forward a couple of years and React Native is now a popular choice for cross-platform mobile development. Thanks to its synchronous API, smooth development and fast performance, React Native is used by large enterprises as well as startups. Let’s talk more about why choose React Native for the development of your mobile app.

What is React Native?

React Native is a JavaScript framework for creating mobile applications for both Android and iOS. It is based on React, a JavaScript library built by Facebook, used for user interfaces. React Native allows developers to write native mobile applications and reuse code between platforms. Just like React, RN applications are written with a mixture of JavaScript and XML markup. Under the hood, it invokes native rendering APIs in Objective-C or Java. This means the apps render using real mobile UI components, not webviews, and feel like any other mobile application.

As for now, React native supports both Android and iOS with a high probability to expand to future platforms.

React Native is said to be easy to work with thanks to its developer tools and error messages integrated within the framework. Additionally, it takes advantage of intelligent debugging tools and error reporting. React Native does not force you to work with Xcode for iOS development nor Android Studio for Android apps.

How does React Native app development work?

As mentioned above, React Native allows developers to create apps consisting of JavaScript code and native by creating a bridge between an app and a target platform. As JavaScript runs native code, React Native’s bridge system leverages the React library and transfers the components to a mobile view.

If any action is taken by the users, RN translates it to an event JS can handle and then translates native events into components React can understand and respond to.

However, this architecture comes with certain challenges like the possibility that the default components may not cover both platforms or may look different on each of them. On the other hand, React Native apps are easy to understand thanks to being single-threaded. But you have to keep in mind some JS specifics to avoid performance issues.

Top benefits of choosing React Native

The popularity of React and JavaScript positively influence the rank of React Native in the developer communities. What is more, it brings benefits not only to software engineers but also businesses. Let’s take a look at them.

1. Performance

React Native makes use of GPU, which offers speed and performance. Even though many people believe native apps cannot be replaced, RN gives developers a nearly equal level of performance to native solutions. Outstanding performance is one of a few reasons why you should consider choosing React Native over WebView-based tools as it allows achieving 60 frames per second.

2. Time savings

React Native has built a vast community around itself, and it is still growing day by day. This means there are a lot of ready-to-use components, so there is no need to build everything from scratch. What is more, thanks to the single code of RN the possibility of finding a bug is greatly reduced, so you can create MVPs even faster. Using a shared layer for Android and iOS means 30% faster app development.

3. Easy debugging

One of the biggest advantages of having a single codebase is easier bug detection. With React Native, development teams do not have to spend hours looking at two different codebases - a single fix removes the bugs in all operating systems at once. In return, this allows delivering consistent behaviour across all platforms. Additionally RN’s ‘hot reload’ feature allows performing functions like error handling at runtime and see the results instantly.

4. Personalized UX

The framework was created with the ability to segregate framework, native, JavaScript code and styling. This enables developers to create different app styles from the server-side. They can now deliver a personalized user experience to each individual user on the same application.

5. Cross-Platform development

As previously mentioned, React Native supports cross-platform development, which provides a consistent user experience across multiple platforms. Maintaining apps for both iOS and Android can be a great headache since they are so different and RN makes it easy again.

Who uses React Native? Top companies and startups using React Native

On average, thanks to RN, Android and iOS versions of the same app can share around 60-70% of the same code base. This is probably why there are quite a few world-known companies that decided to switch to React Native when working on improving their applications. Want to know more? Keep on reading.

Facebook

Facebook is on this list for obvious reasons being the creator of React Native. Originally, it was only used for the iOS version of the app, but now, it also provides UI for Android. Facebook constantly optimizes the React Native-based parts of the applications, for example, the Event Dashboard performs twice as fast as at the beginning.

Apart from the mobile app, Facebook also used React Native during the development of the Facebook Ads application - the first cross-platform app in the history of RN.

Walmart

This retail giant is one of the biggest corporations in the world with over $500 million yearly revenue. Its application has features like online shopping, product search and in-store price check. Customers can also use the Walmart Pay mobile wallet system. Worth mentioning is the fact that 95% of Walmart’s codebase is shared between the Android and iOS app, so simultaneous work on both platforms cut the labour cost in half.

Adidas Glitch

An application allowing customers to build a shoe exactly how they want. Adidas decided to make it mobile app exclusive and after careful consideration, the team decided to choose React Native for the iOS and Android app.

A social media platform with a collaboration approach. Pinterest is all about sharing and exchanging ideas in the form of images or videos. Since a lot of those operations are performed on mobile devices they switched to React Native. The iOS implementation took around 10 days and then, with 100% shared UI code, 2 days to port the screen over to Android. This saved more than a week of implementation time.

Tesla

This electric car manufacturer also uses React Native for mobile app development. The look of their Android and iOS app is the same for the end-users. What is more, all functionalities work the same on both platforms, including charging, panoramic roof or horn.

What apps can I use React Native for?

React Native has been an essential part of the technology stack for companies that strongly care about client relationships and customer satisfaction. The framework has no limitations when it comes to industries it can be used in thanks to the lower cost of development, stable app growth opportunities and support of external tools. Some of the most common types of applications created with RN are:

LMS - Learning Management Systems with instant messaging features like Learnium or Canvas Teacher
On-demand - on-demand content gains more and more popularity thanks to streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. Netflix is running RN across all devices
Social networks - apps helping us communicate with our peers, for example, Instagram
Finance and Banking - React Native can be used for building powerful FinTech applications and apparently, Turkish Bank has one of the first RN banking apps ever
Transportation - with RN you can also build location-based apps thanks to its ability to use location information (like in Uber Eats)
Entertainment - one of the biggest fashion magazine in the world - Vouge has a React Native-based app
Healthcare - from medicine information eg. Iodine to health insurance eg. Oscar
Travel and Tourism - booking applications are a perfect example of yet another industry React Native is great for, Airbnb being one of them
Logistics - there is a React Native theme for logistics apps available
Real estate - applications both for buying and selling properties or property management eg. Breezeway

How to hire experienced React Native developers?

Just like hiring for any kind of position, there are a few key aspects to keep in mind while looking for a single React Native developer. First of all, you should be aware of the options available: you can hire in-house, augment your existing team or outsource the development to a dedicated team altogether. The latter is becoming more and more popular, as it brings advantages like cost or time savings to the table. If you want to learn more about outsourcing read Outsourcing Trends In Software Development.

1. Hard skills

A quite obvious step is to review the technical skills of the candidates. Take a look at their portfolio or, even better, testimonials from clients. It will definitely help if your selected developer/team has previous experience in building similar solutions to yours.

2. Soft skills

Some of the key soft skills a software engineer should have are communication, problem-solving, teamwork, helpfulness. Also, the ability to receive and implement feedback is something worth looking for.

3. Cultural fit

Your development partners should have a similar culture and values to yours. A common mindset can influence productivity, performance, employee engagement and, of course, successful communication.

Summary

React Native probably will be a great fit for your development needs, no matter if you are a startup or a big enterprise. It will help you develop a high-quality, stable application simultaneously for Android and iOS platforms. React Native also allows you to reuse up to 100% of your code between different environments which saves a lot of development time, not to mention easier code maintenance or debugging. If that is not enough for you, worldwide companies like Uber, Adidas or Skype trusted React Native’s potential and are not looking back.

**

Are you currently looking for experienced React Native developers to build you a powerful mobile application? Contact Selleo to schedule a call and discuss your idea. You can also review our portfolio and client testimonials.**

Mobile Software Development Trends To Know In 2021

Wojciech Rupik — Tue, 25 May 2021 11:41:23 +0000

As an answer to the digital era we are all in, the mobile app development industry is evolving with lightning speed. In order to survive, many companies decide to create their own trending mobile solutions since consumers show growing interest in making purchases on mobile devices.

By the year 2021, mobile app market revenue is expected to reach a whopping $693 billion.

However, not everything is as good as it seems. According to Gartner, only 0,01% of mobile applications actually succeed, which is not comforting. In this post, we will take a look at the latest trends in mobile software development, so you can ensure your next app is one from 9,999 that turns out to be a hit.

The evolution of mobile applications

Before we proceed to the current state of mobile solutions, it is important to mention how far it has come. Starting from 2005, websites started to be designed for smaller displays and equipped with touchscreen-friendly interfaces. A couple of years later, the development of native applications with gesture navigation had begun as businesses recognized the advantages of having a dedicated mobile solution.

Around 2013, the popularity of mobile web applications had risen. Websites were now capable of being accessed through a device’s browser. What is more, context-aware technology was introduced - apps gained user context like location, time and pattern identification for a more personalized experience. Mobile web apps evolved into hybrid apps and were wrapped inside a native container providing access to native platform features. This led to an increased interest in voice technology as a way to simplify human to machine interactions.

Since 2019 we have been living in an era of micro apps, which are consumer-oriented solutions that deliver highly targeted functionalities and personalized experiences with the help of artificial intelligence.

State of mobile application development in 2021

It is no news that people spend more time on mobile devices than ever. Statistically, more people own a cell phone than a toothbrush. 70% of traffic is generated by mobile devices and around 75% of emails are being opened on mobile devices. The ease of use and convenience of mobile devices changed user’s behaviour. According to Google, 80% of smartphone users are more likely to purchase from companies with mobile apps.

Statista goes further and states that by 2022, App Store user spend will increase to $157 billion (up by 92%). In 2021, the mobile market is set to grow by 385% and there will be about $7 billion mobile users worldwide.

However, in this dynamic and ever-evolving environment apps that shined in 2020 may not have the same success factor in 2021. That is why you should incorporate the latest trends into your development strategy.

Top trends in mobile development in 2021

Mobile trends just like any other trends are everchanging. To get ahead of the competition in the mobile app development world it is crucial to analyze those trends and adapt accordingly. Some of them have been present for some time now, while others are the latest finds addressing the needs of consumers in 2021.

Cloud-Native

Cloud-native applications are apps with code written with a cloud-first approach, meaning the need to have a separate server for hosting. In the case of those apps, everything else is handled by the cloud-native solution providers like AWS, Google Cloud or Azure.

Cloud-native provides many benefits for developers and businesses like the fact that Google Cloud serverless tooling allows automatic scaling depending on the website traffic.

Internet of Things

By 2022 the IoT market in the US is expected to exceed $500 billion and a great part of this share will be the consumer electronics segment. This technology is impacting how people interact with each other and live in their homes by providing opportunities for users to engage with appliances and gadgets in real-time. The most prominent field of IoT’s impact will be smart homes since more and more smartphone users control their home devices with apps. Forecasts say that by 2030 there will be around 50 billion of these IoT devices used around the world creating a massive web of interconnected devices.

What is more, IoT has the potential for data sharing, which will definitely draw the attention of the app industry.

Mobile wallets

Mobile wallets have gained popularity among users, especially since economies of different countries are turning digital. People prefer using mobile wallets like Google Pay, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay etc. to cash or providing card details for even faster transactions. As the market is not yet saturated enough there is still potential for growth in the future. For mobile wallets the future trends include:

audio-based mobile wallets
near-field communication (NFC) based payments
radio-frequency identification payments

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

AI and ML have already started taking their place in mobile applications and devices. Some examples of those include chatbots, facial recognition or voice search. There are also AI-powered apps for photo edits taking the technology to the next level. In the near future, AI-based cameras, user predictions or voice translations will be even more common in smartphones.

The future of AI includes:

image recognition, classification and tagging
object identification, detection, classification and tracking
processing of patient data
predictive maintenance
automated geophysical feature detection

Combining AI with ML will be super useful in developing mobile apps as it can learn from the previous development process to detect problems and fix them.

Chatbots

Even though modern chatbots are far from being perfect, they are slowly creeping their way into our everyday lives. They help to automate repetitive user interactions answering simple questions like is the store open or aiding in the ordering process. What is more, more than 50% of buyers claim they want more self-serving customer service tools and chatbots are great ways to achieve it. An example of such a solution can be an app from Starbucks - ‘My Starbucks Barista’ in which you can tell the app the type of beverage you want and it places an order for you.

Statistically speaking, 36% of Americans claim to have used a chatbot and with the popularity of Facebook Messenger, the usage of chatbots on mobile is rising even more.

Biometric authentication

All mobile apps should think about implementing some sort of biometric authentication. Fingerprint scanning and face unlock are great way to ensure data security. Apart from them there also is iris scanning, voice or hand geometry recognition to think about.

In the future, we will be able to see new trends in biometric authentication including:

immigration services
cloud-based biometric solution
online banking and mobile payments

Beacon technology

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals are what powers Beacon Technology. It allows, for example, to locate a store selling a specific product through a mobile application. Phones are able to receive signal and provide relevant information and guidance for users. This technology has great potential in the marketing industry as it can reduce the bridge between users and companies. It is slowly being implemented in hotels, healthcare institutions, museums etc.

Virtual events streaming

Virtual events have become popular amid the Covid-19 pandemic as people were not able to attend events in person. However, even in the post-pandemic world, virtual events present whole new opportunities, making them less exclusive and increasing availability for people from all around the world.

One of the most popular online events platform Hopin allows to change rooms, listen to different speakers as well as communicate with other participants. In 2021 we will most likely see more of such platforms coming into life.

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality will continue trending in 2021. Mobile apps can use AR features for a wide range of features. Starting from the hit game Pokemon Go AR changed mobile gaming and today, more applications are using in for more practical features.

Wearables

Apple Watch is probably the most popular wearable device that changed the game for everybody. Apple dominated the smartwatch market with features like ECG or blood oxygen levels measurements. In 2017, there were around 453 million connected wearable devices and according to ReportLinker, the wearables market is expected to grow beyond $24 billion by 2023.

With technological advancements, we should expect wearable applications to become a vital part of our everyday life as more and more smartwatches start operating independently from phones.

5G tech

The introduction of 5G technology certainly has an impact on mobile development trends. The number of 5G connections is rising all around the world and it will change the way apps are created and used. The significant speed improvements brought by 5G increases the functionalities of mobile apps as it allows up to 1 million devices per square kilometre to connect. This can lead to the realization of the idea of everything being connected including cars, washing machines, fridges or security cameras.

Summary

Smartphones revolutionized the way we shop, make payments or look for information. Mobile app stores are full of applications for various purposes yet the market still seems not saturated enough. With all these mobile application development trends, the app industry will continue to grow with great speed.

To stand out in this highly competitive market it is important that business leaders create solutions that are aligned with the newest trends and use the latest technologies. This all can be achieved with an experienced development team that is able to create a fresh product with the best tools available.

This is why Selleo should be your next choice - our mobile development teams will build your mobile product from the ground up, handle all integrations and ensure the highest security. Contact us to discuss your idea and schedule a call with our engineering team.

How To Develop A Mobile App - Best Practices

Wojciech Rupik — Tue, 25 May 2021 11:32:36 +0000

The whole world is turning SMART - moving from desktop to laptop and now on mobile devices. So, if you want to stay relevant as a brand or facilitate your customers, having a mobile app is essential.

Did you know that mobile apps are expected to produce $188.9 billion in revenue by the end of this year via app stores and in-app ads? By 2022, the market for business mobility is expected to be worth $510.39 billion.

Many companies are attempting to capitalize on these trends by developing mobile apps, but very few of these businesses are aware of the fact that a successful mobile app is backed by a carefully cultivated mobile app development process by an experienced and specialized team.

The mobile development process is divided into many phases, which depends on the scale of the project and the core features and functionality of the app. This article will discuss best practices for mobile app development that can make the app successful in the long run.

So, let’s begin:

Best Practices for Mobile App Development

An effective mobile app development process consists of six key phases. Each phase is divided into sub-tasks. Regardless of the size and scope of your project, if you follow these best practices for design and development, your mobile app will be a great success.

Create A Strategy

The first step is deciding on a plan for turning your idea into an effective app. Since the goals of each app vary, there is also an app-specific effect on the mobile approach to consider throughout the development process. Each app is built with different development tools, and for separate mobile operating systems. It is very important to create a full-proof strategy.

In this phase, you will:

Identify the target audience for the App
Identify Competitors and research on them
Establish the app's goals and objectives
Select a mobile platform for your app

Your approach aids in concentrating your vision on a single image of your app concept. With this in mind, you're ready to move on to develop an enterprise mobility strategy.

Key Steps for Your Enterprise Mobility Strategy

Your digital transformation plan should include an enterprise mobility strategy. It can be challenging to come up with a plan for any organization. Your enterprise mobility plan, on the other hand, will scale business growth if done correctly.

Define Your Business Needs

Enterprise mobile initiatives will help you solve problems in your marketing, reach new customers, and develop creative solutions to help you expand. Before you begin, you must first determine your company's requirements. Make an effort to comprehend the company's strategic objectives. To identify your business needs, use key performance indicators (KPIs), customer feedback, and market trends.

Perform Competitive Research

Now that you've determined your objectives, it's time to look at your rivals. Choose at least three rivals to study. Competitors should be chosen based on the company's goals and market trends. When identifying opponents, look for creative startups as well as top companies.

It is possible that none of your rivals has an app. That means you have a fantastic opportunity to be the industry leader!

Set Strategic Goals and Objectives

The first two steps in our strategy guide will assist you in determining your requirements. Next, we'll set targets and priorities to help you arrange your needs.

Important questions to ask:

Which apps will have the most impact on your business, employees, and users?
Is your business ready to support this app?
Is mobility the right channel to deliver the solutions your business needs?

Usefulness and scalability are two of the long-term implementation goals. You'll be collecting an unlimited amount of data on top of your regular usage.

Apple's iOS and Google's Android are the two most popular mobile platforms. These mobile platforms necessitate the use of their specific development environment when creating applications. The roles of a mobile app are tailored to each mobile device. This gives app users a personalized experience tailored to their mobile devices.

Native Mobile Apps Native mobile applications are designed with iOS or Android in mind. They must be downloaded to a mobile phone or tablet from the Google Playstore or Apple App Store. Native smartphone applications have the most access to a device's firmware and hardware. This means native mobile applications will take advantage of all of the device's features. They are more expensive because they require separate development for iOS and Android. Some companies decide to create applications on both platforms.
Mobile Web Apps Websites that can be reached via a mobile browser are known as mobile web apps. Mobile web applications are sensitive and can mimic the look and feel of a native app. Both iOS and Android users will be able to use mobile web applications. This makes mobile web applications accessible in the same way as native apps are.
Hybrid Apps / Cross-Platform Apps There are two other methods for developing mobile apps. Third-party mobile frameworks such as Xamarin, Phonegap, and Appcelerator are used to create cross-platform mobile apps. These applications share a codebase and are compatible with all mobile platforms. They don't necessitate a lot of platform-specific code.

Create a Plan for Continuous Delivery

The fight for market share between iOS and Android is fierce. Mobile technology is quickly evolving thanks to companies including Google, Samsung, and Apple. Every year, new mobile devices and platforms are released. Agility is essential for a successful mobility strategy because the landscape changes so rapidly. You'll need to think about short-term needs in addition to your long-term plan. In mobile app growth, you'll have to keep supporting your apps to fix bugs, add new features, and improve security flaws.

Develop a Security Strategy

Last but not least, you must lay out your security plan and your internal governance policy.

Your governance policy should address:

The development processes
Device provisioning
Data access and security
Interruption coverage / disaster recovery
Mobile application management
Ongoing infrastructure improvement needs.

Larger companies may need to form a governance team. Members of this team will serve each department that mobility solutions will impact.

Competitor Research

You will still find someone providing the same or similar services or products you plan to deliver, no matter how innovative your app design is. It is often preferable to observe what others are doing before making your own decisions.

For example, if you want to get into the food delivery market, look at what apps like Zomato and Swiggy are doing. Food delivery app production is a highly competitive industry, so if you want to participate, you must be prepared and keep an eye on what your competitors are doing. If you cannot do your research, you can have your mobile app development company do it for you.

Analysis and Planning

At this stage, your app idea begins to take shape and develop into a working project. Defining use cases and capturing detailed functional specifications are the first steps in the analysis and planning process.

Prepare a product roadmap after you've established the app's specifications. This involves prioritizing and separating mobile app specifications into delivery milestones. If you're short on time, resources, or capital, identify your minimum viable product (MVP) and prioritize it for the initial launch.

Identifying the skills required for your app development initiative is a part of the planning phase. The mobile platforms iOS and Android, for example, use separate development technology stacks. If you want to create a mobile app that works on iOS and Android, your mobile development team should include both iOS and Android developers.

Have you decided on a name for your app? Like domain names, mobile app names must be unique within each app store. Check each app store to make sure your app's name isn't already taken!

Choose the Platform

If you go the native path, you'll have to choose between developing for iOS or Android.

Return to the market research you did earlier on your target market. Find out what gadgets your potential customers are using. This will assist you in making your decision.

This is because Apple and Android users have different preferences. It's a big decision to figure out which platform your target audience uses the most. It's particularly crucial if you're only going to launch on one store at first.

If you want to create both native apps on your own, you will be taking on more than you can handle if you try to do so at the same time. You'll want your app to be available in both stores at some point. However, you might be forced to choose between the two at this time.

Keep Design the First Priority

Developers and designers are two very different types of people. Developers are known for being more technical, while designers are known for being more artistic. However, when it comes to app development, you can't keep your blinders on.

To code the app properly, you must first understand how the design components would function. Your whole team must be on the same page for designers and developers to collaborate effectively.

Make use of mood boards and other tools to help you coordinate your ideas and design features. This will simplify the creation process and reduce the likelihood of making several adjustments late in the game to satisfy the designers. You can also figure out the design elements in these early stages if you know how to develop and design.

Mockups & Prototypes

High-fidelity sketches, also known as mockups, are final renderings of the app's visual design. Your style guide is applied to the app wireframes to build mockups. Expect further changes to the app's information layout, workflow, and aesthetics as the design progresses. The most common tool for making high-fidelity mockups is Adobe Photoshop.

Prototypes are extremely useful for simulating the user interface and app workflows present in the final product. Although prototype creation can be time-consuming, it is well worth the effort because it allows you to test the design and functionality of your app at an early stage. Prototypes are often used to describe changes to the app's proposed features.

Choosing the Right Technology

As previously said, one of the most important factors in the performance of an app is the technology used. Every app is unique and each is designed to serve a specific function. As a result, it's critical to choose the right technology to meet your needs while still aligning with your business objectives. Furthermore, since each app development method follows a different process, it is critical to provide guidelines ahead of time to prevent any misunderstandings.

The app's intent determines the type of technology to use when creating an app. Depending on whether you want a native, hybrid, or cross-platform mobile app, you should look for the appropriate application. For native apps, you can use Java, Kotlin, or Objective-C, while for cross-platform apps, you can use either React Native app development or Flutter app development. You could also go for much lighter and faster apps and have a PWA built for your business.

Test Your App Many Times

Always monitor the output of your app before releasing it. Throughout the mobile development process, testing should be at the forefront of your mind. If you don't test the app regularly, finding and fixing bugs can be even more complex and complicated in the future. Standard checks can also assist you in lowering the overall costs.

Beta testers are a great way to get feedback on your software. To find app testers, you can use online sites such as Beta Family. They'll provide input and even some suggestions for improving your app.

Deployment & Support

Users should be encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions for your app to your business. End-user support will be critical, as will regular software updates with new features. Unlike web applications, where patch releases are immediately accessible to app users, mobile app patches must go through the duplicate submission and approval process as the original submission. Furthermore, with native mobile applications, you must keep up with technological advances and upgrade your software regularly for new mobile devices and OS platforms.

Most Common Mistakes in App Development

Developers don’t like to make mistakes during app development. But, sometimes, common mistakes are made unintentionally. If a developer knows these common mistakes before starting the development process, a lot of time and money can be saved and chances of developing a successful app increase.

Let’s look at these common mistakes that every developer should avoid during the mobile app development process.

# 1: Focus only on Budget

Sometimes, companies focus mainly on budget and avoid all other aspects, which is one of the biggest mistakes leading to failure. If you hire a team with a lack of expertise just because they are within your budget, it will blow your project. Similarly, if you spend more than the available budget, it can also be a total loss.

# 2: Not Listening to Users’ Feedback

Before choosing a freelancer or a development company, the best practice is to listen to what their previous and current clients are saying about them. Take their customers’ feedback and judge them based on those feedback before hiring them.

# 3: Lack of Research

You can’t decide to develop an app while sipping hot coffee at a coffee shop. It needs a lot of research. You need to research a lot of things such as:

Company current standing
Purpose of building the app
Current market situation
Competitors
Pricing plans
Cost of developing the app
ROI on the app

And the list goes on and on. Taking some time to research will save you months or even years of frustration down the road.

# 4: Poor Budget Management

Budget management is very crucial for successful app development. It is essential to have a rough idea of how much your app will cost from the beginning. The cost of each phase of development should be calculated before starting the process. Your budget should also allocate funds for unexpected expenses that could arise along the way. Always set realistic budget estimates from the beginning.

# 5: Not Creating an MVP

Building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) helps developers to test and evaluate app performance. During the MVP stages of development, the app will only consist of essential features. Don’t consider an MVP as an experiment; that will be another mistake a developer shouldn’t make. It is a process of app development that helps to focus on the main component of the app.

# 6: Poor UI/UX Build

Never neglect the user interface of an app. A developer should have a clear idea of the app that will be used. The users usually uninstall apps with poor UI/UX in no time. People have certain expectations when they open an app. Follow the lead of the most successful and popular apps on the market today as an example.

# 7: Poor Communication during the Development Process

Most apps failed due to poor communication during the development process. The only way to avoid this mistake is by prioritizing communication from the beginning. Repeating your statement or instruction, again and again, is better than letting the developer assume from his/her mind. Depending on the scale of the app development project, teams can arrange bi-weekly or weekly meetings.

# 8: Overload the App with Functions & Features

No one likes the traffic jams. In the same way, an app with too many functions and features becomes hard to use for the customer. Just stick to the core features of what your app needs to function properly. Adding too many features creates problems for the app, such as slow response time and acquiring more space on the phone. Research shows that one in four people will delete an app for lack of phone storage.

# 9: Hiring a Wrong Development Team

Each app has different requirements, especially in terms of the experience and skills of a developer. A lot of great ideas just flopped because the wrong person was chosen to build the mobile app. Believe it or not, that can be the most expensive mistake you could ever make. Let's say you hire a freelancer to develop the app, and for some reason, the freelancer stops responding to your messages. You are unable to track him, and that causes delays in the delivery of your app.

If you want to become an app reseller, choosing the right development platform is the most important step in the process.

# 10: Improper Updates

The app development doesn’t stop when the app gets launched. It is an ongoing process as no app is perfect and needs constant improvements. About 30% of apps are updated at least once a month. More than 80% of apps are updated every six months.

Choose an app builder that provides full-service and maintenance even after you finish building the app.

# 11: Don’t make Mobile App a Clone of your Website

Mobile apps perform better than mobile websites. The reason for the better performance of apps on mobile is their functionality and features that a mobile website cannot offer. Therefore cloning your mobile website as your mobile app is a total waste of time and money.

If the app isn’t different from the mobile site, why should your customer bother downloading the app?

You can use the same theme, color, fonts, and branding image on your app, but it should be different in features and functions.

Conclusion

Having a mobile app has become essential for all kinds of businesses. The mobile app development process is never-ending. You need to make adjustments and changes based on users’ feedback. Adding new features is another important aspect. So, if you are looking for a mobile app development company, search for one that can provide you with a complete range of services even after the development process is completed.

Selleo is one of the best mobile app development companies serving the industry since 2005. We have provided mobile app development services to various sectors such as Investment management, real-estate, education, messaging apps, retails, consumer products, etc. We have a team of highly specialized and experienced developers. Contact us now for more details.

How To Build A Mobile eLearning App And Make It Thrive?

Wojciech Rupik — Fri, 21 May 2021 08:42:18 +0000

After Covid-19, the education sector has shifted from traditional methods of teaching towards eLearning. According to Forbes, the popularity of eLearning platforms has increased immensely, with an expected market of $325 billion by the end of 2025. The primary focus of the industry is to develop more user-friendly and comprehensive mobile eLearning software.

But the question is how to build a mobile eLearning app. What if you are not 100% sure of your idea? How will your mobile eLearning app thrive in the market that is already crowded with many options? If you are looking for effective tips, look no further, as you will find answers to all these questions in this post.

First, let us start with the 7 magical tips to help you build a successful eLearning app.

Magical 7 Tips to Build a Successful eLearning App

There are many factors that one needs to consider when building a mobile eLearning app. Here're 7 best tips that will help you get started.

Tip # 1: Develop the Idea and Identify Your Target Audience

First, draw your idea on paper and determine what kind of mobile eLearning app you would like for your business. Do you want to build a stand-alone product, or should it be a part of a larger educational platform? If you're making a Learning Management System for a larger online learning site, for example, you'll be constrained by the platform's standards and specifications.

Knowing your target audience is super important and the very first step of a successful app development strategy. Everyone involved in building the app should have a clear idea of the target audience, their needs, and objectives.

Tip # 2: Drive Your Mission

What is your motivation for doing this? What is your mission, what is your goal? Whether you're helping kids learn math or someone master a foreign language, you must identify your mission. Every eLearning application, including yours, has a goal. Only after you've determined what your app's goal is, you can write a technical specification for it, along with all specifications and features.

Tip # 3: Choose The Learning Format

Text, video, audio, games, and a variety of other learning formats are available. You can use either one format or a combination of them in your app. Which is best will be determined by your target audience and objectives. Game-based learning, for example, is the best learning medium for children, while the audio format might be ideal for working professionals. So choose one and stick with it.

Tip # 4: Design A Marketing Strategy

Most of the time, you'll need to work hard to promote and popularize your app. This necessitates the development of a comprehensive marketing strategy. It's a smart idea to employ a marketing specialist or agency that specializes in-app marketing if you don't have enough marketing experience.

You'll want to use paid advertisements, social media such as Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram or even public relations to get downloads in certain cases.

Tip # 5: List All Technical Specification

Before any software development project can begin, the so-called technical specification is needed. This is a comprehensive technical document that explains the app's specifications and features in as much detail as possible, from A to Z. If you are unable to write this document yourself, you can recruit someone who can or enlist the assistance of your preferred software development company.

MVP, Prototyping, Proof of Concept: What is it and why should I care?

MVP. Prototyping and Proof of Concept are the three most common terms used in the software development for a finished product but with different stages of completion of the product.

MVP - A minimum viable product, or MVP, is a publicly available version of a product that allows teams to benefit from customer input.
Prototype - It's a tool for quickly validating a concept with users and stakeholders before committing to growth.
Proof of Concept - A proof of concept is a bare-bones feasibility test of your central premise that determines whether or not an idea can be achieved.

It is very important for you to understand the difference between MVP, Prototype and Proof of Concept and which method is best for your software development team.

Tip # 6: Hire Developers: in-house vs. outsourcing

Whether or not you can find a trustworthy development partner will determine if your software project succeeds. So, where do you go to look for one?

To begin with, ensure that the developer has an established track record and extensive app development experience. Make certain that their cooperation terms are straightforward and open and that you are comfortable with them.

Tip # 7: Test, Test and Test

After your app has been launched, you must perform thorough testing with real users. Allow them to try out the app and provide feedback. This will help you to spot any flaws as well as areas that need to be updated.

One of the best and most considerable things for a business willing to get into mobile eLearning apps is to opt for industry best practices.

What are the types of eLearning Platforms?

The e-learning platform aspires to be as close to a replacement for the conventional classroom as possible. Based on the type of education, the scale of institution, and nature of learning, Online Learning Platforms can be categorized as:

Student Management Systems (SMS)
Assessment Software
Virtual Classroom Software
Video Conferencing Software
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC)
Learning Management Systems (LMS)
Online Tutoring Platform

Benefits of Investing in Mobile eLearning Platforms

There are hundreds of benefits one can reap by investing their time and money in the business of eLearning platforms. Here, we will elaborate top 5 best benefits of online learning management systems for businesses.

Saved Time And Labor

LMS training typically provides more flexibility than a pre-designed online training course. It allows you to be more creative with your content, layout, and branding. What is more, if your LMS includes a mobile app, you can reduce the technical staff required. Thousands of dollars in programming labor and billable man-hours could be saved as a result.

Boost Performance & Increase Profits

JIT training has a long list of advantages. It assists in facilitating the exact training you need at the precise time you need it. JIT might be something unforeseen for which you haven't planned any preparation. Often it's a technical issue, such as how to request additional funds when traveling abroad. With mobile access, you are able to learn whenever and wherever, even in the middle of a business meeting.

Perfect to Train New Hires

Your new employees may have to adapt to new technologies or your internal systems and with Generation Z making their way into the workforce mobile tools are ideal. It can also be beneficial to the growing number of telecommuters, remote workers, and gig workers. It saves you the cost of purchasing tablets or laptops for them.

For off-site recruits, this is even more important. You don't want to think about field equipment being damaged; there's more transparency and less risk of loss.

Reduced Employee Turnover

Investing in a mobile LMS with a mobile learning app helps you retain your best employees while avoiding the costs of new hire training. If you provide your in-house workers with the training they will gain access to support services available on every platform and perform exceptionally well.

The ability to hone your in-house talent through mobile-friendly online training certification courses is a bonus as you won’t have to think about spending money on developing their talents.

Implement Compliance in Better Ways

Employees can access compliance tools at any time through a mobile learning app when they're in the middle of a task and aren't sure how to continue without violating company policy or legislation, for example. They also have the option of identifying areas for change on their own and resolving the issue on their own.

Industry Best Practices for Mobile eLearning Apps

The experts of the industry have suggested the following steps:

Create an Active, Intuitive, Engaging and Meaningful Learning System

Modern technology has merged with the traditional learning process to make it more effective and feasible. With an online learning system, the purpose is to create an active, intuitive, engaging, and meaningful education system.

Active means that the students should keep his/her participation at every step and stay involved in the learning process.
Intuitive attributes are very important for an eLearning app. If the user interface is confusing and hard to use, it will be challenging for students and teachers to use it. So, intuitive here means the friendliness of the system.
An app can be engaging by implementing motivational quotes, messages, and badges.
Meaningful learning means that at every step, students are aware of exactly why they study this or that subject and what they will get as a result.

Use A Combination of New and Traditional Methods

Using a combination of new technological and old traditional teaching methods is highly recommended when it comes to the online learning system. Techniques such as:

Project & Problem-Based Learning: Real-life learning is far better than consuming facts and theories from books. It is better to make the students understand the theories by placing them in the real world.
Cooperative Learning: Social Networking and Corporate environment training should start from school, and it is far more rewarding.
Gamification: One of the latest technologies is Gamification. It keeps the attention of students in the app where they play and learn at the same time.

Make a Personalized App

One of the most significant benefits of having mobile applications is personalization. The content or curriculum tailor-made to users’ needs is one of the features that can attract and engage people to your app.

You can achieve personalization in an eLearning app by the following methods:

Creating a username for each individual
letting students pick an avatar and customize it to their own needs
Integrating search based curriculum based on student’s browsing habits and preferences
Let students check their progress reports
Let students connect the app with their social media accounts

Don't Overcrowd your App

Don't overcrowd your app with unnecessary features and functions. Having too many features in an education app can make the real purpose vanish for students. Having multifunctional apps is not bad. But the line where they become too confusing for users is thin. It is better to concentrate on one aspect and push it further or make use of other techniques.

Integrate Social Networking in the App

Learning can be more accessible when you can turn to someone for advice or study in a group to understand the concept better. You can either incorporate your social elements in your app’s design or integrate them with the existing social networks.

Select a Monetization Model

Before picking any monetization model, you should understand that eLearning apps are different from other apps. The most profitable models you can choose for an eLearning app are:

Subscription-based pricing plan
Limited Premium account and then ask for a paid subscription
Course Fee
In-app ads
In-app purchases
Paid Certification

Focus on KPIs

Never lose track of key performance indicators that matter in pursuit of a higher number of users.

You can set the following KPIs for your app:

Retention rate
Churn rate
Daily and monthly active users
The average revenue per user and average revenue per paying user
Return on investment and Lifetime value.

Why Use React Native Platform to Build an eLearning App?

React Native is rapidly gaining interest among the worldwide communities and expanding its market share. React Native is simpler to use and highly adaptable.

The question is if React Native Good for your Project? Here is a list of benefits that why should you consider this framework:

Tried and Trusted

First and foremost, Facebook created React Native to build a great smartphone app for their social portal. You've most certainly seen it on your phone via the Facebook mobile application. Does it have the sound of a native app? Yes, it does.

However, after React Native became open source, more businesses have opted to take a chance to use it to build their smartphone applications. Here are a couple of examples.

Facebook
Instagram
Skype
Tesla
Walmart
Discord
Bloomberg

You can build a single codebase that runs on both Android and iOS with React Native. It not only works, but it also compiles to native Java and Swift code. React Native, in particular, serves as a link between web UI components and their Java/Swift counterparts.

Consider the ramifications for the app development project. For two systems, there is no need for two production teams. There's no need to match features and layouts. You simply grow more rapidly and get more value for money.

Choose the Language that you Know

Developing React Native apps needs less technical experience. You almost certainly have someone on your staff who can program in JavaScript, if not explicitly ReactJS. As opposed to developers who know Java or Swift, JS developers are easier to come by.

Advancing Everyday

React Native is currently being developed. Both Facebook and the thriving React Native network are actively trying to develop the framework. If you can't fix an issue right now because React Native doesn't have a solution, it could be changed in a few months.

Microsoft was so taken by React Native that they created their fork, React Native, for Windows. Developers will now build applications for Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, and Xbox One with greater ease due to their solution.

Add Third-Party Plugins

Third-party plugins and APIs, such as maps and payment modes, are also simple to integrate with React Native.

End Results - Great Mobile Apps

For smartphone applications, React Native is ideal. It has a slick, seamless, and intuitive user interface that reduces load time dramatically. It is easier and less expensive to create apps in React Native without sacrificing accuracy and features.

Reduce Cost & Rapid Development

React Native is an excellent choice if there is a need to build an app for both iOS and Android. It helps the developer by reducing the codebase work up to 95%. It comes with open-source pre-build libraries that can accelerate the development process.

Sum up

A major credit of the increased popularity of Online Learning Platforms goes to Covid-19 Pandemic. It brings a true paradigm shift in the system. Millions of people worldwide took up online courses during this crisis to help them get through and turn this lockdown period of stay-at-home to their advantage. It is also expected that even after the Pandemic, the popularity won't stop hailing. This means it is a good time to invest in e-learning mobile app development.

But building a successful and effective eLearning mobile app isn't child's play. The biggest challenge you may face is to hire the right team to develop your desired app. If you want to build an app with specific features, you need someone with experience. So, don't overthink - we can help you with that. We have highly experienced developers who have already worked for many clients developing eLearning apps. We welcome you to contact us for more details.

How To Rebuild Existing Software: Fixing And Updating Legacy Code

Wojciech Rupik — Tue, 18 May 2021 14:49:05 +0000

Rebuilding or updating the already existing software may sometimes be a task equally as challenging as building it from scratch. Businesses usually decide to fix their legacy code due to issues with performance or compatibility. On the other hand, developers often are scared to handle older code or code they did not write in the first place.

If you are in such a situation, you better prepare for challenges and problems that will likely occur.

This post aims to explain the nuances connected to legacy code improvements, discuss the most common problems and provide you with best practices and tips on how to successfully go through this process.

What is Legacy Code?

According to Wikipedia, Legacy Code is simply a source code that is related to a no longer supported or manufactured operating system or computer technology. It also relates to code that is inserted into more modern software in order to maintain an older, previously supported feature or file format. On the other hand, the term also refers to executable code that no longer runs on a later version of a system or one that requires a compatibility layer to do so. A great example can be a classic Macintosh application that can no longer run natively on the newest Mac OS X.

The challenges of fixing and updating Legacy Code

Legacy Code is often named ‘spaghetti code’, ‘ball of mud’ or other, not so nice terms. Generally speaking, it usually has one of the following five so-called trouble spots:

It is hard to debug
People do not understand it
The code will not run because the feedback cycles are slow
The automated tests are not adequate or do not exist
Deployment is difficult and/or takes a long time

As mentioned above, Legacy Code usually holds information crucial for the final product to work properly. In some cases, it is code written by people who are no longer in the company. And this is where the problem arises: what has to be changed and where it is? What can we do? The answers are, as follows:

Rewrite it

The most drastic of the possible solutions is to rewrite the code altogether. It might be either the best or the worst way to deal with spaghetti code. It is usually the best option when an infrastructure seems to be impossible to work with and every attempt to fix it causes more harm than good. Here, it is crucial to approach this solution very carefully, which means no matter how good the developers are and how quickly they can finish the job, always assume it will take more time, resources and effort than anticipated.

Work around it

Although it might be tempting to add another layer of the code in order to fix it, most often, is just a temporary fix. What is more, after some time, someone else will probably go back through your code and add even more layers. There is one situation in particular where the work around method is good for - when you are dealing with smaller and centralized issues. In this case, big fixes are not required or necessarily needed by the software. As long as the solution stays well-documented for future development.

Work with it

The final solution is to simply just work with the Legacy Code. Here, the main challenge is to actually understand what the original author had in mind when writing the code. You should be prepared to work on changing one tiny thing at a time, but despite the frustration and possible drawbacks, working with legacy code is a good way to ensure you are not adding the legacy code of tomorrow.

Why is Legacy Code a challenge?

Developers say that the biggest challenge they faced when working with older or unfamiliar code may be the assumptions about it. You may think the code is bad and whoever wrote it did not know what they were doing or that you would have done it better.

Speaking the truth, there usually is a reason why the code you are dealing with is how it is and that is why you cannot put a quick fix on it. There might be some dependencies you are unaware of and that is why it is crucial to know whether to maintain it or change it.

What do you get for doing the dirty job?

By editing the Legacy Code you can simplify everyone’s future workflow. You deliver better code with fewer bugs, which is obviously a win not only for your co-workers but also for your clients. Incrementally improving the code base through step-by-step edits means that everybody involved with the project will have less fear and frustration. By fixing the existing code you make your life easier and prevent the project from future errors that could result from improper code editing.

If you do not feel comfortable or have time to update your inherited codebase, there is always the possibility to outsource it. Our teams can handle this from start to finish while you will be able to redirect your energy to other projects.

Best practices for working with Legacy Code

You obviously will not be able to improve the code overnight, but you can take gradual steps to improve it over time. No matter if you are just getting started or have been working on it for a while, here are some tips and tricks you can follow.

Rewrite only when necessary

Although it might be tempting to rewrite the entire codebase it is usually a mistake. It takes too much time and resources to do so and despite all the effort, it can still introduce new bugs. What is more, you can accidentally remove a hidden functionality.

Try refactoring

It is better to try to refactor the codebase rather than rewrite it. It is also best to do it gradually. Refactoring is the process of changing the structure of the code but without changing its functionality. This helps to clean the code and make it easier to understand. Additionally, it removes potential errors. When refactoring code remember to refactor code that has unit tests, always start with the deepest point of your code, test after refactoring and have a safety net like continuous integration so you can always revert to the previous build.

Test it

One way to get an understanding of the code is to create characterization and unit tests. You can also use a code quality code like a static code analyzer in order to identify potential problems. This will help you understand what the code actually does and reveal potentially problematic areas.

Read the documentation

Reviewing the original documentation with the requirements will give you insight into where the code came from. Having the documentation nearby will help you improve the code without compromising the system since without this information you could accidentally make changes that introduce undesirable behaviour.

Keep the new code clean

Keeping the code clean and readable is a great way to avoid making it even more problematic. By ensuring your new code adheres to best practices you can control the quality of it.

Collaborate with others

As you probably will not know the codebase very well, your coworkers may. It is much faster to ask for help from those who know the code best. Try to collaborate with them as much as possible as a second set of eyes on the code may help you understand it better.

Make changes in different review cycles

Try not to introduce too many changes at once. It is a bad idea to refactor in the same review cycle as functional changes. What is more, it makes it easier to actually perform code reviews as isolated changes are much more obvious to the reviewer than a sea of changes.

Do further research

Working with an inherited codebase gets easier with time. An experienced developer will know when to leave it be as well as learning more about the code itself will. Review sources that speak about introducing changes to Legacy Code, analyze the examples and look for useful tips.

Helpful tools for working with Legacy Code

The developer community seems to have a tool for almost everything you can think of. Working with Legacy Code is no different. When working with an inherited codebase it is crucial to figure out what to change and leave the rest alone. Here’s a list of tools that will help you analyze the code.

One way to get inside the code is by using a code quality tool like a static code analysis tool.

DeepSource

This tool helps you to automatically find and fix issues in the code during code reviews. It can be integrated with GitHub or GitLab accounts. The solution looks for antipatterns, bug risks and performance issues. What is more, it produces and tracks metrics like dependency count or documentation coverage.

DeepSource supports languages like: JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Java as well as Docker, Terraform and SQL.

SonarQube

A popular static analysis tool for continuously inspecting the code quality and security. It is used for automated code review with CI/CD integration and offers quality-management tools. Unfortunately, not every IDE supports SonarQube and you do not have the option to ignore the issues that are intentional or your team decides not to fix them.

SonarQube supports over 25 programming languages including Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, C#.

Codacy

A tool that allows developers to tackle technical debt and improve code quality. It monitors the quality in every commit and PR. Additionally, you can enforce your quality standards and security practices. However, the solution lacks integration of other SaaS services like API QOS metrics from AWS API Gateways or UI/E2E testing Saas services and has a relatively small community.

Codacy supports languages like Elixir, JavaScript, JSON, Ruby, Swift, Kotlin and many more.

DeepScan

DeepScan is a leading static analysis tool created to support JavaScript, TypeScript, React and Vue.js. You can use this tool to seek out feasible runtime errors and quality issues. It can be integrated with GitHub repositories. The small language support can be a major drawback to some while others will be thrilled with that.

Embold

A general-purpose tool that helps to look for critical code issues. This is the tool to investigate, diagnose, transform and sustain applications efficiently. It is integrated with AI and machine learning technologies and can be run both on-premise or within a cloud privately or publicly. On the downside, Embold is quite pricey for what it is in comparison to other similar software.

Embold supports Java, C#, JavaScript, Python, PHP, Kotlin, SQL and others.

Veracode

A tool directed towards security issues as it conducts code checks across the pipeline to find security vulnerabilities. It includes IDE scans, pipeline scans and policy scans as a part of its service. Keep in mind, Veracode does not allow any customization for the scanning rules and has a rather poor UX.

Veracode supports languages including Java, JavaScript, Python, Scala, Ruby on Rails, PHP and many more.

Reshift

A SaaS-based software platform that can be seamlessly integrated into the software development workflow so you can deploy secure software deliverables without slowing down the pipeline. It reduces the costs and time of finding and fixing vulnerabilities, identifying potential risk data breaches and helping businesses achieve compliance and regulatory requirements. The drawback is that Reshift only supports Java.

As additional resources for your journey with Legacy Code, read the article by Michael C. Feathers on how to make changes to the codebase. Another great resource is a book by Martin Fowler Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code with lots of useful tips for effective code refactoring.

Conclusions

As you can see, updating Legacy Code is not a walk in the park. Those updates and their extensivity depend on the a*ge of code, its architecture, test coverage and deployment. Before you start, it is crucial to define the new expectations as well as ensure sufficient test coverage. Remember to always look at the code from all possible angles and decide whether you should **work with it, around it or rewrite it altogether*.

There are lots of helpful tools that can aid you in every step of the process and I hope that after reading this article, you feel more secure and less scared to deal with fixes and updates.

And if that still sounds like too much work for you, contact us. We will be more than happy to help you. Our experienced teams are ready to start working on your project, even if it still is an idea in your head. Fill out the form to schedule a call and get a free quote.

Outsourcing Software Development: MVP, Proof of Concept, Prototyping

Kasia — Wed, 12 May 2021 07:20:30 +0000

What are the differences and when do you need them?

Proof of Concept, Prototype, and Minimum Viable Product (MVP) are the three most common words you will hear during any software development. Each of those words describes a version of a finished product but at different stages of completion so it is very easy to get confused.

This post will guide all CTOs and Product Owners to learn how to start their software development. Having know-how of these three words is very important as these terms help in planning and defining the project. It is the most important part of the software development process.

So, let’s get started.

Proof of Concept (POC) - Everything You Need to Know

Here we will explain POC in detail from its definition to uses and benefits.

What is Proof of Concept in IT?

A proof of concept is a bare-bones feasibility test of your central premise that determines whether or not an idea can be achieved.

A proof of concept only covers a portion of our potential product. Many POCs that discuss each of the features and functionality can thoroughly evaluate a complex idea.

What are the Main Points of POC?

The main points of POC are:

The concept addresses the basic question: Can a product be built or not?
It tests the assumption for the real-life final product
It helps to define the idea, functionality, feasibility of a product
It is a theoretical demo to see if the product is possible

When to use Proof of Concept?

#1: When you are Upgrading your Product with Latest Technology

At this point, a proof-of-concept helps you to assess the new feature's viability without putting the company at risk.

#2: When you are Boosting an Existing Technology

POC can help to determine which option is the best. It is possible to test hypotheses without actually designing a product. This helps businesses save valuable time and money.

#3: When you are using Third-Party Solution for your Project

Using a third-party solution is often risky, so conducting a feasibility check before deciding on a solution will save you a lot of time. A perfect example would be integrating a payment system into your app. Before you begin integrating the solution, make sure the technology is feasible.

Top 3 Advantages of Proof of Concept

The top 3 advantages of POC are as follow:

1. Project Managers can Identify Potential Risks and Hurdles

Creating a proof of concept helps project managers in identifying potential threats and barriers in the development process. Managers should predict challenges and schedule their projects accordingly while still planning, rather than discovering them before or after the product release. It helps them to eliminate risks and obstacles.

While the POC cannot guarantee a smooth execution of project management fundamentals, it can improve the product's chances of success.

2. Helps Develop Feasibility Report for Stakeholders

Before project managers may ask for funds for their plan, they must first convince their stakeholders that the investment is worthwhile.

They will demonstrate the idea's usability and viability through POCs. They can clearly illustrate the benefits of the proposed product to the company's operations, brand image, and customer relations, among other things.

3. Project Leaders can Forecast Future Chances for Scalability

When project managers consider developing a product, they and their stakeholders almost always expect it to be scaled up. As a result, project managers may use POCs to check the viability of a concept and its scalability, whether it is done immediately or over time. When in the proposal stage, POCs will assist project managers in addressing scope creep.

6 Easy POC Templates for Software Developers

To aid in the planning and to execute upcoming IT projects, we've compiled a list of free proof-of-concept models, and examples found online.

Template # 1 - Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Public Welfare

This detailed proof-of-concept document was created by two IT executives ten years ago and continues to be a helpful method to create a proof-of-concept for custom-built market offerings and new technology investments. The document gives comprehensive descriptions for the POC process's preparation, monitoring, and performance and a helpful template at the end.

Template # 2 - Intel

Intel's step-by-step guide explains how to create a good proof of concept for AI applications. Business leaders can use Intel's proof-of-concept template to scale various AI-based solutions and decide which is the best match, given the rapid proliferation of AI and many other automation technologies in the enterprise.

Template # 3 - Toolbox.com

This sampling technology proof-of-concept template explained how to outline a methodology for any size POC and determine the required technological environment and expected requirements for a new system in detail.

Template # 4 - Designli LLC

Prove necessity, map weak points to solutions and get feedback, test the idea, evaluate, and build a minimum viable product are five steps offered by software firm Designli for effective software development.

Template # 5 - Accelerator Research and Innovation for European Science and Society (ARIES)

The proof-of-concept proposal map created by ARIES is a good example of a simple template that can be used in various industries. The prototype includes six parameters, each of which is annotated with questions and other information that explains what is expected of each.

Template # 6 - Mervyn George

Mervyn George, a tech advisor, and the author take to LinkedIn to give six software proof-of-concept progress components: recognizing the team, defining success, aligning goals, expecting a win-win result, clarifying next steps from the start, collecting input, learning, and evolving.

Now, let’s move on to Prototype.

Prototype - How will my Application Look Alike?

Let’s get into more details for Prototype and its uses.

What is Prototyping in Software Development?

It's a tool for quickly validating a concept with users and stakeholders before committing to growth. The prototype's primary aim is to aid in product creation decisions and reduce the number of errors.

Advantages of Software Prototyping:

Increased user involvement in the product before implementation.
The users get a better understanding of the system being developed.
Defects can be detected earlier.
Quicker user feedback.
Missing or difficult functions can be identified easier.

Disadvantages of Software Prototyping:

Costly and time-consuming process.
Difficult for developers because of changing customer requirements.
The system may expand beyond the original plans.
If the customer is not satisfied from the very beginning he/she might lose interest.

What are the Types of Software Prototyping?

Software prototypes are primarily of the following styles for various projects in different categories:

Rapid Prototyping

Rapid prototyping, also known as throwaway prototyping, requires minimal effort and requirement analysis. It is discarded as soon as the actual device is established based on the prototype's understanding, as the name implies.

Evolutionary Prototyping

This starts with the bare minimum of the functionality on which potential prototypes for the entire system can be designed. It's a step-by-step evolutionary method for collecting requirements.

Incremental Prototyping

Similar to evolutionary prototyping, incremental prototyping entails creating several prototypes for various subsystems and then combining them to form a full system.

Extreme Prototyping

Extreme prototyping is divided into three stages and is recommended for web development projects. In the next step, the data processing is simulated using the initial prototype, which contains all existing pages. In the end, the prototype incorporates the services.

Software Prototyping - Application

Software prototyping is the way to go if you have a lot of user interface specifications.

This prototyping can get a close approximation of the actual program for your online systems to fill out the form and numerous other needs.

When to use Prototyping?

Organizations must determine whether prototyping is beneficial to a specific project on a case-by-case basis. Here are a few things to think about and scenarios where prototyping makes sense:

When the requirements of the product are not clear to the team.
When the demands of the product are unstable and change quickly
When there are software-intensive and complex systems that need experimentation and minimum risk
Big projects with tight timelines and deliverables

What are the Best Practices of Prototyping?

Always use the prototype for complicated and perplexing specifications.

Plan the prototype well and record it for the team to follow
Have meetings with the team to ensure the project is on schedule and not delayed
There should be a sync between the users and the designer's methodology with an understanding of potential problems and pitfalls
Do not be afraid of new concepts and improvements throughout the process or when deploying.
Prioritize the features while integrating them into the prototype
The first step in obtaining an accurate prototype is to choose the appropriate type of prototype.

And, now it is time to learn details about the Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

MVP - What to do to Achieve your Business Goal?

In this section of the blog, you will get to know everything about MVP.

What Is a Minimum Viable Product?

A minimum viable product, or MVP, is a publicly available version of a product that allows teams to benefit from customer input.

A minimum viable product (MVP) is the most basic but well-polished version of the final product. It is released to the market with only minor flaws.

Top 3 Reasons to Create MVP

Let’s look at each reason one by one.

Reason # 1: Focus on Building the Core

An MVP app focuses on a single concept and does not have any other features. The MVP strategy is consistent with the lean startup philosophy of creating the best product with a small budget in a short period. Having some of the most important but least essential features will help to reduce the cost of the MVP. The MVP enables the app to be reviewed with little risk.

Reason # 2: It’s Budget-Friendly

This is also another significant benefit, as it prevents you from wasting all of your money right away on items that may or may not succeed. It is recommended to build an MVP because it is a simple way to improve the mobile development strategy.

Reason # 3: It Allows Market Validation

An MVP will assist you in determining if your app is appropriate for your target market. It should effectively introduce your brand to consumers and demonstrate how your project differs from those in its category.

4 Steps to Follow When Building MVP

Here’re the four steps for building an MVP.

Step 1: Identify and Understand your Market and Product Needs

The first step is to determine if there is a commercial demand for your product. It's also important to look at what your rivals are doing and figure out how to make your product stand out. This will assist you in determining what type of mobile product you need to be effective.

You need to set your goals and success criteria:

Long-Term Goals - Once you've decided that there is a market for your product, you should set a long-term business goal: what do you want to achieve? E.g., if you own a coffee shop chain, you may want to reduce checkout time by 30% in the long run.
Success Criteria - Next, determine what factors will determine the product's performance.

Step 2: Define and Design User Journey

It is important to develop the mobile app with the end-user in mind. This will allow you to examine the product from the user's point of view, from opening the app to achieving an end objective, such as making a purchase. This gives you ideas for how to build the app so that it is user-friendly. Furthermore, identifying user flow and addressing users' actions to complete an end objective ensures that nothing is overlooked while keeping service quality in mind.

Things To Consider When Creating A User Journey:

Identify The User - Who will be the target market for your product?
Identify The Actions (Jobs) - The jobs are the steps that the user (or users) must take to meet the story's conclusion and accomplish the target.
Identify The Story Endings - There will be a story ending for each user, the user's target (i.e., booking an appointment).

Step 3: Design A Clear Plan & Gain Map

The plan and gain chart helps you recognize all of a user's pain points and the benefits that come from addressing them. This strategy allows you to figure out where you have the most opportunity to add value. You can then concentrate your MVP on these areas while putting the less important ones on your product roadmap for later updates.

Step 4: Decide A List Of Features*

You'll tell at this point what features to include in your MVP and what features to put on your product roadmap that aren't as essential. Identifying and prioritizing features can be as simple as asking yourself, "What does my user want vs. what does my user need?"

Keep in mind that adding too many user-requested features too fast will detract from the product's overall intent and degrade the user experience. The only parts you can have should be related to the ultimate purpose of your product.

Opportunity Statements

To finish what features you want to carry out, use opportunity statements. You'll want to build feature sentences at this point in the MVP creation process. For example, the opportunity statement "How could we expedite the application process?" for our Pet Adopters who are applying to adopt animals might become "Reduce application processing time by 10%."

Breakdown Features

Provide a rundown of the functionality to include in the product roadmap and the customer and specific opportunity statements.

Prioritization Matrix

This move assists you in determining where you will have the greatest effect concerning the feature's urgency. You can use a prioritization matrix to decide what aspects must be included in your MVP and what elements can be added later.

So, What Will You Choose - POC, Prototype or MVP?

The answer to this question lies in another question that is “What you want to Build?”

Most innovative products need all three of them. These tactics help you analyze a product idea before investing a large number of funds in its development. Simpler ideas like Airbnb can be realized by building an MVP and further refining the product. But, you may face great losses by implementing this idea. To minimize the risk, an interactive Prototype of a product can be built. You can send it for demand estimation and customer evaluation to make an informed decision.

If you need a development team that understands the requirements of your product and develops it in a reasonable time and affordable budget, look no further. We have the best and most experienced software developer at Selleo. You can contact us anytime for further discussions.

Design SaaS Product: 4 Reasons Why You Should Choose Ruby On Rails Framework

Marek Caputa — Wed, 12 May 2021 07:08:58 +0000

Software as a Service (SaaS) is one of the most widely-used techniques for software development. The popularity of SaaS has grown rapidly over the last decade around the globe. SaaS brings benefits not only to the users but also software companies as it reduces time and costs of development, allows scalability, seamless integration and accessibility to users.

Like all other industries, Covid-19 Pandemic has also hit the SaaS growth rate. According to GLOBE NEWSWIRE, "Software as a service (SaaS) Global Market Report 2020-30: Covid 19 Impact and Recovery" report, the market is expected to recover and grow CAGR of 10% from 2021 and reach $253 billion in 2023.

There are many frameworks available for SaaS development, but one of the most effective and highly recommended is Ruby on Rails. In this article, I will blend the technical aspects of designing SaaS using the Ruby on Rails framework to prove it is a perfect choice for your project.

What is a SaaS product?

The simplest definition of a SaaS product is:

A SaaS product is online software that is available to all users.

The world’s most renowned SaaS companies include DropBox and Google Apps. Since the cloud manages the software, customers do not need to download anything on their devices to use SaaS platforms. The host side handles all updates and repairs, which are hidden from the user. The product is available every month rather than as a one-time purchase.

How is SaaS Product Software Development Different?

The software-as-a-service model outperforms conventional software distribution methods. Here are some of the pointers that differentiate a SaaS product from a product developed with conventional software methods:

Not only do software providers profit from the SaaS model. Users can access the app through a web browser on any device with an Internet connection at any time.
Users often do not have to wait for the software to be updated.
SaaS product creation is a powerful way to produce applications, but it comes with many technological challenges. For starters, SaaS products rely on a stable infrastructure to properly handle user data. API development, third-party integration, and availability issues are all important considerations for developers. This is why selecting a hosting provider for your SaaS application needs extra care.
Building a SaaS product necessitates a unique strategy for database, code, and server management. As a result, selecting a technology stack for your SaaS product takes careful thought.

What Language and Framework are Best for Building a SaaS Product?

For SaaS growth, almost any language can be used; languages like PHP, Java, and Python can easily be integrated with the frameworks or resources you will need, such as database systems or software libraries.

Some languages and technological stacks, however, are superior to others. When building your MVP, choosing a language with tested and established frameworks and libraries will save you a lot of time and money.

Here’s a list of the most common frameworks for SaaS product development.

Ruby on Rails - The first application written in Ruby on Rails framework, or RoR, was a project management tool Basecamp that was using the SaaS model. Ruby on Rails framework is a very developer-friendly framework that provides a great number of free open-source libraries.

Django - Django is the most popular Python framework for building web applications and SaaS-based products. It is well-known for its high out-of-the-box security protection and easy API creation.

Express.js - One of the most powerful and, therefore, well-known frameworks for Node.js is Express.js. Express.js can boast of good server-side rendering and performance. It can address a significant number of simultaneous calls with extensive throughput.

The question is which framework is best for SaaS and highly recommended by experts. The answer is Ruby on Rails is one of the best and highly recommended. Why? Let’s check out.

Is Ruby on Rails a good framework for building a SaaS product?

It is wise to pay attention to four critical traits of the language and framework for your SaaS product:

Performance
Security
Flexibility
Scalability

And Ruby on Rails has it all—here's why you should consider it when choosing a language for SaaS development.

Pros and Cons of using Ruby on Rails

Let’s discuss the pros and cons of using Ruby on Rails Framework for SaaS product development.

Pros:

It's easy to set up
It speeds up development – Rail is a platform full of tried-and-true functionality implementations, so your developers won't have to start from scratch. Your team will have access to many libraries (both free and paid) that will be useful when building your domain.
Debugging is easy in Rails
The use of Ruby and RoR is continually growing.
Since many small businesses have adopted Ruby and RoR, the language and framework are surrounded by a more experimental and exploratory user community.
It's simple to find and recruit talented developers familiar with the framework; in reality, your developers can already be familiar with Ruby and RoR. If not, getting the devs up to speed on RoR is a breeze.
Ruby and RoR are ideal for fast-paced environments.

Cons:

Ruby and Ruby on Rails cannot be as fast as other programming languages.
Ruby on Rails doesn't have a built-in module for dealing with multi-tenancy if you're creating a multi-tenancy product.

4 Advantages of RoR that will make your SaaS Product Groundbreaking

At Selleo, we prefer Ruby on Rails as a reliable and robust framework for SaaS product development. Let’s dig into more details on why the Ruby on Rails framework is an excellent option for SaaS development.

# 1: Convention over Configuration

Ruby on Rails is one of the most developer-friendly frameworks which follows the Convenient over Configuration concept. The framework allows easy implementation of new functionality. Based on the principles such as DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) and KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid), the framework guarantees that the code is clean and clitter-free.

Ruby on Rails framework follows the MVC (model-view-controller) pattern. It allows for the modularity and extensibility of applications in SaaS product development. Due to this reason, any RoR application, no matter its complexity, can easily be molded with new functionalities.

# 2: High Development Speed

Ruby 3.0 got significantly faster compared to its previous versions. The thread performance was measured by the Optcarrot benchmark based on NES’s game emulation workload and came back with a fantastic score.

Using this framework, developers do not need to reinvent the wheel to use proven feature implementations. The community of RoR developers has already publicized the implementation of authentication systems, commenting, payments, and many other services.

Ruby on Rails framework shortens the time-to-market of your SaaS product and lowers the development cost.

# 3: GEMS

Ruby uses “gems” to provide added functionality. A gem called Devise gives developers robust authentication functionality. Devise allows you to define which routes within your application require authentication

Ruby on Rails framework provides developers a wide variety of GEMS that are free, open-source libraries. Today, you can use 161,750+ gems to combine proven implementations made by a large and enthusiastic Rails community. When these ready solutions are available, there is no need for your developers to redevelop these features.

# 4: Security

Rails provide some solid out-of-the-box protection. Its SQL injection is handled well by the default Rails object-relational mapper (ORM), Active Record. XSS is protected by default. All string text is escaped before being sent to the browser.

Rails also have default security headers that protect applications from clickjacking, and it can be easily overlooked.

Another gem, Pundit, defines resource-level access control for REST resources. It prevents insecure direct object references, a component of broken access control.

Rails Lowlights

Rails’ dependence on gems for some security functionality can be seen as a disadvantage. The gems are well-known and vetted by the likes of OWASP, so you don’t need to worry too much.

So the same advice applies here that applied for Node. Make sure you do your homework.

A definite security issue with the existing Rails framework is its default handling of user sessions. By default, Rails uses cookie-based sessions. The sessions won’t expire on the server, leaving your application open for replay attacks.

To fix this, you’ll need to change the Rails configuration to use the database to store sessions. You can do this with a small configuration change.

What SaaS Companies use Ruby on Rails?

Here’s a list of the world-best SaaS companies using Ruby on Rails framework.

Basecamp

The well-known web-based project collaboration tool, debuted in 2004, the same year that Ruby on Rails was formed. In reality, David Heinemeier Hansson, a member of the project's development team, extracted the structure from Basecamp. Rails are still at the heart of Basecamp, proving to be a dependable solution with scalability and speed. After its launch, the third version of the program has had a regular uptime of 99.985 percent.

GitHub

In 2008, GitHub, the most common web-based version control and collaboration platform for developers, launched as a SaaS. GitHub aids developers in the development of software and the management of their source code. It's the most common choice among open-source developers today, with nearly 6 million active users and 20 million active repositories.

Zendesk

A leading cloud-based customer service network used by over 50,000 companies worldwide, including Groupon, Vodafone, Uber, and Disney. Customers like Zendesk because it's simple to buy, set up, and use. The platform is dependable and adaptable, allowing companies to scale their customer service operations.

Shopify

A leading e-commerce site that enables users to create their online shops- Shopify helps over 300,000 retailers in 100 countries, including Tesla Motors, Forbes, and Maxim Magazine, by combining top features with a clean interface and intuitive design. Shopify customers delivered $23.7 million in monthly recurring revenue in June 2017, up 64 percent from $14.4 million in June 2016.

How to outsource Ruby on Rails Development?

There are different ways to search for a Ruby on Rails Development company and outsource them for your project. Let’s look at some of the most common ways to outsource a Ruby on Rails development company.

Option #1: Analyze Portfolios of Development Companies

The portfolio of projects that an organization has helped develop, plan, and launch is one of the best indicators of its competence.

In a portfolio, you can find case studies of completed projects as well as customer testimonials. You may compare a customer's testimonial to his or her Clutch and GoodFirms reviews to see whether it's real and acceptable.

At Selleo, we have helped many businesses in developing SaaS products using RoR framework. Our portfolio for SaaS products using RoR framework is highly appreciated in the industry and shows our expertise in the field.

Option #2: Rating Websites like Clutch

Platforms like Clutch and GoodFirms collect customers' feedback and suggestions. Since the feedback is moderated and checked by non-involved experts, you can trust it.

Option #3: Events and Conferences

Many development companies exhibit at IT conferences and other emerging technology-related events. Some development organizations not only participate in but also plan such events to share their opinions. If your project includes blockchain or machine learning, look for vendors at conferences that have successfully applied these technologies.

Option #4: Company Blogs

Analyzing a production company's blog segment is another way to assess their competence. A successful development company keeps a high-quality, informative blog section with stories and case studies about their skills and previous experiences. You can read about their software development process in articles like "Steps to Create Healthcare Web & App." You can tell whether they have experience with RoR staff augmentation by looking at their blog section and website material.

Option #5: LinkedIn Profiles

Companies in the development industry use LinkedIn to expand their online presence and remind potential clients about their background, culture, values, and all of the great products they've launched. You can learn about an organization's long-term goals and priorities by looking at the LinkedIn profile.

Final Thoughts

It is a fact that SaaS product development is more technically demanding compared to building traditional software. When it comes to SaaS development, Ruby on Rails meets all the requirements easily. By choosing the RoR framework, you get powerful and cost-effective solutions. But wait? Hiring a professionally expert Ruby on Rails development company is quite a hectic job even when your knowledge of the technology is not sufficient enough.

Worry Not! you can hire Selleo and Join 230+ tech leaders who have built their software with top Ruby on Rails outsourcing company. With expertise gained on over 150 international software projects, our developers and teams enable CEOs, CTOs, VPs of Engineering and Product Owners in startups and SMEs to design and craft quality software solutions. In doing so, we either augment clients’ in-house teams or deliver complete turnkey projects.

To get more details, you are more than welcome to contact us anytime.

React Native vs Flutter: The Ultimate Comparison

Wojciech Rupik — Wed, 12 May 2021 07:06:50 +0000

It is no groundbreaking news that mobile applications are growing in popularity. Mobile adoption saw a great increase in interests, partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to App Annie’s annual ‘State of Mobile’ industry report, mobile app downloads grew by 7% year-over-year to 218 billion in 2020.

In that year alone, smartphone users in the United States spent approximately 4 hours on apps. This is more time than the average American spends watching TV. This trend is not unique to the US but can be noticed in countries with developing mobile markets like Brazil, India and even Germany or the UK. It is also not related to any specific age group.

Having this in mind, many businesses decide to develop their own applications as a response to the market demand. Some of them decide to build their app using React Native but when researching the topic, you can also come across a solution named Flutter. In this post, we will compare the two with their pros and cons to help you find the best framework for your needs.

What is React Native?

React Native is a popular JavaScript framework developed by Facebook. It was made for writing real, natively rendering mobile cross-platform applications for both Android and iOS. It is based on React, Facebook’s JS library, which was created for building user interfaces, but it targets mobile platforms instead of browsers.

For more detailed information about React Native, go to the post Why Choose React Native For Your Mobile Tech Stack?

Pros of React Native

stability as it simplifies the process of data binding
modularity, which allows program function to be separated into interchangeable modules
native look and feel of your apps
one team for multiple platforms
easier to install than Flutter
bigger community support than Flutter

Cons of React Native

weaker performance than native solutions
supports only basic components out-of-the-box
applications are bigger than their native counterparts

Companies using React Native

Instagram

Instagram integrated React Native into their existing native app. Because of this change, 85% to 99% of the code is shared between the iOS and Android app, so the delivery of new features is much faster.

Discord

This digital communication tool is using React Native for both their Android and iOS app, sharing close to 98% of the code. This makes voice, text and video communication over the internet reliable and pleasant.

Pinterest decided to go with React Native as they wanted to reuse code between platforms. Because of this feature, RN was an obvious choice, which allows the company to better invest in developer productivity.

What is Flutter?

Flutter is an open-source user interface (UI) software development kit (SDK) introduced by Google in 2018. It enables not only to develop mobile apps for iOS and Android but also software for computer operating systems like Windows, Linux, macOS and Fuschia - a new OS in development from Google.

According to Linkedin’s study Flutter is the fastest-growing skill among software developers and was listed as one of the most-loved developer frameworks.

Pros of Flutter

single codebase that covers both mobile platforms
comes with a set of customizable widgets
the same application view, even on older devices
rich documentation

Cons of Flutter

large file sizes
lack of password manager support
limited set of tools and 3rd party libraries in comparison to React Native
weak iOS features support
lack of support for Continuous Integration

Companies using Flutter

New York Times

The New York Times puzzles are super popular across millions of players but developing new games and maintaining them was a huge challenge because of the complexity of the web, mobile and desktop platforms. This is why NYT decided to make use of Flutter and, with a single codebase, create high performing apps for all platforms.

Google Assistant

Flutter helps to power a growing number of Google Assistant apps. It is powering Google’s smart display platform including the Google Home Hub, taking the first steps towards supporting desktop-class apps with Chrome OS.

Realtor.com

Realtor’s app was originally built with Objective C and Java but as it became hard to scale, the developers formed a new cross-platform development team and switched to Flutter and noticed a great productivity boost.

React Native vs Flutter - Which is better for me?

Generally speaking, when trying to answer such a question there is one key thing to keep in mind - your personal requirements. For some, one framework will simply be better aligned than another and that is fine. That being said, let me just briefly compare the two to give you a better understanding and hopefully bring you closer to a decision.

Performance

Both solutions include hot reload, which is awesome. It accelerates the development process by allowing developers to add new code directly into a running app. What is more, all changes can be seen instantly.

Ease of use

As already mentioned, React Native is built on JavaScript, which many developers know very well. On the contrary, Dart - the base programming language behind Flutter is not as widely known or used.

Popularity

React Native is surrounded by an active and large community with plenty of tutorials, manuals and libraries that help to learn this framework.

Flutter is still relatively new and therefore has a significantly smaller developer community around it, however, it now has more stars on Github and is a more popular Google search.

UI building

React Native has dedicated software for building components - Flux. It uses JavaScript as a bridge for connection to native modules. Flutter does not have such a bridge, which makes it faster.

Learning curve

For both frameworks, the learning curve almost completely depends on your knowledge of their respective programming languages. As most developers have some sort of background in JavaScript, React Native seems to be a more natural choice. However, if you are a fresh developer or have previous experience with Dart you might want to opt for Flutter.

How to hire mobile developers?

If you want to develop an RN app for your business, you will most likely need mobile developers. Generally, like with every development, you can either hire single developers to build an in-house team, augment your existing one or outsource the development altogether.

Choosing to outsource your project to a dedicated team of React Native developers gives you additional advantages to the usual ones, like cost savings or faster time to market, including a designer or QA engineer. The first one gives your software a custom design, while the second ensures the highest quality and amazing customer experience.

There are quite a few things to consider when looking for a suitable team: portfolio and testimonial reviews, cultural fit or well-developed communication skills. To ensure you found the right one, ask them the right questions. More on that topic you can find in 10 Questions You Should Ask A Software Outsourcing Company.

Conclusions

React Native is viewed as an exciting framework enabling developers to create robust mobile applications using their JavaScript knowledge. On the other hand, Flutter is gaining momentum in the developer community. One thing is certain, both frameworks have powerful features that allow creating native-like applications with reusable code for both Android and iOS devices. The final decision on which one to choose solely relies on your business requirements.

Having an experienced development team that can take your idea and turn it into a powerful working solution is crucial for the success of your project. Selleo software engineers are able to take care of your product from start to finish, no matter the tech stack or industry. If you want to find out more, feel free to contact us to discuss how we can help you.

Beginner's Guide To Gherkin

Tomasz Jakobiec — Wed, 05 May 2021 08:15:16 +0000

Good communication can not only improve the understanding of team members and positively influence their collaboration skills but also speed up the process of software development. Practices like Behaviour-Driven development influence the communication between the so-called ‘three amigos’ - business, development and testing.

All that can be achieved by using the Gherkin language - one of the most popular languages for writing behaviour specifications. This article will serve you as a beginner guide to Gherkin. You will find out how to use it in practice and how it will help you improve your organisation.

What is BDD?

Before diving into Gherkin, we need to focus on the basic rules of testing for a bit. One of those rules is Behaviour-Driven Development. BDD grew out of Test-Driven Development (TDD) and Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD) and is a part of Agile software development processes that encourages collaboration among developers, QA and non-technical business participants in a software project.

BDD focuses on identifying the desired behaviour of a given feature from the very beginning. The behaviour here means how a product or feature operates and is defined as a scenario of inputs, actions and outcomes.

A product or feature has countless behaviours and identifying them brings clarity and simplicity. Those behaviour specs are written with realistic examples and serve as both the product’s requirements/acceptance criteria and its test cases after development. BDD aims to improve communication between team members, support clarity and minimise hand-overs. The key points of Behaviour-Driven Development are:

BDD is a paradigm shift
BDD focuses on behaviour first
BDD is specification by example
BDD is a refinement of the Agile process
BDD also encourages applying the ‘Five Why’s’ principle to each user story to find a clear purpose for them.

What is the Gherkin language?

Gherkin is one of the most popular domain-specific languages for writing use cases for a software system in plain language. It promotes behaviour-driven development and allows developers, managers and business officials involved in the process to clearly understand the requirements of the project and the life-cycle. What is more, Gherkin’s text acts as documentation and skeleton of automated tests.

The official Gherkin language standard is maintained by Cucumber - an open-source software testing tool that supports BDD. Cucumber works with Gherkin syntax structures because they are plain text making them easy to read. Cucumber reads Gherkin tests and validates the code checking if it performs as it should. Then, it creates a report showing if each step and scenario was successful.

Read also: How To Streamline And Improve Your Process? 6 Steps To Follow

How are Gherkin test scenarios useful?

Now you might be wondering why it is worth directing your attention towards Gherkin. How will it improve your communication and in return, the development process? Let’s discuss.

Benefits of BDD

You should consider choosing Behaviour-Driven Development for several reasons and benefits like:

clarity - scenarios focus on expected behaviours, which are described in plain language. Clarity ensures customers get what they want.
automation - BDD makes turning scenarios into automated tests easy
inclusion - it is all about collaboration, which means everybody from the customer to the tester is engaged in the product development process
speed - BDD was designed to speed up the development since scenarios are requirements, acceptance criteria, test cases and test scripts all in one.
momentum - BDD has a snowball effect - scenarios are easier and faster to write and automate as more definitions are added. They also often share common steps.
shift left - ‘shift left testing’ means testing earlier in the development process, which results in fewer bugs later.
artefacts - scenarios can form a collection of self-documenting test cases, which can be turned into a regression test suite.
reusable code - some of the steps can be reused between scenarios. Automation coded becomes very modular.
test-driven - BDD is an evolution of TDD. Creating scenarios from the beginning introduces quality-first and test-first mindset.
variation - with scenario outlines it is easy to run the same scenario with different combinations of inputs, which is an amazing way to expand test coverage without code duplication
parameterization - scenarios steps can be parametrized to be even more reusable. It is helpful for the team to adopt a common, reusable set of steps, which inspires healthier discussions when writing scenarios.
adaptability - BDD scenarios are easy to update as the product changes
Leverage QA standards to grow your business.
Learn More →

Advantages of Gherkin

You might know the benefits of Behaviour-Driven development, but what about Gherkin? What are the advantages of using it? There are quite a few of them:

simple even for non-programmers
a solid base for tests
it is easy to reuse code in other tests
User Stories are simple to comprehend
Gherkin Tests cases link acceptance tests directly to automated tests
scripts can be easily understood by both business executives and developers
Gherkin Testing targets business requirements
Read also: How To Conduct End-To-End Testing In Endtest.io?
In my opinion, the most important advantage of Gherkin is understandability:

It is simple for everyone to understand (QA’s, developers and people not associated with programming or software in general)
Gherkin script can easily be understood by business executives and developers (basically the same as above)
Little to no previous experience is required in order to understand a small Gherkin command set
What is more, using Gherkin means better communication, which leads to faster time-to-market and its test scenarios can be useful in many ways:

As a simple documentation
They help to track test automation coverage
They can be used for test automation
Fun fact: Gherkin language uses only 10 keywords, which makes it super easy.

Gherkin test basics

Now let’s talk about Gherkin in practice. However, before you start writing, you should understand some Gherkin-related keywords:

Feature

Gherkin documents start with this keyword, preceded by text that provides a description. Simply put, a feature is a description of what the software should be doing. It is also used to group scenarios together. The file should have a .feature extension and each feature file should have only one feature.

Note: Free-form description can also be written below the keywords as long as none of the lines starts with a keyword.

Rule

The ‘rule’ keyword represents one business rule that has to be included as it provides context for a feature. Keep in mind that those rules should have more than one scenario.

Given

‘Given’ steps set the scene for the scenario. Most often they describe something that took place in the past. This gives the system context before users start interacting with it.

When

‘When’ means action steps. It describes an event like one triggered by another system or a user interacting with it. Note that it is recommended to have only one ‘when’ step for each scenario.

Then

‘Then’ is the outcome step. This is where you describe what the system is supposed to do. This should be something that can actually be seen as a result like a report or a message.

And, But

They can be used when you have several of one of the step types. They help to keep the documentation readable and organized. ‘But’ keyword can easily be replaced by a properly used ‘And’, which helps to keep the number of keywords as low as possible and provides consistency throughout the test scenario.

Background

The background allows adding more context to the scenarios in a ‘feature’. This is where you can provide more than one ‘given’ step.

Scenario Outline

This includes an examples section and can be read as a template. The scenario outline runs once for each of the example sections.

Summary

Behaviour-Driven Development is an amazing way to help your team communicate and collaborate better. As it focuses on the actual features’ behaviour it is great for testing APIs and web UIs. It helps to clarify requirements, discover new use-cases and make timely decisions. It also supports developers and encourages confidence.

Gherkin is one of the most popular languages for writing behaviour specifications as it captures the ‘Given-When-Then’ scenarios. What is more, it makes it easy to turn those scenarios into automated test cases and is easy to understand.

In the next post about Gherkin, we will go through the testing process and present how to write good tests, so keep your eyes peeled!

If you are looking for a team of developers that know how to work with BDD or Gherkin and can take care of your project from start to finish, you are in the right place. Feel free to contact Selleo to discuss your idea further, get to know the team and start the development now!