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The has been around for a decade now, and today, few would deny that it’s a groundbreaking invention. When it first emerged, it was the underlying technology that powered Bitcoin, but since then it has evolved to become so much more. blockchain From its early beginnings as a fringe technology, the blockchain is now thoroughly investigated (and sometimes implemented) by traditional and government agencies. This is because this highly secure distributed decentralized ledger has proven to be a robust solution against fraud. finance The process of verifying transactions and identities and generating multiple incorruptible records to store in a decentralized manner (in various locations) has the potential to transform industries. As a result, big banks and corporate giants are now racing to gain a competitive advantage by leveraging this digital database. At the same time, some in the technology community have started to identify some unconventional uses for the blockchain. In this article, I will explore some of these weird and non-trivial ways of using the blockchain. 1. Blockchain Weddings Image source: oinOutlet C Yes, you read that right! Ever since back in 2014, it’s become a “thing” in the crypto community. The idea here is to use the blockchain to submit that will be stored in the digital ledger, permanently. David Mondrus and Joyce Bayo had their first blockchain wedding smart vows Since then, Bitfury’s employees, (and you can even ). While these couples secured their marriage registration forever on the blockchain, it must be noted that they all followed proper legal and civil protocols. Alex and Daria also added another chain to the block check the transaction here While blockchain weddings might sound like a novelty, this can soon become the norm. Governments in both the Republic of Georgia and Ukraine are already running other registries on the blockchain so we might be on the cusp of a sea-change across government agencies. 2. Recording of Sexual Consent Image source: LegalThings Amsterdam-based startup launched a mobile app called in January this year to verify sexual consent with the help of the distributed digital ledger. Although this initiative was inspired by the movement, the app also aims to do more than record a users consent to having sex. LegalThings Legal Fling #MeToo For example, users can specify what they are comfortable with and what they are not okay with while engaging in the act. This can be anything like the use of condoms, the use of explicit language, and the sharing of photos and videos. This information can be forwarded as a message request to a potential sexual partner who can then decide to accept or decline the invitation (based on the terms of the interaction). If the individual accepts, then this information will be recorded on the blockchain (forever). 3. Tracking Blood Diamonds Image source: EverLedger Minerals and precious stones coming out of conflict-zones have been a huge problem for decades. However, recently this innovative decentralized ledger has emerged as a practical solution to trace, track, and digital-certify ownership of diamonds and other precious commodities. Startups such as (who closed a round of funding worth $10.4 million) are well-placed to do just that. This model can even be applied to solve problems related to ivory poaching and the fight against counterfeit goods. Everledger The diamond conglomerate throughout their journey from mines to stores by leveraging the blockchain-backed platform . De Beers has also managed to track 100 high-value diamonds Tracr There is also a cross-industry push to trace the provenance of finished pieces of jewelry across the supply chain. To achieve increased transparency, major players within the industry launched the (which is powered by the ). TrustChainTM Initiative IBM Blockchain Platform If the rest of the world also adopts this approach, it could soon spell the end of blood diamonds and other precious stones from conflict-areas. 4. Decentralized Space Programs Image source: incrypts.com When you think about a decentralized distributed ledger, space is probably the last thing that comes to mind. However, two initiatives that share the same name, SpaceChain, aim to combine blockchain technologies and space. The first project strives to make space missions accessible to everyone. While all this might sound a bit far-fetched, information about on the website where they plan to make the first cryptocurrency transaction from space to earth. SpaceChain future space missions is readily available The second company aims to be the first decentralized space agency that builds the planet’s first open-source blockchain-based satellite network. If achieved, users will be able to create, manage, and update decentralized apps from space. SpaceChain As the SpaceChain operating system will be freely available to everyone, this approach can go a long way to help eliminate the barriers that limit access and global collaboration in space. By removing nationalism and government control in space exploration, this initiative can accelerate the evolution of space programs. 5. Blockchain Poultry Image source: TE-FOOD At first, poultry and the blockchain don’t appear to be a good match, but it’s actually a great idea that will serve conscious consumers. aims to use facial recognition on the blockchain to keep track of free-range organic chickens from the moment they hatch. GoGo Chicken (supported by China-based Insurance tech incubator ZhongAn Online) As the birds will be equipped with GPS bracelets, customers who pre-order a chicken can track its diet in real-time during its life via a mobile app. While GoGo Chicken started with just 100,000 chickens, the company hopes to track 23 million chickens within three years. As people around the world become more health conscious, they will increasingly want to know exactly what they are about to eat. So we can expect to see more food related blockchain-based projects. Cargill did something similar last year with their . In this scenario, customers were able to text or enter an on-package code at HoneysuckleWhite.com and trace the bird’s life and journey from its origins on a family farm to their dinner table. Honeysuckle White brand holiday turkey While some of these blockchain projects might sound a little bit strange, they do deliver real value. As this highly distributed decentralized ledger isn’t going to go away, we can certainly expect to hear more about non-trivial yet odd blockchain projects in the years to come.

Weird and Non-Trivial Ways of Using Blockchain

Flutter is a free cross-platform tool from Google designed to create desktop, mobile and web applications. After the release in December 2018, this technology has become increasingly popular, until it even bypassed React Native. What served as such a success and whether you can call it deserved – read our new article. Another platform. Question: why? When developers get to know Flutter, we usually hear the same question in answer: “There are React Native and many other tools included in the SDK. Then why use Flutter?”. Our answer will be simple and straightforward: Flutter technology is better than any existing analog in almost everything. We often overlook the shortcomings and limitations of the tools we use until we try something that works much better. But even in this case well-established prejudices, stereotypes and, after all, banal power of habit will not allow us to move from the old to the new, even if the latter is much more powerful, convenient and effective. For example, a programmer who has had the opportunity to develop applications only in PHP is likely to fiercely prove that PHP – this is the best language in the world, while not having the slightest idea of how many devices now exist in addition to simple web-servers. 5 advantages of Flutter When compared to the main competitors, Flutter has several advantages. First of all, it is a programming language and a whole collection of development tools, thanks to which Flutter can eliminate problems, errors and shortcomings beyond the control of other technologies. So, here are 5 reasons why in the future when creating new projects, you should use Flutter: 1. Dart programming language A programming language is most often quite problematic to lead to a single standard, and different versions of the same language may differ greatly in terms of functionality. It would not be so terrible if most developers could navigate the differences, but in fact it is done with great difficulty. And here on the stage comes Dart language – originally conceived as a tool for developing client applications. Firstly, it is optimized and secondly, it is sharpened to create a user interface. It is profitable to use it for many reasons: absence of competing standards;no coercion to language tools; without the strangeness that characterizes most programming languages; lack of many completely incompatible patterns; after all, there is no need to have another disastrous tool like the Redux library. The Dart syntax is pure and very powerful. It provides an ideal environment in which to create a high-quality application design and a clear architecture. And that’s what we’re not yet talking about in detail about the excellent cohesiveness of developer collaboration, durability, ease of maintenance, standardization and many other benefits that virtually all other tools designed for cross-platform projects don’t have. If you already know such well-known languages as TypeScript, Java or C#, you will easily master Dart, which means that you will be able to start using it as productively as possible almost immediately. 2. Mass migration of programmers to Flutter In just one year Flutter became more popular than React Native – once the most popular platform. But how can it be useful for you? First, you will get a huge stock of training materials and more qualified developers who will be ready to work on your project. And secondly, the technology itself will not cease to grow and develop, and therefore, will not lose its relevance for a long time, if you compare it with other technologies that have long been at the same level (the same React Native, for example). Source: Stack Overflow As can be seen from the charts, Flutter almost immediately after its appearance began to break out rapidly. The technology is likely to retain its leadership soon. Developers may stop supporting cross-platform applications with other options. Yes, it may not come to this soon (perhaps, only in a few years), however, such a prospect is very plausible, because in the field often occurred similar metamorphoses. 3. Speed Thanks to Flutter, applications are fast and productive because the machine code obtained during the compilation process uses built-in C or C++ visualization resources. They can output 60 fps on all devices and up to 120 fps on those that support Flutter. Flutter improves performance more significantly than other cross-platform technologies. This is why most of those who develop mobile applications have switched to Flutter. It should be noted that we are talking only about cross-platform technologies: in this area Flutter has a clear advantage among its competitors in terms of performance and visualization quality, but if we talk about native applications, it is impossible to get this advantage. 4. The comparative ease of adoption One cannot but agree that, in principle, there is nothing in development that can be quickly and easily mastered. However, there is a noticeable difference: to teach one tool with detailed documentation, standard patterns and a sufficient number of application scenarios, and quite another tool with different types of documentation and contradictory ways of solving the most elementary problems. So, besides high performance, Flutter has won the hearts of developers also thanks to the presence of the detailed documentation, and also an impressive quantity of examples. These factors play almost the most important role for IT specialists who want to master a new tool for themselves. Practice shows that if a programmer encounters unsatisfactory documentation or conflicting examples of solving basic tasks, he or she is disappointed in such technology immediately – at the first stages of learning. What Flutter is also definitely appreciated for is its cohesive community, which includes both beginners and experts who are always ready to help, give good advice and provide good working examples of their own projects and templates. Due to this friendly atmosphere, it is quite easy for a very wide range of stakeholders to master this technology. 5. Beautiful design Flutter was originally created on two powerful pillars: an excellent Dart programming language and a fast, high-performance graphics tool (Skia). This solution was very wise because it relieved the users from lengthy further searches. The result is a great platform where developers with all levels of experience and qualifications can create applications using the right patterns and quality practices. With Flutter, you don’t have to worry about conflicting standards, technical flaws or other common language imperfections. The most experienced programmers will immediately notice all the advantages of this technology, even at the stage of acquaintance. But newcomers also have the opportunity to appreciate it, because the Web is full of cool examples and understandable learning materials. Conclusion Flutter is designed to develop high-performance applications in the shortest possible time. It allows programmers to avoid hundreds of problems that they would face using any of its analogs. To ensure the uniqueness of this technology, you need to try it out yourself, in practice. We hope you got a good idea of why experienced developers are increasingly choosing Flutter to create their projects, and you have no questions or doubts left. And if you do, write to us – we will be glad to solve your problem. Previously published at https://8allocate.com/article/5-reasons-to-use-flutter-in-2020/

Basic Reasons To Use Flutter

Nowadays most applications – server, mobile, web – can run on JavaScript. In the last couple of years the popularity of this programming language has been steadily increasing, and today it is used more frequently than PHP and Java. At the height of the language’s popularity, it is worth spending a few minutes to learn about it, and decide whether it’s worth spending the long hours it takes to learn it. To this end we interviewed our JS developer Alexander Podik about his career, life skills and JavaScript tips and tricks. Hi, Alex. Thank you for agreeing to an interview. First of all, I would like to know where you studied JS, where you worked and how did you get into IT in general? I can’t say that I’ve learned a lot about coding at university. It all started with studying a book on Java for beginners. But at that time I had to look for a temporary job and postpone “getting into IT” because I haven’t found any application to the knowledge I had received. Later working in tech support for an Internet service provider, I started studying HTML and CSS. The first project was a simple web page with little functionality. Most of the knowledge and experience came, of course, at the first job, which I was lucky enough to get. Why did you choose JavascriptS? I did not choose Javascript, JavaScript chose me. Many people say that JS has a low entry threshold and that you can start programming even in notepad. Do you consider it a JS problem? I don’t think it’s a problem, it is the language’s advantage. JS has many frameworks. There’s even a joke that “name any word combination in English, google it and find a JS framework”. What can you tell us about them? Can you compare them, which is easier to learn and code in, which is more complicated, which is more convenient? And what do you use yourself? There are a lot of them, both front-end and back-end JavaScript frameworks, but by analysing some of them you can choose a few favorites and select the one best suited for the task. From my experience I can only compare Angular and AngularJs. And of course I think Angular is better. AngularJs was a breakthrough in its time but because of its known problems barely anyone will choose it now considering that there is a newer version. I also have a little experience with the Express framework which is probably familiar to anyone who writes backend on JS. Is the lack of strict typing a plus or minus for JS? It’s both a plus and a minus: for something simple, it’s convenient, it saves a lot of time but for large projects or large teams it’s better to use, for example, TypeScript which is not difficult for a JS developer to master. What advantages and disadvantages can you highlight in JS? To answer this question well you need to know other programming languages so my answer is hardly exhaustive as I only write code in JS. Among the pros and cons, I’d like to mention the scope of application, popularity, support (JS is actively developing), community. The downsides are security problems and browser support. Tell me about your ideal stack of technology that you would work with day and night? Well, of course, it’s MEAN. It’s a full-stack framework that uses JS at each level, which greatly simplifies the task, allowing you to pay more attention to solving the problem, and speeding up development. JavaScript has many specializations such as web developer, JS developer, full-stack developer. What is the difference? There are many more, I once got a book that described web specializations. A web developer is a developer of web sites, web applications. JS developer is a developer who uses JS to develop web, desktop, or mobile applications. A full-stack developer is a developer who can write both client and server parts of an application using various technologies. What tips can you give to a beginner JS developer? Check twice, push once.  But on a serious note, use the tools, do not try to do all at once, do not immerse yourself in literature too much, but also do not forget to write code: do your own projects, solve problems or peruse the code of other developers who are more experienced. The development of so-called soft skills is no less important. And the most important thing is not to lose heart because you can manage it all! Originally published 8allocate

I Did Not Choose Javascript, JavaScript Chose Me

When the software first appeared, it was all delivered in boxes. Such software had a finite state. 20 years after that, it already seemed ridiculous. Today we're building systems that can be perfected endlessly. This begs the question: "When does the work end?" - and that question is difficult to answer. We are looking for an answer to this question because it will help us answer other, even more important questions. Will the team receive its award or will it be reprimanded? Will the team do something new? Will the stakeholder benefit from it? Development teams that use Scrum (or any other variation of the Agile methodology) have a clear idea of when their development ends. This often means 'a set of minimum criteria that a product/service must have in order to meet business needs'. As a result, it all comes down to a list of functions that are approved by the stakeholder (or product owner) and must be fully implemented at the time the project is completed. Developers call it "working as intended". But "works as intended" means only that the software does what it is expected to do. Unfortunately, sometimes this is not enough. In fact, this is just the beginning of a conversation that we have with our users and clients continuously. It is continuous improvement of our systems to provide better experience that gives them real value. So, how can we define "completion" for the team? When does the team start a new project? No ROI is a good place to start, but how do we know there is no payback? The answer will be given to us by the clients. We look at their behavior. We listen to their needs, assess whether our systems meet those needs and think about what we can do to meet those ever-changing needs. We call these metrics results. And these results are impossible to predict how one can't predict human behavior. Good results require team members to actively interact with clients to understand changes in their behaviour, why they are occurring and how they can better meet clients' needs in the future. The good news is that your company probably already employs people who are particularly good in these aspects - designers. Although there are designers present in almost every company today, most of them do not hold high enough positions to influence big decisions. In fact, many of them are left out of the Agile development processes, sharpened for programmers and product managers. Integration of designers into the Agile development process is a constant challenge for many organizations. : With many years of experience designing, managing and consulting product teams, we at 8allocate have highlighted the following 5 rules that a team must follow if they want to ensure that user experience (UX) development is successfully integrated into their Agile process 1. Separate designer for each team There can be no compromises. Without your "own" designer in the Scrum team, you simply have a development team that, without a designer, cannot provide the right level of user experience. 2. Team hours with clients We learned this rule from Jared Spool who conducted research proving that teams spending at least 2 man-hours every 6 weeks communicate with customers (e.g. receiving customer service calls, talking to users, watching people, etc.), develop more successful products. 3. Designer's work - the first item in the backlog Briefly: Keep a single backlog. Development, quality control, design, research work - all this should be in one backlog, prioritized by the whole team that is doing the job. Once the work is divided into two backlogs, the team will choose one of them and decide to treat it as the "main" and the second one will simply be put aside in a long box. 4. Results as prioritization filters for backlog The only thing we would like to note is that each backlog entry must pass the team's endpoint filter. Ask yourself the question, "Will this work help in achieving the goal? If the answer is no, then discard this item. 5. Cross-functional training User experience and design have many interesting things to learn. Such events may be conducted by designers (or analysts), but they should be practiced and attended by the whole team. The more the team can learn together, the less time is spent sharing the knowledge gained and the more time is spent deciding where to apply it (which is a more productive subject for the team). Scrum's iterative, retrospective nature is well suited to UX and design activities. The integration of client insides into the workflow comes directly from Agile Manifesto (work with clients, etc.). UX and design bring us closer to Agile's goal of customer focus and better customer satisfaction. Follow these 5 rules to combine design and Agile development. References https://8allocate.com/article/agile-sprint-workflow-outputs-and-definitions/ https://8allocate.com/projects/ecommerce-development-for-online-marketing-agency/ https://8allocate.com/article/agile-sprint-workflow-outputs-and-definitions/

5 Ideas to Merge UX into Scrum and Agile

Pushed by technological progress, the pace of modern life has accelerated thousands of times. People are always in motion, literally. Their demand for high-tech solutions grows exponentially, and telecommunication is no exception. We need fast and quality access to data anytime and anywhere. The rapid development of is what we need to meet the ever-growing demands rising across various business domains, as it hallmarks the onset of a new era of mobile broadband. 5G technology Contrary to popular belief, 5G is not a modified version of 4G. It is an entirely new technology that will change our lives dramatically. In fact, 5G will significantly expand the existing 4G capabilities. It will not only help improve the quality of mobile communication but will change the mobile application market in general. 5G is already referred to as a network capable of transmitting data at speeds of up to 20 Gbps. Just for comparison, the maximum speed of 4G today is 150 Mbps, which is 133 times slower! Crowd expert says that 5G is the missing step required for the development of a long list of technologies of the future including IoT, data analytics, blockchain, semantic Web, artificial intelligence, etc. Thanks to 5G, we will be able to watch "spherical videos" and online broadcasts in Ultra HD quality. The quality and accuracy of color rendering will be improved significantly. Another essential factor enabled by 5G is connection stability. It's a shame to be disconnected continuously during an important video conference, isn’t it? 5G promises to remove such shortcomings. Besides, 5G will provide new opportunities for the media business and will many types of users happy, from gamers and cybersports fans to fans of live broadcasting to IoT users, etc. 5G Adoption Forecasts Although 5G has yet to gain momentum, catch on and go mainstream, its adoption is inevitable due to huge demand from nearly all verticals and industries. "75% of entrepreneurs are already willing to pay for the opportunity to use the 5G network," Gartner According to Umbrella IT, ; this number will most likely increase to . 5G will be used by 25 million people all over the world in 2021 1,2 billion users in 2025 Mainstream adoption of 5G will give birth to a whole new set of mobile services and business models to benefit any business. On the other hand, it may leave many countries and industries behind tech evolution if they fail to invest in and develop new and optimize existing digital solutions for the 5G realms. How 5G Will Affect Mobile Application Development Across Domains 5G and IoT There is no doubt that the Internet of Things (IoT) will be most affected by 5G tech developments. 5G will bring ultra-low latency (less than one millisecond) and extended battery life to industries that leverage smart and connected solutions. According to , Gartner 57% of businesses admit IoT is the most promising niche for 5G adoption. 5G will make it possible to work with those IoT areas where the difference between 40 milliseconds and four milliseconds is crucial. One such vivid example of effective 5G use is the drone industry. With the instantaneous exchange of information between driverless vehicles, the risk of an accident will be reduced to zero. 5G and Smart cities 5G adoption will not be limited to the IoT space only. It will enable the creation of smart houses and entire "smart cities" equipped with billions of sensors and interconnected devices. Smart cities will become a unique platform for business development where millions of various mobile applications will be synchronized in order to reduce crime, create real-time disaster alerts, prevent pollution, etc. As 5G will enable enhanced connectivity, it’ll create new collaboration opportunities for both competing and non-competing businesses. Ultra HD broadcast Everybody loves positive emotions, but not everyone has a chance to attend events that give good vibes and inspiration. Thanks to mobile multimedia applications running on 5G, you can watch your favorite soccer matches or concerts remotely from anywhere. A 360-degree broadcast, combined with augmented reality and 5G technology, will allow us to see the world more versatilely. Excursions to historic sites, educational films about the structure of atoms or the universe, and the broadcasting of surgical operations to educate young professionals... the list goes on and on. Manufacturing and logistics Using mobile applications based on 5G will help improve the remote control of machines in complex industries. The industrial automation systems will be improved and become more stable, which will result in overall product quality. Combined with 3D printing and robotics, 5G technology will allow you to construct highly-efficient smart plants and reduce the risks for people working in hazardous industries. Augmented reality (AR) 5G will unlock the potential of AR. Users will be able to experience the full-presence effect and enjoy the benefits of using the full range of AR-based mobile applications, from education to entertainment. Tactile Internet will cease to be a fantasy and become a reality we can only imagine nowadays. Driven by 5G, AR will allow mastering various hard and soft skills without going to a brick-and-mortar classroom. 5G will take business communication to the next technology level. Using AR, entrepreneurs will be able to experience the full immersion in a physical meeting regardless of their current location. As such, a startup from NYC will be able to literally join an important VC meeting in Seoul and pitch their product/talk to investors without spending money on business trips and accommodation. That being said, the whole world will become extremely lean after 5G goes mainstream. Healthcare Virtual reality (VR) technologies are already in very high demand across medicine and healthcare domains and are poised to remove critical barriers and impediments to quality healthcare provision, especially in underserved areas. Remote medicine will play an important role in the remote monitoring of patient health. Physicians will be able to react more quickly when they receive information in real-time. Used together with ehealth mobile applications, wearable devices will help keep more detailed records of patient conditions in certain areas, observe trends and make informed and shared decisions regarding choice of treatment. " "  says Vlad Potapenko, CEO of , a company that helps other businesses optimize their mobile solutions for 5G. Extremely high data transfer speed of 5G will enable fast DNA decryption. Today, we need a 140 GB file to store information about a single genome. And speed of processing DNA is very slow. With 5G, we'll be able to decrypt DNA in less than a minute! 8allocate 3D modeling The emergence of mobile apps capable of creating different 3D models is another benefit of using 5G. Combining a 5G mobile application with the latest 3D printers will allow you to create higher quality 3D models of objects. Such rich-media apps will be used across an array of niches and verticals, from healthcare to real estate and beyond. Personalized AI chatbots Although can't completely replace a human being yet, they can help significantly improve the quality of any service and increase customer loyalty. AI-based chatbots The symbiosis of chatbots and 5G will provide more opportunities for prompt feedback and informed decision making. We’ve identified four key benefits of using 5G for mobile application development: 5G is 100x faster than 4G; 5G extends autonomous work of IoT/connected devices by ten times; 5G reduces wait time up to 1 millisecond or even less (i.e., apps will open and perform at lightning speed); 5G will help extend many services to remote/far areas. Most likely, 5G technology will be implemented as a supplement to existing networks. This will result in lower energy costs. The battery will consume less power as the increase in speed will make it possible to perform almost all of the calculations on the server side (and not on the user's device). 5G technology will be a real breakthrough due to its ability to effectively adapt to the full range of requirements for new-gen applications: security; speed; lower battery consumption; reliable and continuous communication between devices. To wrap it up, 5G is more than just a new technology; it’s a door-opener to the whole new world of opportunities that will help make our life better and more meaningful. And how else do you believe 5G will change the way we make apps now?

Innovation Through Acceleration: How 5G Will Change Mobile Landscape

The advent of blockchain and VR/AR is now disrupting industries like education, healthcare, real estate, and, not surprising, finance. While it may have seemed that AR and VR technologies were not destined to evolve into something viable, today their field of application is expanding at an impressive rate. As , the market for AR/VR solutions will reach $150 billion by 2020, with AR beating VR by dramatic $120 billion. much-hailed back in the 80’s researchers say As regards fintech, the obvious disruption we are facing now is the alleviation of the financial industry’s most evident “pain” — improving customer experience through the transformation of customer services. This transformation is a long-anticipated one and has been brewing in response to market demand: the vast majority of young people aged 25–35 find customer communication style of most banks slow, frustrating and hard to comprehend. Millennials perceive going to a bank as an unpleasant chore, that’s why most of them . In fact, the states 71% of today’s most active workforce would rather go to a dentist than listen to what banks are saying. In other words, they will not conform to something unappealing and downright boring. shun traditional banking Millennial Disruption Index Report As of today, many banks are already offering AR mobile apps to help users locate the nearest ATM’s in their area. The service also lets users book an appointment straight from the app, without having to use the phone. The use of VR in fintech also offers an opportunity to go to a virtual bank and hold virtualized meetings without having to visit a brick-and-mortar venue. Not only does it ride clients of a frustrating routine of talking to a human advisor, it also helps banks cut real estate and employment costs of setting up affiliate branches. AR solutions help integrate banking with real estate by automatically scanning real estate objects and offering mortgage calculations. But customer service is not the only branch of fintech that will soon undergo a massive transformation. AR and VR are now reshaping other aspects of financial services, including the following: Data Visualization Not only millennials but also pretty much anyone with human perception likes their data carefully structured and clearly visualized. AR and VR are invaluable when it comes to data visualization, helping traders analyze ever-increasing amounts of financial information and thus, arrive at more effective and precise financial decisions. Fidelity Labs, for example, uses Oculus Rift to immerse traders in a virtual world called “StockCity” where they can view stock portfolios as craftily and vividly visualized arrays of data. But not only traders can now benefit from impressive immersion effect of VR: one of my company ’s clients is a leading European bank that now offers VR banking apps for everyday consumer use, helping transform complex financial information from something purely abstract into clear, almost palpable visual form. We’ve set up a dedicated team for them in our R&D center to build and maintain a robust 3D modeling and VR solution for end users. The fact that we keep receiving similar custom software development requests from banks and financial institutions indicates a very high demand for such outsourced solutions within the industry. 8allocate VR application to fintech is now helping customers make informed decisions on their savings, spendings, and investments. Source: giphy.com VR Payments With VR, one can actually purchase items without stepping out into the physical world. VR completely mimics shopping experience and lets you pay for goods you can choose and evaluate in the virtual environment. For example, MasterCard has partnered with Wearality and now lets you buy a shirt within VR golf game “Priceless”. In the future, we will see more companies using the potential of VR and AR to help customers make VR payments. Virtual Trading A wealth of opportunities is now available for traders. Industry innovators view trading as a lucrative niche for VR application to fintech, and are actually developing virtual reality trading workstations using VR and AR data visualization potential and immersion effect. For example, global Citi Bank augments existing banking experience with 2D and 3D elements, while Polish-based tech giant Comarch offers traders a completely virtualized experience. Employee Training Tech-savvy financial institutions are now using VR to coach their freshly hired employees and train them to solve customer problems and tackle everyday issues they will deal with on their jobs. Needless to say, VR enhanced employee training also accounts for better customer experience. The Future Of Fintech In his , Zac Conway, a financial advisor and managing director at Conway Wealth Group, speculates on approaches that financial service providers will have to take to meet the unconventional and ever-changing needs of the millennials. The financial sector will have to adjust — or get swallowed up by IT giants. According to Millennial Disruption Index Report, all 4 of the world’s leading banks are among the ten popular brands with millennials, and 73% would be more excited about a new offering in financial services from Google, Amazon, Apple, PayPal, or Square than from their own nationwide bank. Forbes article least Apparently, the world’s leading financial tycoons like CitiBank have already set off on the road to digital transformation and are embracing VR/AR use in fintech. In recent years, we have also witnessed the unprecedented boom of fintech startups. But with 33% of millennials believing they won’t need a bank at all, does the future look equally bright for smaller and less technologically advanced companies? It takes financial and human resources to develop VR/AR apps for fintech. Most importantly, it takes time, which, with so many odds against them, average market players simply don’t have. “The change will be seismic,” states Millennial Disruption Index Report. Some are already mourning the extinction of an entire industry, with inevitable job losses and adjacent industries losing revenues. Yet, we believe, the situation is far from dramatic. The market is rapidly changing in line with new needs, and for financial companies who aim to stay in business, the B2B sector already has a solution. The upcoming years will bring the rise of fintech VR outsourcing with IT outsourcing companies refining their skill sets and offering faster and easier ways to introduce VR application to fintech. Those who have never cooperated with an ITO/BPO company should now consider forging the partnership with a reliable fintech VR outsourcing provider. Chances are, this decision could be a lifesaver. Did you like my article? Please support with your claps and comments!

How VR and AR Will Shape the Future of FinTech

A is a powerful tool to describe how a is likely to grow & to align the stakeholders. product roadmap product Effective Roadmap ~ Good Product How about such Framework ? Thanks to & — Designed this framework reading your essays on products, found this working well. Andrew Chen Noah Weiss 1. Know Macro-Goals or Metrics Identify & Define all your business goals or metrics, such as… Sorry, could not cover all metrics or products :-( Anything built in product must have required impact on a core metric or goal. Also, a primary factor to prioritise features. 2. Define Item a.k.a Feature Do give a catchy & unique name to a feature — helps bring emotion in to execution 3. Provide Details a.k.a Feature Brief Couple of lines to describe the feature, should help anyone in company to relate and understand the feature. 4. Mention Feature Benefits or Goals Every feature should have a related micro level metric, may be adoption or repeat usage. Used to prioritise features, define experiments, design features, track feature’s success. 5. Perform Test Feature Fallacy Feature Fallacy is a myth that the next feature to be shipped will change the game for you. Never ship or prioritise a feature which do not clear feature fallacy test. Ask will the feature have maximum impact in terms of user segment & its adoption ? Who is the target of this feature? — Core User, Non-User or New User What kind of investment required by the user — Deep or Lesser Pass features where target segment is & requires above average size lesser investment from user 6. Check Virality Elements Always prefer or prioritise features with virality impact. Put ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in the column to signify as value. 7. Input Effort & Sizing Consider Tech Team Inputs on Sizing & Velocity on shipping a feature. No need to mention — Its also a key to prioritise features. 8. Allocate Priority Bucket In the end, roadmap is all about Priority. so, lets generate an output in form of buckets — #Now , #Next & #Later #Now (1–2 weeks) #Next (1–2 months) #Later (> 2 months) — anything or everything left… Feedback or query ? — please comment. Do recommend or share for karma :-)

How to create more effective product roadmap ?

I have been writing code professionally for more than five years now. For the first four years, I never cared about the size of my pull requests (PRs). However, in the last year, I transitioned from submitting massive PRs with thousands of lines of changes to breaking them down into smaller, more manageable ones. The benefits of this shift have been immense, and in this blog, I’ll share those advantages. According to GitHub, a pull request is: A pull request is a proposal to merge a set of changes from one branch into another. In a pull request, collaborators can review and discuss the proposed set of changes before they integrate the changes into the main codebase. Essentially, a pull request is a way of collaborating; we should do everything possible to enhance this collaboration. One effective method to improve this collaboration is to keep PRs small. There is no universal definition to differentiate between a small and a large PR. Relying solely on the number of lines changed is insufficient, as auto-generated code and tests can inflate line counts. When I refer to small PRs in this article, I mean dividing a larger PR into multiple smaller, logically coherent PRs. Each smaller PR should be standalone, mergeable, and deployable. I do not advocate artificial splitting like splitting a PR into two, one containing all the code and another with just the tests, as this approach fails to yield any benefits I share below. Efficient Reviews: Ask a programmer to review 10 lines of code, he’ll find 10 issues. Ask him to do 500 lines and he’ll say it looks good. While humorous, this quote carries truth. Everyone is busy with their own work, and when you ask someone to review a PR, you are essentially requesting their time. Reviewing a PR requires the reviewer to switch context from their own work, and if the review takes a considerable amount of time, it can be challenging for them to return back to their work, potentially affecting their motivation and commitment to the review. Smaller PRs, which only take about 20–30 minutes to review, are much easier to tackle compared to those that can take 2–3 hours. Plus, larger PRs often lead to oversights because our attention spans can only handle so much, and jumping between lots of changes in a single PR can be confusing. From my experience, smaller PRs tend to get better feedback and lead to more meaningful design conversations. Faster Reviews: At this point, I’m thinking of adding my PR to my will in case it’s still in review after I’m gone. Longer PRs require a significant time commitment from reviewers, making them less likely to get attention — especially if they’re not tied to high-impact features. Small PRs on the other hand are reviewed quickly, as they demand less of the reviewer’s time and are less intrusive. This speed of reviews can be crucial for meeting project deadlines; I’ve seen projects getting delayed because senior reviewers couldn’t allocate time for massive PRs (though this can happen with small PRs, the risk is inherently higher with large ones). Lesser Rework: Reworking a big PR after design changes is like rearranging deck chairs on a ship you just finished building… and then sinking it. We have all experienced situations where someone realizes during PR review that a different design would have been more maintainable and future-proof, and we need to spend additional time reworking the PR based on the new design (not to say that they were completely on board with the design that was initially implemented :p). This is very natural because sometimes things become clearer once you see them written in code, and you start noticing aspects you might have missed during the design phase. With large PRs, this can be a significant issue because you have to rework a lot of elements, but with smaller PRs, it is easier to make changes. More importantly, there is a lower chance of rework because reviewers are more likely to identify issues early on and address them in the initial PRs, allowing subsequent PRs to be based on the new designs. Better Testing: Smaller PRs also benefit you as the author of the PR. They help in testing smaller changes incrementally rather than testing the whole project in one go. Testing smaller changes results in more exhaustive testing of each component of the system, thus leading to fewer production bugs. This applies to both automated tests and manual testing performed by you or dedicated QA engineers. Moreover, smaller PRs reduce the likelihood of missed test cases, as you can focus on a limited scope rather than the entire system. Writing tests? That sounds like Future Me’s problem. I have seen developers (including myself in the past) hesitate to write automation tests due to the perceived time investment without immediate, “visible” value to the feature/product. Smaller PRs reduce this friction by limiting the number of tests required and the time spent writing them. Easier Debugging: No matter how thorough your testing is, production bugs will happen! Being able to debug a bug in production is crucial since production bugs directly impact users, the business, or both. With large PRs, the surface area of change is also large, making it time-consuming and difficult to find the root cause of issues. On the other hand, smaller PRs contain less code and thus make debugging much faster. Debugging small changes is like finding a typo; debugging big changes is like proofreading an encyclopedia. Phased Feature Deployment: Last but not least, smaller PRs are also helpful to your product manager and users. By using small PRs, you can continuously push parts of the system to production, which helps in obtaining early feedback from users and allows for early course corrections if needed. Skipping early feedback is like cooking a five-course meal without tasting anything — you’re just hoping it’s not a disaster. The benefits of small PRs are numerous, and the points outlined above are among the most impactful I’ve experienced personally. If you have encountered other advantages of small PRs or challenges with larger ones that I haven’t covered, do comment with your insights. I hope this article motivates you to embrace smaller PRs. If you’re already on board, I hope it reinforces the value of this practice. Thanks for reading, until next time, keep coding and stay curious! I have been writing code professionally for more than five years now. For the first four years, I never cared about the size of my pull requests (PRs). However, in the last year, I transitioned from submitting massive PRs with thousands of lines of changes to breaking them down into smaller, more manageable ones. The benefits of this shift have been immense, and in this blog, I’ll share those advantages. According to GitHub , a pull request is: GitHub A pull request is a proposal to merge a set of changes from one branch into another. In a pull request, collaborators can review and discuss the proposed set of changes before they integrate the changes into the main codebase. A pull request is a proposal to merge a set of changes from one branch into another. In a pull request, collaborators can review and discuss the proposed set of changes before they integrate the changes into the main codebase. A pull request is a proposal to merge a set of changes from one branch into another. In a pull request, collaborators can review and discuss the proposed set of changes before they integrate the changes into the main codebase. Essentially, a pull request is a way of collaborating; we should do everything possible to enhance this collaboration. One effective method to improve this collaboration is to keep PRs small. There is no universal definition to differentiate between a small and a large PR. Relying solely on the number of lines changed is insufficient, as auto-generated code and tests can inflate line counts. When I refer to small PRs in this article, I mean dividing a larger PR into multiple smaller, logically coherent PRs. Each smaller PR should be standalone, mergeable, and deployable. I do not advocate artificial splitting like splitting a PR into two, one containing all the code and another with just the tests, as this approach fails to yield any benefits I share below. Efficient Reviews: Efficient Reviews: Ask a programmer to review 10 lines of code, he’ll find 10 issues. Ask him to do 500 lines and he’ll say it looks good. Ask a programmer to review 10 lines of code, he’ll find 10 issues. Ask him to do 500 lines and he’ll say it looks good. Ask a programmer to review 10 lines of code, he’ll find 10 issues. Ask him to do 500 lines and he’ll say it looks good. While humorous, this quote carries truth. Everyone is busy with their own work, and when you ask someone to review a PR, you are essentially requesting their time. Reviewing a PR requires the reviewer to switch context from their own work, and if the review takes a considerable amount of time, it can be challenging for them to return back to their work, potentially affecting their motivation and commitment to the review. Smaller PRs, which only take about 20–30 minutes to review, are much easier to tackle compared to those that can take 2–3 hours. Plus, larger PRs often lead to oversights because our attention spans can only handle so much, and jumping between lots of changes in a single PR can be confusing. From my experience, smaller PRs tend to get better feedback and lead to more meaningful design conversations. Faster Reviews: Faster Reviews: At this point, I’m thinking of adding my PR to my will in case it’s still in review after I’m gone. At this point, I’m thinking of adding my PR to my will in case it’s still in review after I’m gone. At this point, I’m thinking of adding my PR to my will in case it’s still in review after I’m gone. Longer PRs require a significant time commitment from reviewers, making them less likely to get attention — especially if they’re not tied to high-impact features. Small PRs on the other hand are reviewed quickly, as they demand less of the reviewer’s time and are less intrusive. This speed of reviews can be crucial for meeting project deadlines; I’ve seen projects getting delayed because senior reviewers couldn’t allocate time for massive PRs (though this can happen with small PRs, the risk is inherently higher with large ones). Lesser Rework: Lesser Rework: Reworking a big PR after design changes is like rearranging deck chairs on a ship you just finished building… and then sinking it. Reworking a big PR after design changes is like rearranging deck chairs on a ship you just finished building… and then sinking it. Reworking a big PR after design changes is like rearranging deck chairs on a ship you just finished building… and then sinking it. We have all experienced situations where someone realizes during PR review that a different design would have been more maintainable and future-proof, and we need to spend additional time reworking the PR based on the new design (not to say that they were completely on board with the design that was initially implemented :p). This is very natural because sometimes things become clearer once you see them written in code, and you start noticing aspects you might have missed during the design phase. With large PRs, this can be a significant issue because you have to rework a lot of elements, but with smaller PRs, it is easier to make changes. More importantly, there is a lower chance of rework because reviewers are more likely to identify issues early on and address them in the initial PRs, allowing subsequent PRs to be based on the new designs. Better Testing: Better Testing: Smaller PRs also benefit you as the author of the PR. They help in testing smaller changes incrementally rather than testing the whole project in one go. Testing smaller changes results in more exhaustive testing of each component of the system, thus leading to fewer production bugs. This applies to both automated tests and manual testing performed by you or dedicated QA engineers. Moreover, smaller PRs reduce the likelihood of missed test cases, as you can focus on a limited scope rather than the entire system. Writing tests? That sounds like Future Me’s problem. Writing tests? That sounds like Future Me’s problem. Writing tests? That sounds like Future Me’s problem. I have seen developers (including myself in the past) hesitate to write automation tests due to the perceived time investment without immediate, “visible” value to the feature/product. Smaller PRs reduce this friction by limiting the number of tests required and the time spent writing them. Easier Debugging: Easier Debugging: No matter how thorough your testing is, production bugs will happen! Being able to debug a bug in production is crucial since production bugs directly impact users, the business, or both. With large PRs, the surface area of change is also large, making it time-consuming and difficult to find the root cause of issues. On the other hand, smaller PRs contain less code and thus make debugging much faster. Debugging small changes is like finding a typo; debugging big changes is like proofreading an encyclopedia. Debugging small changes is like finding a typo; debugging big changes is like proofreading an encyclopedia. Debugging small changes is like finding a typo; debugging big changes is like proofreading an encyclopedia. Phased Feature Deployment: Phased Feature Deployment: Last but not least, smaller PRs are also helpful to your product manager and users. By using small PRs, you can continuously push parts of the system to production, which helps in obtaining early feedback from users and allows for early course corrections if needed. Skipping early feedback is like cooking a five-course meal without tasting anything — you’re just hoping it’s not a disaster. Skipping early feedback is like cooking a five-course meal without tasting anything — you’re just hoping it’s not a disaster. Skipping early feedback is like cooking a five-course meal without tasting anything — you’re just hoping it’s not a disaster. The benefits of small PRs are numerous, and the points outlined above are among the most impactful I’ve experienced personally. If you have encountered other advantages of small PRs or challenges with larger ones that I haven’t covered, do comment with your insights. I hope this article motivates you to embrace smaller PRs. If you’re already on board, I hope it reinforces the value of this practice. Thanks for reading, until next time, keep coding and stay curious!

The Big Power of Small Pull Requests: How They Improve Reviews and Speed Up Development

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