mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

Join us in exploring the world of modern development, evolving technologies, and the art of future-proof software

Month: November 2013

Weekly Recap: 15 worst programmer productivity killers, top tech trends, and more…

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EducationEvery week, I share the most interesting and useful tech articles that I’ve found over the past week. This week’s top articles focus on the worst programmer productivity killers, Forrester’s top tech trends, and more. I hope you find them useful:

When and why to develop a responsive application
The term “mobile app” is generally associated with the native app approach–apps that are built for a single platform and installed on the device itself. However, while native apps are popular now, they’re not always the best choice for business. If you’d like to read more on the topic, here’s a free paper you might want to check out.
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8 questions to ask before developing applications on the cloud

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EducationI’ve noticed a growing trend in the business world: More application development is moving to the cloud. More developers are opting for cloud-based development platforms, and more businesses are moving their application development off-site and onto a cloud host.

Why? Many don’t want the burden of maintaining hardware. Others don’t want to bother managing backups or setting up redundant systems. Others like the scalability offered by the cloud. The advantages to such a move are fairly obvious.

photo credit: francisco.j.gonzalez via photopin cc
photo credit: francisco.j.gonzalez via photopin cc

Now, am I suggesting you should move your development to the cloud? Not at all. I believe in development freedom. If that calls for in-house development, so be it. If that means you move your application development to the cloud, that’s fine too. The most important aspect of development isn’t WHERE your applications are developed, it’s HOW. Focus on building flexible applications that port anywhere–to the cloud or in-house. This opens your future options to make a move to the cloud (and back), if so desired.

That being said–if you are considering moving your development to the cloud–how does this affect development? What changes (or surprises) can you expect when you move your application development to the cloud? What questions must you ask before making the move?

We posed those questions to a few experts in the area, and have compiled their advice (along with some of my own) below. If you’re considering moving your application development to the cloud, here are 8 essential questions to consider:
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Weekly Recap: 8 developer shortcuts that will cost you, the IT talent shortage, and more…

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EducationEvery week, I share the most interesting and useful tech articles that I’ve found over the past week. This week’s top articles focus on the growing skills gap, development mistakes, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Tech leaders warn IT talent shortage could curb hiring plans
As technology advances at an ever-increasing pace, we’re seeing the skills gap widen. Companies are having trouble finding IT professionals with modern skills. The bad news: This isn’t getting any better.
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7 reasons why end users bypass the IT department

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EducationIt’s a growing problem: End users are bypassing the IT department, and opting for third-party, cloud-based solutions instead. How prevalent is this issue? According to a recent survey, 71% of organizations say employees are using apps not sanctioned by IT.

Of course, this opens the door for security problems. How can the IT department monitor or secure company data if they don’t even know where it’s stored? How can they avoid security breaches if employees are carrying confidential data around on their personal devices?

How can you address this issue? The automatic reaction for some is full-on war. They want to ban third-party apps, outlaw personal devices, and restrict internet usage. After all, these employees are putting corporate data at risk. They must be stopped! Right?

While I understand the mentality, full-on war is rarely a good approach. Treating users like the bad guys and implementing heavy restrictions will not only waste your time, it will alienate your employees. After all, it doesn’t address the root of the issue: Why are employees bypassing IT in the first place? Do they enjoy breaking the rules? I don’t think so. In fact, I believe they do it because they feel like there’s no other choice.

If you want to control the rise of Shadow IT in your organization, first understand the cause. Learn why employees feel the need to circumvent IT in the first place…and then you’ll better understand how to control (or even harness) it.

So, why do end users bypass the IT department? What can you do about it? To help you answer those questions, we posed them to a few experts in the area, and have compiled their answers below. Here are 7 of the most common reasons why end users bypass the IT department:
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Weekly Recap: 6 tips to help CIOs manage Shadow IT, software-defined infrastructures, and more…

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EducationEvery week, I share the most interesting and useful tech articles that I’ve found over the past week. This week’s top articles focus on the growing importance of the CIO position, Shadow IT, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Why the CIO’s Time to Lead Is Now
Gartner estimates that 80 percent of IT resources are currently consumed with supporting and scaling existing systems, leaving a very small pool of resources to invest in the new, innovative capabilities that will drive the business forward. In a time when a CIO must drive innovation, what are their options? Here’s one option that solves a number of different problems: Adopt a company-wide application development platform.
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7 hidden risks of native mobile app development

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EducationAs more businesses build their own mobile apps, we’re seeing an increasing number of mobile app success stories crop up. For instance, here’s a recent article highlighting 4 different companies that use mobile apps to attract customers. Here’s another article from earlier this year highlighting other companies who are using mobile apps to improve business. I could share many more such stories, but you get the point: Mobile apps are taking off in the business world.

I believe this trend is on the rise. As businesses begin to understand the true power of mobile apps, many more will start building their own apps.

This is where things can get dangerous. Blinded by the possibilities, many businesses dive into mobile app development completely unprepared. They don’t understand the risks associated with mobile app development, and are headed for some unpleasant surprises.

Today, I’d like to help you avoid those surprises. I’m going to highlight a few of these hidden risks, with the hopes that you’ll be more prepared when you start the process.

But first, let’s quickly specify which type of mobile app we’re referring to. There are 3 different types of mobile apps (native/hybrid/mobile web), which you can learn more about here. However, today we’re focusing on the risks of developing native apps. Native mobile apps are downloaded via an app store/market and installed on the device itself. I’m addressing native apps because they’re probably the most popular application type, but also come with their fair share of hidden risks.

So, what hidden risks should companies watch out for when they dive into mobile app development? We posed that question to a few experts in the field, and have compiled their advice (along with some of my own) below. Here are 7 hidden risks of native mobile app development:
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The 4 P’s of Business Intelligence Success

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Education** This guest post was written by Estelle Nicholson. Learn more about Estelle in the author bio at the end of this post. **

When starting a BI project, your first step should be taking a quick look at existing initiatives and the overall culture and support for BI. Understand the “4 Ps” of “people, products, power and pilot” before you launch:

  1. Assess what you already have. Who are the people currently doing business intelligence activities? What roles could they play in a more formalized BI setting? Data experts, analysts, data set owners and compilers – all are key resources for requirements gathering and power use.
  2. What products and tools are people already using? Large data repositories, analytical software, spreadsheets, custom-built systems?
  3. Check your sponsorship or the power behind the mandate or the initiative.
  4. Engage influencers in a pilot early to demonstrate the capabilities of the tool(s) you’re implementing and build support.

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7 web application development mistakes that kill usability

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EducationNo web developer wants to create a bad user experience. Nobody sets out to make a confusing and frustrating interface that drives users away. But, the sad truth is…this happens far too often.

How often?

According to the online marketing institute, the problems caused by a poorly designed interface are substantial. The numbers indicate that:

  • 85% of users abandon a site due to poor design
  • 83% of users leave because it takes too many clicks to get what they want
  • 62% of users gave up looking for an item while shopping online
  • 40% of users never return to a site because the content was hard to use
  • 50% of sales are lost because visitors can’t find content

The fact is, usability is becoming an essential aspect of web application development. User expectations have changed. Modern end users expect to pick up a web app and understand how it works. Confusing interfaces will only frustrate users and drive them away.

However, many developers build applications which do just that. They unwittingly make development mistakes that hurt their web application’s usability. In doing so, they accidentally alienate their users.

What are these mistakes? In what ways do developers accidentally create interfaces that frustrate their users? We posed those questions to a few experts in the area of usability, and have compiled their feedback below. Here are 7 development mistakes that kill web application usability:
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Weekly recap: Why big IT projects fail, a wake-up call for CIOs, and more…

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EducationEvery week, I share the most interesting and useful tech articles that I’ve found over the past week. This week’s top articles focus on why big IT projects fail so often, a new look at the “native vs. mobile web” debate, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Smartphones: Business Risk or Opportunity
Business owners, CIOs, and IT leaders face a dilemma: How to harness the efficiencies of mobile devices while defusing the security risks. The fact is, many end users just don’t practice safe security habits. Those end users could very well compromise your company, unless you approach mobile the right way. My advice: The same thing I’ve said for the last couple of years. Treat the device like a thin client and use mobile web apps. This approach doesn’t store data on the device itself, and lets you keep your data safe behind your own firewall.
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