February 2021 - Nuvolar

Advanced trends in the development of innovative applications

Posted on February 25, 2021 by dev_nuvolar

Advanced trends in the development of innovative applications

The exponential evolution in the development of applications makes it possible to create management solutions for all types of business purposes, beyond the standard CRM and ERP programs. Thanks to this progress, assembling technological solutions fully adapted to the circumstances and needs of each business is a reality. From applications for e-commerce environments to solutions that use virtual reality or augmented reality to test or demonstrate products. Even those that incorporate artificial intelligence to interact with users and provide an excellent user experience.

In this post we will learn a little more about the innovative techniques that are currently used in the development of applications. We will also review agile development methodologies and techniques used to ensure innovative and effective products.

Current techniques in web application development

Among the techniques and functionalities in application development that we will discuss below are those that have been in use for some time. While others of more recent use are part of the trends in this area.

Voice user interface

The increase in voice searches and the evolution of AI devices such as Alexa or Siri are circumstances to be considered by developers. Therefore, it is ideal to move beyond the use of conversational elements such as chatbots in applications and move towards designs that simulate human interaction. For faster and more accurate query and remote command results, it is imperative to incorporate VUI (voice user interfaces) design.

VUIs are interfaces that make it possible to interact with computers and devices using the human voice and receive feedback in the same way. Although it is not a new technology, since it has already been applied to smart homes or vehicles, these systems have taken the user experience to another level by enabling hands-free mode to various devices and equipment.

In practice, VUIs combine AI technologies such as automatic speech recognition, name entity identification, speech synthesis, etc. The back-end infrastructure that includes the AI technologies that integrate VUIs is generally stored in the cloud. There, the processing of the user’s voice, the identification of its intent and the generation of responses to the device or application occur.

Interactive 3D elements: increasingly present in application development

Until recently, videos were the most commonly used option to show different aspects of the product on the web. Now the trend is to have interactive 3D images that we can move on the touch screen of mobile devices and computers. In this way, the user will have the opportunity to see the products of interest in different angles, to better appreciate them. This feature provides an attractive plus to e-commerce pages, as it avoids opening several photos for this purpose or settling for a single view.

Animation and effects in design

Movement and effects provide dynamism to the content, as well as helping to keep the user’s interest in the pages and applications they visit. As an illustration, there are statistics in which a result is superimposed on the rest of the information just by touching it on the screen.

Similarly, we have pages and applications where we scroll and notice that the background moves at a different speed than the content. In the process, a depth effect is generated and we discover elements that we did not see before. This is possible with parallax design, a trend in full effervescence within application design.

Personalization, a trend in the development of applications

Thanks to Big Data, AI and machine learning, we obtain sufficient data on user behavior when interacting with websites and apps. This allows developers to create customizable environments and solutions, adapted to the visitor’s circumstances and interests. This process is feasible in aspects such as:

The geographic location of the user, which implies offering relevant content based on the place from where he/she connects.
Content adapted to the user’s preferences and shopping habits. This is what brands like Amazon, YouTube or Spotify are constantly doing.
Interface design In this particular, it is very useful to provide the user with the possibility of adapting elements such as colors, typography or font size. For a moment, let’s think about Internet users who have a physical condition: being left-handed, having hyperopia, myopia, color blindness, etc. Allowing content to be adapted for their comfort creates a very positive response from users and a higher frequency of interaction.

Agile methodologies for application development

Apart from the tools and platforms required for application development, the approach to task design and execution is paramount. In this particular, within software development, agile methodologies are essential resources for the organization of tasks.

Agile work methodologies originated precisely in the application development environment, during the 90s of the twentieth century. Whether companies from different sectors adopted them to their processes is another matter. What is certain is that after a decade of discussions, a group of software developers launched the Agile Manifesto, which would serve as the basis for the various styles of work organization in this field.

In short, the promoters of Agile questioned the traditional “waterfall” method of project execution, with delivery times of up to three years. In this time, a software developed could become obsolete, because it could not be adapted to the changes experienced in the contracting company during that time.

As we said, there are several agile methodologies that we could already call “classic”. Among them, Scrum, Kanban and Lean Startup.

Scrum

In short, the Scrum methodology is based on incremental development by parts. Therefore, the premise is to act on the fly, dividing the project into partial deliveries or sprints, each with its objective and defined tasks. At the end of each sprint, the team meets with the client to evaluate results and suggest corrections and/or changes. These are to be executed in the next sprint. For this reason, as many sprints as required to obtain a finished product will be carried out.

Kanban

Also known as “visual card”, Kanban proposes a work scheme outlined in three columns titled according to the status of the tasks: Pending, In Process and Executed. This method allows a very efficient planning of tasks, a continuous evaluation of results with visible metrics and a better use of teamwork.

Lean Startup

Proposed by Eric Reis in 2011, Lean Startup is a development methodology that proposes a three-stage iterative cycle:

Launch of a minimum viable product (MVP).
Evaluation of user response.
Learning, during which the results obtained are evaluated and the changes to be introduced in the application are defined in order to restart the cycle.

In this way, we avoid wasting time and resources trying to obtain a final product that does not meet the user’s requirements. And we can achieve a solution with continuous improvements.

Most used technical methodologies for application development

On the other hand, application development also requires methodologies more focused on the technical aspect. We will briefly describe the most commonly used ones at present:

RMM or Relationship Management Methodology

This is the process used in the analysis, design and development of hypermedia applications, being applied in domains with defined objects such as catalogs or traditional databases. This in turn offers a language that allows us to describe the objects of said domain, defined with the help of entities, attributes and associative networks.

OOHDM Object-Oriented Hypermedia Design Method

This model proposes an application development managed through a process composed of four stages or types of design:

Conceptual Design: As its name indicates, in this phase we identify the concepts implicit in the solution domain. Then we describe them in diagrams that allow us to accurately express the behavior, structure and relationships between such concepts.
Navigational Design: It is focused on the canonical elements of hypermedia applications: nodes, links, anchors and access structures.
Abstract Interface Design: In OOHDM, abstract interface design describes the user interface of the hypermedia application.
Implementation: This is the implementation phase, when the designer defines the information items that are part of the domain. In the same way, he must establish the organization of these items according to the user’s profile and functionality. He must even decide which information should be stored.

UWE-UML Based Web

It is a methodology that uses object-oriented techniques to determine hypermedia applications. UWE proposes an iterative cycle of four stages:

Requirements analysis
Concept design
Navigation design
Presentation

Ultimately, application development demands from developers knowledge and skills on all the elements involved in the structure of such solutions. At the same time, it also demands updates on trends in key functionalities for the user experience, in particular, design and cutting-edge technologies. Obviously, to take advantage of all this background, work methodologies in line with the magnitude, characteristics and purposes of the project are essential.

If you need to develop innovative applications for your company, at Nuvolar we use methodologies that have proven to be the most effective for this type of projects. Contact us and we will tell you how we have successfully addressed and solved needs like yours, for all types of clients.

Picking the right Salesforce Consulting Partner for your Business

Posted on February 25, 2021 by dev_nuvolar

We can hear it and see it everywhere: “Pick us!”- so many companies tell us this and it can be really overwhelming. There’s often a reason why we listen; or why we don’t. Nowadays, there are plenty of official Salesforce Consulting Partners listed on AppExchange and it can be really difficult to choose only by looking at that page which consultancy will best suit our needs. You must keep in mind that hiring a Salesforce Consulting partner will determine significantly how your business will take full advantage of the capabilities of the Salesforce CRM platform.

Written by: Andrea Onhaus, Senior Salesforce Consultant at Nuvolar.

Why is Nuvolar your ideal Salesforce partner?

At Nuvolar Works our purpose is to help you reach all the potential that Salesforce can offer to you. We invite you to read some of our best practices and methodologies that allow us to implement your Salesforce platform in the right way!

Nuvolar consultancy is following the software industry best practices and methodologies. We work in an Agile environment with a focus on delivering strategic business value by involving business stakeholders in the development process. Our clients are part of our team. We give them transparency by involving our clients throughout the project lifecycle.
Our Salesforce team is passionate about technology and about our clients success. When we start a new project we begin with the end in mind. How do we do it? We believe that every change , every request from our clients should be prepared carefully. We obey the following steps when working with clients: planning, development and deployment.
We are not afraid to ask: We always keep the bigger picture in our mind: will the change be beneficial in the long run for the platform, our users and the company? When our clients come up with a request, our strategy is to carefully review all aspects of it, so there is no downside to it. It is our job to pursue a win-win situation. And we do want our clients to be successful in their business.
At Nuvolar, our Salesforce implementation projects don not simply end with the official go-live date. We are proud to say that we support our clients after the implementation. We are there for them with any request or help they may need.

We have broad experience with the following industries: aviation, medical and consumer goods but we have a team that can take on any challenge. We are used to working in English language and across the globe and we are ready to take on new projects for companies at any sizes and/or for companies based abroad as well.
We believe in a saying : Work to your strengths and develop your weaknesses. Our colleagues’ success is our personal success. We trust that bringing and sharing our skills and experience across the team is the firmest way of developing and consolidating our own abilities. We are continuously gaining new Certifications within the Salesforce environment. And we won’t stop doing it. We love our shiny superbadges and certifications.
We believe that: Diverse teams make better decisions. Having a diverse team makes us more innovative and often more open in our communication leading to better, well designed solutions. Having a team of different views on the same issue means that we are more likely to get fresh ideas, thus improving the creativity of our team and boosting its capacity for innovation. Our team members diverse skills base allows Nuvolar to offer a broader and more adaptable range of products and services.

Who are our diverse teams of expertise ?

Andrea Onhaus

Sziasztok! My name is Andrea. I am a Hungarian living and loving Barcelona. I have 10+ years of experience in CRM, Salesforce, Customer and Project management. I like to define myself as a bridge, a bridge between Business and IT . Outside of work, I am a co-leader of the women in Technology group, an organisation committed to improving the networking and success of women in technology in Spain.
I love Salesforce because it’s a great and reliable CRM. Many companies, from small startups to large enterprises use Salesforce to improve the business relationships with customers. I love the platforms flexibility and customizability. This is one of the main reasons why Salesforce has so many customers.

Marc Vivas

I am a computer engineer and the CEO of Nuvolar. The thing I like more about Salesforce is how quickly you can onboard a customer on the platform and start changing the way they work, improving the way companies perform their operations, streamlining their processes and automating some of the tasks that they used to do before Salesforce. At Nuvolar, we bring in our engineering expertise, developing complex web and mobile applications in the cloud to the Salesforce realm. We complement Salesforce as needed to provide a customized experience for our customer that aligns with their way of working; whether that means building a mobile application with offline capabilities that syncs with Salesforce or building a custom interface for their users on top of the Salesforce platform. In my free time, I like spending time with my family and reading books.

Pere Martí

My name is Pere and I am the Tech-Lead for our Salesforce team. 9 years ago I started my career as a developer in the university developing apps in the research department for public transportation, where I published my first research paper. After a short period developing mobile apps in Berlin, I joined the Nuvolar family, where for the last 8 years I have been involved in the design, architecting and development of all Nuvolar’s Salesforce projects. These 8 working in the Salesforce platform have been a wild but amazing ride. Despite being an expert on many areas of the platform, its constant growth and evolution make you stay on your toes. Thank god for the launch of trailhead which makes this task so much more easy and fun!
Moreover, its incredible breadth of functionality ensures that there is always a new area to dive in. With Salesforce you can never get bored!

Víctor Pérez

Hello! I am Víctor a Salesforce developer that enjoys video games, board games, reading and collectivism (especially lego and minifigures ). My favourite part of working with Salesforce is that it’s a constant learning curve. I continuously learn new things and there are always new challenges to overcome.

Luka Glusic

My name is Luka and I am a software developer.I have experience working as a Java and C backend developer as well . Working with Salesforce has been a great journey for me. I have learned so much and I really love helping our customers during their Salesforce journey. In my personal time I love to do sports, hike and hang out with my friends.

Maria Mategna

Ahoj! My name is Maria and I am an Associate Salesforce consultant in Nuvolar. I fell in love with Salesforce two years ago and decided to change my career from scratch. Since then I got 2 Salesforce certifications, working as an associate Salesforce consultant in Nuvolar, I am involved in an amazing project and the most important part, everyday I learn something new. Salesforce allows you to grow, enjoy and never get bored. I am a very active person, like to spend my free time traveling, in nature, doing sports and spending time with my family.

If you want to hear more about us, feel free to Contact us, we’d love to hear from you!

Benefits of outsourcing new applications development

Posted on February 25, 2021 by dev_nuvolar

Benefits of outsourcing new applications development

Outsourcing the development of applications is an increasingly common practice to meet the needs of companies that require technological solutions adapted to their activity and needs. For a long time, it has been common for companies to develop in-house solutions with their own personnel and resources. However, this raises a question: if our company is not dedicated to technology, why creating a department for this purpose? And if we have our own team, is it possible for them to develop with guarantees a type of solution for which they have no experience?

Software has applications in the operation of companies at all levels (orders, sales, human resources, etc.), but developing solutions and updating them is not our business as a company. Especially when we talk about addressing very specific models such as a CRM or ERP, or solutions that require a very high level of expertise such as Salesforce. Their creation and maintenance should be outsourced to a specialized external provider, an option that will bring us advantages and benefits, which we will analyze below.

Outsourcing the development of solutions saves costs and helps us to focus on the business.

As we mentioned before, it’s possible to develop applications tailored to business needs in-house. But this requires investment in specialized tools and personnel, an alternative that increases production costs and reduces profit margins. Indeed, software design and development requires a specific team for these functions. This implies hiring qualified professionals, with the consequent provision of labor liabilities and other associated expenses.

On the other hand, we must consider the acquisition of technological tools that, in addition to requiring maintenance, are susceptible to obsolescence. Even if we opt for platforms and infrastructure as a service (PaaS and IaaS) in the cloud to develop our solutions, the subscription cost is unavoidable. Seen in this way, it is remarkable the amount of fixed costs that we would avoid by outsourcing the development of these services.

The IT department is not multi-task

We must be aware that, if the organization has an IT department, entrusting it with the development and maintenance of new applications may compromise its dedication to its usual tasks. That is to say, it may eventually affect its efficiency in the tasks aimed at ensuring the correct functioning of the different environments and maintaining the company’s operability. While concentration on the development of new projects and the fulfillment of their stages will also be impaired in order to attend to primary responsibilities.

The world of technology in general and programming in particular are complex and diverse. It is important to keep in mind that development and programming profiles are not valid for all types of projects. Often, deciding to have an internal team take on a project that is beyond their level of expertise and experience is often a source of problems. It is very common to suffer delays in delivery deadlines and requirements to be inadequately met. Also the budget may be increased to deal with unforeseen events and deviations, not to mention internal conflicts. Therefore, such decisions often result in the hiring of an external provider to take over the project.

Accessible infrastructure and personnel, another advantage of outsourcing application development

In fact, by outsourcing application development, we will have access to the most advanced technology and the most suitable professionals for this purpose. This guarantees that the most appropriate resources will be employed in the design and implementation of the solutions we need. Normally, the involvement of highly qualified personnel for such functions must be accompanied by the use of suitable development methodologies and solid design criteria to facilitate the user experience.

Similarly, this advantage extends to the evolutionary and corrective maintenance of the developed solutions, as well as technical support. This ideally includes updates and progress reports, among other services.

Agile methodologies for application development

When we decide to outsource the development of technological solutions, it is important that the project is based on agile methodologies. Although there are several ways to approach this style of work, this system allows us to approach projects in an iterative and progressive manner.

Specifically, it is about dividing the project into parts to be delivered in a matter of weeks. This provides the opportunity to achieve a quality product adapted to the changing needs of the customer or the market, through a continuous improvement model. The latter consists of planning, creation, testing and constant optimization. Thus, the classic model of medium or long-term delivery is discarded, due to the risk of obtaining obsolete solutions as the final product.

Other advantages of the Agile methodology in outsourcing development

By using this methodology, the applications we order will meet our needs beyond our initial expectations. And what is better, they can evolve constantly, including more functionalities over time.

From the above, we visualize another great advantage in outsourcing application development; the resulting solutions will be adapted to the real situation of your company, with functionalities that fit the dynamics of your business. Moreover, the solutions will be flexible and will adapt to your processes and not the other way around.

Nuvolar, specialist in application development

At Nuvolar we are experts in software design and development, an activity in which we invest large doses of innovation and passion. Therefore, we are able to understand the needs of each client and the purposes of each project to make them a reality.

Accordingly, we use design thinking techniques to maximize collective creativity. We approach projects using Lean and Agile methodologies to improve processes and achieve faster and more sustainable results. We use the latest web and mobile technologies available in the market and the most appropriate environments for these developments. In this sense, we are certified Salesforce partners, on which we have deployed critical solutions for a wide variety of businesses for more than ten years.

We have more than 60 highly qualified professionals, that love their work and are passionate about technology. A team of people who are fully involved in each project to ensure its success and that the result meets the real needs of the client and the product to be developed. Projects where we like to involve the customer and consider him as an essential part of the team.

Contact us and we will explain why we are your best option to outsource the development of your web applications and solutions.