It wasn’t that long ago that our lives had far fewer conveniences than we have now.
For example, consider the Rachio 3 Smart Watering System. This smart watering system brings together the convenience of a smartphone sprinkler control with features so advanced that the system actually tracks your local weather information to determine when it should water your lawn or not.
It is so cutting-edge that it offers an add-on feature that detects leaks and will shut the system down automatically if it detects a leak to save water. The mobile app allows you to customize watering schedules and monitor usage.
Or, consider the Ring Alarm system. With the Ring Alarm, you can always know what’s happening in your home. The Ring system sends alerts right to your smartphone when an alarm is triggered. The alarm can be triggered by a ringing doorbell, a contact sensor being triggered by a door or window opening, or by a motion detector being triggered.
From the mobile app on your smartphone, you can see what is happening at home via cameras that are started when the alarm is triggered.
From the mobile app on your smartphone, you can see what is happening at home via cameras that are started when the alarm is triggered. Or you can control the alarm and or Ring doorbells and cameras directly from the mobile app while you are at work or on vacation.
It seems as if the future is already here and it’s called the Internet of Things (IoT).
The Internet of Things
The Internet of Things is a network of devices, other than smartphones, where these devices are connected to and exchanging data via the internet. This includes vehicles, appliances, electronics, and many, many other devices.
Devices are able to do this because they individually have an IP address and the capacity to send and receive information without needing a person to be involved. This sending and receiving of information is automated. Additionally, these devices are able to communicate with other devices and can be utilized to enhance our lives. Consider the example I mentioned at the beginning of this article of an automated watering system that not only adjusts due to weather conditions but it also coordinates with the user via their mobile device, allowing them to make adjustments on the fly.
With the rapid growth of IoT, we are seeing more and more devices being connected together at breakneck speed. According to a recent article by Fortune, the Internet of Things will be a $520 billion market within four short years. In the consumer sector alone, Gartner forecasts that 13.5 billion IoT devices will be connected by 2020.
The Internet of Things and Mobile Applications
While it is becoming more and more commonplace, not that long ago, it was practically unthinkable to consider managing other devices from your phone.
With expanding functionality, the Internet of Things (IoT) is rapidly becoming increasingly more relevant in our daily lives, allowing us greater and greater control of the gadgets and machinery around us. With the Internet of Things, businesses can now know what consumers need at the time they need it or even before.
Growing demand for these types of devices and increased sophistication of digital devices will help create more personalized and predictive products. These enhanced services will modify the business model of many companies in the near future.
The massive growth of IoT devices will create a large demand for data and the ability to store and analyze data. Businesses will need to understand what information is important, how different types of information relate to each other and how they can benefit from the right data. Additionally, there will be greater consideration regarding the security of stored data.
Where Opportunity Exists
There is a proliferation of sensors and IoT devices moving across nearly all industries. If you are looking for an opportunity with the Internet of Things beyond home automation, there are some industries that present themselves for more growth than others.
The medical and healthcare industries are ripe for a boom in IoT devices. Devices in the medicine or healthcare industry can send out emergency notifications in real time or monitor the health of individuals. Remote monitoring of health is bound to massively grow in the upcoming years.
Industrial applications are bound to greatly expand as well. Within industrial applications, devices can be utilized to optimize processes, improve maintenance and repair activities, and streamline production chains for increased efficiency.
Applications working with infrastructure present many exciting opportunities. Monitoring and control of traffic lights could be improved, additionally, we could monitor changes in structural conditions of bridges etc to improve quality and cut down on accidents.
The transportation industry is an area that will be greatly enhanced by the Internet of Things, as it will allow for the careful monitoring of transport systems. This includes improving logistics and fleet management or roadside assistance.
The obvious advantages of the Internet of Things should make us all excited as it will add efficiency to our lives, especially when we consider that individual applications tend to not be overly expensive. If you are excited about the new business opportunities created by the Internet of Things let us know, and we can see if we can help you leverage the possibilities.
Image: Matt Madd (Flikr) http://bit.ly/2MHp4sO
Blockchain is a word tossed around a lot these days and you may be wondering how to use blockchain to help your business. By covering a few examples of potential blockchain applications it may spark some ideas of how you can leverage blockchain for your business.
But let’s start by discussing the technology itself.
A blockchain is a digital ledger that is secured using cryptography. Data on a blockchain is divided into chunks called blocks. Each block on the chain includes a cryptographic chain to the previous block—meaning that each block is securely linked to the block before it.
You may be wondering how to use blockchain to help your business.
To edit a block requires changing every block after the target block to ensure that the blocks still are connected to each other correctly. Because of this, blockchains are very difficult to modify once blocks have been added. This resistance to modification is why blockchains are so powerful.
Transaction Histories
Since blockchain was first introduced as the foundation for cryptocurrency, you should not be a surprise that blockchains are useful for storing transaction histories.
If you are not familiar with Bitcoin, its blockchain is distributed and is maintained by a network. Blocks on this network communicate with one another to validate the blockchain’s accuracy. This structure allows Bitcoin to ensure accuracy without relying on a single party to store the transactions.
When it comes to your business, you probably would not need to utilize this decentralized structure. Instead, you could use blockchain to serve as a detailed record of transactions, etc. The benefit here would be the assurance that your data would not be tampered with. There are many potential applications for your business.
Recordkeeping
Beyond transaction histories, blockchain excels at all types of recordkeeping. Whether you are looking to store electronic correspondence, proposals, or any other document, they can be stored digitally via blockchain. This gives your business an accurate image of the details you choose to store. By leveraging blockchain technology, it helps to make sure that data does not get modified.
There are many large firms that are using blockchain for this purpose right now. Transportation companies were quick to see the advantages of blockchain technology and utilize it to store transparent, current records on the status of shipments.
Quality Control
Blockchain presents many opportunities when it comes to enhancing quality control programs. Businesses can carefully track the production of their various products and if they fail to meet quality standards, blockchain will make it easier to find the point of failure. All they would need to do, potentially, is search the production history of the product and carefully review data recorded for the various steps in production.
Beyond looking at one manufacturer, if a more complex product fails, that is made up of several components, companies will eventually be able to search all supplier information and determine which component is responsible. Blockchain is the future of quality management.
Coordination
The security and flexibility that Blockchain offers make it an ideal choice for businesses that coordinate with other businesses on a regular basis. A perfect example of this would be the travel industry.
Airlines and airports coordinate actively about flight schedules and other data. Without careful coordination between both partners, the results could be very pricey. With the individual airlines all maintaining their own flight databases and then sharing that data with the various airports, it is important that this coordination is in harmony.
Due to this, blockchain is the ideal solution for maintaining and sharing of this information. Blockchain has the potential to greatly reduce disorder and improve coordination across the industry. Businesses in other industries could take advantage of similar coordination by investing in a shared blockchain. This way, all of the involved parties could easily be on the same page.
Image: LaurenNCooper (Flikr) http://bit.ly/2vSttCa
The only way to make a mobile app or website user-centered is to focus on the user early and throughout the design process. You must consider the application’s target users during several key points during design.
Validating your design is one of the most critical points of the process. Usability testing is an industry standard for validating websites and mobile applications along with other types of software. Companies that leverage usability testing are generally benefited by the process and are able to utilize the knowledge they gain to make their products more user-friendly.
Usability testing during early stages can produce big results without having to expend a great deal of cost to make alterations.
Keep in mind that you should not wait until the end of the design process to start doing usability testing. In the early stages of design it is easy to edit and change your design so testing during early stages can produce big results without having to expend a great deal of cost to make alterations.
Plan your test
Before getting started, you should carefully plan what you want to test. Determine which assumptions you want to validate, how many people you will have participate in the test, where you will conduct the test, etc. The more carefully you plan all these items, the more effective your testing will be.
Start by determining what it is you will be measuring.
Consider that there are two types of metrics to measure, qualitative and quantitative. Both can give you valuable information. Quantitative metric includes data such as time taken on complete a task, number of clicks, etc. You can think of quantitative metrics as factual data generally based on time or numbers. Qualitative data is much different in that it tends to be allegorical evidence based on users’ satisfaction and or their impression of a design or process.
Generally, usability testing will focus heavily on the qualitative information but don’t forget that you will need the quantitative information that will allow you to base decisions on facts.
What is the objective of your plan? Once you determine what you will be testing you need to put together a plan for how you will be testing it. What is the process? How will you best be able to gather the information that will be useful in making decisions?
Who will you include in your testing? You have to be careful that the people you test match the personas of future users to be able to gather relevant data.
Performing the test
Testing can be of any duration, but we have found testing periods under a half hour are responded to most favorably by test subjects. Make sure you are not frustrating the test subjects by using up too much of their time.
While working with your test subject, make sure they feel comfortable. Interact with them in a friendly way. We generally do this by informing them that we are not testing them but testing our design, this takes the pressure off them and frees them up to give you useful information.
How you moderate the test is important. Be careful not to guide or bias the user. When you are conducting the usability test you are an observer who should not impact results. Pay attention to the test subject. We typically ask to share their thoughts throughout the process, giving us great insight into how they view the solution to tasks. If a certain design is cumbersome or confusing, you want them to let you know so you can correct it.
Take the time to carefully observe them completing tasks. If they have a hard time completing a task it lets you know that your design needs additional work to streamline the process.
Analyze and report
Once you have completed your testing it is time to analyze the data and arrive at conclusions.
Approach this phase with a keen eye on usability. Don’t think like a designer and don’t focus on the design, rather, approach this part by looking at the user’s goals. Were they satisfied? Did they have an easy time completing tasks? Did you give them what they wanted? Be empathetic towards your user and their needs.
Make sure you have noted metrics such as success rate, user satisfaction and user frustration for the various tasks so you are able to figure out where design changes are necessary. In your report, make sure you prioritize the findings. Focus on observed behavior and not what you think.
Keep your report short, avoiding overly long descriptions. Make sure you include positive findings as well as areas that need to be adjusted. Include the feelings of your test subjects and don’t focus solely on negative comments, only pointing out flaws.
Concrete quantitative data, along with qualitative data, will make your report more effective. The why will add a great deal to your analysis. Make sure you include quotes from your test subjects.
Image: Jan-Willem Reusink (Flikr) http://bit.ly/2OP8GIm