We are now undeniably in a digital world, where even if information technology is not your product or service, it will touch every part of the products and services that you provide. This means we need to adapt, and traditional organizations must better position themselves for the exciting digital changes that lie ahead.
Provider, partner, promoter, peer
For many years, we have seen IT departments exist as Providers to efficiently deliver the systems and capabilities that the firm requires, with emphasis on reliability, efficiency and compliance. They have also been Partners working like consultants to the firm, advising/directing the use of IT to support the business change agenda. The emphasis on application/process modernization and know-how is crucial for ongoing success.
In addition, we now need a new cadre of technology leaders acting as Promoters and serving as technology evangelists, advocating how new technologies can improve the firm’s speed, agility, productivity and innovation advantage. These leaders act as Peers, working at the CXO level to shape the digital strategy and value proposition of the firm, while engaging in major initiatives such as smart products, M&A, intellectual property development/protection and learning.
In 2020 we anticipate that this shift to digital business leadership will gain real momentum as technology driven-marketplaces — with new capabilities, business models and disruptive possibilities — proliferate and companies need to effectively respond to rapidly changing external developments. This is a different mission, requiring different skills and a different culture to emerge.
5 steps to digital business leadership
As we transform the organization, leaders need to come along too, not just at the executive level but also in the middle layers, where inertia is often cited as a key obstacle to change. Most organizations acknowledge that this shift is happening, but turning abstract agreement into solid action is challenging. This is where the next generation of business leaders can emerge. To do so they must:
Build awareness – Scout the emerging technology scenes of Silicon Valley or China for trends and insights into the future.
Be more open – Participate in open initiatives and share with partner organizations or the wider marketplace.
Get access to R&D – Establish and maintain links to leading universities/academics or government agencies in relevant areas.
Build partnerships and alliances – Pick the right partners to help on the journey, as most organizations can’t make the changes necessary alone.
Push digital culture – Energize and engage employees and executives through immersive digital experiences such as hackathons, incubators and accelerators. Focus on multidisciplinary teams, experimentation and learning, and business outcomes.
We acknowledge that there are many reasons why this aspect of digital transformation is hard but now, more than ever, we must emphasize the value of becoming double-deep professionals — one of those leaders who not only has a deep understanding of their profession, industry or function, but who also embraces the technology that’s relevant to their role, as well as the required skills and learning that come with it. As these leaders come to the fore, we’ll see more tangible business value realized from the exciting emerging technology portfolio and organizational transformations will accelerate.
In the mobile app sector, every effort you take to make your application disruptive and innovative ultimately boils down to its design.
There is a lot that rides on the all-encompassing term “mobile app design”. It single-handedly decides whether users would spend any time in the application and if at all your months long efforts would result into a profitable solution that the world would interact with.
For a process that the entire soon to be $311,249 million industry is dependent on, there are a number of things that a design-centric mobile app development company has to consider:
These considerations, in turn, come with a cost. The cost of app design.
While lower than the engineering cost, the mobile app design cost nonetheless hold a good portion in the detailing of the overall mobile app cost.
In this article, we are going to look into the elements that make up for the mobile app design cost in detail.
Table Of Content:
The Importance of App Design in Mobile App Development Process
Phases of App Design Process
How Much Does it Cost to Design a Mobile App?
How to Optimize the Mobile App Design Cost
FAQs About Mobile App Design Cost
The Importance of App Design in Mobile App Development Process
Every design element is devised to solve specific issues. It doesn’t matter whether you are developing an application from scratch or redesigning an app, the end goal of every single process of your designing efforts should remain the same – solving an issue in the most minimal manner as possible.
A well-crafted mobile application UI and UX design usually provides the following benefits:
Simplifies the interaction with the interface
Converts users into consumers
Enables users to reach their objective faster
Streamlines the development part of the application
Phases of App Design Process
Idea Evaluation
This part of the mobile app design process deals with understanding the project to its entirety – what issues does the customers face and how would the app solve those issues for them. One method through which the idea can be evaluated is through the creation of a lean model canvas.
Problem: This part of the model defines the issues which the app solves.
Customer Segments: This is where you enter the details of your prospective users and create a segmentation.
USP: This is where you will have to fill in the details of what your application does best and most uniquely compared to the competitors.
Solutions: Here the probable solutions that the app can offer to the best of problem, customer type, and USP combination are identified.
Channels: this is where you should enlist the platforms where your users will be present
Revenue Streams: The goal of this section is to create a business model that seems to be an answer to your question around how much money you can earn money through an app.
Expense structure: Here, the expenses you will have to incur to develop the application are enlisted.
Key Metrics: These are the KPIs you will measure your app’s success against.
Unfair Advantage: This is the detail of advantages that your app has but not your competitors – a disruptive technology, financial aid, partnership, or something else.
Market Research
Analysis of the market your application is a three tier process – competitive research, market trends analysis, and customer analysis.
We start the market research process by first analyzing the competitors – not to copy them but to find out the opportunities in the market. Doing this gives a benchmark that we have to cross, on the features and design grounds.
Next, we study the market and find out what is in trend and what elements are users interacting with most.
Deliverables: Use case, user stories, and behavioral sciences
Tools: A/B tests, user persona, interviews
Mind map
This part of the mobile app design process takes you back to the lean model canvas components. It takes into account all the different requirements of your application to help you visualize the logical structure or connection between the main parts of the app.
When we create mind maps, we place the goal of the app at the center and create segments of the goal around it. Then, we create requirements/features for all these segments
User Persona
The next step of our mobile app design process is the creation of user persona. This section of the design details who you are designing the app for.
Ideally, the user persona portrait should be made of:
Their demographics
The social stature
Their behavioral model
This part of the mobile app design process have helped our development team numerous times to gather an understanding of who they are developing the app for and what all they would appreciate/ not appreciate.
User Journey Mapping
Once you have identified who your users are, you will have to gather the understanding of how will they use the application. This is where the user journey mapping element of the app design comes into the picture.
This app design deliverable deals with the creation of how users would move inside the app – the features they would interact with, where it would lead them, and the steps they would take if they hit a wall.
Prototype
The next part of the process is app prototype. Here, we structure the ideas into delightful experiences for users who would interact with the application. At this stage, it is ensured that the flow between features and screens should be so natural that users should not even notice.
In order to create an ideal prototype, it is very important that iterations are made until the flow is nailed on the basis of the feedback. The level of iterations is what defines the app prototype cost.
At Anteelo, our teams work on the prototypes collectively. Everyone: Developers, Business Analysts, and Clients work together to create an application which everyone can agree on. This, in turn, helps in identifying issues and confusions that could occur at the development stage.
User Interface design is all about telling a story of how the user would feel as they move from one screen to another.
This is where the look and feel of the app is created – its colours, shapes, typography, elements, etc. Our mobile app developers do not just look into what the users will see when they use the app but also what they would feel. Thus, we concentrate our efforts on not just static design but also animated versions. User interface design primarily encompasses three elements – Logo, App Icons, and Screens. These are the elements which then get added into the numeric value of mobile app design cost.
Deliverables: App logo, app icons, screenshots for the stores, and animations.
How Much Does it Cost to Design a Mobile App?
With the need and stages of mobile app design part covered, let’s talk about the monetary part of mobile app design, a.k.a The App Designing Cost Breakdown.
The cost of app design is majorly dependent on three factors – Complexity of the app, the country wise app design cost, and the platforms on which it would be made live on. Let us dissect every part of what goes into app design cost in detail.
A. Cost of Mobile App Design on the Basis of Platforms
Platforms like Android and iOS differ in how they look and operate. While on one side, Android application has to be matched with different resolutions and formats, the same is not the case with iOS for everything is finalized. This is the reason why Android app design is more expensive than iOS app design cost.
Although the app design cost might not vary greatly between iOS and Android apps, there are some points’ difference.
There was a time when iOS app UI and UX designers used to charge because of the stringent store guidelines, the situation has changed. Google too has come strives ahead to ensure high quality in terms of what goes into the store and thus, they too have started following a stringent approval process.
So the comparison between iOS and Android application design cost has come down to the number of platforms and the device type.
Let us look at it from iOS App Design Cost front first:
iPhone only – The entry models doesn’t require designers to create images specifically for retina display. So, the approximate designing cost falls in the range of $3,000 to $10,000.
iPhone 6 Plus and ahead – Designing apps for iPhone 6 and ahead adds 25% to the cost. These devices come with retina display which call for high resolution files, which in turn, comes with an attached cost.
iPad – iPad app design adds 50% to the cost. They don’t just require high resolution but also product designing solution to meet the speed and size of the iPads.
Now talking of Android app design cost:
The Android devices are constantly changing and changing with them are the rules of designing in the Google Material Design process. The Android app designers constantly have to adapt to new frameworks and design ideologies to keep up with the changes, which comes attached with a cost.
Additionally, since the number of platforms that a designer has to work on is much greater than iOS, the Android app design cost automatically increases.
B. Mobile App Design Cost by App Complexity
Whether we talk about the mobile app design cost or the cost of mobile app development, there are three complexity levels that are considered when the app design cost estimate has to be drawn.
Simple Apps:
These are the applications which are maximum 3 screens long and use next to zero animations and interactive design elements. Apps like Calculators and Alarm fall under this category. These apps usually are not designed to meet the requirement of individual platforms for they look alike on all screens.
Medium Complexity Apps:
These apps are the one which make use of multiple interactive elements and animations along with several screens. They are usually designed individually for Android and iOS platforms and are made to meet the native look and feel of the platform and heavily relies on Human Interface design guidelines and Google Material design principles.
Most of the apps that you use on an everyday basis like WhatsApp and Uber etc are examples of what a medium complexity app looks like.
High Complexity Apps:
These are the applications which are highly dependent on designs to serve their purpose. Here, a lot of animations and transitions are used to help users move from one screen to another and ultimately convert into a regular user.
These apps make use of a huge number of screens and usually work on multiple screens – all demanding a device centric native UI design.
c. Mobile App Design Cost by Country
The work performed keeping the same quality intact might vary greatly between a designer in the USA and a designer in India.
For example, a USA based UI/User Experience designer might charge $200 per hour, while an eastern nation design might charge around $80 – $100 on average per hour.
How to Optimize the Mobile App Design Cost
There are a number of proven strategies we use for our startup clients, who are particular about quality but work with limited budget.
Work around a strategy – a set strategy can be a great way to cut back the app design cost.
Concentrate on the must-have features – we always recommend our clients to work on the must-have feature set of the application to start with instead of designing a full-fledged application which could be kept for the phase two of the project.
Use templates – while not ideal, using templates can be a great way to cut back high app designing cost for very minimal efforts are required from the designers’ end.
Did you ever feel like your team is committing the same mistakes over and over? You feel that they are not moving in the right direction and you need to drive in some change to make the project development process productive.
Whether you are new to software development or you have been working in the software industry for years, you must have come across the term ‘Sprint Retrospective’. Agile development teams have made retrospective meetings quite popular.
Regardless of how good a Scrum team is, there is always some room for improvement. Since the focus of agile development is continuous improvement, a good project team sets aside a brief period at the end of each Sprint to reflect how they are doing and seeks out new ways to improve. This is called a Sprint Retrospective.
What is a Sprint Retrospective?
The term retrospective implies looking back or dealing with past events and situations.
According to the Scrum Guide, developed and sustained by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland “ the Sprint Retrospective is an opportunity for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint.”
Well, if you do not know what a Sprint is, a Sprint essentially is a time-boxed period during which a set amount of work is to be completed by the Scrum team. It is at the very heart of Scrum and agile methodologies.
The purpose of a Sprint Retrospective is to identify potential pitfalls and mistakes, evaluate the past working cycle and define actions that may improve things.
It is like a safe space for people to share honest feedback. It is an opportunity to focus on inspection and adaptation. ‘Inspect’ and ‘adapt are the twin mottos of a retrospective and they play a crucial role in making the next Sprint more productive.
Sprint retrospective plays a fundamental role in the scrum framework in agile development. During the sprint retrospective, a team discusses, what went well in the Sprint, what all can be improved and what actions shall be undertaken to improve the next Sprint.
The Value of a Sprint Retrospective
Everything that has an effect on how the Scrum team builds a product such as the practices, processes, tools and communication are open to survey and the retrospective is attended by the product owner, scrum master, development team, and optionally the stakeholders.
Based on the discussions in a retrospective, the team members execute changes and then proceed to the coming sprint with an incrementally improved process.
The best thing about a retrospective is that it happens at the very last when the sprint ends. This way fresh ideas are churned out and teased out by the whole team in the next Sprint.
Afterall, the real purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to bring about a positive change in the project, team, and organization.
What a project team plans to accomplish with a Retrospective is pretty much similar to what a football team plans to accomplish in its Monday morning tape review of the weekend’s game. The review is to evaluate how they could have defended better.
Same is the case with a retrospective, it particularly isn’t about winning the game but altering the strategy and implementations to win the next game.
Afterall, even with the best of teams, there’s always some room for improvement.
While a sprint retrospective is essentially an optimised process for teams working in an agile environment, it can be optimised for any type of team that works on a shared project.
During each Sprint Retrospective, the Scrum Team devises ways to improve product design & development quality by improving work processes or adapting the definition of “Done” if it is not in conflict with the product or organizational standards.
Why should you run a Sprint Retrospective?
More often than not, crucial ceremonies in agile such as the retrospective appear very mundane to project teams and as a result they do not use it to their full advantage.
There are a raft of benefits of running an agile sprint retrospective:
It creates a safe space for team members to share valuable insights and feedback. Retrospectives foster active participation, allow sharing of views and interests, and encourages the team to collaboratively arrive at a solution.
It provides a platform to document wins, celebrate success and inturn strengthens the team spirit.
The primary importance of a Sprint Retrospective is that it allows the team to identify potential pitfalls at an early stage and resolve conflict areas. With retrospectives, agile teams can continuously improve the processes by evaluating ‘what all can be improved’.
By running a retrospective, teams can easily identify small, incremental changes that can cast a huge impact on the overall product. When members share their views for improvement, they feel a sense of ownership.
Not only team members feel that their opinions are heard and respected, it also cuts through hierarchy and gives equal power to all team members.
There are many benefits of retrospectives but it is of utmost help to Project Managers. Retrospective aligns teams, keep the project on the right track and make each sprint better than the last. The end of the retrospective allows teams to commence the next sprint with a clean slate.
Difference between a Sprint Retrospective and a Sprint Review
Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective are often confused as the same thing. However, they are completely different.
Sprint Review
The idea behind working in Sprints is to produce a potentially shippable product increment.
Sprint Review is a meeting where a project team demonstrates the work that they have accomplished. During a Sprint Review meeting, the Scrum Team presents the deliverables of the current Sprint to the Product Owner. The Product Owner then reviews the product increment against the Acceptance Criteria and either accepts or rejects the User Stories.
Sprint Retrospective
In a Sprint Retrospective Meeting, the last Sprint is analysed in terms of the process followed, the tools employed, collaboration and communication mechanisms, and other aspects relevant to the subject.
The team discusses what went well in the previous Sprint, what did not go so well, with the sole aim to make improvements in the next Sprint.
Simply put, the Sprint Review focuses on the product and maximizes the business value of the previous sprints while the Sprint Retrospective focuses on the process and continuous process improvement.
The Sprint Retrospective takes place after the Sprint Review and before the next Sprint Planning. Mostly, it is a three-hour meeting for one-month Sprints.
The Scrum Master ensures that the event is conducted and the attendees understand its very purpose. Since it is an opportunity for the Scrum team to improve, ideally every participant should be present in a Retrospective.
Sprint Retrospective Process
Sprint retrospective is considered one of the most indispensable meetings in Scrum. A well done agile retrospective offers a number of benefits. Here are the five essential steps and tips to make the sprint retrospective better:
The very first step is to set the stage. Setting the environment, the tone and direction for retrospective is how you start off on the right foot.
The next step is to gather and analyze the data of previous projects to have insights into previously performed actions. It also entails creating a shared pool of information and highlighting pertinent information and events.
The third step is to identify repeated patterns and generate insights. By looking at patterns and themes, and identifying pain points and successes it becomes relatively easy to improve the process for everyone in the next Sprint.
The next stage is deciding a few issues to work on and creating concrete action plans on how to address them.
The retrospective ends with the acknowledgement and appreciation for the contribution of each member.
Conclusion
The Sprint Retrospective is a critical part of our scrum agile methodology. By running a retrospective we practice the Agile “inspect and adapt” principle.
Retrospective is a great opportunity to motivate a team by providing them the opportunity to speak up, share their ideas, and be heard.
The end goal of our Sprint retrospective meetings is to continually improve a development project, sprint by sprint. It not only improves the quality of the approach, but significantly improves the quality of the product.
In little over a decade, Node.js has emerged as a top-developer choice for web application development. Its pros make it a superlative alternative for cross-platform development by integrating a 2-way client-server communication channel. Without plunging into the technicalities, let us know the top Node.js development statistics that substantiate its superiority over the competition:
Node.js is highly popular in the US, with 6.3 million websites using it.
It has found use cases in companies such as Amazon, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Netflix, and PayPal.
85% of the developers that use Node.js, do so for web app development.
Research suggests that this open-source JavaScript runtime environment reduces development costs by 58%.
It gives programmers the leeway to use JavaScript to create command-line tools for server-side scripting. However, if you need further convincing, here are 12 reasons why Node.js development is at the peak of its powers and seemingly unshakable in the immediate future.
Reasons Why Node.js for Web Development is the Perfect Choice
The internal workings of this open-source runtime environment involve package management, unified APIs, native bindings, and threading. Below we elaborate on how such technicalities result in productive work.
Speed
The V8 engine, developed by Google, powers Node.js. It allows for JavaScript code to be converted to machine code and contributes to development time savings on program executions. Products for web app development with Node.js can handle a significantly higher number of parallel connections.
Thanks to Node.js app development, Paypal was able to reduce its app response time by 35%. With such an anomalous increase in application productivity, the company processed double the number of user requests.
Cost savings
As a web development company, Anteelo receives multiple inquiries from prospects to hire dedicated Node.js developers. But our product suite consists only of such services whose proof is in the pudding. Upon conducting a cost-benefit analysis, we found that Node.js’s development costs far less than anything else out there. Its memory footprint is smaller in comparison to PHP or Java servers. A server built on Node.js runs on an event-driven loop which saves a huge portion of the Random Access Memory (RAM) and in turn hardware/software resources.
Advance caching
Ask any Node.js developer and they would probably point to the caching capabilities as its greatest asset. It can cache single modules. But what difference does that make?
It eradicates the need to re-execute code as servers call for the first module. Caching allows websites to load faster and alleviate the user experience.
Real-time development
Real-time apps are such that provide dynamic, spontaneous engagement environments for users. Examples include gaming apps, messenger apps, etc. Their development involves a lot of event-based programming and communication with a non-blocking server. Developers can maximize their efforts towards real-time web application development using Node.js as it uses asynchronous operations to optimize the coordination with the CPU and the memory.
Event driven
The platform is event-driven i.e. all its developed APIs in the Node.js library are asynchronous. But what does this mean?
A server based on Node.js does not wait for the Application Programming Interface to return data. Instead, it calls the API, following which the built-in notification mechanism of Node.js aids the server to procure the return-call from the previous API.
Scalable
We are a Node.js web application development company and prescribe its use in areas like data streaming applications, JSON API-based applications, as well as single-page applications. We do so keeping in mind its scalability. Node.js web application development makes for ultra-high-speed computation speeds due to the V8 engines.
Node.js uses microservices with which it divides an application into finer processes. These processes can be allocated in parallel to multiple teams so that they can be developed in sync with the rising user requests. Faster background processes translate to low-lag operations and an increased footfall of user traffic.
That said, never use Node.js for CPU-intensive processes.
Data streaming
Product development is not as simple as people put it. As a Node.js development company, we learned it the hard way. Input-Output (I/O) handling is a key component of software engineering. With the tendency of web frameworks to classify HTTPO requests as whole data, I/O handling gets trickier to integrate.
But that is not the case with Node.js mobile app development which supports I/O bound applications. While using apps built on Node.js users can transcode multimedia files simultaneously as they are being uploaded onto the server.
What makes this a manageable procedure is a provision that writes data streams onto WebSockets.
No-rocket science
Most of the programmers these days are familiar with JavaScript. As Node.js app development is a JS-based runtime system, it is relatively easier for amateur coders to make the switch. They can achieve the same results as working with Django, PHP, or spring boot in much less time and devoting far less computational resources.
Well-rounded community
In a StackOverflow survey, Node.js was voted rank #1 for two years running in the miscellaneous technology category. This goes on to show how well-knit and widespread the developer community is on this tool. Constant upgrades keep people coming back for more, and access ready-to-use plugins and code-bytes accessible on GitHub.
Technical support
Another reason why professionals prefer Node.js for web development is that its parent team offers long-term support. As per convention, following the release of each version of Node.js, the code is maintained for the next 18 months. Instead of continuing to add new features, this period is utilized to fix bugs and collect user feedback for future releases.
It is reported that long-term platform support is prioritized by 62% of developers.
Microservices
On prior occasions, we’ve touched on the topic of microservices and monolithic architectures. Enterprise-grade projects have an inclination towards implementing the microservices-based architecture. This serverless approach pays dividends in the long run and is also supported by Node.js.
SEO-friendly
More often than not, developers adopt a backwards approach when it comes to SEO practices. They design a website and then re-design it to become pro-SEO. But that doesn’t have to be the case with Node.js. Its built-in features offer such pre-packed codes that are in tandem with search algorithms.
Another reason for using it is that it’s free!
Knowing and understanding the above mentioned points, as a Node.js development company in the USA we can say with authority that open source is the way ahead. In addition to being free, it offers state-of-the-art toolsets that include Redux and Flux. It is highly integrable with open source libraries.
Typical Projects to Start with Node.js
As a Node.js development company, we suggest the following projects to train your in-house team on the platform.
Single page apps
Present-day web applications bear an overloaded semblance partly due to the fact that they have to process client data. Working in this environment ensures faster response times between the server and client-side. This is a founding tenet that every single page app is based on.
Conventional web apps
An amateur Node.js developer could begin with writing conventional web applications. It allows streaming HTML data effortlessly.
Proxy development
While offering Node.js development services our experts have experimented with installing Node.js as a proxy server and it worked like a knife through butter. It helps in the case of apps that rely on external services to import/export data.
Final Thoughts
As a web development company, Anteelo has the firepower to kickstart Node.js-centric product development in full swing. With 600+ personnel joining forces from home virtually (till the pandemic lasts), we’ve handled cross-border projects and made a name for ourselves. But all that was possible only with the collective efforts of our growth hackers, who have what it takes to push through for technological superiority.
The illustrator within me is a tad mixed up. I have managed to split myself into two versions and there’s a constant battle raging between these two for years together. As a young illustrator working in a Digital Design studio, I have had my share of embarrassing pitfalls as well as immensely appreciative experience when it comes to illustrating for clients. Below, I have tried to put together a few really important learnings that have taught me how to navigate smooth.
Designing for the user
The basic unwritten rule in my guidebook is designing for the user first. But this will take a while to kick in. As illustrators, we tend to lose ourselves trying to create stunning visuals which end up being too unrelatable for the end user. It takes self-control and some discipline to work out that fine line between designing for the user and yourself. A good practice here is to start illustrating a basic sketch and fine tune it to add pleasing visual details that satisfy your artsy soul as well as reaches the user.
Avoid complex symbols in illustration
While illustrating for a wide demographic audience such as in India, it is crucial to remember that you avoid using any kind of symbolism that pertains to any culture or language. Also, avoid any colours that may be offensive in your target area. The trick is to do enough ‘Background Research’ on the audience you are illustrating; this will always help you go the extra mile. Not only will it avoid negative connotations, but it would also help you ideate your sketches from the users perspective.
Avoid using too many colors – follow the hierarchy
The best possible hack in the illustration is using a minimal colour palette of maybe just two or three colors; this will ensure that the focus of the illustration isn’t lost. A minimal colour palette helps the user understand the hierarchy in an illustration without being exposed to multiple colors at once. Ensure that your illustration has plenty of breathing space and as few elements as possible. If it looks far too empty, you can help add accents of style by proving light foreground or background elements. But remember less is always more. You can never go wrong with this golden thumb rule.
Using Grid while composing the illustration
The Grid is a good enough rule to follow in all kinds of artistic fields, from illustration to photography. It is a means of control and helps constrain or extend your artwork in all directions. It becomes an impeccable symbol for control and ensures a sense of modernity in your illustrations. It’s a support system that helps abolish the vagueness if any. So however you illustrate, follow the grid and worship it.
Keep it contextual to the target audience
When I was a beginner in illustration, I would be eager to try out new styles and trends in illustration. This became a problem as I made visuals that would be beautiful and trendy but at a total loss when the user tried to connect with. Only when the frustration peaked, I realized I was going about this the wrong way. I learnt that every single time you need to start from the scratch; and once you begin to restrict yourself to suit the target audience, an opposite reaction happens. New ideas surface and help break the pattern, now you can go ahead and add your bells and whistles.
Don’t be afraid to experiment
Stay away from trends and try to nurture the innate style of illustration that you have. To know all the rules and break them once you master them is a special kind of pleasure. Don’t be too hard on yourself and enjoy the sense of gratification in this brilliant profession.
Are you an entrepreneur who is looking forward to making or getting their Android mobile app developed? Let’s dig into some trends & stats. When it comes to developing mobile apps, no doubt the Android operating system gets all the attention, an attention that is well deserved.
Are you an entrepreneur who is looking forward to making or getting their mobile app developed? If yes, then you surely need all the deep insights to know about the latest android app development trends.
Let’s dig in for some stats and read on further to discover the popularity of Android apps and the sector’s trends.
The fact is that today, Android is one of the most vitally used mobile OS that has captured almost 85% of the market share.
The Google Store has 3.04 + million applications, that range from web browsers, daily tools, social media platforms, complex games, enterprise mobile apps etc.
These figures clearly state that the app developers need to be aware of the hottest trends in mobile app development and incorporate them in their Android apps at the earliest, simply to provide users a unique experience.
Top Android Application Development Trends To Watch Out In 2021
The android apps continue to see implacable changes, that are primarily dominated by the user experience and constant innovations brought in by Google. As an entrepreneur, you would need to exemplify these trends for staying ahead of the competition.
1. Android Instant Apps
Although instant Android apps are not very common, slowly and surely, these app display types are picking up the pace. Android Instant app provides software developers with Android Instant Apps SDK and App Links Assistant that permits them to build mobile solutions from scratch or convert the existing apps into Instant Apps.
A working example of the type can be seen through the following – the Instant app allows users to try different games on the applications without installing that app on the device, exciting right? The advantage of these apps is that they are compatible across all gadgets, require less storage space, and have a pleasant user experience and user interface.
Instant apps are the future and one of the biggest trends in mobile app development that helps the user use the app without actually compromising on space on their smartphones. This is the technology that is designed to drastically help and push the adoption of multiple sectors like eCommerce and games further to secure a place in top android app development trends of 2021.
2. Navigation Component
Navigation refers to the multiple interactions that allow the user to move around in the different sections and app’s content pieces. Android jetpacks come with components of handy navigation that helps the developers to implement the navigations. The implications could range from a simple button, click to an intricate pattern such as a navigation drawer.
The navigation component’s further benefit is that the component allows a predictable and consistent user experience, as the developers who implement them, follow the stated navigation principles.
3. Blockchain Technology
The blockchain technology has been making rounds for many years; however, it has finally come into action. The blockchain technology provides the enhanced solutions of the decentralized app development that eliminates any unauthorized access and pushes transparency.
The blockchain technology market is said to grow at 62.73% CAGR by 2026 making $52.5 billion. Decentralized apps (Dapps) are an open source, smart contract based software applications that run transactions on blockchain. These applications run on decentralize blockchain and the data cannot be changed or erased in it. These apps are the future of mobile app development; they enable faster payment, reliable data records, and are tamper proof.
With the help of blockchain technology, an android app development company can maintain robust security protocols. This inclusion is fast becoming a part of the trends in android development especially in the financial segments such as currency exchanges, banks etc.
4. Google Assistant/Chatbot
In the coming years, we will see that many business owners would be keen on integrating their app services with the Google Assistant. The primary advantage of investing in such an integration is that it provides users with faster ways of accessing the app directly. By using the Google app actions, the users get access to an app’s deep-link which allows them to perform specific activities inside the application from the Google Assistant.
Google, in 2020 announced that they will release a new feature for google assistant at CES. The new feature called “Scheduled Actions” will permit users to communicate with smart devices through google assistant like turn on/off a smart device, make a coffee, etc. The feature will be capable of controlling 20 home devices including lights, coffee machines, AC units, and many more.
5. Multiplatform Development Through Flutter
Google has introduced a new technology naming Flutter, which is being touted as the future of android development. Flutter is a cross-platform framework that helps in developing beautiful apps with a single codebase.
Many developers have been selecting this platform to build mobile apps due to its flexible nature. The primary reasons to choose Flutter are that it is effortless to learn, has a native design, etc.
It is one of the preferred frameworks for minimum viable product development. This means that instead of spending extravagance on two different apps, you can quickly build an app on native platforms such as iOS or Android.
With the latest update Google took flutter beyond mobile and to the web. Flutter developers are now able to target macOS, Windows and Linux and other embedded devices. The desktop support provided by flutter also includes plugins that support various platforms.
The new Flutter and Dart update have been released with Substantial Performance Improvements from its contemporary releases. Flutter is prepared for creating apps for iOS, Android, Fuchsia, web & desktop with new platform support. Moreover, they are in talks with Ubuntu for Linux apps, Microsoft’s Android Surface Duo, and Windows 10X which will be made accessible soon.
Some prominent progressions made in Flutter in 2021-21 are:
decreased size and latency
less janky animations, and quicker treatment of UTF-8 strings
mouse cursor support
new widgets such as Interactive viewer making pen
zoom and drag-n-drop
range slider and date picker revamped
integrating flutter to the current application made suitable with Pigeon
improved help for Metal on iOS, and new Material gadgets.
6. Internet of Things
The key mobile app development trends 2021 is the implementation of the IoT (Internet of Things). In Android, these trends end up translating into many of the Android things that allow the developers to build the devices on the top of the known hardware platforms such as Raspberry Pi. The best part is that developers do not require any prior knowledge of embedding the system design to start. Instead, the developers can develop the apps using Android Studio and Android SDK.
The introduction of 5G will open the door for more devices, and data traffic. According to some reports the 5th generation wireless network technology is expected to connect 1.5 billion devices globally in the coming years. It is also stated that the global IoT connections will triple to 25 billion by 2025, while IoT revenue globally will quadruple to $1.1 trillion.
With that said, IoT will focus on developing smart parking lots, street lights, and traffic controls apart from advancing the hospitality and industrial sectors.
7. APM & EMM
APM (Application Performance Management) and EMM (Enterprise Mobile Management) are two primary elements of mobile enterprise development. These technologies are primarily used to reduce mobile apps’ slowness. With the overall rise in mobile application development trends, they have become the quality tester for mobile apps.
With the upcoming trends, APM will reflect the application behaviour, measure statistics for devices and Oss that are used, and screen user performance to figure out which application features are exploited. With the application landscape and business infrastructure moving to cloud, APM will also provide powerful tools to monitor resources utilized by apps, associate the retrieved data with user insights, and adjust performance with business processes.
EMM will incorporate mobile device management, app management, application wrapping and containerization, and a few components of enterprise file synchronization and sharing.
From the work from home context, EMM has grown many folds and is looking into automation of processes, workflow optimization, easier and smoother communication flow, and exchange of data
8. Motion Layout
The layout used by the developers to manage the motion and the widget animations in the apps. This tool is a part of the Constraint Layout library and is compatible with Android 4.0. With these libraries, the team can quickly fill up all the gaps between the complex motion handling and layout transitions, as these tools are known to offer high-end and useful features.
Developers will be seen using Motion Layout to create multiple interfaces that use the animations, helping them understand what is going on with the app.
9. Beacon Technology
Businesses have slowly started to immensely use Beacon technology, as it helps businesses target potential clients uniquely. Beacons are the transmitting gadgets that get connected with mobile devices, in that particular range. The technology allows the companies to send various notifications regarding the special offers, nearby hotels etc.
Beacon technology transformation from a push marketing strategy to an opt-in strategy is useful for many industries. The technology can be applied on-cloud and at-area, which is helping it to gain traction and promote its growth in the coming years.
Beacon-based notifications are helping out businesses to connect with their users in a highly contextual manner. The beacon technology trend in 2021 will see the coming of beacon enabled airports and mobile payment using beacon.
Some companies are predicting the rapid development and use of iBeacon and other similar gadgets for marketing.
10. Android Enterprise
Digital transformation is now the need of the hour in 2021 for enterprises. The Google-led initiative – Android enterprise helps the workers to use the Android apps in their workplace. The Android Enterprise program helps the developers with the APIs and various other tools needed to integrate support for Android into the solutions of enterprise mobility management.
Wrapping Up
Each year comes with newer innovations and ideas, and these trends keep on rolling back and forth. Looking at the above latest trends in android app development, we can undoubtedly claim that the Android Operating System is growing at a rapid speed towards providing the users a seamless experience.
Given the trends for mobile app development, businesses are opting for app development and are looking for an estimate of the cost.
Just like everyone out there right now, you must be all confused about what Apple is trying to pull off with launching various updates back-to-back. First, it was iOS 13.1 and just when we expected iOS 13.2, we unanticipatedly got iOS 13.1.2 instead and that too followed by iOS 1.1.3.But now, iOS13.2 has finally arrived. Phew! iOS 13.2 version has come with its own advantages, for example – added support for Deep Fusion camera stick in iPhone 11, new AirPods Pro, several new emojis, and last but not least, all the core features of iOS 13.
Now, let’s discuss the thing you came here for in the first place – Hidden (or sidelined) features that Apple did not officially announce but are really cool and much needed indeed. Because, isn’t it the small things that make a great experience?
Excited? We are too! So here are the best 13 features of iOS 13 and iOS 13.2 (Do you see the symmetry here? It’s uncanny or rather co-incidental.)
Top 13 Un-Noticed iOS 13 Features Worth Knowing
1. New Scroll Bar in Safari
If you always wished for scrolling in Safari to get easier and faster, then your wish has come true after all. You will now encounter a scroll bar in the Safari on the right side when scrolling a webpage. You can use it to scroll faster by long-pressing on it and drag it up or down, however you want to scroll.
2. Optimized Battery Charging Process
One of the most challenging things so far with iPhones is to retain their battery efficiency. What damages the batteries most is the over-charging. Leaving your iPhone on charging overnight really aggravates this problem to which iOS 13.2 gives a simple solution.
Go to ‘Settings’, followed by ‘Battery’ and then ‘Battery Health’ and turn on the feature Optimized Battery Charging. This will keep your phone overnight to the level of 80% maximum and then complete the rest 20% charging when your alarm goes off. Apple evidently has really gone creative with this feature.
3. Search option in iMessage
The search functionality in the iMessage was ironically wasn’t functional enough. It was really trying to search for anything in the iMessage app and the results were just not satisfying. But thankfully, you do not have to bear that anymore.
It is easy now to search for any phrase or a single word and can get instant legitimate results. Just swipe down in the iMessage app to reveal this search tab and you are good to go.
4. Scanning documents in Files app
The Files app has been revamped for good. What is interesting is that it now allows the scanning of the documents within the app and instantly lets you save it on the cloud storage and device as well. You can scan multiple documents into one PDF and then save it or even import it to another application. Here is how you do it:
Go to the File app and open it
Choose the ‘Browse’ tab and click on the three-dot icon placed in the top right corner.
Scan the documents by placing your iPhone or iPad over the document and it would do everything on its own.
Quite effortless, right?
5. Revamped Volume Indicator
iPhone users were pretty annoyed with the old volume indicator, especially when viewing videos as the indicator used to hog the screen whenever they adjusted the device’s volume. Well, guess what? Apple actually looked into it and resolved the issue. Yes! The new volume indicator is much more concise (turns into a thin line as you gradually adjust the volume) and appears in the top left corner on the device.
Would you want in on our little secret?- You can tap on the indicator and adjust the volume with your fingers! You didn’t see this coming, did you?
6. Voice Search
Well, Siri has a lot more work to do now since searching iPhone with the voice is added to the features list, smooth right?
Wherever there was a search bar in Apple apps, now you would also see a microphone in the corner. So, simply speak your query and ‘thy will be done’.
You can use this feature in applications such as Mail, Messages, Settings, and Today View.
7. Location optional in Photos sharing
If you were finding out ways around stripping your photos from its location information before sharing it, then just stop right there; Apple has done it for you. You can erase geolocation and other information related to photos. Here is how you do it:
Select a Photo/Photos in the Photos app
Click in the ‘options’ at the top and choose the option ‘Location’ and turn it off in the section ‘Include’.
8. Deleting apps directly from the update screen
We all are guilty of being lazy in deleting applications we no longer use and then cry about the storage problem. Well, this can’t go on any longer because Apple is practically serving this process on a plate.
It is possible now to delete any application from the update screen. All you need to do is just swipe left and then select the ‘Delete’ option twice and Voila! You now have more space in your device.
9. Dual-SIM support for iMessage and FaceTime
After hard cries of Apple users to have the Dual-SIM functionality, they finally got it in iPhone XS and XS Max. But, the problem was that only one SIM card could be used with the iMessage and FaceTime app, which was not acceptable to the users when they are paying big bucks (sounds fair).
However, with the introduction of iOS 13, it is possible to use both SIM cards in both applications.
10. Eliminate apps size restrictions from Cellular Data
It was not possible before to download any application that exceeds the Cellular Data limit, which was not a pretty situation to be in. But now, with the iOS 13.2 update, you can download even the applications that are as heavy as a gigabyte.
To enable this feature:
Navigate to the ‘Settings’ option
Then, go to ‘iTunes & App Store’ followed by ‘App Downloads’ and turn off that limitation.
11. Mouse support to control the iPhone or iPad
It is now possible to use a mouse for using your iPhone or iPad (you will need a getting used to it because there is no typical mouse pointer). It has a cursor that kind of imitates the touch of your fingers. You can also assign shortcuts for some functions like going back to the home screen.
To use this feature, do the following:
Go to Settings followed by Accessibility
Then select Touch and then Assistive Touch and turn it on
After that select Pointing Devices and customize it according to you.
12. Long screenshots (Finally!)
This is something that was really in demand by the users or hoped for. Well, better late than never, right?
You can now easily take screenshots of the whole web pages or any other documents that you had to divide into parts before and then take a screenshot.
All you have to do is open the Safari app and then take a screenshot of any website and select the ‘Full Page’ option. It will turn the screenshot into a PDF file which can be edited later.
Besides safari, this feature works in applications like Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Apple Maps, and Mail.
13. Safari Download Manager
It is now possible to download files when you are using the Safari app on an iPhone and iPad device. The icon of the ‘Download manager’ will not show up until you have a download in progress, or recently downloaded something. The download will automatically get saved into the Downloads folder in the iCloud, that can be accessed in the Files application.
Looking at this long list, we have a feeling that iOS 13 is becoming a huge hit among Apple users. What is more, it is impossible for the app development companies not to see the opportunities in these improvements and create applications that enhance the overall user experience.
Mixed Reality (MR) is empowering health science experts to reimagine and renovate the healthcare industry by accelerating the process of diagnoses, making the care-time more efficient, enabling a personalized experience for patients, and improving the outcomes.
When it comes to using technology practically then, MR technology has revolutionised the surgery procedure by making it possible for surgeons to perform an operation on a patient that is thousands of miles away. With mixed reality surgery, nurses can sharpen their skills and perform hundreds of operations virtually before even touching a patient. It is safe to say that mixed reality in healthcare is making the impossible possible.
MR combines elements of virtual and augmented reality. It allows an individual to interact with the external world where virtual objects are present. MR technology is widely applicable in medicine. Let’s discuss a few trends below:
The AV/VR in the healthcare market is expected to reach 7.05 billion USD by 2026. Hence, the application of mixed reality in healthcare is going to increase tremendously. This increase in market demand is due to various factors such as the advancement of 5G technology, mobile applications, increasing disease awareness etc.
Augmented reality and virtual reality are emerging technologies in the healthcare industry. AR and VR could be used in a variety of settings including physician training, patient treatments and hospital management. In 2018, the North American healthcare AR and VR industry was valued at 477 million U.S. dollars. By 2025, that is expected to increase exponentially to 4.64 billion U.S. dollars.
The global mixed reality healthcare market size was valued at USD 54.2 million in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.7% from 2020 to 2027. Increasing awareness regarding the utilization of mixed reality technology in surgery and rising adoption of MR in medical training processes are the key factors driving the growth of this market.
You are now well aware how the adoption of mixed reality in healthcare is changing the industry and bringing the healthcare industry together. Let’s discuss its applications and benefits.
Benefits of Mixed Reality In Surgery
Mixed reality in modern surgery enables pre-procedural planning and visualization. It also helps in reducing errors and improving the overall experience of the patient. Let’s dive deep and discuss the uses of mixed reality in surgery!
1. Learning opportunities for healthcare professionals
Imitation of a particular procedure is the most effective method of education. It helps one to prepare for various situations that could go wrong during a surgery. Mixed Reality can help a medical student in such rare situations, which may be difficult to arrange for in real clinical settings. MR related simulations are way more cost effective than traditional simulation devices.
In simple words, before surgery, training nurses as they virtually work out challenges they could encounter during real-life procedures, and improving the collaboration and communication between doctors and patients is one of the biggest benefits of mixed reality.
Training simulations are expected to be a major application of immersive technologies in the healthcare sector within the next two years according to 68 percent of XR industry experts who responded to the 2020 survey.
Use Case: In order to launch apps like HoloHuman and HoloPatient two companies collaborated. Pearson- a world renowned education company joined hands with Microsoft to make these apps come to life. These apps use holograms to train medical professionals to diagnose and treat the patients.
2. Reduced time and error risk in reconstructive surgery
Human error is a possibility in all the surgical procedures. On the other hand, mixed reality enables the process of reconstructive surgeries. This process has been proven to be very successful at the Imperial College at St. Mary’s Hospital, London. With the help of reconstructive surgeries, surgeons are able to locate and reconnect major blood vessels. The holographic overlays help surgeons to see the bones and identify the course of blood vessels which assists them in their surgery, improving the outcome for the patient.
For example: An article in The Times showed examples of reconstructive surgeries on a 41-year-old man and an 85-year-old woman that were performed successfully.
3. Better than traditional methods
MR virtual reality opens various doors to efficient communication and collaborations among medical professionals sitting in different parts of the world and their patients that traditional methods of surgery could not. MR helps healthcare professionals to access the patient’s medical information and anatomical pictures in 3D during the surgery. It also helps to build a bridge between surgeons working in different parts of the world to collaborate by the use of microphones and sensors. All these amazing features make mixed reality a valuable asset in the medical industry.
4. Planning and assisting become more effective
The MR technology in the medical field can be really helpful for planning the surgery. Further the plan can also be used while assisting the surgery. A plan of surgery made on an X-ray of the patient can be used while operating. The plan can be reflected on the patient while operating which in turn makes the work easier and accurate. This technology can do wonders when it comes to increasing the accuracy and providing a positive result.
Applications of Mixed Reality Technology
1. Medical mannequins with MR
Medical mannequins are brought to life using Mixed Reality, which is an invaluable asset during training medical students. Traditionally, the mannequins used in medical training are dummies and do not give the experience of a real person. But with image recognition, MR translates the dummy into a real person. When the trainee sees a real person in stress through MR the situation becomes more realistic. This technology will also provide a risk- free environment and give space to learners to make mistakes and learn from their own mistakes at the same time.
Did you know the mannequin can be remotely controlled by a computer to continue reacting to the scenario? This is believed to be the most effective and consistent way of learning by professionals. This way teachers can observe how students interact with the patients while operating and check their technical skills.
2. Telesurgery with MR
Telesurgery is a remote controlled surgery via a robot. Such applications can be beneficial on battlegrounds, in army camps or in remote rural areas. Telesurgery being such an advanced technology still comes with some drawbacks which can be covered using MR technology. The major issue that comes to light is that of latency. In simple words, latency is the time delay between the instruction given by the surgeon and the movement of the robot which responds to instruction.
MR can solve this issue by replacing surgeons instructing the robots with the surgeons operating in the virtual world and the robots imitating the surgeons in the real world. The robotic use for operation can be improved by combining MR Telesurgery technology with the MR Surgery technology where a mannequin is placed to imitate a real person. Surgery guided by mixed reality will change and digitize the healthcare industry completely.
3. MR in Pharmaceuticals
The MR technology can be effectively used in the development of drugs. With the help of MR the pharma students can actually have a look at how a particular drug reacts in our body. As the technology advances the students will also be able to see different reactions of different medicines in different bodies. This will help the students to study the reactions in a more detailed and efficient way. This will also inspire professionals to introduce effective drugs for a better future.
The Future of Mixed Reality
Without a doubt I can say that mixed reality will continue to improve the quality of healthcare, surgeries and medical training. We can provide faster and better care at lower costs by deploying mixed reality before, during, and after procedures. You can now leverage mixed reality to enable continuous learning and widespread knowledge sharing.
Anteelo has helped many clients build custom mixed reality apps, which integrate applications with the latest technologies. If you are looking for AR VR MR app development services, get in touch with us and let’s discuss how we can make mixed reality possible for you.
Ever since I saw the first part of Iron Man, I’ve been fascinated by the potential of AI technology Tony was able to identify and utilize, all too well with his AI assistant Jarvis.
But hey! We are already halfway there in not reel but real life.
Remember using Siri for the first time in iPhone 4S? It was an otherworldly feeling, was it not? And since then, we all know how far we have come – Alexa, Google Assistant, Cortona and a hundred more.
So, as an inspired designer, if you are as fascinated as I am and want to give the voice-based AI a chance, then you need to hone your skills and knowledge on how to design voice user interfaces.
Luckily, you have stumbled upon the right article. Here is everything you would want and need to know about VUI and what makes them an important part of intuitive app search design.
What is VUI (Voice User Interface)?
Reasons why voice is becoming famous
Difference between Voice and other forms of UI
Steps for designing voice user interface
Design guidelines for voice user interface
Challenges of designing VUI
Future of VUI
What is VUI (Voice User Interface)?
Acronym of Voice user Interface, VUI is the interface that allows users to interact with a system through voice commands. The most popular and top voice user interface examples are Google Assistant, Siri, and Amazon’s Alexa.
The biggest advantage of VUIs is that they facilitate an eyes-free and hands-free way of interacting with a system.
Similar to mobile apps running on any OS and a device, VUI contains three layers that need to work together for efficient voice interactions. Here, each of the three layers uses the layer that is below it while supporting the one above. It is the upper two layers in which the voice interface lies, residing in the cloud and not on the device.
Reasons why voice is becoming famous
Speaking is more natural than typing
It is understood that speaking is easier and effortless than typing in general. So, having an application that runs on voice-command will make things more facilitated for users. It is an additional facility that users can use as per the requirement and are not bound by the ‘just typing’ feature. This is why voice interactions are gaining popularity by the day and all the industries have started to employ voice technology in one way or the other.
Helps technology be prevalent
Technology, nowadays, is just not limited to you commanding it to open your messages or call someone, as Voice assistants do. Voice interactions have opened gates that were long-awaited to be opened. Want to open your garage door, order an appointment, order food delivery, even start your car – all is possible with just your voice. Won’t you enjoy such an ever-present assistant with you?
Moore’s law
Moore’s law, in simple words, says that every two years, the capability of our computer devices to do something increases, which also reduces its cost. According to this law, growth is exponential. Taking this law forward, we can see how voice technology was initially just an experiment but now has become one of the emerging technologies, soon to be globally adopted.
More practical for specially-abled
The reason why industries are adamant about employing voice interactions in their mobile app development is they want to target the demographic which was always pushed to the sidelines. Voice technology is nothing but a boon for visually impaired users who are now able to use their devices and applications properly as compared to the challenges they faced while using visual user interfaces.
Difference between Voice and other forms of UI
Since we have different types of user interfaces available, understanding the different points between them will allow a more in-depth view of the VUI.
Speed
Speed is one prominent point of difference between Voice user interfaces and others like graphical user interfaces. Since humans are inherently visual in nature, they primarily prefer visual user interfaces as they may provide more speedy responses, if designed right in terms of system response time. Whereas, from what we see so far, VUIs can still lag a little behind in speed.
Text vs natural language vs gestures
It’s true that visuals are not the king anymore. Though the visual user interface is the preliminary and primary stage of interfaces, our generation is slowly moving on to better alternatives – Voice-based and gesture-based interfaces.
Voice takes in the natural language and converts it into a command for the voice-based AI to perform it, and as for the gesture-based interface, a great example is Sony Playstation, processing certain gestures and acting accordingly.
There is one more player – experimental-thought-based interface. So far, lie-detectors are the only prominent use case for it.
Privacy
Privacy is a big concern and a point of difference between these interfaces. It is possible to make text-based, gesture-based, and touch-based interfaces private, but it is still a challenge for voice user interface design.
Steps for designing voice user interface
1. Research your audience
In this process of designing VUI, you need to employ user-first design just as you would while designing other digital products. The primary aim here is to gather information and understand the behavior and needs of the users since this information is what makes the foundation of the product requirements.
What you should focus on at this stage is –
Identify the pain points of users and how their experience is. By doing so, you will be able to analyze where the users can benefit.
You must gather information on the user language- how they talk and the phrases they use while talking. This will help you design a system for different utterances.
2. Define
At this stage, you need to define the capabilities and shape the product. This includes –
Creating key scenarios of interaction
These scenarios come before the specific ideas of the app and should be identified in order to be turned into conversational dialogue flow. They are a way to think about why someone would need to use a VUI. So, you need to design the scenarios having high value for your users.
Sometimes, it can be confusing as to which scenarios are important and which can be ignored. For this purpose, you can use a use case matrix to evaluate each one of them.
Make sure these scenarios work with voice
What matters the most here is that the users are able to solve a specific problem more efficiently than they would be able to with the alternatives. The aim of this step is to find the common and specific cases which users will benefit from.
Among many, a few cases are – A. when users are pre-occupied and cannot use the visual user interface, and B. when they want to do something quickly. I.e, commanding the VUI to “Play some music” is much less time consuming than to do it manually.
The three factors- Intent, Utterance, Slot
Let’s understand these two with the above-mentioned example of “Play some music”.
Intent – It basically depicts the broader objective of the voice command. There are two types of intents – A. High utility ( very specific and straightforward command, i.e., ‘turn on the lights in the living room) and B. Low utility (vaguer and hard to decipher). In our case, it is a high utility interaction. Utterance – It deals with the possible ways users can phrase a request. In our case, the alternative to “Play some music” could be anything from “I want to hear some music” to “can you play a song” and so on. All the UI/UX designers of VUI have to take the variations into consideration.
Slots – When the intent is not sufficient, slots come into action. They refer to the additional information needed in order to deliver the best results for the query. They can be optional and required. In our example, the slot is ‘relaxing’ but it is optional since the category of music is not defined by the user. However, if the command was ‘book a taxi on Uber’ the slot would be ‘destination’ hence, required.
3. Create a prototype
The dialogue flow is the answer to the question of “how to create voice interaction between user and technology”. The process begins with creating a dialogue flow for each requirement you are aiming to target with your product.
These are the following points a dialogue flow should cover – Main keywords for the interaction, probable branches where the conversation could head towards, and example dialogues for users and assistants.
A dialogue flow in our case is nothing but a prototype illustrating the back and forth conversations between users and voice assistants. Let’s look at an illustrated dialogue flow below for better understanding.
You can use several prototyping tools at your disposal for VUI. Some of the most popular ones are Amazon Alexa Skill Builder, Sayspring, and Google’s SDK.
Writing dialogues
A compiled set of dialogues is what makes the building blocks of voice user flow. Here are a few tips for creating engaging and conversational dialogue –
Don’t make the process tediously long. Keep the number of steps to a minimum.
You should not teach commands to the users. This is something that is natural. Instead, focus on making your voice assistant conversational.
Try to keep your questions and responses brief. Here are the dos and don’ts.
Don’t –
User: “Tell me a good place to eat Chinese cuisine”System: “I have found five places for you. The first one is “Eat Chinese” is located…, 15 minutes away from you, open from 8:00 AM till 8:00 PM, the second is “Chopsticks” which is located on…, 1 hour away from you,…”
Do –User: “Tell me a good place to eat Chinese cuisine”System: “There are several Chinese restaurants in the area — would you prefer to walk or drive?”
Identify errors
Isn’t it better to identify the probable errors you can make while creating dialogues than to fix the magnified mess later? Here are a few things you should definitely stay away from but always keep them in perspective to avoid error states.
Ambiguity – Words are inherently ambiguous. Meaning, if a person says ‘Good’ it could mean ‘Okay’ or symbolize they are listening. So, make your AI aware of all the commonly occurring ambiguities for optimum performance.
Misspellings/Mispronounce – Unlike on paper, words are spoken differently. One single word could have multiple pronunciations, something which could hamper the conversation flow between the user and the natural language processing system.
Not providing relevant options – Always make sure that the users are getting something valuable and relevant out of the conversation. Irrelevant results for a query are least attractive and even less of a motivating factor for users to use your product again.
Even if the query does not have a positive result, your assistant should always reply and not leave the users hanging. I.e., if a user requests “Book a flight to LA from Dallas for Tuesday”, what should follow is – “I couldn’t find any flights for Tuesday”. And what even better is – “I couldn’t find any flights for Tuesday. Would you like me to check for Wednesday?”.
Portray your brand’s identity
Even in human conversations, the tone of the voice matters a lot since it has an emotional value attached to it. Then, your dialogues are what is going to become the personality of your product and it should always make a positive impression in users’ minds. You need to create not ‘just dialogues’ but the ones satisfying users’ emotional needs.
Use existing content
If you use the data at your disposal (all the conversations your product has with the user), you can greatly personalize their experience. For instance, if a user commands “I want to order noodles”, your system should revert “ Would you like to repeat your last order of Hakka noodles from Chopstick?”
4. Test your product
After everything has reached a near completion stage, it is time to test the seeds of your labor. You need to test the VUI you have designed to make sure it fulfills every benchmark on your checklist. There are two ways that you can use to test your prototype.
With target users
You can create groups of your targeted audience and then implement testing sessions to observe how users are interacting with your product. You can use this occasion for tracking task completion rate and customer satisfaction score (CSAT).
With test simulators
Similar to other simulators used in mobile app development, Google and Amazon also provide tools for testing the designed product. You can test the Alexa Skill and Google Action of the product with respect to the hardware devices and their settings.
5. Refine
After your app has landed in the market, it is time for observation. It’s time to indulge in UX analytics. This stage deals with analyzing how the users are using your product. It can be a lot challenging if you are clueless about what metrics you are supposed to observe. So, here are the most prominent ones.
Sessions per user or messages per session
Languages used
Intents and utterances
User engagement metrics
Behavior flows
Design guidelines for voice user interface
“Words are the source of misunderstandings” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Normally, visual user interfaces also have issues that need to be addressed, but the frustration from a faulty visual interface is nothing compared to that of a VUI. So, if your designed voice assistant fails to function well, it would be ditched like a hot potato.
You know what will help you in stopping that from happening? – VUI design guidelines. So, let’s have a look at them at once.
Don’t wait for users to ask first
Unlike a visual user interface, users might not be able to get familiar with the functionalities right away. They might not even know how to start. In that case, one of the Voice UI best practices is to take the first step. For instance, if yours is a voice-enabled weather mobile app, it could say to the users – “You can ask for today’s weather or a weekly forecast.” Additionally, you should also offer an easy exit option.
Keep the list of action options short
Until and unless you want to overwhelm your user right in the beginning, you need to make sure that you provide only the most appropriate and basic options primarily.
The verbal content has to be as concise and full of meaning as possible while being easy to be understood in one go. As recommended by Amazon for designing Voice user interfaces for mobile apps for Alexa, one must not list more than three options for interaction. Doing this will also ensure an engaging UX design of the VUI.
KISS – Keep it simple and short
This principle is highly useful in designing VUIs. To make your voice app development the best out there, you need to make it easy for your voice assistant to understand commands. Suppose, you are designing a voice interaction to start a shop floor machine, the simplest way would be to attribute these multiple machines with numbers and then give commands like “Start machine 1”, etc.
Let users know they are being heard
Remember how agitated you feel when there is no activity sign on a webpage you just opened. Now, multiply this frustration in the case of VUI.
It is very crucial to keep it in perspective that your user needs to be informed when the device is actively interacting. You must give users queues on when to speak and when the voice assistant is listening. An image above of Google Assistant shows how it represents this function (with dots forming a wave) and with Alexa as shown below (bluish light swirling around the top rim of the device).
Confirm when the task is done
Just like you need confirmation after you have made any transaction, the same thing is needed with a VUI. Else, how would the user know the task has been performed?
For example, once the user gives the command “switch off the kitchen lights”, your assistant must respond with something like “Kitchen lights turned off”. This will eliminate the need for the user to check the task done in person, which is essentially the whole point of having a Voice-based AI.
Challenges of designing VUI
Like everything else, the voice-based interface also suffers from Achilles’ heel. In fact, there is not one but many. So, what are the challenges that VUI designers often come across and more often than not, fail to recognize or resolve?
Privacy and Security
The fact that these voice-based AI assistants are always waiting for queues listening to the sounds of their environment poses a big concern for the users. The paranoia of their privacy being tampered on is not irrational either.
Initially, voice assistants like Alexa stored all the conversations they came across which is a big risk of voice AI in the eyes of users. Something of a nightmare happened to a couple when Alexa was caught sending their secret recordings to a stranger. Now, some assistants automatically delete the stored conversations every 24 hours or so. However, these come at additional cost and UI friction.
Convey what Voice assistants can’t perform
It becomes challenging for voice UI and UX designers to explain to the end-users what the Voice AI cannot do. For example, while using Google Assistant when you say “Make an event named Sales team meeting for Tuesday at 2 o’clock” it creates an event card instantly and asks later “Would you like to save this event?”
But what if you need to change the location or time of the meeting later, what then? It would reply “I’m not sure about what you said, would you like me to save this event?”. To avoid the bad user experience, the AI could simply say “sorry, I am still working on adding locations”.
Difficulty in prototyping and testing
Another challenge faced by the designers is voice UI prototyping and testing. Suppose, you have created a prototype and want to test it. You have given the initial prompt that users can shop groceries with your voice assistant.
The challenge begins here – Users can say a particular thing in different styles, something which is hard to keep track of. It becomes all the more difficult to test the prototype on such queries when it is not yet fully developed with the voice search technology.
Support of language
Since the main tenet of voice technology is language, it becomes crucial for any voice-based AI to be fluent in understanding as well as speaking. Sadly, technology has only developed with respect to a few languages as of yet. Nevertheless, adding other languages and distinct accents to the interface is still a work in progress.
Future of VUI
Like a ritual, we are bound to look at the future prospects of every technology and voice is no different. From what we have gathered from the voice interface use cases such as Alexa, we know that voice technology integration alone cannot fulfill the daily requirements of the users.
The best way for it to become completely adopted is by shaking hands with the visual user interface – just like Google Assistant and Siri. VUI and visual user interface together can balance out each others’ shortcomings providing users with an amazing voice assistant experience. Additionally, this will allow them to do complex tasks with simple voice commands, which is what voice interfaces lack at this point in their development.
And who knows by the time this decade ends, we might all have our Jarvis and would be able to do it all like Tony Stark without a physical display.
Today, there is an app for everything, be it games, shopping, news, logistics, travel and many more things. As smartphones have become extremely affordable, mobile application development industry is booming and perhaps is one of the fastest growing industries. Analysts estimate that app revenues would triple by 2017. However, most of the apps go unnoticed and only a few of the apps are able to make their mark. So what’s the reason behind this? Well, there are a number of theories regarding this, but in this article, we would focus on UX design for mobile apps. Here are a few of the common hurdles that come in the way of success of any app:
1. Compromising UX to maintain consistency with web
Remember, mobile UX is unique and needs special attention and ux review when it comes to design. You just can’t implement your website design in the mobile application. It is true that branding is important, but putting all web UI elements into a mobile experience won’t be a good idea as it will confuse the users and put adverse effect on your mobile app.
2. User bombarded with tutorials
One thing that most of the mobile app developers do is – they provide detailed tutorials that mention each and every thing about the app on the first time itself. While it can’t be denied that user tutorials are important, but the written information should be kept at minimum. Rather, you should focus on the navigation of your app, and if the user of your app need to go through the extensive tutorials in order to acquaint him or herself with the functionality, then I must say that your app is a complete UI failure.
3. Apps that slow down
Speed of the app is one thing that certainly should not be compromised at any cost. Mobile users these days, multitask while using your apps. They want lightening fast speed and if your app does not match up to their expectations and is slow in speed, then they would go ahead with better options. You are suggested to avoid elements such as videos, heavy images that take time to download.
4. Apps that are confusing
App Stores are full of thousands of apps and the apps that are confusing in nature don’t attract much attention. Therefore, we would suggest you to use tried and tested methods and not to experiment unless and until it is extremely important. It is important to rigorously test design elements that are likely to confuse users.
5. Develop user centric apps
You are designing an app for your users and not for yourself. Choose designs keeping in mind your target audience. Try to know the user psyche and create a design based on your market research. Show your users what they want to and what they love to see. Consider feedback as one of the most effective methods in order to bring improvement in your app.
6. Forced sign-up
I would repeat this again, but there are thousands of apps available and one of the things that most of the developers do is they make the user go through a sign-up registration process or ask for other credentials in the beginning itself. Unless and until, you haven’t shown the benefits of your app, any user won’t put his or her credentials and ultimately it would lead to the abandonment of your app. Therefore, it is advisable to have the option of guest users in your app. You can keep sign-up for later stage when users begin to take interest in your app.
7. Industry Standard Guidelines
Both Google and Apple have laid down guidelines for app makers. Those guidelines are enough for any designer to follow and make a decent app. However, in the flow of creativity, designers tend to ignore the industry standards and end up making an app with overuse of hidden menus and unknown gestures. UX designers often compromise and get the basics of app design wrong. Designers need to do rigorous testing in order to avoid huge losses.
Anteelo is one of the most sought after app development companies in India providing top grade product design services across the globe. Anteelo boasts of the best UI and UX designers who create captivating designs and are well versed with latest guidelines of all the leading App stores as well.
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