Techies by weekdays and racqueteers by weekends, that’s the Agilians for you! With our innate zeal for sports and passion for technology, we decided to combine the two and develop the best-ever app for sports management, Passion League. The journey flagged off last month and on Sunday, 18 Dec, we were able to put our web app to a pilot test, at the Bangalore Racqueteers tournament. The event was hosted by CoachDirect at Gopalan Sports Centre, Bangalore.
AgilizTech Passion League App
We decided that this was a prime opportunity to test our app in the real world, capture real-time data and get solid feedback from the tournament participants. And so, on Sunday, the AgilizTech team visited the arena armed with racquets, determination and, of course, the Passion League App.
Coach Direct had provided us with player information and seeding details previously, so we were set up pretty well to watch the action and quickly feed in the wins and losses. With our web app, the players could see the scores and the opponents’ details, right on their mobile screens.
Also, we gathered copious feedback.
While the participants were thrilled with our app, they suggested quite a few enhancements. We took extensive notes and will be working on them to improve our app, thus helping sportspersons manage their activities better with the PassionLeague app.
Our team had a great time at the court too. Agilians participated in large numbers at the Table Tennis and Badminton events. We made it to Round 2, but unfortunately couldn’t progress further. Nevertheless, what mattered is that we participated, learnt and had a whale of a time!
The A Team!
And you know what? We would love to meet you at the court. Game for a challenging duel of table tennis or badminton? Meet the Agilians in the next tournament then! You can find the details of all the upcoming tournaments here – http://passionleague.in/
AgilizTech conducted a hackathon on 26 and 27 November 2016 to re-engineer the Stepout2Play site.
At AgilizTech, one of our initiatives is to combine our passion for sports and technology, and create new avenues for individuals to actively pursue their favorite sport. And our upcoming flagship product, Stepout2Play, is the one-stop shop for all things sport.
With this, individuals can stay tuned to the latest happenings in the world of sports, enroll into clubs and actively participate in sporting events.
The Stepout2Play Hackathon is one such event conducted by AgilizTech.
The Stepout2Play Hackathon 2016 Team
Over a two-day time-frame, our team of programmers, consisting of Shyam, Kishor, Agilan, Meghana, Smita, Guddu, Niraj and Gowtham, collaborated to re-visualize and rebuild the website. The event was conceptualized and presided by the MD & CEO, Ganesh Babu.
The Hackathon was immensely fruitful, as the team effectively strategized and achieved major milestones in development. Also, as the event stimulated the creative-thinking abilities of the team and enabled AgilizTech to actively pursue its innovation-based agenda, the Hackathon was an all-round success.
India is rightly touted as the land of festivals. And the most beloved festival of all is Diwali.
Celebrated over a period of 5 days, it captures the spirit and colors of India. Bright earthen lamps, brilliant fireworks, and delicious sweets are the elements popularly associated with this festival.
At AgilizTech, we decided to celebrate Diwali by organizing an Ethnic Day at office on 27 Oct 2016.
The employees came dressed in colorful Indian wear to add to the festive cheer.
A cross section of our staff in colorful ethnic wear
The ladies also decorated the office reception with a beautiful rangoli comprising of flowers and rice flour.
Meghana and Pooja making the rangoli
The finished product!
Sweets were distributed among the staff on the occasion. Here’s how the office looked, decorated with balloons and lights to add color and enrich the atmosphere.
Colorful balloons setting the festive mood
We had a fun time celebrating Diwali at AgilizTech (Click hereto check out the entire album!).
We hope you do to!
Team AgilizTech wishes you all a very happy diwali!
On 20 Oct 2016, the AgilizTech family regrouped to celebrate the AgilizTech Annual Meet 2016 with great pomp and zeal.
The event held at Nandhana Grand, Koramangala, Bangalore, was attended by the extended family of AgilizTech – its beloved Bangalore employees, proud family members and the indispensable remote team from Chennai. The event was presided over by distinguished Chief Guests – Ganthi MathiNathan, Sumatipal Kotangale, Sundara Rajan and Venkata Subramanian.
Chief Guests (from Left to Right): Ganthi MathiNathan, Sumatipal Kotangale, Sundara Rajan, and Venkata Subramanian
CEO’s Keynote Address
Mr Ganesh, MD & CEO, AgilizTech, addresses the gathering
Firstly, Mr Ganesh Babu, the MD & CEO of AgilizTech delivered his keynote address. He spoke about the company’s roots, its rapid growth, the status quo and the roadmap for the future. He was all praises for his employees and lauded and recognized their contribution to the development of AgilizTech.
Also, he unveiled the Company’s new branding and explained the significance of the new logo.
AgilizTech’s new logo
Green to represent fresh thoughts, blue to represent trust, the arrows to mark continuous agility and progress, the interlinked chevrons to indicate collaboration, stability and a 360degree approach.
The key message, that is, the DNA of the firm was noted to be “I Am You”, in which, the company recognizes itself as one with the customer. The CEO also said that, every employee should imbibe this message and implement it in their day-to-day activities, whether it be meeting a client, discussing with a team member, in conjunction with the company and with the society. The re-branding will be realized in November.
According to Mr Ganesh, the next steps to be taken by the firm to reach new heights is to focus on stability, improvement and organic growth. The dapper, new look received praises from all quarters.
The Chief Guests too, noted the company’s progress and offered tips and invaluable advice on how to stay on the pursuit of excellence to grow and prosper.
Talents no more latent
AgilizTech got talent!
Next was the talent show organized by the employees. The hidden talents of the firm were out in the limelight as singers, Meghana, Deep and Pooja dazzled the audience with their vocal skills. Not to be left behind, the skit team, consisting of Karan, Gurukiran, Aditya and Nikitha, put up a spirited and humorous performance and left the audience in splits.
Next on the cards were the awards! AgilizTech honored the contributions of all its employees with awards and certificates. The function was full of reminiscing memories and acknowledging the hard work and efforts put in by all the employees. The family members of employees, too, were called on the dais to receive the awards and share the joy and pride.
In the second half of the day, the team visited WonderLa, the amusement park at the outskirts of Bangalore. The day was spent on thrilling land and water rides, having loads of fun and making beautiful memories to cherish and rejoice.
All-in-all, the AgilizTech Annual Meet 2016 was a grand success. It was a fruitful and fun-filled day for AgilizTech as it took another step towards the path of growth and development.
According to a study by Compuware, only 16% users give mobile apps more than two chances. So for the other 84%, it is a two-shot experience. The app is given just two chances to prove its mark, and if it fails it is unceremoniously removed from their phones. A lot of apps have been sent to the app graveyard due to bad user experiences. An example is Forecast, which was let down due to inadequate QA and innumerable bugs in the Android version.
A report by Perfecto Mobiles claims that, 44% of the app defects are reported by users! Of these, 20% are gathered via public user reviews and 24% sourced from direct user feedback.
Source: Perfecto Mobiles
All this emphasizes on the need to have a clear cut QA strategy, which ensures mobile app quality. And that requires serious efforts. You may ask, “We already put the app through a series of testing programs like usability, performance, security, compatibility, etc. What more can we do?” Well, no one disputes the fact that all apps are tested before being shipped, but are we following the best practices for mobile app QA?
At AgilizTech, we asked our team to list out the 5 best practices for mobile app QA that they swear by. Does your team follow these?
Best Practices for Mobile App QA
1. Practice agile methodology
True to our name, we have established a culture of continuous development, integration and testing. This shortens time gaps between new functionality, testing, bug detection and bug fixes. This also improves efficiency and makes vital course changes feasible for us.
2. Start testing along with development
It is best to start testing early as bugs may become too expensive to fix at later stages. We create test plans at the earliest. Also, we conduct test cycles and track results of each and every round.
3. Balance automated and manual testing
While automation may prove to be useful in repeated testing and saves time, it cannot completely replace manual testing. A fine balance between the two is required. Here are some key points to note:
Automated tests are essential for complex tests with multiple components.
Once we are familiar with the app functionality, automation helps in speeding up the testing process.
New functions are tested manually as it is difficult to write automated test scripts before a manual test.
The tool we prefer is Appium. To create scripts, we use Java Selenium.
4. Test on real devices too apart from emulators
We recently invested in Apple and Android devices, as testing on real devices gives us a better idea on the look and feel of the app and its usability. We agree that there are numerous device variants, and it is impossible to test on all these. So to tackle this and maximize test coverage, we go for a mix of emulators and devices. Also, we set device and OS preferences initially, and then ensure that the app works well on these.
What we do differently is that, we distribute the app among the AgilizTech employees and ask for their feedback on the app. This helps us understand the hits and misses in QA and leads to improved testing.
5. Verify if your app is power hungry
How many times would you have deleted apps because they were draining your phone battery?
That’s right, battery consumption is an important criterion on which users may give up on your app. Do compare your app with its competitors. While you are at it, also learn how it adjusts to negative conditions like varying network strengths or suspended connections.
Spoilt with choices, users decide the fate of an app in a jiffy. Ensuring that the app is bug-proof goes a long way in scoring higher user adoption. Hence, along with programming amazing features, it is also important to have solid QA done before the launch. Following these 5 best practices for mobile app QA might prove beneficial to you.
Remember – A healthy app leads to happy users.
Are you looking for an App Development partner? Look no further, as AgilizTech provides end-to-end services in the app-sphere, such as, development, testing and porting.
Perhaps, in Indian mythology monkey business means a good thing. The vanar sena played an active role and helped Rama defeat Ravana, and add yet another holiday to the Indian calendar – Vijayadashami / Ayudha Pooja, celebrating the triumph of good over evil.
Actually, monkey business means time-wasting activity. One of the biggest reasons of time-wastage at work is workplace clutter, which also affects productivity.
We are unable to locate important papers, critical files and vital emails on time. Add the dust and grime, our work atmosphere is clogging our brains! So how do we ensure that productivity triumphs over clutter? Simple. While we tidy our houses for Ayudha Pooja this year, let’s spruce up our office too!
Workstation
We reside here for around 7-8 hours every day. And on most days our desks look like bomb sites! Scattered papers, month-old sticky notes, long-forgotten whiteboard markings, the odd knick-knacks and the half-drunk coffee cup.
“If a cluttered desk signs a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”
Einstein’s question is food for thought indeed. Well, HERE’s WHAT NOT to do!
Invest in a binder where you can store loose paper
Ensure that sticky notes are routinely discarded.
Use ‘To Dos’ in Outlook and track tasks efficiently.
Wipe photos, whiteboard and other knick-knacks
Let’s create our own quote! – “A clean, well-organized desk is a sign, of a planned and orderly mind.”
Hardware
The once sleek, shiny laptop is now covered in grime. The squeaky clean mouse is greasy. The yummy evening snacks of masala vada and samosa had to cause some casualties.
Dos:
Use a laptop cleaning kit to banish the dust and get the sparkle back on your laptop.
Avoid eating while using laptop, as crumbs get stuck between the keys and on the mouse.
Gadgets are every techie’s pride and joy. Let’s maintain them properly so that they serve us well.
Email & Files
Often we click the file download button multiple times – sometimes out of frustration, sometimes by mistake. Result? Your Downloads folder is a nightmare! It is like Harry Potter’s doubling curse come to life!
Dos:
As soon as you download a file, assign it a place on your system. Create an appropriately-named folder and paste it there. This is mandatory when the file is visual or audio. Text-oriented files can be searched easily, but the other categories would require intensive efforts.
Periodically clean up the Temp files. Temp files mean just that, temporary. Don’t let them become a permanent guest on your system.
Allocate time for system cleanup. Ruthlessly delete old and unnecessary files. If you have a copy on the cloud, even better, as you have backup. Remember. Your mantra is – Sift. Delete. Repeat.
Put Outlook to good use and get on top of your overflowing inbox. Use Rules wisely to ensure proper categorization of your mails.
Unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters and mails! And if you absolutely need those, then try unroll.me
In the end, Work is worship. And we need to sharpen our work tools too. This year, let’s carry the spirit of Ayudha Pooja to our workspaces, and invoke the blessings of the divine.
Imagine a situation in which you want to window-shop ATVs (All-Terrain Vehicles). You are quite sure of your budget, make and model. You decide to browse online and visit a few websites.
Why? Quite simple. Arngren.net is cluttered and unappealing. Maybe, it has good deals, but the navigation is a nightmare.
The first site causes information overload. In Amazon, however, there is proper categorization and additional options of filtering. This is simple cognitive psychology at play, a concept called cognitive load– a situation where a lot of memory capacity is used to make sense of the information presented, and this affects the user experience. Psychology is the study of behavior. So, it’s vital to understand human behavior when we create website designs, and aim for high utility and usability.
This blog covers three psychological concepts that can be applied to design UX better.
Hick’s Law
When a person has to make a decision, the greater the number of choices,
the more time it will take to decide.
How is Hick’s law applicable to UX design? It helps to estimate the time it would take to make a decision in an interface’s user menu.
Ambiguity due to abundance of choices
When users are overloaded with choices, they take more time to select. So, most firms now conduct A/B tests to understand the effect of too many choices on UX. Here’s a Medium article by Digital Product Designer, Kristof Orts on the UX and Hick’s Law connect.
Takeaway: Keep It Short and Simple. Don’t barrage users with choices and multitudes of decision. A clean UX demands that the user finds the whole experience unambiguous and effortless.
Form Fatigue
Suppose you are at the fag end of a call with a support executive, when you’re requested to fill a feedback form. You agree to it and upon clicking the link find a long form, consisting of 10 questions with 4 answer options each. How motivated will you be to complete the form? Since you aren’t going to reap any benefits out of it, and the task will consume much efforts and time on your part, you might not fill the form. This is because of Form Fatigue. The benefit accrued by filling the form is way lesser than the time taken to do it.
Have you heard of the term banner blindness? You too would have indulged in it, many times.
Banner blindness or banner noise is when users disregard irrelevant content on webpages. According to this study by Infolinks, 86% of consumers suffer from banner blindness. The users have seen so many ads, that now they just do not pay attention to the ads. They have cultivated selective disregard for these sections of the webpage. Read here on why banner ads are dead.
This behavior is not limited to banners. If the user has been doggedly using only one section of the webpage, then any change in any other section is not observed at all.
Banner Blindness is a form of Selective Disregard
How do designers combat selective disregard? Have you seen sites, wherein a side pop-up ad would block the screen for a few seconds and would then slink away? This is an emphasis ploy of designers, which still annoys users. So what do you suggest then, you ask?
Takeaway: Do not over-emphasize. Limit design to show only the bare essentials. Use emphasis carefully and only when it is actually required.
To make UX a delight, it is important to understand how users think and what will make their journey on your application or website easier. Cognitive psychology is an important aspect to consider before starting with UX design. After all, technology is supposed to make human life easier.
The Olympic torch and the craze have been re-ignited after an interval of four years. This time it is the beautiful Brazilian city of Rio De Janeiro that is hosting the sporting mega event from 05 Aug to 21 Aug 2016. There are a record 207 countries participating in the Rio Olympics 2016. And the Indian delegation is at its strongest-ever, with a 100+ member team.
So, will India fulfill the dreams of a billion and own this Olympics?
We would like to find that out too!
Join us at Stepout2Play as we deep-dive into the world of Olympics and provide updates, medal tally and fun-facts every day!
The App-mania that began in 2008, has paved the way for a billion-dollar industry. While the app economy is pegged to reach $101 billion by 2020, this year it is projected to be around $50 billion. As of June 2016, there are over 4.5 million apps available for download. (Combined figure of number of apps available for Android and iOS users). With these numbers, it is apparent that apps are here to stay and they mean big business.
Native and Hybrid Apps
There are two main types of Apps – Native and Hybrid.
Hybrid App vs Native App
Here’s a quick 101:
Native apps – Apps that have been developed for use on a particular platform or device. Because native apps are written for a specific platform, they can interact with and take advantage of operating system features and other software typically installed on that platform, for example Camera, GPS, etc. Technologies used are Java for Android and Objective C/Swift for iOS. Example: Facebook (Here’s Why Facebook went Native)
Hybrid apps – Apps built mostly using cross-compatible web technologies, such as, HTML5, CSS and JS and then wrapped in a native application by frameworks such as Cordova and Ionic, which provide necessary hardware plugins, like Camera, push notifications, etc. Example – Amazon Appstore (Learn about Amazon’s penchant for Hybrid)
Which one to choose? Each side has its own evangelists, listing out their pros. But we give you a comparison that will help you to quickly grasp the key points. Here’s a info-graphic of the comparison!
Tabular Comparison
Criteria
Native
Hybrid
Quick time to market
The time taken by the app to hit the market. While native apps require a long development period, hybrid apps are faster to build
Slow
Fast
External Dependency
If your app is dependent on phone components such as Camera, GPS, etc. then it is better to go for a Native app. Hybrid apps can be built with plugins to access these features, but there will always be an external dependency on third-party developers.
Independent
Dependent on 3rdparty plugins
Development & Training Efforts
Specialist developers on Java and Objective C to work on Native Apps. However, for Hybrid app, it would suffice for the developer to be aware of HTML5, CSS and JS.
High budget
Low budget
User Experience
Users report better experience on Native apps than Hybrid apps. Native allows developers to use standardized UI controls, which makes interfaces more natural to users.
Higher UX score
Lower UX score
Now that you have a fair idea, which side are you on? Team Native or Team Hybrid?
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