Author: xpdropper

What Is WordPress Hosting?

WordPress (WP) is a free and open-source content management system based on PHP & MySQL and is the most prevalent online publishing system currently dominating over 32% of the web. Overall, the network of such websites welcomes in excess of 400 million people viewing more than 15 billion individual web pages each month. Some of those websites are hosted on standard shared servers, along with hundreds of other websites, utilizing the same processes and resources, allowing for possible server system overload and downtime. 

It comes as no big surprise to find some web hosting providers have concentrated on dedicating their systems to WordPress only. 

Why Dedicated WP Hosting?

How does Dedicated or Managed WP Hosting differ from the other types of hosting available? 

There are three typical types of hosting setups:

1. Shared Hosting. 

Shared hosting is one of the most commonly used WP hosting packages, but the name itself should give you a clue as to what you will be receiving for your money. Your website may possibly be on a server shared with hundreds of other clients’ websites leading to server overcrowding and lower performance.

2. Self-Managed VPS Hosting.

With a VPS or Virtual Private Server, even though certain resources are still shared, like overall CPU time and RAM, other portions of the server resources are account dedicated. On the plus side, the number of websites stored on these servers is considerably less than with a shared server. On the other hand, you are nonetheless still going to have to maintain your site and all the WP portions of it, keeping an eye on any possible security loopholes, and performing your daily backups and so on. 

3. Managed WP Hosting.

Managed hosting is where all the technicalities of running a WordPress website are handled by the hosting provider. These include security issues, speed, updates, backups and website uptime. Support is also at an optimum with managed hosting, because the support staff are experts in CMS and can take care of any problems or errors almost immediately. Plugins for functions like backups, caching and security can be done away with, reducing potential security breaches. Everything is handled for you by your hosting provider.

Two companies who are at the top of any Managed Hosting provider list are WPEngine and Raidboxes.

WPEngine — Austin, Texas.

This is a top-rated WP web hosting provider based in Austin, Texas and has been concentrating on hosting WP websites since 2010. They place extremely high importance on the speed of page loading. They have a tailor-made, WP-optimized, caching system which makes your website really fast. Discounted pricing is not offered, but the features included are well worth the cost. Plans start at $35 per month for their starter plan, ideal for one small website or personal blog, rising to $290 per month for their Scale plan, which has higher limits, capacity and allows for up to 15 websites included. With all their hosting plans you have 60 days risk-free and if you prepay for a year, you save by receiving two months free. The savings range from $70 up to $580 depending on your choice of plan. All hosting plans come with Genesis Framework, 35+ themes by StudioPress, 24/7 chat and phone support plus much more.

WPEngine does not allow all WP plugins. Out of the thousands of available plugins the list of those prohibited is relatively small. For example, any caching plugins are banned. The reason for this is due to the fact that these plugins have proved to be a problem with their software environment, and if the system maintenance script runs and finds any of them in the file structure, they are automatically removed. Some backup plugins are also on the “black list” as they are really superfluous to requirements, because they are handled by their system automatically. They also handle all security related items such as regular scans to ensure your site is free of SQL injections. 

Although they have certain restrictions on usage within your WP site, they obviously know what they are doing and are definitely one of the most reliable and secure managed web hosting companies.

RaidBoxes — Münster, Germany.

The concept was the brainchild of Torben Meier and Johannes Benz in 2015. After being joined by Marcel Gleis the company was established in 2016 to provide convenient, fast and secure managed WP hosting based in Germany and Europe. Their clients are proficient in internet use who value good creativity and high functionality. They take responsibility for the mundane, critical tasks such as security updates and backups, leaving their customers more time to concentrate on creating websites and marketing and selling their products. Their hosting plans range in price from €15 per month for the Starter plan to €300 per month for the Business XXL plan and all include free SSL certificates, and free 14 day trials. All prices they quote are in Euros and are subject to an additional 19% Value Added Tax (VAT). They also offer a Mini Plan for €9/month for small sites, but this is not managed hosting so resources are shared with other websites.

Raidboxes offer something which could be somewhat unique. For all your WP installations the user interface is clear and simple with the usual numerous subpages being omitted. Each installation has its own settings and dashboard. Daily automatic backups are handled by the host and from within the settings area, you can restore from a previous backup in minutes. With their Single Sign-on (SSO) feature, one login and you are automatically logged into all your WP websites admin panels. This feature can save valuable time, especially when you manage more than one project. They also offer free site migration should you wish to change providers, either via a migrator plugin or let them migrate it for you within two working days. Customer support is also one of their strong assets, offering live chat 08am – 10pm daily, with reaction time within minutes.

New Web-Development Trends

Users need their experiences to be unique, intriguing and engaging. They need the content to be easily available and accessible in all the available formats, real time as well as mobile. Many new programming languages like Hello Vue JS! are being introduced to facilitate improved user experience. There is increase in number of frameworks available. Extensions and real time web apps are increasing in popularity. In the field of Web Development, the only thing constant is “Change”. Web development is changing all the time. It is important to stay in touch with these changes and make the best use of latest resources available. It helps to know about latest trends and start incorporating them at the earliest in your work in order to avoid becoming obsolete due to inability to apply latest updates.

Top Trends of Web Development

Web development is taking place in a fast manner and there are new updates in every few months. These updates help in improving user experiences and decrease errors.

Few important noteworthy trends include…

1. Progressive Web Apps
These web applications started development process in 2015. It has taken two years to develop these applications into latest trend. These are the web applications which resemble mobile applications on the basis of how they feel and according to user experience. These work reliably and increase user engagement. They provide many advantages like offline work ability, easy loading and these are able to receive push notifications. Much of the data is stored in cache form which helps in quick loading of web page and decrease frustrating wait time for the user.

2. Motion User Interface, Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence
Motion user interface, bots and conversational interface are few development trends which are becoming popular. Motion UI works through flexible CSS. These features can help in improving online support and provide 24-hr customer service to users. Chatbots are computer programs which can have online conversation and provide answer to common questions and help with search features or online transactions. In recent future, it will become a common feature and every website will be expected to have one. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is helping amateurs in making creative websites by using program named Molly. Google, Facebook, Microsoft, IBM, Amazon and Wikipedia have already started using AI.

3. Vue JS
It is a lightweight framework which was created in 2014 and is getting popular. It is independent unlike other frameworks like React or Angular. React has a major company Facebook and Angular has Google but Vue JS does not has such similar background. It was developed by Evan You. He explained about it in his blogs as an open source project. It is being used by many big companies and becoming more popular.

4. Functional Programming
It describes the whole process of constructing software on the basis of fundamental principles. In it, software is built by composition of pure functions. Things being avoided in functional programming include shared state, mutable data and side effects. Functional code is simpler to work with and makes it better to work on a program by decomposing it into small functions. Recent improvements in Javascript help in functional programming which include arrow functions, object/ array spread and async/ await.

5. Extensions
These are becoming more compatible. These are basically bits of code which improve web browser functions and can change content or appearance of websites.

6. Real-time Web Apps
These are based on websockets. These apps help in fast interactions as they facilitate instant information transfer. In these type of apps, connection between user and server is left open and server sends in all the new information the moment it is available thereby decreasing their manual effort of finding out about recent developments.

7. Mobile Web Development
For better user experience, web content needs to be easily searched by one hand. For this, it is important that navigation is streamlined to allow the thumb to do the required work.

8. Material Design
It is an attempt at combining visual material with the motion. It was first developed by Google. It works on Materialize CSS framework and contains Materialize and Sass. It helps in improving user experience and can be used with many browsers.

9. JavaScript
It is most popular among web developers and it helps to learn this language in order to be successful as web developer.

10. Static Site Generators
Hugo is an open source static site generator. These can help in creating websites. These generators help in decreasing loading time of the website and improving security.

11. Ruby on Rails 5
It has many features like Turbolinks 5 and ActionCable which make it appealing to web developers.

12. Internet of things
The household appliances can be controlled by internet through apps on the smartphones. Few examples include turning heat on, light timers or timing kettle settings to get warm tea or coffee, everything done remotely through apps.

13. Angular JS
New updates keep on coming which help web developers with creating websites with videos and animation.

Discussion

Web development tools are constantly improving. New trends in web development keep on coming and it becomes important for web developers to learn and implement these trends in order to ensure satisfying user experience. These developments are making it easier to work and communicate in real time, wherever we are. The improvements in framework and mobile development designs help in meeting or exceeding user expectations. So, it is very important to know about the recent developmental trends. This can help in getting comfortable with these updates and increase overall productivity.

Unique Ideas for Web design

Web designing is a creative field which refers to the process of designing websites. There are many steps involved in web designing including webpage, graphic design, and creating and publishing relevant content. Markup language used in this process is HTML. It is used to build webpages by utilizing “tags” which define content and “metadata” which explain the web page. Webpage layout is described by CSS (cascading style sheets). Graphic designers create the images for use on these webpages. HTML and CSS create the design and images are created by using programs like Adobe Photoshop. In order to provide a unique and exciting user experience, there is constant need for interesting and unique ideas for web design. The resources available to facilitate this process include Smashing Magazine and Web Designer Depot. There are many different resources or methods available to help in this process. Brainstorming and using online resources are one of them.

Brainstorming

This is a process of randomly suggesting new ideas without giving much thought to them. It is important to give as many suggestions as possible for this process to be successful. In the end of brainstorming, there is usually a big list of ideas available to choose from. It is important to start with a blank canvas and keep building ideas on it. This facilitates unrestricted thinking process. It is very important to get timing right for brainstorming. The team working on a particular idea needs to figure out best time for them to work together and use it for brainstorming. It can be early in the morning, late afternoon after lunch or in the evening. Just make sure it is comfortable for all the members involved.

This can help in yielding better results in limited time frame. All the team members involved in the process of idea generation should know everything about the project. This helps in getting them involved and increasing productivity. It is important to encourage questions from the team members. This step can help in ruling out any misunderstanding about the project, lack of information, possible road blocks or obstacles beforehand and can ensure smoother process at web designing phase.

Inspiration sources

Ideas can come any source. It is important to start looking outside the box and keep an open mind. Simply observing everything in great detail can help and social media can also be used to get inspiration ideas. It is not important to restrict ideas to a particular field but expand research dimensions to get amazing results. Different sites to look for creative ideas include Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds, and design galleries. There are many online resources available like Galleries (Site Inspire, Crayon.co, BetaList, and The Best Designs), Award Websites (Awwwards, CSS Design Awards, Webby Awards, and Favorite Website Awards), Artist Galleries (Dribbble, Behance, and 365 Awesome Designers) , and other resources (Pinterest Boards, Little Big Details and UI Parade). These resources can help in finding inspiration when required. Trying new apps like MindNode, Moodboard, OmniGraffle, myPANTONE, and iDesign can also help in getting new ideas.

Discussion

Bringing out new ideas can be very difficult. However, if we decide to go with fresh start, putting everything we know to test and try to find alternate solutions to established problems, we may just be able to do that and get unique ideas for Web designing. It is important to encourage free discussion process among team members and giving them all the information they need for project completion. Also, using online resources can help in stimulating creativity and bringing out unique ideas.

Basic Rules for Web Design

Web Design is a process of creating websites which can be used through internet via a web browser to present any required content. It has many steps like thinking about idea, analyzing different methods available to arrange it on a webpage and finally implementing it by publishing it online. There are few vital requirements for a basic Web Design, layout, color, graphics, fonts and content. In order to create a user friendly Web Design, there are few important factors that need consideration in designing phase. These include navigation, multimedia, compatibility, technology and interactivity. Few basic rules can help in designing a great website.

These are…

1. Content
Every website needs good informative content along with good design. So, it is important to pay attention to details as well as provide good content on all the pages. Also, there should be some consistency in posting new content on the website. It can be daily, weekly or monthly depending on the user expectations and client requirements.

2. Code
Being able to write own code for the website can be a great skill which can help in solving problems related to website design. It is better to write your own code from scratch instead of using a template. This will help in building the essential skill and you will be able to get the pages exactly the way you want.

3. Quality Check
Errors can very easily appear on webpages in form of typing mistakes, broken links, and content that refuses to load in time or correctly. This can seriously hamper the image of website and ruin user experience. It is very important to keep regular checks for such errors and rectify them at the earliest.

4. Compatibility
It is important to check the website in multiple browsers to ensure it is loading in acceptable manner in all the browsers. Website should be designed to ensure mobile friendliness. Nowadays, many user access websites on smartphones and website display needs to be correct for different screen sizes. CSS media queries can help in this regard.

5. Colors
Careful selection of appealing, consistent and soothing colors can help in improving user experience and prevent any bad experiences. Also, having good contrast between background and written content can help.

6. Consistency
Website design should be consistent from one page to another. It can cause confusion among customers or visitors if web design changes significantly from one page to another. So, try to get best design for your requirements and stick with it for all pages.

7. Comfortable navigation
Navigation should be simple and straightforward. Also, standard position for navigation is in header portion at the top of every page of the website. The horizontal navigation is considered standard for website design.

8. Creative design
It is very important to have a good impressive design for the website in order to increase number of repeat visitors.

9. Simplicity
Keeping the website simple will make it easy to use.

10. Position of Logo
The standard position for company logo is left upper corner on every page of the website. This logo should be clickable which means visitor should be able to click on it, opening a new webpage with more information about the company and products.

11. Contact
Common position for contact information is upper right corner. It can be in the form of clickable logo or link.

12. Home page slideshow
It is good idea to have a slideshow with multiple pictures and messages showcasing company information or salient features on the homepage.

13. Value proposition
Information about value for the visitors can be beneficial for the company and having this readily available on the upper portion of the page can make a big difference.

14. Call to action
Prominent and easily visible call to action prompts can be a big supporting feature for a good website.

15. Search Feature
Providing search feature in the header can help in easy navigation. However, if the website is carefully organized and have limited content, this feature is not required.

16. Signup box
Having a signup box in the footer can help in collecting email addresses of the visitors which can further facilitate in sending emails regarding updates.

17. Footer
This section can be used for social media icons, copyright, privacy, legal, sitemap and contact links depending on client requirements and preferences.

Discussion
Web Design is a creative field which brings science, art and technology together to create a wonderful virtual world. It is important to follow some basic rules in this process to make it successful and provide unforgettable user experience and get the desired results.

How to Hire the Best SEO Consulting Firm

Once you have your website, you probably think that your job is done. However, if it does not show on the first three pages of the top search engines, including Google, you need to up your game. The goal is to make sure that your customers know you exist; otherwise, your business is essentially useless. 

You need to achieve better visibility on search engines, which leads to more visitors to your site. In today’s competitive business world, it is not enough that you have an attractive website. Even if you have great products or services, if no one knows about them, you are wasting your time. Here is where a search engine optimization consultant can help.

What Exactly is SEO Consulting?

When you hire an SEO expert, you will expect to improve your website based on the keywords that you would like to rank. SEO consultants have many duties and responsibilities and it is not just about your place in the search engine results pages (SERPs). 

With more and more companies realizing how important search engine optimization has become, many of them turn to consultants. One person can provide the service but it can also be made up of a team of pros. Consultants have several tasks to cover, using organic SEO tactics. An SEO consultant has the following job responsibilities for your company:

• Understanding your objectives, particularly in marketing your site and company: You have your goals when it comes to the position you want in the industry, as well as in the online world. The consultant should know about them and determine how to reach these goals.

• Optimizing your web pages: Consultants should also be aware of the different tactics in executing on-page optimizations. Some important elements that need careful implementation are H-tags, keyword selection, and website content.

• Analyzing keywords: It may seem like an easy thing to do but selecting keywords takes time and effort. You need to research on different terms that you think you should tank high so customers find your company. Additionally, there are various types of keywords and methodologies involved here, including latent semantic indexing, prominence, and synonyms. The SEO consultant should know these things and more.

• Focusing on user experience: To get better conversions, you need to improve how your website serves your customers. Some factors that you can look into are page abandonment, page views, and dwell time. Consultants know how to minimize the bad and improve the good so your visitors will feel that you care about them.

SEO consultants do more than the ones mentioned above. They can also help you diagnose technical issues relating to search engine optimization. They also make sure that you keep an eye on local SEO while performing a comprehensive audit. This way, you will know whether or not the tactics they have implemented are working.

How to Pick the Right SEO Consultant

One of the biggest red flags is when a consultant promises that your site will be on the first page in just a week or even less. No expert, no matter how good they are, can guarantee your placement overnight. It takes hard work and dedication to reach success. Aside from that, it is also important to look into the consultant’s profile. 

There is a reason why big companies rely on SEO experts who have years and years of experience in the industry. It is because they have the knowledge to implement the techniques that will work on these huge businesses. You should never gamble on a new SEO consulting company with no prior experience just because it offers inexpensive rates. 

Aside from experience, you also want to ensure that the company has worked with other businesses in the past. You can always ask for their list of the past and current clients. These consulting firms do not have to provide you a detailed list but only reputable ones are open to sharing brief information.

Using this detail, you can gauge the company’s efficiency. You can take a look at the websites that they worked on and you can quickly discern if they did a great job on the project. Other considerations to look into when looking for the right search engine consulting company include:

1. Their Transparency

Before you hire the consultant, be sure that you have asked about the methods that should be implemented on your website to attain your goals. Steer clear of those who provide you with short and vague answers. They should readily explain their strategies, so you do not have to wonder how they plan to improve your website.

As you interview the consultant, you can request for an overview of how your website will perform better. In the same proposal, you should get a technical review as to why your site is not ranking the way you want it to.

2. Their Knowledge

You should also determine whether or not the SEO consultants understand the webmaster guidelines. Google has listed the top best practices for SEO experts. Some tricks may work but they can be illegal according to the search engine’s standards. You want to stick to the rules and take no shortcuts so you avoid problems, such as getting banned.

3. Their Reliability

The consultants should be ready to provide help for you at all times. As consulting professionals, they should also make the effort to show you the importance of SEO techniques. While it does feel great to just sit back and relax knowing that your site is well taken care of, it always helps to gain knowledge along the way.

Therefore, SEO consultants should teach you the significance of social media and content marketing. At the end of the discussion, you should have a clear idea about how these two play a crucial role in organic SEO.

Take all the time you need to find an excellent SEO consulting company. As with other services, you get what you pay for when hiring a consultant. The firm that you have chosen should offer support for you and your site before and after its launch. 

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Calgary: A developing Creative Web designing Hub

Calgary is developing as a creative web designing hub and is one of the fastest growing city of Canada. It is located in the center of booming oil industry. This is bringing lot of people together in Calgary for job opportunities. Also, Calgary provides many diverse internship and job opportunities to students and graduates of University of Alberta. Calgary is developing into a place where many artists find themselves expressing themselves. There has been some huge developments in creativity in field of art, music, architecture and in Calgary marketing. The artistic inputs in field of marketing can be seen in graphic design, web design, photography, video production and printing.

In Calgary, UAS (Untitled Artists Society) help budding artists by providing them all the support they need to transition from art world to professional world. Graphic designers get help from such establishment and provide unique products which help in making marketing projects a huge success. Web designing refers to process of creating and maintaining websites which can be further used for marketing, sales, product development, content share, etc. In this process, content is presented on electronic web pages which in turn can be accessed by the users through internet. The user need some kind of web browser in order to get access to required website.

Creative Marketing Companies

There are many successful creative marketing companies in Calgary which include…

1. Arc Reactions
They distinguish themselves as being efficient, effective and adaptive. Arc Reactions is involved with marketing as well as art scene in Calgary. They work on understanding the project and putting forward unique masterpiece of art in marketing. They provide many services including web development, brand development, graphic design, copywriting, photography, video production and printing. They help in audience engagement through online marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), social media, email marketing, lead generation, outdoor ads and print ads. They are positioning themselves as a company excelling in incorporating art in creative marketing projects.

They providing marketing solutions which help in improving business. Their few notable projects include ASCI, AFS (Apple Fitness Store), CATCH, G3 (Green Grid Generation), KUFF (Kids Up Front), MEDIVEST, APL (Advanced Paramedics Ltd.), Progressive and ISGREEN. They have been helpful in providing businesses with increased sales, improved user experience, distinguished branding and recognition in their field of work. First step with any client is understanding their business and their problems. Designers step in after full careful consideration has been given to client need and once they hace a clear goal they follow a path to resolve those issues and meet client needs.

2. Full Blast Creative
Full Blast Creative has many years of experience in Calgary web design and web development. They are capable of developing engaging, responsive and profitable websites. This Company offers many services related to creative web designing, branding, social media and digital marketing. They help with digital marketing strategy development, web development, photo and video production, and maintenance and hosting. They specialize in launching big ideas. According to them, it needs science and art to create excellent marketing presence. They offer proven results in web design & development, market research and online consumer behavior, communication, creative visual expression and user experience, ad targeting and media buying for web, mobile social advertising and printing services and best technologies for message delivery. They can help in improving awareness or increased sales, whichever is the requirement of their client.

3. Creative Coco’nuts
They specialize in creating mobile friendly websites. It has offices in Edmonton and Calgary. The company helps in connecting businesses to the customers by providing creative branding solutions according to their requirements. This company provides creative graphic and web designing services. Their products include branding, illustrations, website design, signage and banners, print design, product packaging, promotional products and decals and vehicle wraps. The services provided by them include advertising, web development and internet marketing. To help with branding and identity, they provide logo creation and design service, brand strategy development, brand guidelines, business cards, letterhead, envelopes and professional presentations.

For advertising they provide support with print services, banners and displays, decals, promotional products, vehicle wraps and trade show booths. Services provided for web design and development include SEO, WordPress Customization, CMS, PHP Web Development, E-commerce, Codelgniter Web development, Laravel Web Development, iPhone Application Development, and Android Application Development.

4. BioWare
It specialize in video games. This company was founded by University of Alberta graduates Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip in 1995. Their projects include Shattered Steel, Baldur’s Gate, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Jade Empire, Neverwinter Nights, and Star wars: Knights of the old republic. The headquarters are along Edmonton’s Calgary Trail. In 2008, it was acquired by Electron Arts (EA). Another headquarter of the company is in Austin, Texas. The company develops video games projects that have extensive narratives, lot of possibilities for characters and expansive world for gamers to escape in. The company gives opportunities to students, interns as well as junior team members to learn and work on the projects. BioWare has co-op jobs in art, design and programming. This company provides unique opportunity to students of University of Alberta to express themselves and get real life experience of what they are learning at University.

5. Stealth Interactive Media
Their products include web design and apps, commercials and videos, photography, logo design, print and signage and social media and SEO. The company has business relationships with many companies and has two offices in the United States, seven offices in Canada and two offices in Australia.

6. RFX Brand + Communications
This company specialize in marketing and brand development. The company was founded in 1999 and provides B2B marketing services to local, national as well as international clients.

7. MRC SEO Consulting
This Company provides support in search engine optimization to small businesses.

8. Jaw Drop Marketing
It provides services in marketing and communication.

9. Red Cherry
Web Development company with services offered regarding Website Design.

10. Codesign Technology
It is Web Design and Digital Marketing Agency which has won many awards for their work.

Other companies in Calgary: Few other notable companies in Calgary include talonX Creative Agency, Sparrow Studios, Design24 Web Design and Marketing, Emethod, Build Studio Inc., StyleLabs, Storm Division, Blue Ocean Interactive Marketing, Gratisites, Tiller Digital and Redline Interactive. These companies are providing creative designing services in Calgary. They tend to provide similar products but each have their own unique strengths. These companies represent themselves online as web designers but may differ in user experience or social media presence. However, they offer multiple Web Designing choices in Calgary which is making the city stand out and shine like a hidden gem.

Introducing: Extreme Programming Practices

In an effort to reiterate the definition of extreme programming the definition can best be defined as being a series of requirements that must be carried out in order to improve the delivery of software updates and new releases provided to the public. This not only allows for technology and software to keep up with one another but gives the customer satisfaction in the quality of the product that they have received. While the concept of extreme programming is not exactly software, it does define and determine the boundaries by which software is not only developed but provides exact requirements that developers must follow in order to maintain the software’s functionality with the ever-growing advancements of technology. Such advancements include software on its own level but also pertains to graphics and other areas where software is required to communicate in order to operate correctly according to its original purpose.

Continuous Process

In an effort to redefine what a continuous process is can best be defined as an action that is taken by software developers when a given system is not communicating with its software due to the need for the software to be updated. While one issue with this may be due to a lack of delayed software updates the concept or idea of a continuous process puts more responsibility on the software development team to release more frequent updates so that the system and software are always on the same page. In essence, the concept and practice of the continuous process decrease, if not eliminates, delays so that systems are always in constant communication with all forms of the system resources and its software. As a result, software developers are able to cut out unnecessary software code and other developmental aspects to focus on delivering the best software available.

Practices

Overall, the concept of extreme programming can best be described as a methodical series of requirements and practices that engulf, or make up, what the concept of extreme programming not only stands for but what it represents as it pertains to the process of software development. The concept is dependent upon the practices that are set in place to aid in the various workflows and tasks that determine the way in which software projects are conducted. Although there is a numerous amount of various practices associated with extreme programming, the following are just a few briefly described practices. One of the first practices that are commonly adhered to when developing software is the planning process where the customer’s requests are noted. After the planning and building stages are complete, a common practice is to keep the software updated regularly so it functions properly at all times. Other practices involve coding and simple design standards, testing, overall regular reviews on all written code, and more.

Kaizen Helps Being Effective at Work

Best known in the Chinese language and loosely means change for the better, the term Kaizen is more of a way of philosophy in the Japanese culture which focuses on overall life improvement. However, this specific philosophical school of thought is especially applied to all aspects within the workplace as a way of improving everything from manufacturing to work ethic. One aspect of the kaizen philosophy focuses more on a worker’s individual progress in the workplace with overall production yet at the same time seeks to improve and not overlook the human aspect of the individual worker away from work related projects. While the kaizen philosophy is a daily way of life in the Japanese culture and can be used in any workplace operation or scenario and at all levels of the organization or company. Additional to this is the fact that the philosophy’s results are closely monitored so that any needed changes can immediately be made.

The History

Featuring an approach that placed the overall workplace focus on improving production and technologies, the philosophy which came to be known as kaizen had the initial purpose of keeping the desired goals of the workplace intact; an approach that remains to this day. Additionally, the concept for the approach can be traced back to the post-WWII days when American task experts had been called upon to aid in the rebuilding of various Japanese industries. While the philosophy’s entire history surrounded the development of a training program that would be used to teach various classes where the kaizen philosophy could be implemented in the workplace the philosophy also proved and sought to increase and improve managerial skills while teaching a wide range of statistical methods that would improve things such as production and work ethic.

Keys to Success

As previously defined, the term kaizen is a term that means change for better in the Chinese language yet simplified means improvement as it relates to the Japanese culture. While both cultures seek the same idea for continual improvements within the workplace there are 7 different aspects in the workplace where this concept and philosophy can not only best be implemented but where the workplace can always seek growth and overall increases in production as well as work ethic. One of the first and simplest aspects of the kaizen philosophy can be found in the job itself. This is important for to productivity levels but is also greatly dependent upon a worker’s ability to always seek improvement on the job. Another area within the workplace that should always seek improved success as it relates to the philosophy is found in the overall relationships that are found between the company heads and the staff. This is where the implementation of overall direction starts from and is relevant to the monitoring of individual performance and overall employee output. Other areas where success can easily be found in regards to the kaizen philosophy are in the company’s ability to think open-mindedly, be dedicated, always seek input from team members, question in order to learn, and simply don’t play the blame game when problems arise.

What is Scrum Development?

Best defined as the framework for what role agile software development plays in technological software development, scrum development is basically the interface that aids in project management. While scrum development provides a basic layout that allows project management scrum development gives the option for changes to easily be made despite where current advances lie in the developmental stage. Furthermore, scrum development can also be described as a strategic move where development teams work in groups of four. While the style of development can be considered as being flexible it is nothing more than a management system that is used during the software developmental phase.

The History

Coined as a technological term in 1986 that referred to a particular formation in the game of rugby the term scrum was first used by Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro who teamed up to form what would shortly thereafter represent the new standardized approach taken toward not only how fast software was to be developed but how flexible software development could be in regards to any required and/or needed changes to the software itself. However, it wasn’t until the early 1990’s when this newly discovered approach would be put into practice when its first beta tester would dive in and experience the software firsthand meanwhile discovering that the approach was more like object-oriented programming.

Test Results

Just as with any fully functional developed software, there are tests that are required to run in an effort to determine the software’s full capabilities, abilities, and (in essence) its overall functionality. When tests are finished reports (backlogs) are provided that give a detailed account of any potential risks that the software may be threatened by in addition to any glitches in the overall system recently fixed. Additionally, these tests provide a detailed account of areas within the software that still need to be improved upon in order to make the software work and operate correctly. Ultimately, this step in the process is simply a resource that states what is fully functional and what needs additional modification. Furthermore, the management aspect of this process gives priority responsibilities to various tasks that need more attention over others that still may require attention but are not in as much demand to be fixed immediately.

Limitations

While scrum is a specific approach that allows for quicker and more flexible development it is not without its limits to handle everything that may be thrown its way. For example, one of the limits that have been placed on the operating and overall functionality of this software’s approach is that the assigned teams (as many as groups of 11) should work in a local setting instead of collaborating over a certain geographical distance. While this section won’t list every single limitation that the software has another main limitation of scrum development is found in the ability to run the software on short run throughs between different teams, or stations, which have been proven to create delays within the system. That said, despite its short list of limitations the scrum approach has proven to be beneficial for many operations in both, the business and private sectors.

Why Extreme Manufacturing (XM) Is So Important

According to its definition, extreme programming (or XP) is one of the many methods of software development that improves everyday tasks via updates and new releases that are made available to the public on a more regular basis. While this not only improves the overall functionality of the system and productivity of the consumer it also allows software developers to become more responsible in terms of the time frames in which updates and new releases are accessible to the public. Moreover, while extreme programming is the idea of streamlining and expediting updated releases of various software programs it also is set in place to ensure that the software is not only set up correctly during the developmental stage but that it’s multitude of interconnected elements work hand-in-hand with one and a. Such elements may include code testing on any given unit in addition to the overall ability of a system to be able to communicate, access, and understand all programmable codes in order to function the way the software was developed to do so.

Some History of Programming and Software Development

Stemming from the early stages of software development when the style of developing went from inputting simple commands and lines of code to including objects that were simply statistical data that lived within a specific field and communicated with other portions of the system in order to function properly. This new idea of data-filled objects created a vast improvement seeing as the early 1990’s was when the Internet was initially born thus beckoning the digital age of a whole new world of available resources. Additionally, the initial origins of what extreme programming was and is meant to stand for allowed software developers to release fresh releases of software that were able to withstand the mass production of technological advancements. Moreover, by creating a system of processes, practices, and methods software developers were able to easily keep up with the overall increasing technological demands by keeping all forms of software running and functioning smoothly.

Problems and Criticism with the Implementing

While both the concept and idea of extreme programming was initially meet with a positive reception this newly found concept was not without criticism and controversy. Although many of the controversies had nothing to do with the initial development of various software projects the controversy did come when various requirements, methods, and practices were brought into question. Despite the fact that onsite maintenance requests could potentially become problematic in terms of costs and overall software rollout, the main areas of controversy had to do with things such as requiring developers to the pairing up on various projects, and the fact that one of the requirements had periodic small projects that accumulated into one major final result instead of knowing project objectives straight from the start. Additional issues that proved controversial in the beginning included the need to rely upon other extreme programming elements to get one single task done as well as several other unknown factors.