But what if we thought about it as an opportunity to amplify and empower humans as opposed to simply eliminating their work from the system? What if these shifts presented an opportunity to create a great environment for our people, one where they actually want to show up and work where they can be more efficient and effective?

What we’ve seen over the past few months of The Great Resignation has shown just how reliant businesses are on human work. Whether it’s truck drivers or programmers, teachers or retail operators, bankers or line cooks, a lack of human staff is preventing businesses from taking full advantage of market demands. 

Automation is here to stay

Now, we know that automation and increased efficiency are key to any digital solution, otherwise, organizations could not justify the start-up and maintenance costs. But what if we looked at automation through a slightly different lens? Automation may mean the elimination of some tasks that were done by humans. But maybe that’s not the ultimate goal, but rather a byproduct of creating a more efficient system. So, the project becomes more about maximizing and amplifying the work of the humans in the system than simply replacing them in it.

At Big Nerd Ranch, we have always seen our purpose as human enablement. We started out as a training company whose goal was to teach students how to write applications for the Mac ecosystem, and we have grown our services to include consulting and building applications for our clients. In both cases, our goal has been to enable humans through digital solutions and training.

Over our history, we have seen incredible examples of how digital solutions can empower humans and unlock their potential.

Human-centered and digital-first

We have worked with one of the giants of the foodservice industry. What makes this giant unique among its competitors (aside from its delicious end product) is that it places humans and the human experience at the center of everything it does. All it takes to see this in action is to visit one of their drive-thrus. 

I don’t know how many times I have pulled up to a massive drive-thru line and thought “this is going to take forever.” But somehow, I am always in, out, and on my way with a smile on my face. This is because team members are able to use digital tools to quickly and accurately take my order, make sure it’s right, and seamlessly pass that information on to the kitchen and prep staff. My food is delivered quickly and accurately, and I feel like I have been treated with kindness and respect throughout the process. 

Other chains, including McDonald’s and Wendy’s, are taking the approach of looking to eliminate the human element from their drive-thru altogether. This may save on operating costs in the short term, but is it going to create a better experience for guests? Will it allow their employees to provide better and more efficient service? Will it increase customer loyalty? I don’t know the answer to all of those questions, but I would prefer to bet on humans + machines as opposed to the machines alone.

Digital enablement of the human effort

We also had the opportunity to see firsthand how human enablement can empower pilots serving in some of the highest pressure jobs out there. Being a Navy pilot is an incredibly demanding job and one that is directly tied to national defense, so you might think that Navy pilots are always equipped with the latest and greatest technologies. You would be wrong.

One of the most critical pieces of gear for a pilot is their flight bag. This contains all of the mission details, objectives, and things they need to watch out for as they are completing the mission. But instead of this information being available digitally, it consists of a spiral-bound notebook and a pencil. 

We had the opportunity to partner with SoarTech and the US Navy to reimagine this experience for pilots, to create an electronic flight bag that would serve up this mission-critical data digitally, decreasing the need for clunky paper and pencil and allowing for a more robust experience.

The Future of Work is empowering humans. 

Machine learning, digital solutions, and automation are a feature of modern life and will continue to be as businesses look for ways to increase productivity and reduce costs. But if we change the lens through which we approach these problems, we have the opportunity to create a business future where humans are at the center of the system and where their work is valued and amplified. That’s the kind of future we’re interested in building here at Big Nerd Ranch.

The post Don’t Eliminate Human Work. Enable It. appeared first on Big Nerd Ranch.

In the digital space, that means not only does your digital product have to look great and work well, but it means that you have to consider the overall experience your user will have with your app. That’s where Customer Experience (CX) comes into the picture. But what exactly is Customer Experience? 

Building Relationships that Matter

The old way of thinking had us looking at each customer interaction as a separate entity and judging the value of that point of contact on its own. The major downside of that approach is that it’s impossible to see beyond one experience or another. That leads to a very limited view of both how your customer interacts with your product and your product itself. Customer Experience aims to change that by looking at your users from a holistic viewpoint. 

So, in essence, Customer Experience is the relationship a person builds with your company over time. The keyword being “build,” since this isn’t something that happens overnight. Because of that, it’s best to think about Customer Experience at three points—A Single Interaction, The Beginning of the Journey, and A Lifetime Relationship.

A Single Interaction

The interesting thing about Customer Experience thinking is that all that came before is still vitally important—it’s just not the end goal anymore. The single interaction is a perfect example of that. Basically, a single interaction is an experience that’s limited to a specific task, system, or device. It’s logging into an app, ordering your lunch, or completing a form for work. This is frequently called the User Experience (UX).

These are all vitally important to the day-to-day users of your app and if they don’t work, then your digital product suffers. But we can’t rely on them to tell us the whole story. 

The Customer Journey

The Customer Journey begins to piece together all the single interactions to begin building out a more complete picture. So, the user’s goal is typically more complex than a single interaction and will likely span multiple tasks and even several systems or devices. More often than not, the Customer Journey is spread out over time. 

The goal of Customer Experience in this regard is to begin to draw a line between all these interactions so we can get a more complete picture of the user and their overall experience. 

A Lifetime Relationship

Once you have a better understanding of your customer, their interactions, and journey, then you can begin to get a sense of what their relationship with your digital product looks like over the lifetime of their time using your product. So, every interaction your customer has had with your company and your app from the first download to the most recent form fill. 

By its nature, this is a dynamic and ever-evolving look at the customer. There will always be new interactions to consider and to inform your approach to both your users and your digital product. And, ultimately, that’s the goal—to get as complete a picture of how your customer uses your app as possible so you can make the best decisions for both their experience and your bottom line. 

Why does Customer Experience matter?

In short, Customer Experience matters because it can be the difference between a digital product that works and one that doesn’t. 

Not that long ago you could create a great-looking app full of amazing functionality and features and then release it into the world, never to think of it again. Now, the expectation is that companies provide an amazing digital experience, which means you have to look beyond the performance and UI/UX of your app to learn the how and why behind the customers using your app. 

So, why does Customer Experience matter? It matters because there is so much to learn from your users that can better inform not just how to best meet their needs but to attract even more users down the road. Want to learn more? Read about the five principles of customer experience. 

Your users are talking about you. It’s time to start listening. 

Here at the Ranch, we take a measured and informed approach to Customer Experience. Since there are often multiple ways of solving a challenge, we use an iterative approach of proven CX strategies to help you validate your assumptions or offer a new path to success. 

Are you ready to start listening to your users? Check out our blog post on the four things you must look out for in a customer experience (CX) agency or reach out to us and we’ll get started. 

The post What is Customer Experience (CX) and Why it’s Important appeared first on Big Nerd Ranch.

Take some phrases that are very near and dear to our hearts—digital product development and app development. It’s natural to see these as two sides of the same coin, but that’s not entirely accurate. 

It’s perhaps best to think of it like this: typically app development is a crucial process that can sit within the wider process of digital product development. So, for example, at our digital product development company, Big Nerd Ranch, we can develop an app for you as part of a larger digital product development process. You can also find firms that will just develop an app. Clear as mud, right? Don’t worry, we’ll break it all down so you can decide which digital experience is going to work best for you and your ultimate business objectives.  

Digital Product Development vs Application Development

To get your own app up and running, you could hire a mobile app development company. But if you are in need of a true partner throughout the process, digital product development is what you’re looking for. But what do we mean by that? 

To properly answer that question, it’s essential to break down their processes.  

App Development 

An application is a group of various software programs that run on a smartphone, computer, tablet, or another mobile device. Typically, they have a specific function that’s meant to improve the user experience. App development is best broken down into one of two categories:

• Mobile applications – The widespread use of smartphones has changed the way we interact, work, and browse. Today, a mobile application is a must-have for almost any major company. For that, they need native mobile apps that are geared toward a specific operating system. They could be aiming for either IOS app development or Android app development, or both. 
• Web-based applications – Although it may appear that a web application is a little different than a standard web page, there’s so much more to it than that. Developing a web application is a complex process. It involves the digital product creation of various functionalities such as user profiles, login pages, and payment info. These apps require internet access to be used and are usually coded in JavaScript, CSS, and HTML5.

Web and mobile app development don’t just ensure that the app is built on schedule, but that it’s built the right way. This is made possible via the mobile application development life cycle, which is composed of five major phases.

The Five Phases of App Development 

Although it depends on the company, app, and developer, there are normally five key stages of developing an app, whether that be a mobile app or web-based app. 

• The concept phase – Before an app begins web or mobile development, there’s the initial preplanning and concept stage. This phase is critical to further success and involves a careful thought process to determine what you want to build, how it will be used, and how to ensure that the build supports your organization’s strongest market position.  Here at Big Nerd Ranch, we often refer to this stage as Discovery.
• Design phase – After all of the application requirements are collated, analyzed, and verified, the initial app design is produced. This phase includes two portions. First, a prototype that provides the fundamental feel and function of what the web or mobile app would look like and how it would work. And then, the first iteration, or initial design that’s passed on to the application programmers. 
• Development phase – Once the design has been fleshed out and the programming requirements are set, application programmers begin coding to build it out with both front-end and back-end coding segments (in a series of agile sprints). 
• Quality assurance – Each agile sprint is followed by testing, revising, and testing once more as you fine-tune the app. Because this is a continuous process, testing is repeated several times. According to DevOps, in most cases, tests will include: 
  • Compatibility testing – Ensuring that the app runs flawlessly on different devices and screen sizes. 
  • Interface testing – Confirming that the navigation, menu, and buttons function as expected.
  • Device compatibility testing – Testing the app to see how it looks and performs on different screen sizes. 
  • Low-level resources testing – Checking how the app functions in poor conditions, such as low battery or slow internet connection.
  • Security testing – Ensuring that app users’ privacy and data is secure, and that you’re abiding by federal cybersecurity regulations.
  • Beta testing – Putting the application in the hands of test users who have access to the app and can then give feedback. 

Digital Product Development 

App development is just a small portion of the full digital product development process. A digital product development team is intimately involved with the various intricacies of your business, its operations, marketplace, and goals. 

Many businesses that partner with digital product development firms have the basic app idea but then need more guidance, direction, and manpower. Typically, a company will choose to work with a digital product developer to: 

• Uncover business problems and solutions – Often, companies have some general ideas for design and a concept for the applications needed, but lack the know-how on how to best reach those end goals. A digital product development firm will conduct a comprehensive discovery period, which helps get to the roots of the business’ pain points. From there, they can help develop digital product solutions. 
• Collaborate – Few businesses have the internal resources to design, develop, launch, and then maintain a digital product. Or some have an engineering team but need more expertise or guidance in a specific area of development. Digital product development firms provide the resources to fill in the gaps while also supporting and guiding the app development process from start to finish. Your full partner team will include senior engineers,a UI/UX designer, and dedicated project strategists that help guide your project through the process. 
• Update a product – If you have an existing product that is dated and lags behind the competition, digital product development can optimize the existing code, develop new features, or apply the latest technologies to bring the product up to speed. 

Now, let’s dive into how that process actually plays out. 

The Digital Product Development Process 

The goal of digital product development is to create a useful application that benefits end-users and provides value for your business. A thoughtfully designed and developed digital product has the ability to transform your enterprise for the better. 

While each company and product is unique, the process typically involves four overarching stages.   

1. Assessment

Unlike app developers, digital product development firms are a part of the digital journey from the very beginning stages. They can help you review what the project will require and whether or not your team is capable of handling those demands. The assessment will consider both the needs of your app users and your business. 

To do this, a design and code audit should be conducted on your current system and envisioned product. This helps you see what will be required to reach your goals. 

2. Discovery

One of the end goals of any digital product is to address your client’s pain points. So, before you begin developing the app, you’ll need to build out the concept by defining the desired products and features. A digital product developer helps you ask the right questions, such as:

• How will the product function? 
• What problems will it solve? 
• What will end-users want from it? 
• How do I ensure the best user experience possible?

The discovery process involves understanding both your business’ and your users’ needs. Together, this research helps you map out the user experience and then compare the concept to existing apps in the competitive marketplace. By doing this ahead of time, you can save both time and money. It allows you to address problems from the outset, instead of allowing them to fester. 

3. Product Development

This brings us to the application development portion of the process that we discussed above. In this stage, the work on design and development begins. Success is largely dependent upon the quality of the information gathered in the fact-finding stages. A savvy digital product developer will use that critical data to inform the entire web and mobile application development process, which includes both prototyping and rigorous testing. 

A modern firm will use agile iterative development, which means that the product is constantly evolving and adapting to change. Neither the scope, budget, or time are fixed, which results in a better end product.  

4. A Clear Runway for Success

You may think that once the product is developed, the only thing left to do is submit it to the app store or launch the website. However, the development process doesn’t end there (even though that’s the point at which when many app developers bow out). 

Unlike with app developers, digital product development firms understand that the process doesn’t stop after development. A good firm will guide you through the process of moving from Beta to market and ensure that your launch to the app stores is seamless. In that time bugs are hammered out, functionalities added or updated, and the app continuously improved through to launch day. 

Big Nerd Ranch – Your Digital Product Development Solution 

While both app development and digital product development share some similarities, when you work with a digital product development team, you receive comprehensive digital product development services and coordination. 

At Big Nerd Ranch our goal isn’t simply to build you an app, it’s to be your digital partner, it’s to empower you to go to entirely new heights. Our team of Nerds can increase your team’s output, strategically support your current infrastructure, and build out a fully designed digital product that is personalized to your business’ needs and consumer base. 

Why work with a mobile app developer when you could get so much more out of a partnership with a digital product developer? 

Sources 

Dev Ops. Understanding the App Development Life Cycle. https://devops.com/understanding-app-development-life-cycle/

Holly brings over 15 years of marketing, advertising, and public relations experience to the BNR Marketing team. In her role as Director of Marketing, Holly oversees everything from year-long campaigns to representing us at conferences—all in the pursuit of bringing the good news of BNR to as many people as possible.

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No matter the product, no matter the industry, the development process is one best entered into with intention and purpose.  Often, the difference between success and failure comes down to your preparation and ability to respond to challenges as they arise. 

Because creating a successful digital product is a significant undertaking, many companies enlist the services of a digital product development firm. But if you need help, you can’t just partner with any digital product development company. With a job so important, it’s critical that you work with the right one—a team that aligns with your goals, values, and needs. 

In a word, you want a digital product development company that takes a holistic approach. 

A Holistic Approach To Digital Product Development Services 

Ideally, the innovative firm you choose should act as both a partner and a guide. They’ll team up with you to not just enact your vision, but to fully build out your product idea before the new product development even starts. And, once the design work starts, the designers should point you in the right direction and walk with you each step of the way until you reach your destination with a great digital solution.

What that looks like in practice is a firm that takes a holistic approach to development. That means taking a comprehensive strategy that begins with an assessment, turns into development, QA, and delivery and carries on through with continuous engagement. 

So what are the qualities to look for in a digital product design firm?

They Listen To What You Want

The root of a great relationship between client and firm involves an open and respectful dialogue. When searching for the right firm for you,  it’s essential that you partner with someone who will listen attentively and respond thoughtfully to your product vision. 

For the process to be successful, your firm’s team needs to know exactly what you’re looking for from your digital product—details such as your ideas, concerns, and budget. To do this they must ask the right questions—questions such as:  

• What are your goals both as a company and with the app?
• How would the app fit into your current business model? 
• How would the app benefit you? 
• What are the mandatory features you’re looking for in the app?
• How do you envision the design? 

All of these details help your firm’s team anticipate problems and brainstorm possible solutions for your digital strategy. Through this, you can begin to flesh out the minimum capabilities you desire from your digital product. 

In the initial phase, it’s not important that you have answers to everything; however, when you work with a firm that listens and asks pertinent questions early on, you can start your innovative product project out on solid footing, pointing you and the project in the right direction.  

They Push Back

Digital product creation is part art, part science and collaboration is key. A huge part of that success comes down to being hypercritical and willing to speak the truth when something does or doesn’t work. It’s much better to have a disagreement along the way and a happy ending than a peaceful process that winds up with you disappointed.  

After all, there’s a lot riding on the development of a digital product—both from a business and cost perspective. You can’t waste valuable time and resources on a firm who is unwilling to push back. You want someone on your side that will offer the most strategic eye in the name of creating the best product possible. 

You Can Trust Them To Turn Your Vision into Reality

It’s important that you find someone who you can trust and who’s experience aligns with your vision. So, it’s worth thinking about how well known they are within the industry? What sorts of global clients have they worked with? Can they create similar solutions or outcomes with your new product as they did others? 

Qualities that you should consider include: 

• A full-service team – Digital product development never starts and ends with just the code. A full-service team includes engineers that develop your app;  a dedicated project strategist that ensures that your vision is carried through on time and on budget; a designer working to create a seamless and intuitive experience for your end-user; and a QA tester double and triple-checking the product. 
• Multiplatform development – From the beginning, you should know what devices your product will appear on, and if you’ll need it to work across platforms. Are you focused on Android and iOS? Will it be web-based? You’ll want a firm that has deep experience developing in native technologies but with the adaptability to produce true multi-platform development if needed. 
• Communication – It’s vital that you not only enlist the services of a team that works seamlessly with one another, but that also communicates effectively with your operation. The entire digital product development process can take months, so you need a partner that will be open and communicative every step of the way. This will prevent bugs, delays, mistakes, or other issues from derailing the process. 

A Holistic Team

To get the most of a digital product, it needs to look great, have an intuitive interface, and be technically sound on both the front end and back end. This takes a team of skilled engineers and developers with specialized focuses, whether its UI/UX design or cloud-based communication. Together, this team helps create a final product that works on all fronts.

But you don’t want a firm that will just let you do whatever you want since a demanding partner with a critical eye is more likely to help you reach the best possible solution for:

• Strategy
• Design
• Creative
• User Experience

Similarly, it’s crucial that your firm of choice protects your budget. If someone is always looking to nickel and dime or upcharge, you’re in for a world of trouble. Ideally, your partner will always keep an eye on the budget and your best interest at heart! 

 They are Creative and Solutions-Based 

If a firm isn’t creative, the final product will likely fail to blow away the end-user. According to Clutch, “User experience (UX) design needs to be creative in order to truly connect with users. UX designers solve problems, and the only way they can do so effectively is to think of innovative solutions.” 

In a sea of digital products, it’s vital that yours stands out. Both UX and UI involve aligning intuitive ease-of-use and behavior suggestions with the digital products’ objectives. The more a developer can tailor the app to the intended use and convenience of the target audience, the more success it will yield. 

Additionally, a creative firm can help you find solutions that keep your business in mind. Obstacles are inevitable—you need a partner that can help you go over, under, around, or through them. It all depends on what’s the best answer to that given problem. For that, it takes a team of people who think outside of the box.   

So, as you interview digital product development agencies, be sure to check out their portfolio to ensure that they have eye-catching, high-quality, creative products across various platforms. 

They Break Down the Digital Product Development Process 

This is where the rubber meets the road—it’s the reason why you’re hiring a digital product developer in the first place. 

By thoroughly understanding their app development process, you can ensure that the product is not only finished by your deadline but that it exceeds your baseline expectations. 

At Big Nerd Ranch, for instance, our holistic process involves three critical stages (not counting the initial kickoff meeting). Once we’ve figured out what you want from the product and its features, we dive into phase one of the app development process:

• Discovery – We thoroughly review and discuss your unique business needs to get a better understanding of:
  • Your team’s capabilities
  • The project’s demands
  • Your needs
  • Your end-users needs

In addition, we’ll create a detailed roadmap that lays out the product’s path. This will allow you to see what’s coming and better understand the work involved to get you from your idea to your finished product. 

• The Build Out – Depending on your internal resources, we either partner with you or take complete control of the buildout. From prototype to MVP, to usability testing, to launch, we maintain an open line of communication with your team. 
• Go-to-Market – The work doesn’t end the moment we provide you with the finished product. We’ll ensure that the launch to the relevant app stores or hosting platform is as smooth as possible. In addition, usability testing will continue after launch to ensure that you’re receiving crucial feedback and data analysis. 

Big Nerd Ranch – Experts That You’ll Actually Like Working With 

The product development process can take many months, if not years. So, it’s not only essential that you look for a firm that takes a holistic approach, but that you also find help from digital product development services that you’ll enjoy partnering with. 

Big Nerd Ranch is the premier go-to for everything from design and development to large-scale digital transformations. Our company culture is rooted in a people-first mentality. We make it our mission to not only become intimately familiar with your company and its goals but to nurture lasting work relationships along the way. That means taking the time to get to know your staff better.  

Put simply, we love what we do and the people we work with. Your biggest hurdles are our most compelling puzzles. We’re Nerds, remember? So, if you’re looking for a digital product development agency,  then welcome to the Ranch.  

Sources

Clutch. Why Creativity Matters in Design. https://clutch.co/agencies/ui-ux/resources/why-creativity-matters-in-ux-design

Jake Senkbeil

Director of Sales

The post What to Look for in a Digital Product Development Firm appeared first on Big Nerd Ranch.

But how exactly do you measure the return on investment of your digital product? In the digital age, it’s rarely just one measurement and it varies for each product. That being said, most products drive value in one of a few ways:

• Direct product sales
• Customer satisfaction/retention
• Employee productivity
• Equipment utilization
• Process optimization

Let’s take a closer look. 

Value Driver #1 – Product and Service Sales  

When most people think of digital product development, improved sales tend to be the first benefit that comes to mind. 

The most apparent value driver of an externally facing digital product is to help increase your sales, which are tied to your core competencies and represent your primary source of revenue. They are the backbone of the business and allow you to finance other products, functions, or activities along the way.

A digital product can drive product sales in one of two ways:

• Directly – The digital product creates new value for both the business and its potential customers.  For instance, the Starbucks mobile app added the “Order+Pay” feature, which provides users with an easy way to order and pay directly from their phone on-the-go. Naturally, this helps increase drink purchasing since shoppers who would otherwise turn away from a long line no longer have to wait. 
• Indirectly – Often, a digital product can enhance or augment the core product without generating direct revenue. For example, adding digital products such as AI to a manufacturing process can create new efficiencies that improve a product’s quality and reduce production errors. When that occurs, the price point of the product goes up and the cost of waste goes down.  

Regardless of how your product impacts your sales, it’s vital that you take the time to chart a customer’s purchasing journey. This will help you gain a deeper understanding of what the customer wants, their specific pain points, and the ways that a digital product could address those issues.  

Value Driver #2 – Customer Satisfaction/Retention 

In a day and age when the customer has easier access to reviews, more ways to shop, and various alternatives to choose from, customer loyalty is more fickle than ever. Simply put, it’s harder to get new customers and more difficult to keep them.  

Customer satisfaction and retention are amongst the most important elements for any business to consider. Happier customers, especially those that feel valued and heard, are loyal customers. If you work to win them over, they’ll stick with you, whether that entails repurchasing products or renewing contracts.   

Much of customer retention is directly related to customer satisfaction. The question at the heart of this is—did the good or service meet their expectations about:

• Quality
• Pricing
• Customer service
• Efficacy
• Appearance

 Digital products can help improve customer satisfaction and retention in one of several ways, such as creating conveniences or improving communication. 

This could be anything from developing chatbots that answer quick questions, to streamlining customer service operations digitally, to mobile app development to make it easier to order your product or access your service straight from their mobile device. A lot of what makes an application or digital product easier to use comes down to the customer experience. Does the product have an intuitive UI and UX? Can the customer find what they are looking for easily and without unneeded steps? Being able to answer the questions is the bedrock of a solid customer experience. 

When going through the design process, understanding your target audience is key to creating your first digital product. If your business model works, be sure your new product is user friendly and benefits the customer. 

By understanding the customer and then creating your own digital product that meets their needs, you can improve the customer satisfaction metrics critical to customer loyalty and retention.  

Value Driver #3 – Employee Satisfaction = Employee Productivity 

For a business to thrive, your employees should ideally believe in what they do and enjoy it to boot. By better providing ways of working that are less time consuming, you’ll see not only an uptick in employee satisfaction but in productivity as well. 

Digital product creation can optimize employee workflows and help them excel in their roles. It can also streamline processes, or help them overcome obstacles that might negatively impact employee satisfaction and retention. 

For example, let’s think about an application that increases the ease and speed of executing complex tasks, whether in the office or on the go. This makes it simpler to get tasks done and reduces employee frustration.

Or there could be software that filters data to help predict which customers are more likely to be repeat customers. This information would augment sales reps’ ability to use their time efficiently by targeting the most profitable customers.  

When employee productivity increases, that positively impacts your bottom line. Although it may take a while for those benefits to manifest, they can be significant over the long haul.

Value Driver #4 – Equipment Utilization 

Similar to your employees, it’s mission-critical that your physical capital—tools, machinery, property, and buildings—is being utilized efficiently. 

At its core, utilization is all about ensuring that every piece of equipment is not only working but creating value. This could be anything from maximizing physical manufacturing output to improving table and bar seating at a restaurant.

Digital products can utilize machine learning and AI to gauge capacity and availability and then optimize them in order to rescue capital expenditures. For example, McKinsey writes about the impact of digital product creation in the world of manufacturing: 

Many large manufacturers are starting to use data analytics to optimize factory operations, boosting equipment utilization and product quality while reducing energy consumption. With new supply-network management tools, factory managers have a clearer view of raw materials and manufactured parts flowing through a manufacturing network, which can help them schedule factory operations and product deliveries to cut costs and improve efficiency. 

By analyzing your equipment utilization, you can strategize more ways for digital products to drive value or create new solutions to old capital investment problems. 

Value Driver #5 – Process optimization 

No matter the industry, every business relies on a series of processes that are tied to resources, decisions, and output. The speed and efficacy of these processes is a critical component of success. 

Today, digital product design and creation can improve efficiency and increase the quality of output. This optimization is largely accomplished via automation, which digitizes manual processes, allowing you to operate more efficiently. Additionally, there’s no need to waste resources on manpower that could be better utilized elsewhere. 

In a similar way, digital products can create new competencies within processes that make a business more:

• Customer-oriented
• Agile
• Innovative
• Streamlined
• Efficient
• Responsive to opportunities

Business process optimization typically involves addressing a mixture of both internal and customer-facing goals.  

 How Digital Product Development Partners Can Help You Drive Value 

Do you have an idea for an application or digital product that could drive value and change the way you do business? Whether it’s a bold new idea or an update to an internal application, actually creating the digital product is easier said than done. 

Building out a digital product that delivers the desired value and provides a positive end-user experience requires the proper infrastructure and resources. Many digital products inevitably fall short because a business is unable to execute its vision internally. This is why a growing number of companies are turning to digital product development partners to help them turn their dream to reality. 

But what is the value created by partnering with digital product development firms? 

• Provide a full-service team – Maybe you have a great digital product idea but lack the team to build it out. A digital product development firm can step into the role as a full-service product partner that works to:
  • Help you further define your idea and validate market demand for the product
  • Design and develop your product
  • Launch the new product to market
• Uncover business problems and solutions – What if you know that you need to make some changes, but don’t know what that would look like or require? Digital product development firms can help identify your business’ core problems and then come up with new solutions. Together, you can take a concept from the drawing board to launch. 
• Train your team – Do you have the internal resources but think they need to brush up on their skills or new technologies? Corporate training arms your engineering and design teams with the skill they need to code more efficiently and create digital products internally.
  
• Increase your team’s output – Perhaps you have an existing engineer and design team but need some gaps filled or you can’t devote all of your staff to a given project. Senior engineers and designers can be enlisted to come on board as a part of or as leaders to your internal resources. This ensures that you have guidance, mentorship, and a final product that delivers on both design and code quality.

Big Nerd Ranch – Driving Value with Product Creation 

You can have a brilliant digital product idea, but you need to know how to develop it. When they’re created the right way, digital products can drive direct and indirect value in a number of ways. But you have to make sure that they are, in fact, made the right way. 

Enter Big Nerd Ranch. 

We’re digital product creative experts that can help you unleash your potential, whether that’s filling in the gaps, providing a full-service product team, or training your existing employees to broaden their skill set.  

Our mission is to create an environment for continuous improvement and growth, both within our organization and yours. 

Want to drive value with digital product creation? The Nerds are here to assist. 

Sources

McKinsey. Digital manufacturing: The revolution will be virtualized

The post How to Drive Value with Digital Product Creation appeared first on Big Nerd Ranch.

A well-thought-out and beautifully-built digital product takes time and is best approached with a considered purpose. So the results of such an endeavor is a product that your company is proud of and your end-users love engaging with. 

So how do we get from idea to amazing digital product? We’re so glad you asked! 

The Phases of Digital Product Development

To turn your brilliant ideas into authentically useful solutions, you’ll hit most (if not all) of the following:

1. Assessment
2. Discovery
3. Product Development
4. Continuous Engagement

Stage 1: Assessment 

Your digital product truly begins by first taking a step back. The Assessment period is a chance for you to examine the demands of your project and the capabilities of your team. By performing code and design audits on your existing systems and desired solution, a DPD firm can not just point you in the right direction, but can provide the leadership and guidance you need to get started on the right foot.

This assessment process also takes into consideration the unique needs of your business and those of your end-users. Even though pen has yet to meet paper (or fingers have yet to meet keys), this step is crucial to building a digital product that you will love and your users won’t be able to stop using.

Stage 2: Discovery

This stage actively involves you and your end-user and typically means a lot of questions. How do you see your app working? What problems are you hoping to solve? What do your end-users expect from your product? In order to be most accurate, the answers will come from both you and your users. 

Think of it like a friendly match of tennis, where questions and ideas are lobbed back and forth from the product development team to the client. This step saves time and money in the long run as any problems or needs that arise can be addressed from the get-go, rather than building a product and then discovering you didn’t solve client pain points.

Stage 3: Product Development 

Here’s where the rubber meets the road (or the Nerds meet the Ranch, as we like to say). In this stage a complete DPD team begins the actual work of designing and developing your product. Using the information gathered from the first two steps, a good firm will follow the process of experience-driven transformation, or keeping your end-user firmly in mind throughout development.  

There are two main steps that the product team will typically take: 

Prototyping 

This process involves creating extensive models and testing them until the product meets the highest standards of user usability and utility. This process looks like this:

• Napkin sketches turn into wireframes.
• Multiple lo-fidelity prototypes eventually result in a few hi-fidelity ones.
• These hi-fi prototypes get narrowed down into a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
• Eventually, your MVP turns into a final product, ready to launch. 

Developing a MVP allows you to test the bare-bones of your solution, upon which you can later add layers of functionality, UX, and UI as you continue to test and iterate.

Testing

This is the time to root out any bugs, display issues, and more. Several devices and operating systems will be tested for functionality and compatibility, and the UX/UI will be smoothed out and sanded like a fine piece of mahogany.

 Stage 4: Continuous Engagement 

No matter how perfect a process is, a product will never be perfect (and that’s okay). If you’ve found a digital product firm that’s worth their salt, they will have brought you to this point ready to succeed. That means the leadership and guidance they provided throughout the process leaves your product and your team ready to handle future expansion. 

And that expansion often takes the form of continual testing, user feedback, and data analysis after a launch. A good DPD process will ensure that all future improvements will be minor fixes, with major app-breaking bugs having been avoided through smart design and development practices. 

Do You Need a Digital Product Development Firm?

Digital product development goes above and beyond just “building an app.” It’s why many businesses entrust a Digital Product Development firm to handle all the nuances. If you’re considering a DPD firm, here are some reasons why you may want to reach out:

• You have an idea for a product, but you don’t have the team to execute it.
• You are unsure of the scope or skill set required to bring your idea to life.
• Your team lacks the web, design, IoS, or Android skills necessary to create your product.
• You want to improve or optimize an existing digital product or system.

Once you decide that you want to jump into digital product development, it’s time to find the right agency that will accelerate your creative process and help you build your dream product.

Big Nerd Ranch Wants to Solve Your Toughest Problems

Big Nerd Ranch is the digital product development agency that is as passionate about your product as you are. We are invested in taking your company to the next level, while mentoring your team along the way. 

Our expertise falls into three main categories:

• App development for web, Android, and iOS
• Design (UX/UI)
• Project Strategy

Our versatile and committed team provides guidance and development on a wide range of projects, including but not limited to the following: 

• Internal systems that manage finances, productivity, sales, and supply chain.
• Giving your website a fresh coat of stellar UI and making it mobile-friendly. 
• IoT integration for both internal and client-facing applications, like connecting mobile apps to household appliances or connecting internal systems to production controls. 
• Integrating streaming, social-sharing, geo-locating, and more onto mobile and web apps.
• Implementing e-Commerce functionality onto your web platform.
• Refining the UX/UI on all your digital platforms.

Our love for web, mobile, and design is in our name—we’re just a bunch of nerds who enjoy solving difficult problems. So, if you have a massive digital project on the horizon or just need a back-end boost on your current system, we’ll always have the right expert for the job. 

Building the Right Products for Your Business

Big Nerd Ranch isn’t just any DPD agency. With over two decades of experience in the tech industry and a long history of teaching, we believe in problem solving with a mentorship twist—that’s why, no matter the solution area, we also offer expert guidance and leadership for your team.  

Here are some of the areas we’ve found opportunities for growth and user engagement.

• Field Service – A purpose-built application for your employees that work primarily outside of your firewall. 
• Digital Brokerage – Solutions that provide your end-users access to their data or connecting them more efficiently to digital marketplaces. 
• Security and Regulatory – These solutions require a high level or regulatory compliance and are typically centered around the healthcare and FinTech markets, 
• Voice UI and Chat Bots – Provides a more efficient and streamlined connection to the consumer. 
• Multiexperience Development – Gives your users an intuitive and engaging experience across platforms. 

How Big Nerd Ranch Can Help Your Team

Our DPD process is what allows us to determine the right, solution-focused approach. Should you have a digital product challenge of your own, here’s what we can do for you and your team:

1. Depending on the project, we will first perform code and design audits—to deepen our understanding of your product goals and to determine the skills needed to achieve your end-goal. This will inform how we guide your team and assemble our own. 
2. If you are interested in having us mentor your team, we will also assess existing skill gaps and team dynamics to design the appropriate training roadmap for efficient workflow and continuous growth. 
3. We will then engage in the DPD process with a focus on design thinking to create a brilliant digital product that leaves your end-user satisfied and helps kick your revenue or productivity into high gear.
4. Using verified practices for workflow and continual engagement, we will leave your team with the refined toolset and electric enthusiasm needed to maintain and improve your shiny new digital product.

If this sounds like a good fit for your business goals, reach out today. Let’s see how we can jump into your next digital product—and rev up your team— together. 

Sources:

Web Essentials. The 7 Stages of Digital Product Development. https://www.web-essentials.co/blog/digital-product-development-stages.html

The post Breaking Down the Digital Product Development Process appeared first on Big Nerd Ranch.

Far too many “would-be” game-changing digital product ideas fail to get past the drawing board because a company lacks the proper resources and infrastructure to successfully execute their vision. Others die out somewhere along the way because the execution and followthrough simply wasn’t there. And still, others reach the finish line, though not with a bang but with a whimper. 

Digital product development isn’t something you want to just jump into without the proper support and expertise to ensure success. And it’s not something you can afford to get wrong. That’s why you need to partner with a digital product development firm that can help you create web and mobile solutions and successfully transform your large or small business vision into reality. 

Why You Need Digital Product Development Services

The digitalization of the modern world has changed how companies, consumers, and end-users do business and interact with each other. Whether it’s an app, a chatbot, or website, technology provides new ways to engage and deliver outcomes. As it becomes an even more integral facet of daily life, your company needs to have a project that delivers digital products and services that meet and exceed your end-users’ expectations and provide real solutions. With the innovation of consumer-facing apps, a digital experience is either the first and sometimes the only interaction a customer has with your brand. That experience needs to be as good or better than if they were interacting with a human representative. 

Not to put too fine a point on it, but a well-developed digital product design has the potential to completely change the way your company does business all while having an extremely positive impact on your bottom line. Your digital product can give you the opportunity to more easily engage with, and deliver more value to, your end-users. But to achieve those lofty goals, a digital product must not only be reliable and secure but it has to solve for a specific issue. 

Accomplishing all of that isn’t easy, which is why you’ll want a trustworthy partner on your side.  While each situation is different, there are three common reasons why a company might seek out the help of a digital product development firm:

1. Discovering business problems and solutions – Some companies require project management guidance for their digital product efforts. This can be solved by having a managing director with extensive experience to oversee market research. Experienced firms are capable of performing a full discovery to get to the root business problems and uncover novel solutions. This information is used to develop a better understanding about what skills or talent are required to build out a meaningful digital product. 
2. To partner with your team – A team made up of a senior engineer, UI/UX designer, and project strategists will lead and mentor your existing team. They’ll guide them through the process from start to finish and are responsible for delivering high-level code and amazingly intuitive designs. 
3. To fill in the gaps – Do you have engineers but have limited mobile or design talent? A firm can supply the right people to partner with your team and fill in the gaps. 

Benefits of Partnering with a Digital Product Development Firm

Now, it’s important to note that we don’t use the word “partner” lightly. Your digital product development firm should be much more than just a company you hire to do some work—they should be as invested in your project as you are.  

To that end, a digital product development firm can guide you through the process of developing a software development project, like a fully-functional mobile app or web app from ideation to product launch. Ideally, you’ll get a senior-level engineer, a UI/UX designer, a dedicated project strategist, and QA team to help manage the several stages of development. These experts guide the project through the entire journey, delivering benefits to each stage of the development process, including: 

Discovery and Consultation

Few companies realize how just important this stage is, but this is where you determine the viability of the idea.

 To do that, you must ask questions such as:

• Why are we building this product now? 
• What problems are we hoping to solve?
• Who will benefit most from this product?
• What is the competitive landscape and how do we build differentiation in from the start?

A worthwhile partner will look at your idea or existing infrastructure and seriously consider these questions before ever agreeing to build anything out. Their goal is to validate market demand to guarantee that you’re investing in the best idea possible. To accomplish this, they will surround you with a team of engineers, designers, and strategists to guide you through the collaborative discovery period, which includes: 

• Drawing board – Even if you already have a great idea, a good firm can help you think about it from all angles, break down organizational silos, highlight challenges, or brainstorm newer or better solutions. 
• Product Strategy – Return on investment is an important consideration that can’t be overlooked. To create positive ROI, a firm will build out a product charter that helps establish objectives and goals and makes sure that product strategy is aligned with the organizational strategy. This helps ensure that there is collective action and shared understanding across the entire organization. 
• Roadmapping – Once the research is done and the idea is set, the team can help sketch out the rough concept of the requisite baseline application functionalities for an MVP and MMP.  A solid roadmap can often shape or influence go-to-market strategies so understanding what that looks like can be vital to success.

Engineering Marvels

Once the discovery period is finished it’s time to take the information gathered and turn it into something brilliant. Some of the work you can expect: 

• Multichannel and multiexperince development. As your firm is developing your product they will approach it differently depending on where the app is going to be used the most. So, building an app that is to be used primarily on an iPad app is different than one that will work across devices. The same goes for a web app vs mobile.  A top-shelf DPD firm will have experience working across a wide variety of devices and understand how to create a seamless multiexperince solution for your user, or set you up with a single platform product designed to be scalable going forward. 

• Mentorship and guidance throughout the process. The major difference between a good development firm and a great one is the level of guidance and mentorship they provide throughout the project. A great firm will not just do the work you ask of them, but explain why and how as well. The end result of such an engagement is that your internal team is better prepared to carry on the work of maintenance and updates—meaning you save money in the long run. 

And then the firm you have selected begins the work. Here at Big Nerd Ranch, we often recommend working  in two-week sprints. Throughout the entire engagement, you should have constant insight into the work that’s being done, where you are in the project budget as well as access to quick answers around any questions or concerns that pop up. This method allows you to keep an eye on the progress, make important decisions all while allowing the firm to do the heavy lifting.

Design Expertise 

Every time a user interacts with an app, each touch-point represents an opportunity for brands to engage and impact the user. Naturally, UI and UX play a crucial part in this process. To create an app that fully captures a user’s attention, you must have a deep understanding of consumer psychology and behavioral patterns, UI/UX design, and digital product development. This means finding the perfect balance of:

• Price
• Usability
• Performance
• Quality
• Functionality
• Convenience 

A firm focuses on aligning a product’s design, experience, and interface with your goals and product strategy. Once the strategy is developed, the UI/UX team leader is responsible with guiding a team of designers and engineers through the following actions:

• Sketching and wireframing – At this point, the team determines how the digital product should look. This will act as the framework that everything else is built upon. By defining it, an agency is better able to create cohesion between the brand and the product. 
• Design – A digital product development firm understands how to best balance product visual design, user experience, and user interface to create a positive experience at every touch-point. 
• Prototyping – Once the design is fleshed out, the team can start to build out a prototype, which includes some of the basic features and designs. This prototype can then be user tested by both the team and target customers to gain actionable insights and discover areas of improvement. 
• Agile implementation – An agency is capable of building out the digital product using an agile approach in one or several languages. This helps ensure that you avoid waterfall projects and that the product is able to evolve throughout the process as needed. 

Launching the Digital Product 

Once the product is developed, the work doesn’t stop there. Bugs or unplanned use-cases are an inevitability with most any product launch; the first version is never a complete success. 

An agency can help you conduct small market acceptance tests to get user feedback and find places for improvement. After that’s been done, there may be some modifications that need to occur. An agency can help you refine the product once users have their hands on it.    

It’s here that you’ll begin to reap the rewards if you invested in a great digital product firm. 

Great design and development means a product that will last longer aesthetically and cleaner and more sustainable code. All that adds up to a product that will stand the test of time and will require much less investment in the future. 

From there, it’s time for large-scale launches to the mass market. For firms, this provides another opportunity to continue developing and optimizing the product. By conducting post-launch reviews, the team can assess the financials and customer feedback to determine strengths and weaknesses. After that, there’s still months of post-launch support and maintenance that must be conducted. 

Big Nerd Ranch: The Nerds You Can Count On

Do you have a digital product that needs to be built best in class? If so, Big Nerd Ranch is for you. 

We are a digital product development agency that focuses on partnering with brands—both big and small—to turn concepts into fully designed digital products. 

Just give us the project requirements, and we’ll ensure that it fits your budget, meets your deadlines, and hits your goals. Whether you need someone to fill in the gaps, lead your team, or provide guidance along your journey, when you work with Big Nerd Ranch, you’re teamed up with premier senior engineers capable of delivering high-quality design and code for any digital product. 

The post Why You Need a Digital Product Development Firm appeared first on Big Nerd Ranch.

In my last post, I spoke about why we were taking Big Nerd Ranch training online. While it seems simple now given that we’ve been in some form of quarantine, shelter-in-place, or other social distancing initiatives for over three months now, at the time, it still felt like a difficult decision. In-person training has been our mainstay since our founding for the simple reason that we’ve found it to be the most effective and efficient way to help our students enter the world of mobile programming or level up their skills. Now that we’ve made the pivot into running live, online training for both corporate clients and bootcamp students, we’ve learned a few things about what it takes to create a great live, online experience.

Here’s how students (and managers) can get the most from your class

At Big Nerd Ranch, we recognize that you are the hero of your learning journey. We’re the guide who helps you get to your destination safely, quickly, and without getting lost. Like all learning experiences, great online learning experiences are a collaborative effort among students, teachers, and even managers. Everyone plays a role in creating an environment in which students can unplug from their day-to-day work and really focus on learning something new. So, here’s what we know that students need to do to set themselves up for success:

1. Set up a learning-focused space. You need to be in a place where you can actually focus on what the instructor is saying and doing. As such, your space needs to be one in which you can focus. Make sure you have a reliable internet connection, decent quality audio and video capabilities, and a clutter-free desktop. Just like in your office environment, if you’re constantly toggling back and forth from class to Slack messages, your concentration (and your learning) are diluted. We know that working from home brings new distractions too—kids, spouses, package drop-offs, noisy neighbors—but do your best to minimize interruptions from those things, too. If you need to step away for a time, be upfront with your instructor and figure out how you can get caught up when you return.
2. Minimize outside distractions. Set up an out-of-office or slow-to-respond notification so that colleagues know you’re focusing on something other than work, change your Slack status so that managers and other colleagues aren’t barraging you, and, better yet, snooze your notifications so that you’re not being reminded of what you’re missing. Distractions are huge detractors from your learning environment, so root them out as much as possible.
3. And for managers, give your students the space to learn. We’re software and digital product developers by trade, so we know how precious (and expensive) it is to have a programmer who is not directly contributing to a project. We also know that if that same programmer is being asked to contribute to a project while also trying to learn something brand-new, neither objective will be met. So, encourage your students to really take this time to unplug from their day-to-day responsibilities. Protect their learning time by fending off requests from other stakeholders that can genuinely wait a few days. This shows your team that the class is important and that you expect them to really make the most of it.

And here’s how we can help you reach your goals

As instructors, curriculum developers, and training operations managers, we know that it’s our responsibility to create the right conditions for learning, to guide you on your journey, and to support you in making the most of your learning experience.

4. Give students multiple ways to collaborate. In the classroom environment, it’s easier to build a learning community. With the students and instructor in the same physical space, interactions are fluid and natural opportunities for building rapport arise without special effort. If a student is stuck, they can literally tap their neighbor on the shoulder and ask a question. In a virtual environment, it’s harder to facilitate these types of interactions. That’s why we don’t just rely on video conferencing software, we also use online collaboration tools to share class materials, facilitate student chats, and answer student questions.
5. Find ways to provide one-on-one and small group support. Video conferencing has come a long way in the recent past. You used to be lucky if you could have reliable audio and visual presentation, but now you can use video, screen share, and audio almost seamlessly. In addition, there are some new tools that can enable students and instructors to collaborate in richer ways. One thing we’ve used is Zoom breakout rooms, which can allow for instructors to provide private, one-on-one support. While students are all working on a coding project in the lobby, the instructor creates a personal breakout room for each student. If a student has a question they’re not comfortable asking in front of the group, they can invite the instructor to the breakout room for a private chat, helping them to get back on track while maintaining a supportive learning environment.
6. Get creative about checking on student progress. It’s really hard to get this one right in a virtual environment. We’ve typically given our students a lot of freedom in our classes because the class is for them and because we’ve built in a lot of flexibility to the learning journey. We recognize that students learn at different paces, have different focuses, and have different struggles, so we make a way for students to focus on what they need to get out of the class. Having said all of that, there’s still a level of comfort students need to reach before moving on to another topic, and in a physical classroom, this is relatively easy to monitor by walking around the classroom, looking at student screens, and checking in with them. In a virtual setting, we need to be more intentional about checking in with students. So we’re now setting clear expectations for how much time students will have for the coding exercises, we’re giving them some opportunity to self-assess how they are coming along, and we’re doing some polling to see how well students are understanding the concepts.
7. Have even more empathy for students than normal. While this almost goes without saying, it’s critical to a great live, online class. It’s easy to get caught up in the tools and techniques we’re using to create a rich and supportive environment, but we need to remember that the learning process is made for humans. Sometimes it can be slow and frustrating, other times it can be exhilarating, and it’s certainly not a straight, uninterrupted line from start to finish. With students now likely working from home with the potential for added distractions, it’s more important than ever to seek to understand that they are very likely working in less than ideal situations. In practice, this means being aware of the fact that instructors may need to provide more and different kinds of support to get similar results to in-person training.

As we continue to live in these times of great uncertainty, we know that learning is still important. Having sharp skills or picking up new ones can make you competitive in a difficult job market or help you to demonstrate your commitment to your current role. We’re committed to providing amazing learning experiences and bringing programmers into the world of mobile or responsive-web programming with rigor, humor, and a healthy dose of heart. Happy coding.

The post We’re Taking the Ranch Online (Part 2) appeared first on Big Nerd Ranch.

Whether you lead a startup with an ambitious app idea, or a booming business with an internal application that needs an update, investing in digital product development can give you the tools you need to give your end-users the experience they want and need. 

But, you might be asking yourself, what exactly is digital product development, anyhow?

In a nutshell, digital product development, or DPD as the Nerds call it, is the art of taking a brilliant idea or existing applications and turning it into a stunning digital product that surprises and delights your end-users and provides your business with real and profitable outcomes. 

Now, we’d love to chat with you and tell you all the amazing benefits of DPD. But, if you’d like a primer before jumping in, we’ve got you covered there as well. 

The Process of Digital Product Development

At heart, Digital Product Development is about building an authentically useful application—be it web or mobile—that will serve your end users and provide the most value for your company. It’s work that is best entered into with purpose and with the right digital product agency on your side—a team that includes engineers, designers, and project strategists all working towards the same goal. 

Once you’ve gotten your project ready to go and your team in place, what happens next? While each and every digital product will have a unique through-line, here are some of the common elements each project should have.  

• Discovering the Known and Unknown – DPD begins with a discovery of your unique business needs, which includes understanding active stakeholders, your target market, and any flaws in your current system. If needed, this process can include a developer and designer taking a look at your existing product and setting the current state as much as the anticipated destination. It’s here that the beginnings of your experience-driven transformation begins in earnest. 
• Getting the Work Done – This is where the fun really begins and your DPD firm begins the meat of the project. Using Agile methodology, the engineers and designers begin building out the work that came from the discovery period. Throughout the engagement, your project strategist will be in constant communication—sharing updates, asking and answering questions, and generally keeping the project on track on both the client and firm side. 
• Guidance and Mentorship – Throughout the project, your DPD team should do more than just clock in and clock out. A true partner can provide guidance throughout the project meaning that your product and your team are better at the end of the engagement than the beginning.  

Throughout the entire project, your chosen firm should have two main goals in mind—delivering the best experience possible for your end-users and delivering real outcomes for your business. And, seeing as you probably picked up on that buzzword we used a bit earlier, let’s take a look at what exactly experience-driven transformation is. 

What is Experience-Driven Transformation?

In essence, it’s about finding the right and best solution for your end-users and discovering the disconnects in your business. The logic here is that if we start with an experience-based solution that is focused first and foremost on the user, the rest will take care of itself. Now, it’s never as simple as that, so let’s take a look at the details of the experience-driven transformation. 

Experience-driven transformation starts by understanding people in context. In other words, digging deep into the motivations of your end-users and what they need but aren’t getting from their current experience. It’s through this process that a clearer picture of the end-user is brought to light—information that is then used once the work actually begins.  

Now, the problem with experience-driven transformation is that it’s a bit like pour-over coffee—everyone is talking about it but people rarely know how to do it correctly. That’s why smart business leaders know to turn to the experts. 

How the Nerds Use Experience-Driven Transformation for DPD

Because it champions the end-user, a focus on experience seeps into every step of a digital product’s development. As a result, your partner agency and your team never lose sight of your target market in the process. 

At the Ranch, that plays out in the following: 

• We spend the time upfront getting to know you, your business, and your end-users. It’s through this discovery process that we’ll uncover the issues that you know about and perhaps some that you don’t. This is the stage where we chart our destination and trace a path on our map.
• When it’s time to get to work, we bring the whole Ranch. That means that you’ll get a senior engineer, a UI/UX designer, and a dedicated project strategist. Using the mutually decided upon a roadmap, your BNR team designs and develops your application with your end-users’ needs firmly in mind.
• Throughout the entire process, our team is providing guidance to yours. This is more than just technical details or rapid prototypes (though, you will get that as well!). Our team will help you navigate obstacles in the process and ensure that the app you get not only works for your end-users but also makes the most sense for your business.  

With a focus on experience, our design, engineering, and project strategist teams can create an optimal product for your end-user.

So is a Digital Product Development Firm the Right Fit for Me? 

Digital product development done right can be an investment—both in time and money. So how do you know if you should get involved with a firm? We’re so glad you asked! 

Some common scenarios for companies could be: 

• You have an idea for an amazing application, but lack the team or don’t know what sort of work or skill set it requires. 
• You have an idea and a team but they lack the pertinent Android, iOS, web, or design skillset.
• You’ve got an app that’s, well…it’s fine…and you could use some help getting your ratings up and just generally building out a better experience. 

The types of solutions you might be looking to implement could be:

• Field Service – A purpose-built application for your employees that work primarily outside of your firewall. 
• Digital Brokerage – Solutions that provide your end-users access to their data or connecting them more efficiently to digital marketplaces. 
• Security and Regulatory – These solutions require a high level or regulatory compliance and are typically centered around the healthcare and FinTech markets, 
• Voice UI and Chat Bots – Provides a more efficient and streamlined connection to the consumer. 
• Multiexperience Development – Gives your users an intuitive and engaging experience across platforms. 

From developing a brand new digital product to simply improving an existing one, a digital product development firm can power up your business by modernizing your digital presence, streamlining your workflow, and energizing your team.

The best ones, like Big Nerd Ranch, won’t stop there. They will also teach your team how to continuously improve upon these products and systems—even after the experts have left the building.

Let Big Nerd Ranch Be Your Product Development Partner

Big Nerd Ranch is the digital product development firm with the design and engineering experience to take on any problem—and the nerdiness to enjoy the entire process.

Not only do we have over twenty years of experience in the tech and problem-solving world, but we literally wrote the book on web and mobile development (no, seriously, we’ve written several of the books). 

Our end goal? 

To leave our clients with invigorated teams and beautiful digital products.

Big Nerd Ranch wants to become your digital product partner—we can take all of the market research, prototyping, and usability testing out of your hands so you can focus on what you do best—running a thriving business. We can also mentor your existing team to produce better products, faster. Check out our services or set up a call to learn more about what our nerds can do for your next project.

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The remote employee, or untethered workforce, is an idea that has been around since with the emergence of the millennial workforce, but it’s only beginning to really take off with more and more companies as the unemployment rate continues to decline and more companies try to remain competitive. In fact, it’s getting to the point where potential and current employees are expecting some sort of flexible arrangement as a part of their job. All that to say, creating an environment that is remote-friendly is going to be more for employers to remain competitive and attract top talent.

Just because something is popular, there is no reason to jump on the bandwagon!  Why should you and your organization consider creating a remote-friendly workplace?  

Work/life flexibility for your employees

A recent Gallup poll found that the majority of potential employees see the work/life balance as a very important factor in their decision when considering a new job. The flip side of that is roughly 51% of employees would consider changing jobs so that they could have more flexibility in their day-to-day schedules. Allowing a remote-friendly workplace means that you’ll attract more talent and retain the great employees you already have. 

Increase productivity and employee engagement

Along with more flexibility comes an increase in the enjoyment of one’s job. And it’s no secret that happy employees are more productive employees. It makes sense, right? When you enjoy your job, you’re much more likely to put greater effort into your work. Plus, you’ll find that all the time that is normally spent commuting can now be used in much more efficient ways. And we’re all about efficiency at BNR. 

Reduce your physical footprint

As you move more and more towards a truly untethered workforce, you’ll find that you might just end up needing much less physical office space than before. So instead of having desk space for each and every employee, you can move towards a “hot desk” approach with shared workstations that employees can use when they are in the office.  This in turn will reduce your footprint and save money on office space!

How BNR has embraced the remote culture

We’re proud to say that BNR is one of the pioneers of the untethered workforce. In fact, we have employees in 19 different states and about 40% of our employees are full-time remote! So how do we approach it? 

We’ve fully embraced the remote culture

Working with an untethered workforce requires process and commitment above all else. It’s certainly an endeavor worth doing for employee engagement and only suffers when insufficient processes are in place. One of the most important things we’ve done at the Ranch is ensure that when it comes to our remote employees, we are all in. In practice, that means that we fully support our employees and their decision to work remotely. We provide them with the necessary tools and encourage them to come up with creative ways of managing their time and projects. A major benefit is that we’re not constrained by geography when it comes to hiring—so we get the best talent that the nation has to offer. 

We train our managers on how to best work with remote employees

Somewhat counterintuitively, in order to fully embrace the remote culture, you have to have buy-in from the in-office employees. That’s why we spend time training both our leadership and managers on how to best interact and support remote employees. This training includes finding and using the right tools, the best way to communicate with a distributed workforce, and how to best manage expectations from both sides.

We have the right tools

One of the most important aspects of working within a remote culture is finding the right tools and using them in the right way. At the Ranch, we have a number of tools that we utilize to help both our on-location and remote employees feel connected and in touch. The majority of our communication comes through our messaging tool Slack. The almost instantaneous nature means that no matter where our employees are located, they are never more than a message away. We are also big believers in using video conferencing for all of our meetings. That fact that we can always see the person we’re having a conversation with and encourage all employees to turn on their video during conference calls, makes everyone feel that much closer. 

 And, it’s working

One of the biggest obstacles that tech companies face is finding and keeping the best talent. At Big Nerd Ranch, we have one of the highest retention rates among technology companies and an extremely low turnover rate. In fact, we were recently ranked 12th in the small business category of the 2020 AJC’s Best Places to Work and we were also awarded the 2020 overall award for best work/life flexibility. These awards were a true testament to our culture and validate that we not only fully embrace the remote culture, but also do so well in supporting our untethered workforce. As the trend moves towards even more remote work, it’s certainly important to put the policies and training in place now so you’re ready for what the future brings.

Are you curious to learn more about our process or the great solutions we provide our clients? Get in touch! 

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