Technology stack, the scalability wildcard for your organization

Judging by the beginning of the title, you'll think that we're about to talk about electric batteries or stacks of objects. We like the second one, so we'll give you the first preview: a technology stack is the software starter pack in companies that need ensure sustained growth with a future project in mind.

It's enough to select the correct objects in this technological stack to expand the commercial horizons of a company from the beginning with IT tools. That is why it's essential to know the scalability capacity.

The definition of a technological stack implies a previous work of strategic analysis because the choice of the software products that are going to shape, it's the tools that are going to work in a systemic way as the business grows with its customers. So this selection should by no means be taken into account in isolation.

Technology stack... what is it?

Stacks in the IT world refer to a collection of programs that work together to provide specific functionality. For example, a web development stack may include an operating system, a web server, a programming language, and a database.

Hand in hand with this, one of its greatest strengths implies ability to adapt to the requirement. If we're facing a project related to the marketing area, we've a MarTech stack. If we're in charge of a finance project, we've a FinTech stack. As each stack has a compendium of technologies, they all provide a standardized set of tools to implement whatever the application is, benefiting to reducing the amount of time and effort in development.

The stacks are commonly used by organizations to develop internal applications and to offer services. For example, a company may use a web development stack to create an e-commerce application. On the other hand, a hospital may use a mobile development stack to create a mobile application for patients.

A clear example we can provide from Lab9 regarding technology stacks is our work for Sharyco, a corporate application supported by at least four developers and a mobile development stack.

How to build a technology stack correctly 

While there are no hard and fast rules about what may or may not guarantee your organization's technology success, these recommendations can guide you in how diagram your scalability stack. Next:

For example, if you plan to add email to your MarTech stack, you should consider what other channels would be in the future. If you plan to add a chatbot or messaging via WhatsApp, you'd be better off jumping into a platform like Twilio early on.

Take advantage of open source technology: open source tools are free and freely available, which gives your company free access to use, copy, modify, share and build on existing code and applications.

For example, we can cite the popular MEAN technology stack, which includes MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS and Nodejs, all of which are open source and free.

Consider the team's experience: building certain types of technology stacks requires different levels of expertise. In fact, adopting new technologies can even slow down or stall progress if you don't have an experienced team. To avoid this, you should training collaborators or hiring a specialist.

The user as the protagonist: there's nothing better than knowing your customer's pain points to come up with an idea that meets each and every one of their needs. Research, analysis and establishment of parameters are essentials for a project to have a budget according to the scalability of the technological stack.

Case study: UX usability in the Zara app

Have you ever thought about the people who design the apps you use on your mobile and how they work to make it look and function correctly? Well, the term usability has a lot to say and teach. In a nutshell, usability refers to the speed and ease with which people accomplish their tasks through a product of interest. It can also state that usability implies focusing on users.

We can say that usability rests on two main pillars:

Don't forget: it's the users who determine whether a product is easy to use or not. Designers and developers only do their job of interpretation and implementation.

ZARA app and its usability level

An expert in UX design and usability, Guillermo NG, had a wonderful idea: to carry out a necessary social experiment together with a group of Zara store assistants and the addition of samples of people classified as frequent customers of the Spanish brand. The main idea was to detect current failures within the visual and functional panel of the mobile application and then establish a series of graphic modifications that would reveal effective solutions to solve these issues.

Final number of testers for the experiment: seven.

The zero level of this work consisted of research and online data collection in order to create a buyer persona for the Zara app. Detailed data such as age, occupation and socioeconomic level made up the current identikit: professionals between 20 and 30 years old with a medium-high income level. Likewise, studying the environment in which these people move during their interaction with the app was another essential point. Whether the person wants to be constantly fashionable or simply wants to look for online items sold in physical stores, all kinds of arguments are valid to understand what their motivations and expected results are.

Testing and testing

Once the proto persona and their behavior was defined, the next step was to go back to those seven testers to do the field work. Here the attendees were to imagine certain contexts and act accordingly: "it's been cold lately and you are looking for a winter coat. what do you do?"; you see a coat you might like, can you explain to me how I would decide if this is a coat for you; "you have added the coat to your cart, but you realize that the size is wrong. How do you fix that?".

A review of the data obtained was conducted and then the affinity mapping technique was used to classify the weaknesses to be resolved into categories. Shopping cart, search and filter, "save for later," image carousel, unavailable items, and drop-down menu were the most "challenging" items for this researcher, setting up the most visible pain points.

Assuming that the app's most important goal is to increase mobile revenue, it was decided that editing cart items was an issue that called for urgent usability redesign urgency for both Zara and users.

Challenging to the eye

When trying to edit an item in the cart:

When it was time to bring creativity and intelligence to the table, Guillermo started the creation of design prototypes, performing a preliminary validation from sketches with some online shoppers. Thanks to this, the researcher obtained more information, managing to incorporate solutions to the final design.

As a colorful fact for our readers in relation to this first step, from Lab9, we worked for Innos -a mobile application ready to provide solutions in the health area- conducting a previous study focused on the stakeholders of the brand to know what their needs, preferences and behavior patterns were. Here we can differentiate the data to make the first manual sketches, which would be digitized as a final proposal.

One of the modifications had to do with the new "Edit" button, which replaces the "buy later" button. In this new feature, users can not only choose the garment they are going to buy, but also change their mind about color, size and quantity of items. Before the usability redesign, when users wanted to save an item for later, they could only do so when the item was already in the shopping cart. For this reason, Guillermo feels that it would be more appropriate to add the "save for later" feature to the product search flow so that users do not have to move an item to the cart before checking it out.

Another design change involved an interaction guide for users, so they could move the images in the carousel in a pattern similar to the other finger movements that must be made in the rest of the app. In this case, vertically and not horizontally as before.

In closing, validation is the last step of any mobile usability redesign. In this opportunity, the seven testers were asked to explain in their own words how they would edit the quantity and size of the items in the cart. Result? Absolutely everyone was able to explain these points successfully. Thus, the solution rate went from 33% to 100%.

What is inbound marketing on your website?

Today's marketing bets on strategies for business growth with a more human interaction between the company and customers.
In this way, it attracts more prospects and transforms them into new customers: Interact with them on sites, platforms, and social networks, when they want, where they can.

This is the inbound marketing philosophy.

Inbound marketing is the best way to market your products or services, and it is also the best way to help your current and potential customers.

The most stable contact between your customers and your business is your website, and because of that is essential to have inbound marketing in your web design.

Inbound marketing on your website

Your website is nowadays the visible face of your brand, everything that includes and communicates your business.

It is essential to have a good web design thought about user experiences, where users can get an idea of the company based on a professional image and communication.

An optimal site offers the best aesthetics with the necessary content to position itself to your target audience.

Websites are dynamic and updated according to the needs of your customers and prospects, but…
How is the process of designing a website more efficient?

Through a fast and agile process: the Growth-Driven Design.

What is Growth-Driven Design?

Growth-Driven Design is an approach to website design and maintenance that minimizes the risks of traditional web design.
This systematic approach shortens the time to launch by using data, learning, and continuous improvement.

Instead of making an isolated investment in your website every few years, Growth-Driven Design (G.D.-D.) proposes an efficient construction of the site to which improvements are implemented, through a cyclical process of planning, testing, implementation, and dissemination.

The three pillars of Growth-Driven Design are:

The benefits of applying Growth-Driven Design

Instead of planning to do everything, GDD focuses on iterations or "sprints" for shorter timeframes (less risky and less expensive).

It consists of design tests on your users' existing data and implementing or discarding changes according to the results obtained.

Adapt your site according to the needs of your audience.

With an intuitive knowledge of the habits of users within a website and you get to refine the site to achieve a simple and enjoyable user experience based on actual results.

Create a positive user experience.

While user experience is essential, a good web design that offers advantages is important.

Ensure the navigation of your site with a good design and development.

Remember that the loading time has to be less than two seconds since people will leave after that time if they do not receive a response from your website.

Give the relevance that usability needs.

The user enters your website from their mobile, tablet, or desktop computer. The design must respond in the shortest possible time.

With a responsive design that adapts to different formats and devices and offers the best experience to visitors.

You get to optimize the results you seek by implementing measures that facilitate, improve and enable navigation. It is an investment that offers an excellent means of communication with users or the interested public.

Web design is an essential element since it is in charge of creating the public and visible face of a brand.

The challenges, and unreliable and inconsistent results that teams experience during a website redesign are a product of outdated strategies.

Growth-Driven Design is an approach to web design that eliminates many pitfalls and drives optimal results using data.

Growth-Driven Design brings:

Invest in the growth of your business with the inbound marketing philosophy by applying Growth-Driven Design.

Growth-Driven Design is an investment that delivers reliable results month after month. Your website gets stronger as you continue to measure, iterate and act.
We can help you.

Pharma 4.0: Technological innovation in the pharmaceutical industry

The digital revolution is currently transforming the paradigm of companies and industries while new technologies help to optimize processes that used to take a lot of time and money to perform and still were insufficient to give customers everything they are looking for to leave them satisfied.

Today, information is highly valued, and whoever manages it best is the one who leads the market by being at the forefront.

Technology is revolutionizing the pharmaceutical sector with digital innovations that drive new ways of interacting with health personnel and patients.

Implementing technology solutions applied to product design, manufacturing, delivery, and customer experience makes companies in all industries bet on digital transformation.

The pharmaceutical industry implementing emerging technologies is an example of Pharma 4.0. The term pharma 4.0 belongs to the principles of the technological revolution of Industry 4.0, better known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The digital tools that integrate this phenomenon include advanced data analytics such as Big Data, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence.

The pharma 4.0 concept designates the digital transformation of the pharmaceutical sector

It seeks to redesign the industry's business model to insert improvements in processes and make them more efficient.
The goal is to introduce improvements that benefit both pharmaceutical companies and the patients/customers linked to them.

Pharmaceuticals and medical devices are products and services that influence the health of society. These new technologies offer growth opportunities to improve their health and quality of life.

In a study conducted by Accenture with Top Voice in the Pharma sector, the key to providing greater operational efficiency and personalizing experiences is, for 90% of the executives, the innovation of technologies that apply artificial intelligence.

Most pharmaceutical experts believe that digital technology is essential to develop the current activity of the sector while incorporating the various tools available and taking the trouble to learn to manage them is a valid option if progress is requested.

Pharma 4.0 is about improvements in the four fields of business activity: human resources, processes, information systems, and culture.

Human resources

The pharma 4.0 automation systems in the production line allow for achieving more efficient results in the tasks, adding more precision and autonomy than through human labor.

It's challenging for the human resources area because it re-signifies the hiring schemes since it requires recruiting talents specialized in handling these technologies.

Processes

Improvement of processes allows optimal production to take it to a higher efficiency with the notable reduction of errors. Because of that, optimization depends on the correct integration of these systems and the results generated by each process.

There may be resistance to implementing automation in companies with paper-based manual processes. But with the rise of digital tools, these changes are necessary to reduce physical storage space, allocate all information to the cloud, and streamline the search for data.

Information systems

Automation systems optimize all processes and also have traceability systems and real-time monitoring throughout the supply chain.

Intelligent and automated systems can work with greater autonomy and precision and reduce the margin of human error in repetitive tasks. The idea is to distribute all the data collected inside and outside the plant and create predictive models based on Machine Learning, bringing maximum security to the entire process.

Culture

Pharma 4.0 implies a digital transformation of the physical processes to generate change in the corporate culture, which expands to all areas of the organization.

The gradual adoption of new technologies is part of the constant quest of business managers to reinvent their business model and make it more profitable for people's experience through technological solutions.

Pharma 4.0 is becoming involved in all layers of pharmaceutical production to offer a horizon full of possibilities: added value, quality control, stock optimization, securitization, intelligent operations, connectivity, efficiency, and speed.

This methodology improves the supply capacities and qualities of finished products. Also, it allows us to accompany our growth as a civilization with greater availability of better medicines.

Advantages of Pharma 4.0

Personalized care:

Algorithms and the use of Big Data make it possible to have remote monitoring and access to shared medical histories.

With sensors and digital services, patients have personalized care and treatment 24/7.
In this way, biomedical devices add value to the pharmaceutical industry. That means offering quality medicines that meet patients' needs and information that helps to improve people's experience.

Information management focused on customers and prospects:

Data integration can generate better results because all areas will know what they need and have more alternatives to offer them in an emergency.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers have access to a wealth of data, allowing them to create unique molecular profiles of their customers and provide personalized care. It allows marketing teams to develop relevant strategies to understand the behaviors and needs of potential patients, which will help to have a more accurate record of the drugs to be delivered to suppliers, avoiding stock build-up with unmarketed products.

Automated processes to reduce costs and execution time:

The pharmacy industry evolves and innovates by producing new drugs based on artificial intelligence data.

Cloud-based tools have gained significant relevance in recent years. This tool saves paper and manual labor and facilitates the storage of a large amount of data more securely against information theft, it is necessary to secure the databases with strong passwords and remember to change.

Technology is revolutionizing the pharmaceutical sector with constant innovations

Pharma 4.0, as its name suggests, is a tool of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that has been the center of attention in business. It transforms pharmaceutical personnel's work, making technologies add value to their activity.

This revolution embraces new technologies such as robotics, analytics, artificial intelligence, cognitive technologies, nanotechnology, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Organizations must identify the technologies that best meet their needs to invest in them. If companies do not understand the changes and opportunities brought by Industry 4.0, they risk losing market share.

Stay updated and informed by reading our articles and participating in our networks.

The 6 bases of the collaborative work methodology

When people are open to collaborating on different projects, alchemy improves productivity and creativity in the company.

Innovation is possible because each participant contributes ideas from knowledge and experience.
For collaborative dynamics to be fluid, it is necessary to go step by step with an organization that structures each intervention.

The six bases in the process of team collaboration are:

1- Basis of recognition: how to work as a team for efficiency and speed

If an individual performs a task with expertise, it is probably to achieve the objective. On the other hand, if you work with partners, the work can be richer in content and innovation.

The different experiences and points of view feed the project, bringing value and speed to the project.

If each person is willing to collaborate and share the same objective, the work achieves into practices the collaborative methodology in all its bases.

In teams, there is a synthesis of experiences, different perspectives, and unique ideas. One person's perspective challenges another's and opens a discussion, and by reaching an agreement, project goals are advanced.

The success of a company or organization translates into people working together as a team, either remotely or face-to-face, which can achieve better results and create more impact than working individually.

2- Communication base: the importance of working in teams with connection and trust

A team with good communication, where each person practices active listening and contributes from their knowledge and experience, manages to connect with each other and achieve results and common goals.

To establish a positive connection, each person must feel safe and confident to give their opinions and emotions while playing an important role.

A dynamic that allows effective group collaboration and incorporates the playful experience, where people contribute and give their opinion without the pressure of taking an exam, feeling it as a game where no one loses, and everyone wins.

A Google research regarding collaborative teams concluded that while psychological safety was essential, trust was a critical aspect of teams for high performance.

Building trust is a task that requires respect, asking questions, answering doubts, and keeping the work of each member and the group organized.
The success of a project is born from integrating ideas, not imposing them.

3- Commitment base: the team's commitment to collaborative work

Each idea is a solution, and decisions are made that contribute to the common cause of the team.

With a solid foundation made of commitment and trust, the team achieves actualization by pursuing its purpose, creating together, and making an impact.
At this level, the synergy of a group goes beyond the capacity of what any individual could accomplish alone.

No one likes to feel that they are doing all the work alone or notice that their work has gone overlooked.

In the daily and weekly reports, in addition to communicating progress or doubts, you should help by providing clarity and solutions to problems, thus setting the stage for recognition, which influences the team's commitment.

Working with an innovative mind requires seeing problems as learning and growth opportunities. Developing any project with an optimistic attitude makes a difference. The amount of ideas generated is better, and the work experience improves.

4- Basis of the environment: collaborative environments in work groups

A successful project achieves in collaborative workspaces in optimal conditions.

The commonplace, whether physical, digital, or a combination of both, provides what is necessary for good communication and connection between people.

The office is an obsolete solution because there are too many distractions, and setbacks can cause slow performance. Most workers in technology fields for several years now prefer to work remotely.

-Use the online tools available for team organization and communication.
-The use of file sharing helps remote teams connect.
-Platforms designed for organizations bring agility to online work.

Collaborative teams must have a meaningful or complex purpose to benefit from collaboration.

A brand launch campaign, a branding and marketing study, web development, or the creation of a new service or product; requires a group of people working together who are specialists in each area.

The passion for working together dies when a task becomes a group one, considering that not every project is collaborative.

It is advisable to keep a team of people with few members (up to 6), work better since each individual is essential, and the dynamic becomes faster.

Time is another factor to regulate within the collaborative environment.

The most productive experiences have synchronous and asynchronous times.

If the time a project takes is managed with intention, valuing the contributions of each team member and the time invested in achieving the goals, you will know you are doing right.

In collaborative remote worker environments, the time differs for everyone. You can work in a team from different time zones and geographical distances, thanks to flexibility and organization.

Routine causes stagnation in innovation

Don't always assign the same projects to the same people: mix them up for better results.
Collaboration is not just delegation or task assignment. Assigning projects as a break from the same old, interspersing themes and structures influences more creative collaboration.
What projects and co-workers could benefit from a fresh perspective on collaboration?

5- Organizational base: leadership and management of collaborative teams

Identify individual strengths in the collaborative environment while keeping an open mind. Let your team know that their efforts are not taken for granted.

With realistic expectations and clear objectives, the team can focus more on tasks and decision-making.
The group works with the opportunity to share ideas, receive feedback, support ideas, and have a clear picture of objectives.

Clarify objectives to each team member considering their roles, responsibilities, learning needs, and expectations.

Collaboration helps people learn from each other

Managing workgroups requires a vocation for integration, a deep desire to communicate goals and objectives in order to achieve them, and turn your work into a benefit that has value.
The general objective of any team is to have a common point of view on growth and valuation.

6- Measurement basis: evaluate and analyze the results of team collaboration.

To improve, you need to know what is failing and what is working.

Measure data responsibly, respect privacy, and test the effectiveness of collaboration.
It helps spot trends in design and content, promotes organization, and provides insight into how collaborative work impacts the business and how to improve.

Increase creative output by giving your team as much freedom as possible, but that doesn't mean they'll lose sight of the goals. In the process of knowing the impact, we have to ask about its objective, and how we measure results, there is an equal commitment in the group.

Working together with the team in a productive way by giving them a common objective and achievable goals encourages collaboration and creativity.

Perform periodic measurements and analyze the results

Some marketing strategies require months to see goals achieved and usually provide long-term benefits. Others may receive measurable results in the short term and require constant updates.
Collaborative teamwork allows your company to grow, if you apply this methodology and are looking for a facilitator to guide you in a personalized way, contact us, we are here to collaborate.