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In an increasingly digital world, businesses are burdened with overwhelming documentation such as contracts, financial statements, medical records, emails, and even social media posts. Document Understanding Solution — a game-changing concept — comes to our rescue. This concept empowers businesses to extract insights without leaving valuable data untouched.

What is a Document Understanding Solution?

A Document Understanding Solution (DUS) is an AI-powered tool that interprets and comprehends unstructured data, converting it into structured information that can be more efficiently used and applied. It removes the traditional barriers to understanding complex, dense, and variant document formats, thereby improving productivity, reducing manual tasks, and enabling better decision-making.

Why Do We Need Document Understanding Solutions?

It is predicted that an estimated 80% of the world’s data will be unstructured by 2025. If harnessed correctly, this vast ocean of data holds unprecedented business opportunities. DUS comes into play here, transforming unreadable data to readable, unstructured data to structured, and unrecognized value into recognized.

Efficient data processing can bolster strategic decision-making risk management and even differentiate a forward-thinking business from a stagnant one. However, manual data processing is time-consuming, repetitive, prone to human error, and, quite frankly, dull. With Intelligent Document Processing, we can bid adieu to these limitations.

How Does Document Understanding Solutions Work?

A DUS typically works on machine learning principles, natural language processing, and optical character recognition.

• Machine Learning (ML): ML algorithms enable the DUS to continuously learn from its interactions with data, thereby improving its understanding and processing efficiency over time.
• Natural Language Processing (NLP): NLP aids the DUS in understanding and interpreting human language as it’s found inside the documents. This includes parsing written language, context, and sentiment, enabling more nuanced information extraction.
• Optical Character Recognition (OCR): OCR provides the initial stepping stone in processing by converting different types of documents (scanned, images, PDFs) into machine-readable text.

Once the document is machine-readable, the NLP and ML components collaborate to identify and extract valuable information.

Real-World Applications of Document Understanding Solutions

The potential applications of DUS are vast and span across various industries:

• Healthcare: Medical records, prescriptions, and case notes can be digitized, understood, and structured for improved patient care and research.
• Legal: Contracts, case files, and legal documentation can be quickly reviewed and crucial points extracted, which saves time and improves case handling.
• Finance: Financial reports, invoices, and transaction documentation can be analyzed for fraud detection, financial planning, and risk assessments.

The Future of Document Understanding Solutions

As we continue to generate massive amounts of data every second, the role of DUS will only intensify in our efforts to comprehend this sea of information. Businesses that can keep pace with this data-driven trend will have a competitive advantage.

Sophisticated DUS tools are not the future — they are the present. As these solutions advance, they will integrate more seamlessly into our workflows and change how we interact with data.

Certainly, here are some additional points to consider about Document Understanding Solutions (DUS):

1. Customization and Flexibility: DUS can often be customized to meet specific business needs. This means that it can adapt to various document types, formats, and languages, making it suitable for a wide range of industries and use cases.
2. Data Security and Compliance: DUS solutions often prioritize data security and compliance with regulations such as GDPR in Europe or HIPAA in the healthcare sector. They ensure that sensitive information within documents is handled securely and in accordance with legal requirements.
3. Integration Capabilities: DUS can integrate with existing software and systems used by businesses. This integration can streamline document processing and data extraction, making it easier to incorporate DUS into existing workflows.
4. Scalability: DUS can scale to handle large volumes of documents. This is particularly important for businesses dealing with a high influx of documents on a daily basis, ensuring that efficiency is maintained as data grows.
5. Quality Control: Quality control mechanisms are often built into DUS to verify the accuracy of data extraction. This helps in reducing errors and ensuring the reliability of the structured data generated.
6. Training and Continuous Improvement: DUS systems require initial training and tuning to perform optimally. They also undergo continuous improvement through feedback loops and learning from user interactions, ultimately becoming more accurate and efficient over time.
7. Cost Savings: While there may be an initial investment in implementing a DUS, businesses can realize significant cost savings over time by reducing manual labor and the associated errors. DUS can contribute to cost efficiency in the long run.
8. Accessibility and Collaboration: DUS enables greater accessibility to information within documents. It also facilitates collaboration among teams, as structured data is easier to share, analyze, and collaborate on compared to unstructured data.
9. Real-time Data Processing: Some advanced DUS solutions offer real-time data processing, allowing businesses to make faster decisions based on the most up-to-date information available.
10. Customer Experience Improvement: DUS can enhance customer experiences by enabling faster response times and more personalized interactions. For example, in the customer service industry, it can help agents quickly access relevant customer data from various documents during interactions.
11. Competitive Advantage: As businesses increasingly adopt DUS, those who implement it effectively can gain a competitive advantage by harnessing the full potential of their data, making data-driven decisions faster, and staying ahead in their respective markets.
12. Global Reach: DUS can break language barriers by offering multilingual support, enabling businesses to process documents in different languages and expand their global reach without language-related constraints.

In summary, Document Understanding Solutions are versatile tools that bring structure and efficiency to the handling of unstructured data. Their applications extend across diverse industries, and as technology continues to advance, their role in data processing and decision-making will become increasingly pivotal for businesses striving to stay competitive in the digital age.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a Document Understanding Solution is like finding a hidden treasure map amongst a pile of paper. By converting unstructured data to structured, we can ensure the optimal use of resources and make more informed decisions, leading to business efficiency and productivity.

Featured image by 2H Media on Unsplash

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In the ever-evolving realm of e-commerce, a dynamic and innovative trend is sweeping the industry off its feet: video commerce. As we stand at the threshold of a new digital-engagement era, the fusion of technology and business has birthed a novel approach to revolutionizing the online shopping experience. From video commerce platforms to live interactions and the burgeoning growth of video commerce startups, a seismic shift is reshaping how businesses and consumers interact within the e-commerce ecosystem. This comprehensive exploration delves into the fascinating world of video commerce and its profound influence on the rapidly changing e-commerce landscape.

The Emergence of Video Commerce: A Paradigm Shift in E-Commerce Dynamics

E-Commerce Evolution: Then and Now

While the concept of e-commerce has been a driving force for retail evolution for years, the advent of video commerce catalyzes a significant transformation. Traditional e-commerce platforms have long relied on static images and textual descriptions to convey product attributes. However, video commerce is flipping the script by offering a dynamic, interactive, and immersive shopping experience that bridges the gap between virtual and in-store shopping.

Exploring Video Commerce Platforms

Elevating Engagement through Visual Storytelling

At the heart of the video commerce revolution lies the platforms powering this new wave of online shopping. These platforms empower businesses to weave compelling narratives around their products through videos. From vivid product demonstrations and step-by-step tutorials to captivating behind-the-scenes glimpses, brands can now engage customers on a deeper emotional level. This art of visual storytelling doesn’t merely enhance engagement; it nurtures a sense of brand loyalty that transcends transactional interactions.

Unveiling Live Commerce: The Real-Time Shopping Experience

One of the most captivating facets of video commerce is the rise of live interaction. By harnessing real-time video streaming, businesses can directly connect with their customers. They can address queries, showcase products in action, and even provide exclusive deals in a highly personalized manner. The result? A shopping experience that emulates the thrill of in-store visits, fostering genuine connections between brands and consumers.

Champions of Innovation: Video Commerce Startups

Empowering the Small and Mighty

Video commerce startups are pivotal in driving the e-commerce landscape toward a video-centric future. These startups are democratizing the online marketplace by enabling even small businesses to leverage the power of videos to showcase their products. This leveling of the playing field fosters a paradigm shift, where the impact of a company isn’t determined solely by its size but by its ability to tell compelling stories through video.

The Winds of Change: The Transformative Effects of Video Commerce on E-Commerce

Elevated Customer Engagement

Video commerce can transcend the limitations of static imagery and written text. It captures the true essence of a product by presenting it in motion, allowing customers to understand its features, benefits, and functionality more comprehensively. This heightened engagement leads to well-informed purchasing decisions, subsequently reducing post-purchase dissatisfaction.

Forging Authentic Connections

In a digital age where authenticity reigns supreme, video commerce empowers e-commerce brands to forge genuine connections with their audience: live interactions, unscripted moments, and direct communication foster trust and transparency, establishing enduring relationships. Customers cease to be mere transactional entities; they morph into valued members of a community that shares common interests, values, and experiences.

The Fusion of Entertainment and Shopping

Video commerce doesn’t just blur the lines between shopping and entertainment; it fuses them seamlessly. By blending the realms of enjoyment and retail, brands can captivate consumers’ attention, seeking more than just products. This innovative approach transforms online shopping from a mere task into an immersive journey, enhancing customer satisfaction and fostering lasting brand loyalty.

In Conclusion: Envisioning the Future of E-Commerce through the Lens of Video

As the e-commerce landscape evolves at an unprecedented pace, the growing influence of video commerce stands as a testament to its staying power. This isn’t merely a fleeting trend; it’s a paradigm shift redefining how we shop, connect, and experience brands in the digital realm. The convergence of technology, content, and commerce is ushering in a new era characterized by visual storytelling, live interactions, and immersive experiences. Embracing video commerce isn’t just about keeping up; it’s about propelling your brand into the future by resonating with the changing expectations of today’s consumers. Whether you’re a business striving to stand out or a consumer seeking a richer shopping experience, video commerce is the bridge between aspiration and fulfillment, setting the stage for the future of e-commerce.

Featured by Imansyah Muhamad Putera on Unsplash

The post Transforming the E-Commerce Landscape: The Power and Promise of Video Commerce appeared first on noupe.

As web designers, our role in crafting user-friendly digital landscapes is critical. We are tasked with creating user experiences that make visitors feel comfortable and respected. This, in turn, creates benefits for our clients by improving repeat visits and achieves the site’s ultimate aims, whether that is sales revenue or some less tangible form of metric.

You plan to set up shop with an online store. You know there’ll be competition. And to compete with or beat that competition your online store must showcase products people want to buy. And provide them with an engaging shopping experience that will encourage them to do exactly that.

Social media isn’t a passing fad if its popularity is any indicator. Today, 61% of the world’s population uses social sites, and the average person bounces between seven platforms per month. 

This popularity presents plenty of opportunities for marketers. You can use platforms like Instagram and TikTok to connect with customers in creative and unique ways, too. 

You can also use your social presence to build a stronger brand and improve your customer experience. This is particularly important today, as businesses from all industries are scrapping to garner the attention of digital consumers. 

Data-Driven Marketing

Successful marketing strategies leverage a blend of data-driven analytics and creative thinking. As mentioned, you can boost the veracity of your data by gathering insights on social sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. You can begin a data-driven social media marketing campaign by utilizing techniques like: 

• Social Listening: These programs are designed to highlight any mentions of your brand online. This can help with brand reputation management and give you a better idea of your business’s presence online. 
• Social Search: Keyword analysis and hashtag tracking are great ways to quantify the interest in your particular niche. Keep tabs on key metrics like search volume and try to rise through the ranks over time. 
• Real-Time Data: Social media is an ever-changing landscape for businesses. Leverage social data effectively by investing in a social media management tool like Hootsuite Analytics, Google Analytics, or Sprout Social. 

These approaches to social media data collection will give you a great overview of the industry and your business’s place within it. Even simple methods of data collection — like tracking clicks and impressions — can help you better understand the impact of your campaigns. 

However, quantitative data analysis is only a piece of the puzzle. If you want to optimize your social accounts, you’ll need to gather qualitative feedback on social media, too. 

Qualitative Feedback and the Customer Experience

Businesses spend thousands of dollars every year on focus groups and consumer surveys. That’s because qualitative marketing research is extremely valuable and can help firms better understand the needs of their consumers. 

Social media cannot replace interviews and focus groups, but it can give marketers a better understanding of consumer trends and the overall customer experience. Start gathering useful qualitative feedback on social media by publishing posts that drive higher rates of engagement, like: 

• Run surveys 
• Offer prizes to folks who offer feedback on certain posts
• Publish polls
• Host an “ask me anything” (AMA) on social sites like Reddit and Facebook

Capturing customer feedback is a vital step in improving the customer experience. Over time, this kind of qualitative research can help you build a more holistic consumer journey and help you connect with customers. It can also help you understand where customers are discovering your brand so you can refine certain marketing channels to better align with consumer behavior. 

Building a Persona Online

Social platforms operate a little differently from traditional marketing venues. Folks who follow you online won’t appreciate a “hard sell” and will likely hit the unfollow button if you publish a series of formal advertisements. 

Instead, try to build a social media persona when publishing posts to sites like TikTok and Twitter. This method will help build engagement on your page and reduce the risk of consumers hitting the “unfollow” button when you do announce a new product or service. 

Start your search for the perfect social persona by embracing creativity online. Followers don’t want to see mundane posts about the products you offer or the deals you’re running. Instead, connect with consumers by meeting the genre expectations of each platform. For example, if you’ve just started a TikTok page, head over to the Creative Center to discover today’s trending sounds and influencers. 

Meeting the genre expectations of the social platform you’re on will help direct your creative energy, too. This is particularly useful if you are new to social media and are trying to get up to speed. Start your journey towards building an online persona by becoming a user yourself. Conduct some preliminary research by noting down the posts that resonate with you, and try to replicate the tone and style that you find most appealing. 

Publishing High-Quality Content

Building a social persona is a great way to engage your followers and grow your digital presence. However, if you want folks to stick around, you need to start publishing high-quality content to your accounts. 

Start with simple video content that resonates with your customers. For example, if you run social media pages for a gym, consider posting a series of informative videos that show folks how to use the equipment in your space. These kinds of posts add meaningful value to the lives of your followers and are almost certain to build engagement with your posts. 

Stay relevant by keeping up to date with emerging social media trends. You can tap into this style of content by working with influencers who are sponsored by your business and foreground real-life stories from your customers. 

If you sell a product online, consider linking your social posts to a social shop. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok all have digital shops built into their apps. Consider creating a few posts that highlight the products you sell on your shop, and try out a few live streams to build hype around an upcoming launch. 

If you’re struggling to invent new ideas for your social pages, consider a range of posts themed around topics like: 

• Behind-the-scenes videos that show how the product/service is made;
• Value-based short-form videos that carry an ethical message;
• Event-based posts that encourage folks to come to your point of sale;
• Prizes and giveaways that intentionally build engagement.

These types of posts can easily fill your social media calendar and help you build your presence online. Just remember to respond to comments, too, as folks want to know that they are being heard when they come to your site. 

Conclusion 

Social media can help you better understand your customers and provide a better consumer experience. However, if you’re new to social media, you may struggle to build engagement about your product or service. Make the process easier by gathering consumer data through your social site. This will guide your creative decision-making and help you better understand your consumers. 

Featured image by Hans Vivek on Unsplash

The post The Power of Social Media Marketing in Driving Positive Customer Experiences appeared first on noupe.

Yes, designers do need marketing tools. From freelance graphic designers who need to land more work to designers who work for another company, there’s always a need to understand basic marketing.

A dear colleague of mine, Jan Philip Pietrczyk, once commented on the developer’s responsibility for writing functional code:

“Our daily work […] ends up in the hands of people who trust us not only to have done our best but also that it works.”

— Jan Philip Pietrczyk

His words have really stuck with me because it puts our code in the context of the people who rely on it. In this fast-paced world, users trust that we write the best code possible and that our software “simply” works. Living up to this level of trust is a challenge, for sure, and that’s why testing is such a crucial part of any development stack. Testing a process evaluates the quality of our work, validating it against different scenarios to help identify problems before they become, well, problems.

The Test Pyramid is one testing strategy of many. While it’s perhaps been the predominant testing model for the better part of a decade since it was introduced in 2012, I don’t see it referenced these days as much as I used to. Is it still the “go-to” approach for testing? Plenty of other approaches have cropped up in the meantime, so is it perhaps the case that the Test Pyramid is simply drowned out and overshadowed by more modern models that are better fitting for today’s development?

That’s what I want to explore.

The Point Of Testing Strategies

Building trust with users requires a robust testing strategy to ensure the code we write makes the product function how they expect it to. Where shall we start with writing a good test? How many do we need? Many people have grappled with this question. But it was a brief comment that Kent C. Dodds made that gave me the “a-ha!” moment I needed:

“The biggest challenge is knowing what to test and how to test it in a way that gives true confidence rather than the false confidence of testing implementation details.”

— Kent C. Dodds

That’s the starting point! Determining the goal of testing is the most crucial task of a testing strategy. The internet is full of memes depicting bad decisions, many resulting from simply not knowing the purpose of a particular test and how many we need to assert confidence. When it comes to testing, there is a “right ratio” to ensure that code is appropriately tested and that it functions as it should.

2 unit tests. 0 integration tests. pic.twitter.com/K2MZKwr8JT

— DEV Community (@ThePracticalDev) August 2, 2017

The problem is that many developers only focus on one type of testing — often unit test coverage — rather than having a strategy for how various units work together. For example, when testing a sink, we may have coverage for testing the faucet and the drain separately, but are they working together? If the drain clogs, but the faucet continues to pour water, things aren’t exactly working, even if unit tests say the faucet is.

Approaches for testing are often described in terms of shapes, as we’ve already seen one shape with the pyramid model. In this article, I would like to share some of the shapes I have observed, how they have played out in real-world scenarios, and, in conclusion, which testing strategy fits my personal criteria for good test coverage in today’s development practices.

Flashback To The Basics

Before that, let’s revisit some common definitions of different test types to refresh our memories:

• Manual tests
  This is testing done by actual people. That means a test will ask real users to click around an app by following scripted use cases, as well as unscripted attempts to “break” the app in unforeseen scenarios. This is often done with live, in-person, or remote interviews with users observed by the product team.
• Unit tests
  This type of test is where the app is broken down into small, isolated, and testable parts — or “units” — providing coverage by individually and independently testing each unit for proper operation.
• Integration tests
  These tests focus on the interaction between components or systems. They observe unit tests together to check that they work well when integrated together as a working whole.
• End-to-end (E2E) tests
  The computer simulates actual user interactions in this type of test. Think of E2E as a way of validating user stories: can the user complete a specific task that requires a set of steps, and is the outcome what’s expected? That’s testing one end of the user’s experience to the other, ensuring that inputs produce proper outputs.

Now, how should those types of testing interact? The Test Pyramid is the go-to metaphor we’ve traditionally relied on to bring these various types of testing together into a complete testing suite for any application.

All Hail The Mighty Test Pyramid

The Test Pyramid, first introduced by Mike Cohn in his book Succeeding with Agile, and developed further by Martin Fowler in his “The Practical Test Pyramid” post, prioritizes tests based on their performance and cost. It recommends writing tests with different levels of granularity, with fewer high-level tests and more unit tests that are fast, cheap, and reliable. The recommended test order is from quick and affordable to slow and expensive, starting with many unit tests at the bottom, followed by service, i.e., integration tests in the middle. Following that are fewer, but more specific, UI tests displayed at the top, including end-to-end tests.

There’s a growing sentiment in the testing community that the Test Pyramid oversimplifies how tests ought to be structured. Martin Fowler addressed this in a more recent blog post nearly ten years after posting about the pyramid shape. My team has even questioned whether the model brings our work closer to the end user or further away. While higher levels of the pyramid increase confidence in individual tests and offer better value, it seems less mindful of the bigger picture of how everything works together. The testing pyramid felt like it was falling out of time, at least for us.

From Pyramids To Diamonds

One point my team discussed internally was the pyramid’s over-emphasis on unit testing. The pyramid is an excellent shape to describe what a unit test is and what scope it covers. But if you ask four people what a unit test is, you will likely get four different answers. Perhaps the shape needs a little altering to clear things up.

The biggest clarification my team needed was where and when unit testing stops. The pyramid shape suggests that unit tests take up the majority of the test process, and that felt off to us. Integration tests are what pull those together, after all.

So, another way we can view the pyramid shape of a testing strategy can is to let it evolve into a diamond shape:

Integration testing is sometimes called the “forgotten layer” of the testing pyramid because it can be too complex for unit testing. But it gets more focus in the Testing Diamond (often split into two specific layers):

1. Integration Test Layer
   This layer is pretty much the same as what we see in the Test Pyramid, but it is reserved for tests that are considered “too big to be a unit test” — something in between the Unit and Integration Test layers. A test on a specific component would be an ideal sort of thing for this layer.
2. System Integration Test Layer
   This layer is more about “real” integration tests, like data received from an API.

So, the diamond shape implies a process where unit tests are done immediately after integration testing is complete, but with less emphasis on those individual tests. This way, the integration layer gets the large billing it deserves while the emphasis on unit tests tapers off.

Where’s Manual Testing?

Whether a testing strategy is called a “pyramid” or a “diamond,” it is still missing the critical place of manual testing in the process. Automated testing is valuable, to be sure, but not to the extent that they make manual testing practices obsolete.

I believe automated and manual tests work hand in hand. Automated testing should eliminate routine and common tasks, freeing testers to concentrate on the crucial areas that require more human attention. Rather than replace manual testing, automation should complement it.

What does that mean for our diamond shape… or the pyramid, for that matter? Manual testing is nowhere in the layers but should be. Automated tests efficiently detect bugs, but manual testing is still necessary to ensure a more comprehensive testing approach to provide full coverage. That said, it’s still true that an ideal testing strategy will put a majority of the emphasis on automated tests.

That means the testing strategy looks more like an ice cream cone than either a pyramid or a diamond.

In fact, this is a real premise called the “Ice Cream Cone” approach. Although this approach takes longer to implement, it results in a higher confidence level and more bugs detected. Saeed Gatson provides a succinct description of it in a post that dates back to 2015.

But does a pizza shape actually go far enough to describe the full nature of testing? Gleb Bahmutov has taken this concept to the extreme with what he calls the “Testing Crab” model. This approach involves screenshot comparisons, which a human then verifies for differences. Bahmutov sees visual and functional testing as “the body” of the crab, with all other types of testing serving as “the limbs.” There are indeed tools that provide before-and-after snapshots during a test that, when layered on top of one another, can highlight visual regressions.

The Testing Trophy

All testing approaches are costly, and the Test Pyramid got that point right. It’s just that the shape itself may not be realistic or effective at considering the full nature of testing and the emphasis that each layer of tests receives. So, what we need to do is find a compromise between all of these approaches that accurately depict the various layers of testing and how much emphasis each one deserves.

I like how simply Guillermo Rauch summed that up back in 2016:

Write tests. Not too many. Mostly integration.

— Guillermo Rauch (@rauchg) December 10, 2016

Let’s break that down a bit further.

• Write tests
  Not only because it builds trust but also because it saves time in maintenance.
• Not too many
  100% coverage sounds nice, but it is not always good. If every single detail of an app is covered by tests, that means at least some of those tests are not critical to the end-user experience, and they are running purely for the sake of running, adding more overhead to maintain them.
• Mostly integration
  Here is the emphasis on integration tests. They have the most business value because they offer a high level of confidence while maintaining a reasonable execution time.

You might recognize the following idea if you’ve spent any amount of time following the work of Kent C. Dodds. His “Testing Trophy” approach elevates integration testing to a higher priority level than the traditional testing pyramid, which is perfectly aligned with Guillermo Rauch’s assertions.

Kent discusses and explains the important role that comprehensive testing plays in a product’s success. He emphasizes the value of integration tests over testing individual units, as it provides a better understanding of the product’s core functionality and respected behaviors. He also suggests using fewer mockup tests in favor of more integration testing. The testing trophy is a metaphor depicting the granularity of tests in a slightly different way, distributing tests into the following types:

1. Static analysis: These tests quickly identify typos and type errors by way of executing debugging steps.
2. Unit tests: The trophy places less emphasis on them than the testing pyramid.
3. Integration: The trophy places the most emphasis on them.
4. User Interface (UI): These include E2E and visual tests and maintain a significant role in the trophy as they do in the pyramid.

The “Testing Trophy” prioritizes the user perspective and boasts a favorable cost-benefit ratio. Is it our top pick? This test strategy is the most sensible, but there is a catch. While unit tests still offer valuable benefits, there are drawbacks to integration and end-to-end tests, including longer runtimes and lower reliability. The benefits of unit tests are valid, and I still prefer to use them.

So, Is The Test Pyramid Dead?

The Test Pyramid is still a popular testing model for software development that helps ensure applications function correctly. However, like any model, it has its flaws. One of the biggest challenges is defining what constitutes a unit test.

My team implemented the modified diamond shape for our testing pipelines. And we’ve found that it’s not entirely wrong, just incomplete. We still gain valuable insights from it, particularly in prioritizing the different types of tests we run.

It seems to me that development teams rarely stick to textbook test patterns, as Justin Searls has summed up nicely:

People love debating what percentage of which type of tests to write, but it’s a distraction. Nearly zero teams write expressive tests that establish clear boundaries, run quickly & reliably, and only fail for useful reasons. Focus on that instead.https://t.co/xLceALKrWe

— Justin Searls (@searls) May 15, 2021

This is also true for my team’s experience, as dividing and defining tests is often difficult. And that’s not bad. Even Martin Fowler has emphasized the positive impact that different testing models have had on how we collectively view test coverage.

So, in no way do I believe the Test Pyramid is dead. I might even argue that it is as essential to know it now as ever. But the point is not to get too caught up in its shape or any other shapes. The most important thing to remember is that tests should run quickly and reliably and only fail when there’s a real problem. They should benefit the user rather than simply aiming for full coverage. You’ve already accomplished the most important thing by prioritizing these aspects in test design.

References

• “The Practical Test Pyramid,” Ham Vocke
• “On the Diverse And Fantastical Shapes of Testing,” Martin Fowler
• “The Testing Pyramid Should Look More Like A Crab,” Gleb Bahmutov
• “The Software Testing Ice Cream Cone,” Saeed Gatson
• “Write tests. Not too many. Mostly integration,” Kent C. Dodds
• “The Testing Trophy and Testing Classifications,” Kent C. Dodds
• “Static vs Unit vs Integration vs E2E Testing for Frontend Apps,” Kent C. Dodds

In today’s developing world of technology, our furry companions aren’t forgotten. The advent of smart dog houses has revolutionized the way we care for our companions. These new kinds of houses and technologies offer comfort and security for our beloved pets. In this article, we’ll be exploring the world of smart dog houses and their features, highlighting popular firms, apps, and technologies, and offering some practical advice for pet owners. 

What is a Smart Dog House?

Smart dog houses, also known as automated or connected dog houses, are designed to provide an enhanced living environment for your pets. These innovative abodes are equipped with various sensors, devices, and features that cater to your dog’s needs as well as offer pet owners a new level of control. By tracking their pet’s health or safety, pet owners can also provide some information from the data they collected. Pet owners can create pet care apps to help them collect and manage pet information.

Features That Make Them Smart

• Climate Control: One of the primary features of smart dog houses is their ability to regulate temperature. Integrated heating and cooling systems ensure that your dog is comfortable year-round. This is especially beneficial in extreme weather conditions.

• Remote Monitoring: Many smart dog houses come with cameras that allow you to keep an eye on your pet while you’re far away. You can check in on them through a mobile app, ensuring their safety and well-being.

• Feeding Systems: Automated feeding systems dispense food at scheduled times, even when you’re not at home. This ensures that your pet is well-fed and helps with portion control.

• Air Quality Control: Some smart dog houses have air purification systems to maintain clean and healthy air quality. This can be vital for dogs with allergies or some health issues.

• Security Features: Smart dog houses often include security features like locking mechanisms and alarms to keep your pet safe from potential intruders or dangers.

• Lighting: Integrated lighting systems provide visibility at night and create a comforting ambiance for your pet.

• Noise Control: These houses may come with noise-reduction features to help keep your dog calm in noisy environments if your dog is easily disturbed by sounds. 

Popular Smart Dog House Firms, Apps, and Technologies

PetSafe Smart Dog House: PetSafe offers a range of smart dog houses with features such as self-warming floors, app-controlled feeding, and automatic door locking. Also, PetSafe has various containment systems to keep your pet in the garden safely. 

PetParker: A Vancouver-based company, PetParker offers smart stations for dogs to provide more flexibility for pet owners. By cooperating with businesses and governments, PetParker smart dog stations allow pet owners to transform their customers’ experience. 

Furbo Dog Camera: While not a dog house itself, the Furbo Dog Camera is a popular device that allows you to monitor your pet and dispense treats remotely. It’s a great addition to any smart dog house because it offers 360-degree zero-blind spot vision. You can even notify your dog of emergencies at home with the Furbo Dog Camera.

SureFlap Microchip Pet Door: This smart pet door technology allows your dog to enter and exit the house while keeping unwanted animals out. It’s compatible with microchips and RFID collar tags. It could be a great addition to your existing dog house to make it smart or more useful. 

Petnet SmartFeeder: The Petnet SmartFeeder is a popular app-controlled feeding system that ensures your pet is fed the right portions on time. It also provides nutritional recommendations. SmartFeeder’s app connects your phone with the device and then allows you to control your pet’s eating routine. 

How to Buy a Dog House?

Smart dog houses can be purchased from various sources, including online markets such as Amazon and Walmart. Amazon offers a wide range of options from various sellers, allowing you to compare prices and features easily. Walmart provides the convenience of both online and in-store shopping in the United States, with the option to physically examine products before buying. When purchasing a smart dog house, consider factors like size, features, and your budget. Also, you can read product reviews and check for warranties to ensure a satisfying purchase that meets your dog’s needs.

Advice for Smart Dog House Owners

1. Training: While smart dog houses offer convenience, it’s essential to train your dog in order to use them effectively. Gradually introduce your pet to the new features and devices.

2. Maintenance: Regularly clean and maintain the smart dog house, especially the air filters, to ensure your pet’s health and comfort.

3. Security: Ensure the security features of the dog house are functioning correctly, and keep your app’s login credentials secure to prevent unauthorized access.

4. Adjust Settings: Use the mobile app to adjust settings like temperature, feeding schedules and lighting based on your pet’s needs.

5. Regular Check-Ins: Even with remote monitoring, make an effort to physically spend time with your pet. No technology can replace the bond you share.

Conclusion

Smart dog houses represent a significant step forward in pet care and ownership. They offer a range of features designed to increase your dog’s quality of life and provide peace of mind for pet owners. With the right training and maintenance, these innovative homes can truly be a haven for your companions. As technology continues to advance, we can only imagine what exciting developments await our beloved pets in the future.

The post Smart Dog Houses: New Technologies for Dogs  appeared first on noupe.

ESC, the leading sustainability consultancy in Asia, and Design Sojourn, a renowned design thinking and innovation consultancy, have partnered to launch the Innovating for Sustainability Programme (ISP). This new programme aims to help Singaporean companies capture new innovative business opportunities and enhance their capabilities in addressing the growing consumer need for sustainable products and services.

The Innovating for Sustainability Programme is a unique opportunity for Singaporean companies to enhance their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. With funding support through Enterprise Development Grant, SMEs can access grants of up to 70%, while non-SMEs can receive up to 50%.

The Innovating for Sustainability Programme helps Singaporean companies build their sustainability capabilities for the next five years and beyond

Andrew Young, Group Director of ESC, said, “Many SMEs in Singapore haven’t yet made sustainability a top priority in their operations. The ISP stands as a solution to this challenge, helping them build long-term business growth and become more resilient.”

Brian Ling, Founder of Design Sojourn, of the latest offering, said, “We are excited to partner with ESC in this programme. The ISP offers a clear roadmap for companies to integrate ESG practices into their business strategy while harnessing the power of design thinking to create innovative solutions.”

Incorporating ESG practices can redefine how people view businesses. Through the ISP, Singaporean companies can transform their products and services into one that positively impacts and fulfils the expectations of investors, employees, and consumers for sustainable value creation. This, in turn, can lead to higher revenue, talent retention and attraction, enhanced productivity, and better access to financing.

 

For more information about ISP, please fill out this form or email info@designsojourn.com or enquiries@envirosc.com.

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About Design Sojourn:
Design Sojourn is a renowned design-led innovation consultancy that helps businesses integrate design thinking into their organisations. With a strong track record in social and sustainability design work, they empower companies to create innovative and environmentally conscious solutions that improve people’s lives.

About ESC:
ESC is the leading environment, safety, and sustainability consultancy in Asia. Our international and multidisciplinary teams are uniquely equipped with Local Knowledge and Global Expertise to address your complex sustainability challenges.

Media Contact:
Denise Shee
Senior Experience Designer, Design Sojourn
denise@designsojourn.com

Laiza Fidel
Marketing Lead, ESC
laiza@envirosc.com

The post ESC and Design Sojourn’s Innovating for Sustainability Programme Offers Grant Support for Singaporean Companies appeared first on Design Sojourn. Please click above if you cannot see this post.

At the end of another summer, we are all getting ready to knuckle down for some serious work in the fall. But we want to help you work smarter, not harder, so to that end, we’d like to present you with this latest round of exciting new tools for designers and developers.