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​Blockchain is changing how businesses function, providing them with a secure and efficient technology to replace current practices. While it may have an impact on the company financially, it affects various other areas of businesses that are not traditionally associated with finance too, including security, logistics, and transactions.

​While these breaches may be common, a business can adapt and leverage blockchain technologies to improve digital security. With the system of a distributed public ledger that is encrypted, various aspects of the business from identities of employees to software updates can be secured using blockchain. 

​Assuming someone were to breach the update, and add malicious software to one computer, its operating system hash would change. Then, when it compares its hash to the other computers hash codes, its hash code will differ from the copies on the other two computers.
 
Through this method, each computer can periodically compare its ledger with the other ledgers on the network, and if any one software were to be breached, it could be reported.
 
This is a simplified example with just three nodes, but a business network with hundreds of computers across multiple organizations would make it almost impossible for any malicious software to be installed on any one computer. The process is also completely automated, allowing threats to be detected seconds after a breach has occurred.  

Supply Chain Tracking
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​Technologies such as the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Sawtooth are making this a reality. With the power of blockchain, smart sensors, and the Internet of Things, each piece of inventory can be tracked, allowing all parties to be aware of the condition its kept in.
 
Back to the example of food – Let’s say a farmer has just harvested some crop. He will attach a sensor to this crop, allowing data such as the time and location it was harvested, the humidity and temperature the crop was stored at, and other key points of information to be tracked securely by the necessary parties. This will allow each party, from the farmer to the retailer, to trust the other as there is technical data to prove the integrity of the inventory being purchased.
 
Tracking data using these technologies can help prevent malicious parties to sell goods that were not acquired according to the right standards, improving quality for every member in the supply chain. 

Transactions and Contracts
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​To understand how contracts can be impacted by blockchain, one needs to first be familiar with the concept of smart contracts. The idea was first developed in 1993 but has since grown in popularity with the development of Ethereum smart contracts. The basic idea involves the submission of a transaction involving two or more parties onto the blockchain with an expiry date, and at that time, a certain condition will be checked, and the transaction will proceed.
 
To provide a simple example, let’s say someone had to purchase a house. A smart contract involving a buyer and seller would be created, and it would expire on the day the sale would take place. The seller needs to release the key to the house, and the buyer needs to release the funds to purchase the house. These are the two conditions of the contract. At the time of expiry, if both of these conditions are not met, the contract will not go through. For example, if the buyer releases the funds, but the seller does not send the key, the funds would be returned back to the buyer at the time of expiry. On the other hand, if the seller releases the key early, the blockchain will hold it until the buyer sends the funds.

Another company, called Storj is creating cloud storage by leveraging unused hard-drive space on different computers. A file would be uploaded to this cloud, and encrypted and distributed to each node, creating decentralized storage that is much more secure than saving data on a single server. This would also allow everyday laptop users to leverage their computers as another source of income.
 
Impact on Financial Sector
 
Blockchain is going to impact the banking industry in many different ways, allowing the industry to benefit the most from the technology. Its main advantages are reduced costs and increased security, and faster transaction time, which is what every bank wants its processes to benefit from. 

​The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is also moving towards Blockchain by replacing their current Clearing House Electronic Sub Register System. They have been testing the transition for the last two years and have seen how migrating to blockchain can help simplify and cut costs of back-office processes. It is one of the first large financial markets to implement this change, and others are following. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) is planning on following the ASX’s footsteps and migrating to blockchain technologies as well.
 
Conclusion
 
Blockchain is going to change the way business function. Companies should adapt to this rapid change and leverage this technology to improve security, supply chain management, and transactions that take place on their business network. 

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What are the first few logical steps after your roll out your mobile application? Let’s take a look:

1. User downloads the application
2. User opens the application
3. User looks at the various features and operating tabs to use the app

Here, the third stage is the giveaway if you have created a successful mobile application. It determines if the user (who has downloaded the app) is going to be an avid user of your app or is simply going to uninstall it because he/she doesn’t understand it. This is largely based on the design of your UI or UX. Let’s understand the ‘why’ behind that reason.

User Interface (UI)
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User Interface (UI) basically refers to the look and feel of an app. The basic presentation of the buttons/tabs on the screen and its design falls under the UI. The mobile should be visually attractive and easy to use. For example, Instagram; the layout of the app is simple and the interface is easy to manage. The functionality is quite simple, and every time there is an upgrade a notification is sent to the user. 

User Experience (UX)
User Experience (UX) basically refers to user experience. The usability of the app, its user friendly functionalities and its seamless experience is what keeps user and motivates them to use the app. For example, Whatsapp; it is a mobile app that is easy to use and allows trouble-free navigation.

Why is it important to have an efficient UI and UX?

A mobile application is only successful when the user is active and doesn’t uninstall the app in a few hours or days because of its complex structure and confusing UI. A brand image can only be excelled when the app generates traffic and revenues. A qualitative feedback from the user, helps the app improve and reinvent itself on a timely basis.
Flipboard, a mobile app for digital magazines, offers a seamless UX design that boosts conversion performance. The look and feel of the app is similar to a magazine. The user is able to flip the pages just like in the magazine which gives it a design quality. The UI is simple and is relevant to the necessary functions needed while flipping the magazine.

Important aspects of the UI and UX design

Fonts and Colours
There are two most important design aspects in a mobile app – the fonts and colours used in the app. If you are a known brand, ensure that the colour scheme and font is in alignment with your company policies and design document. This is important so that the user can recognize your brain, also brownie points for looking authentic.
In other cases, it is necessary to determine the correct font and font size for the app. Sometimes, it gets difficult if the font is too fancy or too small or intimidating if it is too big or worse capitalized. Also, the colour scheme of the app is important. The designer must never have light font colours on a light background or dark font colours in a dark background. This becomes very hard to read visually, thereby annoying your user and forcing him/her to uninstall the app.

Language and Visuals
The language (in case of instructions or the back story in a game) should be simple to understand. Remember, the user might only have basic knowledge of the language and may not understand the words that need a dictionary.
The visuals also tell a story in your app. It is always better when you can visually explain your app to the users. The design of your icon should be easily relatable.

Notifications
An adept UI/UX should always display notifications for the user during an activity such as while updating the app, installing the app or new features introduced in the app. These notifications keep the user updated about what is happening and also motivates them to learn about the new features and using them. Value your user’s time and ensure that contents of an app load fast while designing the app.

App Flow
Along with a great UI and UX, ensure that the flow of your app is seamless. The content and actions are very important and makes your app credible. A great UI design of an app that doesn’t solve any pain points of the user is of no use.

Uniformity
There should be uniformity in your app; that is your app should have a similar colour theme and fonts throughout. The goal is to create a brand with the app that people can relate to. For example, the users will relate to HDFC bank, if the app uses the red, blue and white colour scheme.

Button size
The most important aspect of the UX is the button size. If the button size is too small or too big, the functionality of the app can go for a toss. Apple recommends that the average size of the buttons must 44 pixels square for an appropriate finger touch. This makes toggling and navigating on the app easy.

Shadows and Gradients
While designing the buttons, it is important to add a little design aspect that enhances the look and feel of the button. Shadows and gradients make the UI attractive and easy to use. It gives the buttons a three dimensional feel and a good looking form.

Key Takeaways

After downloading a mobile app, the user expects that the UI and UX designs are so intuitive that the learner doesn’t really need to learn how to use the app. In today’s world, the world has little patience and wants things to be simple and fast.

Going through a list of features and not knowing how to use them is a complete turn off. Hence, while designing the UI/UX always keep the user in mind and what they need. It’s not necessary to use every feature and design element in your mobile app, but it is necessary that it solves a pain point of the user.

Always prototype your mobile app before rolling it out in the market and collect feedback. Testing should be conducted early and often. This ensures that everything goes on the right track. 
The UI/UX design is always an on-going process; you need to keep updating your apps with the current features or design elements. To ensure that your app is frequently visited by the user, an update and new features are of utmost importance.
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A mobile app design has to be user-centric – this ensures that your mobile app succeeds and features in the top 10 apps list. To make this dream a reality, look for the best mobile app development companies that are known for its good UI/UX designs for mobile applications. 

​You’ve got an amazing idea to build a mobile application, what is the next step? Logically, it is to start planning the development stage and releasing a fully functional app. But the success of a good mobile app is when a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is in the hands of the user 

What is an MVP?

​As per the concept that has been popularized by Eric Reis, “A minimum viable product (MVP) is a development technique in which a new product or website is developed with sufficient features to satisfy early adopters. The final, complete set of features is only designed and developed after considering feedback from the product’s initial users.”
Source: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/27809/minimum-viable-product-mvp
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What are the benefits of an MVP?

An MVP allows you to understand the acceptance level of your mobile app from the horses’ mouth, i.e. from your real user base. As per the CB insights report, 42% of the companies rolled out mobile apps that did not serve any purpose, i.e. they did not solve any requirements of the user.
Source: https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/startup-failure-reasons-top/
An MVP is the best way to get a reality check – to test the assumptions and learn from your app’s own core findings. An MVP is generally designed to have minimum important features that solve a core problem for the users.

3 Examples of Successful Mobile App MVPs

Let’s take a look at a few apps that followed this rule of thumb and became successful apps.
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Facebook

The worldwide number of monthly active Facebook users as of the first quarter of 2018 had 2.19 billion monthly users, 47% of which access this app from the mobile.
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/ 

The app that started out as a directory for students studying at Harvard University expanded to the other top American Universities – Stanford, Columbia and Yale. In 2005, it included universities in the UK, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia and New Zealand, as well as more than 25,000 schools in various countries.
Zuckerberg rolled out an MVP which was completely revised to a new product with new technology and features. The app was rolled out to a small bunch of users to collect feedback. All of this feedback was consolidated and strategic business moves were made to upgrade this social media platform. Today, Facebook is a social media and social networking service company that is worth more than a billion dollars.
 
Instagram

Instagram was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger exclusively on iOS. Basically, this app allowed users to share photos with a limited number of filters. But there were already a lot of apps that allowed to use these same features of photo editing, so what was different? Well, the difference was that Instagram allowed photo sharing and editing at that time. This was a unique value proposition of this app. The MVP was launched and based on the user feedback several other features were added to the app.
Over the course, Instagram has added video editing, added new filters, Boomerang videos, eature stories and introduced direct messaging. There was a growth from 10 million users in 2010 to 800 million by September 2017. Instagram that launched as a MVP grew from a caterpillar to beautiful butterfly.

Dropbox
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A Silicon Valley startup, Dropbox was introduced in the market as a cloud-storage service in the market; it was a safe and secure solution focussed on simplicity. Even before rolling out the app in the market, Drew Houston built a 30-second video demonstrating the product. This video received thousands of feedback comments from the audience that was interested in this kind of product. Dropbox was able to capture email addresses of over 70,000 email addresses of their future user base.
Dropbox released its final product with basic functionalities and incorporating the feedback they had received from the user base. Now, it has over 50 million users with a growing rate of one new user per second.

Takeaways

A few takeaways to create successful mobile app MVPs:

Prioritize the features, starting with one feature that provides most value, as in the case of Dropbox, the basic feature was that it was a cloud-storage service.

Craft out the persona of the audience that you are aiming to target; for example, Uber was targeting middle class customers who need regular commute for work. Determining the persona will help you make user-centred decisions that solve a genuine problem faced by the user.

When the MVP is rolled out in the market, you will get an idea of what your app’s user base is actually looking out for. It is important that you document all the comments and feedback that you receive and respond accordingly to the market demands.
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Remember, building an MVP is not about introducing the product in the market, but building a technically feasible mobile app that works seamlessly. It is basically the perfect way to validate if it is solving the user’s problems and if not, then take an emergency exit or carve a different road map by prioritizing the feature that your mobile app needs to be.

​When you introduce a product in the market, the success of that product is directionally proportional to the strategies used while creating it. Defining a product pre-production makes it easier for the development team to approach the needs of the customer more accurately.
Let’s take a look at a typical product strategy mistake and how to avoid them:

Starting the Development of the Product at the Right Time

Have you ever thought of an idea for a product and then procrastinated to an extent that the idea never saw the light of day? Once you get an idea of the product that you are going to roll out, don’t take too long to ponder. Sometimes waiting for too long a product is never realized and new competitors can gain an upper hand and release a product better than yours.
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How do you avoid this issue?

 Create a rapid prototype and release a MVP. You can then keep upgrading it to higher versions with the feedback you receive.
Although, one must remember that starting the development of a product without a clear plan could lead to a strategic pitfall. 

Understanding Product Requirements

In order to map a project, it is imperative for the team to understand the product requirement rather than the customer requirement. The customer has an idea of the product that he/she wants to make but doesn’t necessarily understand what the product requires. The product requirement is of key importance because it’s the hero of the entire project. If you get that wrong, your product will not survive in this market for very long.
Also, have you ever come across a customer who talks about a product in the abstract and doesn’t really have any idea what goes in technically? You would be surprised but this does happen a lot! Most times customers do not know the latest developments and technical possibilities that can be used for the product.
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How do you avoid this issue?

The marketing people try to understand the customer’s requirement and they pass it on to the Product Manager. While understanding the product requirement, the entire team should be present. The entire team with their different levels of expertise can contribute during the planning stage to ensure that the product is well-defined.
Product developers can also visualize what the product needs and the opportunities of the future. They are the ones that understand the target market and create products that solve a user’s problem. 

Offering Real Value

It is necessary that the product that you introduce to the market solves a problem. Innovating a product for the sake of it or when there are other dozen products offering the same, doesn’t really add any value from the user’s perspective. It’s like offering a pack of chips in a different packet with no extra zing or flavour. Do you want your product to be competing with several other mediocre products? Of course not!

How do you avoid this issue?
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Offering real value in your product is necessary. Also, engineers enjoy creating a product when there is a different technology involved so that they can learn and use it. If the engineers actually understand the kind of product that the customer wants to build, they can come up with breakthrough solutions and offer real value to a product. 

Understanding Your User Base

You could come up with a great product but at the end it’s just doesn’t match up to the user’s expectation or worse, doesn’t solve any problem. For an organisation, the product can be like their baby, but for the target customer, it may be just another app in the market that doesn’t solve any real problem. So before you even begin drawing an outline for your product, the question that you must ask is that, “What is my user base?”

How do you avoid this issue?
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It is most often recommended that there is a usability testing done with a few target customers. Their feedback will determine how the product will be perceived when it is rolled out in the market.
This activity is ideally postponed by most companies because the costing gets higher. Also, building a product only for usability testing disrupts the schedule/timelines set for the product to be completed. Instead, the use of prototypes could be a good idea to solve this problem. The users can get an idea of the product and also give the company feedback which can be added as improvements in the product. 

Limiting Features and Increasing Benefits

Sometimes you might get so attached to the product that you would want to make it the “to go” product by adding every feature that you can imagine. Have you ever wondered the user’s reaction to several thousand features? Or have you ever imagined a complex UI? At times the product creators want to provide so many features in their products that it doesn’t solve the core problem of the user.

How do you avoid this issue?
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Product creators need to focus on the benefit of the product that they are going to offer instead. By increasing the benefits of the product the end user can understand the problem that your product is solving. Sometimes the product message is so complex that the target customers leave disinterested. A good product that offers benefits is the one where the target customer understands the product in less than a minute. 

​Focusing on a Good Business Model 
Building a good product is not enough in today’s times that has every new product coming up solving the same problem. Thinking about how this business model needs to thrive in the competitive world is of utmost importance. You can’t make a product that is independent of a good business model.

How do you avoid this issue?

The key is to focus on a good business model that aligns with the company’s business model. The company needs to be able to sell the product in the market and get the response that they are hoping for. 

Product Launch is not Success for the Product

After launching the product, you may see that the end users are giving good reviews; there are a couple of user estimates download met; the product installs correctly and there are big checks that are coming along but this doesn’t mean that you have a hit product on your hand.

How do you avoid this issue?

Once the product is launched, the success of the product depends on how it copes-up with the competition in the market and keeps reinventing itself. The user shouldn’t get bored or distracted and uninstall it. There should be a team that continuously strives to reinvent the product as per the current trends in the market.
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Conclusion
While carrying out all the above steps might be the best recipe for the market success but it does give the product a greater chance to be successful. The team is yet another factor that can make or break the product. Now, that you know the strategy, isn’t it time to introduce your product in the market? 

You could be working in any sector or industry or organization, everyone is talking about Blockchain technology. In the world of finance and financial technology, Blockchain apps are turnkey. But the technology has many other uses as well. These include banking and finance, insurance, fintech, jewellery business, healthcare, medical services, eLearning, travel industry, gaming, smart assets, online shopping portals, digital voting, digital identity management, distributed cloud storage, transport and logistics.

Developers that know Blockchain are most sought after, especially in financial organisations that are into developing new cryptocurrencies. “Blockchain developers ranked second among the top 20 fastest-growing job skills in 2017, showing a 200% growth from the second to third quarter of the year.  That demand continues to see rapid development in 2018 as technology changes because the Blockchain code is used in more and more applications.”
https://www.forbes.com/

​For the ones who are not too familiar with this upcoming technology of hashes, Blockchains and cryptocurrencies, let’s take an overview of the advantages it offers and if it is feasible for mobile apps to adopt this framework.

Advantages of Blockchain Technology

The first advantage that it has is that it tracks the transaction between parties like a ledger. Think of the whole set up as a digital ledger tracked by different parties. The interconnected nature between stakeholders every user has a unique digital signature and every transaction is verified and applied to the Blockchain.
Blockchains are immutable digital ledger systems implemented in a distributed fashion (i.e., without a central repository) and usually without a central authority. At its most basic level, they enable a community of users to record transactions in a ledger public to that community such that no transaction can be changed once published (NIST Blockchain Technology Overview Draft NISTIR8202, January 23, 2018)

The second advantage is that is offers total transparency of the transaction to see who sent what and when but without giving out any kind of personal information or leaking private data. The transparency of data also ensures that there are no false transactions that take place. Every node has a copy of the entire Blockchain which is verified by other nodes and because of this decentralised nature, no one entity can alter the transaction.

Digital Identity

“Blockchain technologies make tracking and managing digital identities both secure and efficient, resulting in seamless sign-on and reduced fraud,” said Ameer Rosic, founder of Blocgeeks.
“Blockchain technology offers a solution to many digital identity issues, where identity can be uniquely authenticated in an irrefutable, immutable, and secure manner,” says Rosic. “Current methods use problematic password-based systems of shared secrets exchanged and stored on insecure systems. Blockchain-based authentication systems are based on irrefutable identity verification using digital signatures based on public key cryptography.”
With Blockchain identity authentication, “the only check performed is whether or not the transaction was signed by the correct private key. It is inferred that whoever has access to the private key is the owner and the exact identity of the owner is deemed irrelevant.”
https://ameerrosic.com/5-Blockchain-applications-that-will-transform-society-what-is-the-future-of-Blockchain/

Supply-Chain Communications and Proof-of-Provenance

Most of the things we buy aren’t made by a single entity, but by a chain of suppliers who sell their components to a company that assembles and markets the final product. The problem with this system is that if one of these components fails “the brand takes the brunt of the backlash,” says Phil Gomes of Edelman Digital.
By utilizing Blockchain technology Mr Gomes states, “a company could proactively provide digitally permanent, auditable records that show stakeholders the state of the product at each value-added step.”
https://www.edelman.com/post/Blockchain-technology/

Blockchain App Options

This technology has brought about amazing opportunities for app developers to revolutionize the mobile app economy. As we know Blockchain protects the user’s anonymity during a transaction and protects the transaction too. Some of the apps that can be created include:

• A social media app can use their community to share and promote their app to their friends, and reward them with coins that can be used later inside the app, in other apps, or even be exchanged for fiat money.

• An role playing game would like to allow players to interact with each other  and do business transactions such as selling second hand virtual good, so both the players and the App publisher benefit from this transaction and the retention is being increased.

• A restaurant chain that will reward you with branded cryptocurrency coins every time you visit their physical store, through their app.

Blockchain Open Source Platform

It is however difficult to find a skilled Blockchain developer, and hence one can turn to quick Blockchain app development by deploying open source platforms that need minimal experience to start off. Various open source Blockchain platforms are available for facilitating the development of such apps Like Eris, HydraChain, MultiChain, OpenChain, OpenZeppelin, BigChainDB, Ethereum, Elements Blockchain Platform, Quorum, Stellar, Hyperledger. Other Blockchain platforms include Chain Core, Corda, Lisk, Credits, Domus Tower Blockchain, Symbiont Assembly, Chain, IOTA, Microsoft Azure BaaS.

Features of Popular Blockchain App Development Platforms

Eris
•    Big time free software
•    Allows the app to be created and run, secure, low-cost applications from anywhere
•    Features can be turned on and off
•    Helps to directly develop a group of a permission chain for the individuals.
•    Can analyse the complete action in a step by step manner
 
HydraChain
•    Most compatible with the Ethereum Protocol
•    Helps create a Permission app which is attached to the
 
MultiChain
•    Helps companies design, implement, and operate Distributed ledgers instantly
•    Supervised with the support of permission
•    Deployment in this chain is instant
•    Bitcoin compatible and extendable
 
OpenChain
•    Open source distributed ledger technology
•    Real-time ledger providing free transactions with a high scalability
•    Suited for companies that want to manage their digital assets in a robust and flexible manner
•    Instantized within seconds
•    Administrator of an Openchain instance defines the rules of the ledger for end users
•    Every transaction on the ledger is valid through a digital signature
•    Stands alone and maintains its privacy due to decentralisation
•    Secure platform with unified API
 
OpenZeppelin
•    Open-source framework
•    Provides secure, tested and audited code
•    Developers can use its vetted modules to build secure smart contracts
•    Modules issue tokens and define the rules of underlying systems
 
Reference site: https://datafloq.com/
 
 
Conclusion
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The advantages of Blockchain development are only brushing the surface as the world uncovers its capabilities. From quality assurance and smart contracts to the stock exchange and global transactions; mobile app development will continue to rise as startups use Blockchain technology to interact with customers from many different devices.
At the current moment, the Blockchain technology exists in dealing with cryptocurrency. New cryptocurrencies are being created almost every day and all of them utilize Blockchain in one form or another. Also, if your app depends on peer-to-peer currency transactions, it is best recommended to adopt Blockchain. It also helps you maintain records without them being altered.
 
App-Scoop blockchain mobile developers can help you create blockchain mobile solution for your business.
Contact app-scoop team – https://app-scoop.com/contact-us.html

​Blockchain is the most sought after topic in the tech world. But how did it all start? Well, the popularity of the cryptocurrency put the spotlight on the Blockchain technology. Nearly, everyone’s heard the word ‘Blockchain’ but very few know the fundamental technology behind them. It is not very easy to understand this technology; there are various videos and tutorials that you might find online but you will find it in bits and pieces. Here, let’s take a step-by-step look at how the Blockchain works and its different terms and technologies.

Basics of Blockchain

A Blockchain is like a diary of codes that cannot be forged. It allows transactions, mostly monetarily (for now), to be exchanged without a central authority or a third party vendor. It is an immutable, sequential chain of records called blocks which contain transactions, files or any other data. 
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These blocks are chained together using hashes. To simply put it, the hash function takes an input value and from that derives an output. The input value could include any data such as numbers, files, etc. For instance, if you input “hello world”, the output received would be something like “5eb63bbbe01eed093cb22bb8f5acdc3”.
https://learncryptography.com/hash-functions/what-are-hash-functions
To keep a track of these Blockchains, ever user has a ledger. A ledger is a digital file that keeps a record of all the transactions that take place. This file is not stored in one central location or in one particular server; it is distributed across the world via a network of private computers that are both, storing the data and executing computations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledger
Each of these computers represents a node of the Blockchain network and has a copy of the ledger file. Basically, every time a transaction occurs, it needs to be approved by the nodes, each of whom checks the validity. If the nodes determine that the transaction is valid, only then it is written into a block. For example, if you only had one entry, all the other computers will have the original hash and hence, the change would not occur.     
https://en.bitcoinwiki.org/wiki/Node
To perform transactions on the Blockchain, you need a wallet. This is a program that allows you to store and exchange your information. A wallet is a string of alphanumeric code such as 13fjgkh4457slkprrtyu938903b4n56yhuiklp which appears within the Blockchain as transactions take place. Only the number of the wallet is visible and the address of each wallet is also a public key. But to carry out a transaction, you also need a private key, which is also called the digital signature. This key is a string of private numbers that need to be kept a secret but if someone wants to send the message; it must contain the private key and the public key.

How are these keys created? Cryptographic keys (a string of numbers and alphabets) are made by key generators or keygens.
The Blockchain is programmed with a large set of rules which are called protocols. These protocols ensure that the network runs the way the creators have intended for it to run even though it isn’t centrally controlled by them.

Proof of Work is a system that requires some work from the service requester, usually meaning processing time by a computer, for example, the hash. A Proof of Work algorithm (PoW) is how new Blocks are created or mined on the Blockchain. The goal of PoW is to discover a number which solves a problem. The number must be difficult to find but easy to verify—computationally speaking—by anyone on the network.
This proof of work is carried out by special nodes called miners. These miners produce blocks by solving proof of work problems. When the electronic consensus of nodes approves a block produced by the miner, then the miner is rewarded with coins. For instance, in October 2017, Bitcoin miners got 12.5 Bitcoins per block. There is also a transaction fee that is paid to them by the users. Since, bitcoin has a huge amount of transactions happening, the transaction fees have sky rocketed.

Principles of Blockchain

Distributed database

The database is the Blockchain and its each node that has access to the whole Blockchain, that is that there are many computers and nodes that regulate the information instead of a singular database. Every node is able to validate the records of the Blockchain. It is architecturally decentralized as there is no one or several points of failure to bring down Blockchain; however, the nodes of a Blockchain are logically centralized but there are certain actions programmed into it.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) transmission

As we’ve determined earlier, there is no third party involved and hence, the communication is happening directly with peers through a central node. Each node stores the information about what is happening and then passes it on to the adjacent nodes. This is how the information spreads through the whole network.

Transparency yet Anonymity

Anyone inspecting the Blockchain is capable of seeing every transaction and its hash value. But at the same time they are anonymous unless they give their identification to others. All that the user can see is a record of transactions that have taken place between Blockchain addresses.

Why is it almost impossible to fake a block?

The reason that faking a block is almost impossible is that the validity of the block and, by extension, its inclusion into the Blockchain is determined by an electronic consensus of nodes. There are thousands of these nodes, scattered all over the world, and as a consequence capturing the network would require a computer with impossible power.
 
What do you need to make a Blockchain?

• Install Python 3.6+ (along with pip)
• Install Flask
• HTTP client

Final Code: https://github.com/dvf/Blockchain

Step 1: Open your favourite text editor or IDE, and create a new file called Blockchain.py. Create an initial empty list and another to store transactions. A block will have an index, a timestamp, a list of transactions, a proof and a hash of the previous block.

 Step 2: Use the Python Flask Framework which is a micro-framework that makes it easy to map endpoints to Python functions. This is the step where one starts interacting with the Blockchain.

Step 3: Use plain old cURL or Postman to interact with the API. Fire up the server, and then try mining a block. Create a new transaction.

Step 4: Now that we’ve got a basic Blockchain, you can accept transactions and mine new blocks. Blockchains need to be decentralised and hence, we will need to implement the Consensus Algorithm, if we want more than one node in the network.
You can refer to https://github.com/dvf/Blockchain in case you get lost.
Blockchain is the next step in technology that will rapidly change the face of economies, governments and record-keeping. Now that we’ve understood how Blockchain works, let’s take a look at how it is advantageous for the user:

• There is no third party involved. It’s a centralised system, where you complete control of your own value.
• The cost to perform the value of transaction is low which in turn makes it the most go to technology for micro payments.
• Transparency is guaranteed as anyone can verify any transaction made on the Blockchain.
• One can build decentralised applications that would be able to manage information and transfer the value in a fast and secured fashion.

Future of Blockchain
​
In reference to a report by CBInsights, “Fast-forward to today: the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies hovers around $150B (with a single Bitcoin trading for upwards of $5,000), Walmart and Pfizer have completed successful Blockchain pilots in food safety and medicine tracking, and initial coin offerings (ICOs) have exploded in popularity, closing on $2B+ in funding in 2017 alone.
 
Politically, Blockchain technology has fostered a renewed examination of today’s highly centralized web, and reignited conversations around currency and value, digital governance, and the fundamental structures and rails of our modern internet.”
Also, as of October 2017, “there have been 42 equity investment deals in 2017 alone, totalling $327 mln. The most active investor is a Japanese services firm SBI Holding, with stakes in eight Blockchain firms. A digital powerhouse Google is the second-most active investor, with stakes in the Bitcoin wallet company Blockchain and Ripple, a company that is working on Blockchain-based money transferring system.”
https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/blockchain-trends-opportunities/
The Blockchain technology is still in its infancy. New tools are being developed to improve the Blockchain security while offering a broader range of features, tools and services.
 

​A great methodology to deliver and develop better software is by incorporating agile practices.  While scaling agile in enterprise environments, one needs to understand the differences between scope and change control, and how to properly apply a given agile framework to bring in change without putting the overall project at risk. This involves collaborative agreements, iteration-based change control, transparency and effective stakeholder communication.

“The 11th annual State of Agile™ survey found that enterprise agility is increasing throughout organizations and across almost all industries at an accelerated rate. For the first time, half of the survey respondents came from outside North America. While the largest number (23%) of respondents still worked for software companies, the number from non-software companies grew significantly in 2016. Respondents from very large organizations, employing more than 20,000 people, also increased.”
http://www.agile247.pl/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/versionone-11th-annual-state-of-agile-report.pdf

​Agile Manifesto Values and Principles

Agile manifesto values ensure that the response to change is a fundamental driver for agile projects. Even though there are changes in the requirement frequently, the projects must be ready if there are any changes in the plan. Hence, the agile principle is to welcome change in requirements even in the later stages of development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.  

Challenges to Scaling Agile in Enterprise Organizations

There are many benefits of agile development – better change management, increased productivity, saving time and improved software quality. But when the company size is too large, there are also a few challenges that one can meet while developing agile

Change resistance: One of the biggest challenges in big companies is to be open to change. When the employees are so familiar and comfortable with certain processes and wireframes, it gets challenging to introduce change. For example, people have been working with legacy systems since ages and hence, changing over to agile will involve skepticism. So, while introducing the agile methodology, it is necessary to focus on its advantages such as rapid and frequent delivery unlike legacy systems.

Pre-existing Rigid/Waterfall Framework: Agile is more flexible and responsive to change than those used in Waterfall or V Model. Although, it will take time, effort and resources while changing the entire framework for an organization. Changes of this magnitude are risky in nature, and hence the benefits have to be clearly communicated to get support from the C-suite. The mindset of the executive level will also need to be transformed.

Handling Agile Teams: Coordination is a huge challenge even amongst agile teams while trying to scale development and delivery. In a big company, the team might have multiple goals and coordinating could be an issue. Another scenario is coordinating with non-agile teams such as teams that are working on waterfall methodologies. Also, while changing to the agile methodology, one needs to train and coach employees which might cause a delay in delivering agile frameworks.

Advantages of Agile Software

• Quick turnarounds: Unlike any other software development approach, Agile calls for quick turnarounds for QA. By implementing continuous integration in Agile, this can be solved.

 

• Repetitive execution: Agile calls for daily build deployments which can be certified using the right automation tool and a suitable automation approach.

 

• Quality assured: With a proper automation suite designed, the quality of the product can be assured at any given time by executing the automation suite. However, the test cases selected for automation need to have a good coverage of the application.

 

• Team is responsible for quality: Since automation is required in almost every phase of the agile process, the complete team is responsible for the quality of the product.

 

• Test Automation saves time: Automation is a significantly important to maintain agility, and is a priority for the entire team through established practices and a focus on continuous improvement. Continuous builds and tests (unit, functional & integration test execution) are examples of applying automation beyond the scope of traditional automated tests. In waterfall projects clients may not be too keen on investing in automation as precedence, primarily due to the handoff mindset that go together with that approach. Automation is a critical factor for regression testing hence, its coverage should be as high as possible.

Tips for Change Management in Agile

• Make sure understanding of acceptance change is expected from project inception by having project charter or kickoff meeting, clear roles and responsibilities and identify product owners, stakeholders in reviews, teams, etc.

 

• Hold those involved to expected behaviors during product builds, especially for management and customers/stakeholders. It takes greater restraint to be self-organized.

 

• Opening organizational mindsets to an agile framework leads you half way to success. Introducing the agile methodology by explaining the benefits would do the trick.

 

• Introducing consistent processes and practices would make it a smooth transition. It would also ensure better coordination amongst teams and would provide predictable progress for stakeholders.

 

• Move to short development cycles. Instead of developing full blown solutions, release a smaller, useful functional product by getting into the “Minimal Viable Product” (MVP) mode.

 

• Try to define interim milestones: internal releases that break up long release cycles to stop user stories from accumulating in the backlog. For instance, break your delivery cycle in multiple versions such as, alpha version to a select group of internal users within two months, and a beta to a group of friendly external customers two months after that. This will ensure that you are always on schedule.

Conclusion
​
Scaling enterprises with agile is possible by incorporating key success factors like providing support for executives, shift in delivery, consistent processes, proper training and coaching. By focussing on these key areas implementing agile or scaling agile won’t be a difficult task. Agile is a journey that needs long-term commitment and an open mindset of team members and rest assured, you will notice the benefits that agile methodologies bring to your organization.
 

9000 Participants, 270 Exhibitors, and 200 Speakers

​Last week I had the opportunity to attend the BCTech Summit on behalf of App-Scoop.
I am a TechTO groupie. The Toronto-Waterloo tech corridor is my habitat and I have grown accustomed to the style and approach of how we do things here.
BC was different. Everything from the beautiful physical setting of being by the water and mountains at the Vancouver Convention Centre to the diversity of topics that were covered, the 3-day BCTech Summit felt like a distillation of Canada’s unique west coast tech culture.

The West Coast Is About High Impact Ideas

“You’ll find the west coast is all about high-impact ideas” explained a colleague from Foresight, a cleantech accelerator.
The BCTech Summit was exactly that. This was the first time at a tech event where I was suddenly found myself interacting with a different breed of tech.
The BC Innovation Council, BC Government, and UBC were a few of the public anchors buttressed by large corporate sponsors like Microsoft and Google. All necessary partnerships to enable the rich diversity of west coast tech to discuss ideas, educate each other, and continue paving the way to becoming unified supercluster.

Here are a few topics that were covered:

• Transforming Key Sectors — Ocean, Industrial, and the Carbon Economy
• Building Global BioTech Success
• Spaceflight — laying the groundwork for all industries to participate
• Artificial Intelligence and Narrative Realities
• Innovation Through Data — health, aging populations, and global logistics

Connecting You With Canadian Tech

These are a few of the influencers that were present at the summit.

1. Female Funders —empowering thousands of women to become the angel investors of tomorrow.
2. Innovative Solutions Canada — Innovative Solutions Canada is a new program with over $100 million dedicated to supporting the scale up and growth of Canada’s innovators and entrepreneurs by having the federal government act as a first customer.
3. Build in Canada Innovation Program — This program helps Canadian innovators get their product to market faster, and helps them succeed in the marketplace, by buying and testing innovations in real-operational settings.
4. Foresight Cleantech Accelarator Centre — BC is definitely the spot to go if you’re looking to innovate in cleantech. Concept to commercialization, they’ve got you covered.
5. BC Innovation Council — An innovation hub that runs a variety of programs to foster innovation, this link will take to their current programs.

​If you ever have an opportunity to attend the summit in the future, definitely check it out, it’s a wonderful display of BC’s rich tech culture.

Blockchain is a revolutionary technology that has currently swept the technical market. It has gained its popularity through the innovation of Bitcoin crypto-currency and now every tech ninja wants to slide foot in this business and create startups. Although, it’s hard to crack the market, a Blockchain based organization now needs a remarkable showcasing procedure as much as a product that compels the audience. Startups need to promote their product aggressively, mainly through social media marketing strategies.
Let’s take a look at 11 marketing tips to jumpstart business for Blockchain startups:

Highlight the Solution

The most important aspect of your Blockchain project should be that it solves a problem in people’s life. There are several apps and projects that are rolling out in the market but most of them do not have an actual problem that they solve. Hence, it is important that you determine the pain point of the solution that you are offering through your Blockchain project. You can use OPEN Platform and SuchApp to view the needs of the masses rather than just targeting the Blockchain community.

​Determine a Budget
Once you’ve determined the solution and jotted down the project details, the next step is to fix a budget for marketing purposes. Calculating the return for your advertising campaign will help you determine the channels that you need to take to market your Blockchain project. Ideally, one of the most effective marketing strategies is to market through social media (reaches a large part of your audience). Also, it requires less investment upfront and is also less costly. Also, one must not forget that the advertising strategy should give you a good ROI in the long run.

Initial Coin Offering is not Mandatory for Success

Initial Coin Offering, also known as ICO, is generally a marketing strategy that is adopted by Blockchain apps to attract the initial lot of customers and get hooked on to the app. On the other hand, ICOs require heavy investment (which means a cut in profits initially) with no guarantee that the project is going to succeed. For instance, Dogecoin never offered ICO but capitalised on a trend and achieved great success and built its own following instead. Hence, ICO isn’t the only way to promote your blockchain startup. 

Update Website Content

In today’s time an online presence is very important for any project that you plan to undertake. A website about your Blockchain project is mandatory. The content on the website needs to be revised regularly with updates. Maintaining a blog on your website will keep it Live and ensure that your audience keeps coming back to the website and at the same time updated about your venture. Making an FAQ page will help the audience to understand your project better and discover basic information effortlessly.

Email Marketing Campaign

Emailing is still an effective and authentic way to reach your customer base. Email marketing campaigns connects you with people who are interested in your project. This kind of communication also helps build trust and loyalty with your key audience. Mailing lists are one of the best marketing tactics in the digital world.

Use Social Media

Social media sites are less costly, as well as they reach out to your target audience. Social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn ensure good visibility on your Blockchain project.
Twitter targets both B2B and the B2C market. If you tweets capture the attention of the audience, it could be re-tweeted many times which means that more people will get to know about it and you will also be aware of your social presence.
Instagram can also help you gain reputation on a B2C level by attracting an extensive gathering of people. The main components are keeping your audience engaged and updating the account consistently with new posts.
LinkedIn is professional networking site which can help you attract your core investors and also get other Blockchain companies updated on your project’s progress.
Check your social media platform frequently, intermittently checking it for the duration of the day. Moreover, update more posts towards the start of the day, fluctuating between various messages you are attempting to test with your audience. Another good practice to start is commenting on the follower’s posts, and taking part in discussions.

Build Online Communities

Bitcoin fans are passionate about online discussions. Construct online groups and advance your startup by engaging Blockchain experts.
Bitcoin Talk helps you discover everything about the Blockchain and other existing cryptocurrencies.
Reddit consists of a wide range of themes including Blockchain startups.
Quora is an excellent Q&A page that gives you a platform to improve your campaign.

Conduct Bounty Campaigns and Give Rewards

Bounty campaign is “when you do little tasks for the company and instead of getting Fiat, money like Euro or Dollar, you get stakes. Those stakes will transform into X Tokens which when the ICO starts can be traded for Fiat.” At the end of a bounty campaign, the supporters are rewarded with airdropped tokens. These campaigns are perfect to promote your project as they get you the business and new members and also help you understand the demographics of your audience. 
https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@alexth/easy-money-bounty-campaigns

Paid Advertising

Apart from conducting bounty campaigns, one can also turn to paid advertising as a marketing strategy to attract more customers. You can publicize the project that you are going to conduct as well as the approach towards it by consulting with financial specialists. Many potential investors and individuals check important distributions such as Coin Telegraph, Coin Desk and Trading View to investigate Blockchain advancements. This kind of paid advertising can help boost the project.

Press Releases

It is of utmost importance to appoint a PR team for your Blockchain project. The PR team helps with press releases which are essential for building your core followers. Press releases also attract potential investors and determine the value of your project. A good press release about your Blockchain project will definitely leave a lasting impression on your target audience, thus making them more interested about your project.

Refreshing the Minds of your Audience

In the ever changing app world and crypto space, it is most likely that your customer will forget about your project. There are many investors in the market waiting for the next Bitcoin to hit the market and take it by storm. Hence, in order to keep your audience updated, it is important that you retarget them by updating your social media or by sending them e-mailers on the newest fad in the market.
Remind them about the services that you are willing to offer and the benefits that they will get for supporting your Blockchain project. Getting this kind of support in the initial stages of your app indicate the success it will get in the near future.

Conclusion

A Blockchain startup is a venture that requires a product that solves a problem, has strong advertising techniques and a good competitive edge compared to other organizations. These 11 marketing tips can help you excel your Blockchain project in the early stages and receive the recognition it deserves, thus awarding your investment and hard work.  

​Raj Aggarwal, CEO of Localytics said, “The rich and interactive experiences we have come to expect on mobile apps have created new standards and expectations for all digital media including the web. The result is websites are evolving to become more app-like in their rich functionality.” In order to create this rich and interactive experience for your app user, you need to scope your project properly. To get a good insight and develop a strategic app, you need to answer the below 20 questions.

How can I validate my app idea?
There are three ways to validate an app idea, Proof of Concept (POC), Prototype or a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). These approaches not only validate the app but they also inspire new ideas and areas of improvement and ensure that the entire team is working towards the same goal. By using these three methods to validate the app can help you avoid common mistakes from making a faulty app whose features are not required in the market. ​

Who are the target users?
You need to determine the target users for your app and the problem that you are going to help solve. You also need to determine if you can make an app only for mobile users or if the app is going to be used on other devices as well. The most important factor that you need to consider is the platform that you are aiming for; Android or iOS.

Who are the key stakeholders?
Before investing in the app, you need to determine the stakeholders, project owner, budget holder, etc. You need to have a clear picture of who to co-ordinate with for each stage; ideation, prototype, build, test, release and post-launch.

What are the business objectives for the mobile app?
The objectives that one needs to consider for mobile apps are:

• Determine if it is an internal app to increase workforce efficiency or if it is an open product for all users
• Select the core features and functions of the app
• Select the platform for the app and the analytics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Are there other apps that the client likes that can be used as an inspiration for how this new app should look?
We are not saying to copy or plagiarise from another app but understand the mindset and expectations of the client before you develop an app. It comes efficiently for an app developer to have an idea of the UI/UX design and the corporate guidelines. 

What are the data points that your client needs from the app?
During the design stage, it’s necessary to understand the benchmark objectives, measures, and metrics. To focus the decision on the MVP features, it is necessary to define the key metrics that underpin the tangible measures of success for the app at outset. At the end, the client wants to receive a report on:

• The number of downloads on Android and iOS respectively
• Ratio of push notifications activated
• Number of active users
• Features that are being used the most
• Dead areas of the app that need re-thought
• Number of transactions done on the app
• The frequency of app users

Do you have any wireframes created? Do you have any visual design done?
Wireframes are designs that will show how the user will experience and interact with the app. Once the wireframes are approved visual designs will display how the screen will look when it’s in the app and working. The visual designer needs to ensure that the colours and display are in standard with the corporate look and attracts the user attention.

Have you created a product backlog?
A backlog is where you define and prioritize the functional and non-functional requirements of the app. You will need to give your app developer instructions and features that you expect out of the app. Giving them the details of the colours you expect to the see in the app display and the functions, will ensure that the final product will have fewer changes.        

Should you build a mobile app or mobile website?
The business objective determines the answer to the above question. Mobile websites are cost-effective but it might not give the user good quality and functionality. On the other hand, mobile apps engage, interact and communicate with the users. Further, the brand benefits because it drives customers to use the app more often with personalized, in-app content.

Should I choose Web, Native, or Hybrid development?
Web apps are easier to build; although they are very slow and not recommended for apps that want to offer the user an interactive and intuitive experience.
Native apps that are built for a particular platform make the app fast and responsive; they generally have the best overall performance and user experience. On the other hand, it is a little expensive and not the best for simple apps.
Hybrid apps are faster to develop than native apps and no browser is needed. On the other hand, fixing bugs and customization makes it difficult on the pockets of the app developer.

What is agile development?
“Agile is an iterative process in which features and requirements are built, tweaked, and approved before the project reaches completion. Each iteration, or sprint, will end with a small part of the final product.” This style allows you to review the progress before the project is finished.
https://www.agilealliance.org/agile101/

Should I outsource the mobile app development?
The demand for apps is growing each passing year. You may have a great idea but to convert it into an app takes a lot of effort. Outsourcing mobile apps is sometimes the best thing that you can do to see your idea become a working app in the hands of users. Outsourcing the mobile app ensures that your app is completed in a certain time frame, your app is developed by experienced app developers and is up-to-date with the current features in the market.

What should I look for in a development team?
While picking the development team, you need to look at their portfolio and their reviews from clients who had hired them to build an app. Also, going through an app that they have produced would be a good way to determine their expertise and vision.

Which is better, manual or automated testing?
Although manual testing might take a little more time, it is the best because you get real human feedback. This is similar to the feedback that you will get from your users. You can gauge the intuitiveness of the app and how user-friendly, convenient and capable the software is for user pain points.
On the other hand, automated testing ensures to pick out issues that the human eye isn’t capable of catching. It is also faster, efficient, can be reused for tests for code, and has a better visibility into app performance.
Ideally, the app should receive manual and automated testing.

How will my app make revenue?
You need to decide if the app is a B2E app or a B2C app; based on this you can determine how the app can earn revenue. Are you going to have in-app purchases or is it going to allow advertisements on the app? You need to also determine the payment methods for your app. 

What is the budget?
Ideally, you need to have an approximate idea for the budget of the app. The budget should be drafted based on the features of your app. Also, do not forget to consider the on-going charges for regularly updating it and fixing issues when needed.

What risks are there with the mobile app build?
There are a lot of factors that could affect the timelines to develop the app. Build a risk register as a part of the project kick-off and actions and owner’s responsibilities next to them.

Do you have a release schedule?
You need to determine if you are rolling out the app on all the platforms at the same time or planning to have multiple releases based on the feedback from the users.

How is the app going to be found when it’s ready to go live?
If this is a B2E app, then you can be assured that the employees will get an internal mail announcing that the app is live but for B2B and B2C apps that are launched on GooglePlay and the AppStore, you need to entice users to download your app.
Firstly, you will need a good app store optimization tool, make the icon powerful so that the users click on it and you can also advertise your apps on other apps to get the users attention.

How do you plan to maintain your app post-launch?
It is not possible to achieve perfection in one shot. After the app launch, there is going to be user feedback and frequent bugs that you will need to fix. Also, updates to the software will have to be made as per the market and the mobile app industry. You also need to consider the data and analytics to know how the app is performing and making constant amends to it.
​
New mobile apps are being created and released every hour, answering these set of questions will ensure that your app shines through and becomes a successful one!