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Showing posts with label BUILD BETTER WEBSITE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BUILD BETTER WEBSITE. Show all posts

Sunday

Ways to Improve your Site's Ranking (SEO)

05 November 0
Follow these suggestions to improve your search engine optimization (SEO) and watch your website rise the ranks to the top of search-engine results.


1. Publish Relevant, Authoritative Content

Quality, authoritative content is the number one driver of your search engine rankings and there is no substitute for great content—this is especially true when doing SEO marketing. Quality content created specifically for your intended user increases site traffic, which improves your site's authority and relevance. Fine-tune your web writing skills and present yourself as an authority on the topic you are writing about.

Keywords

Identify and target a specific keyword phrase for each authoritative content page on your website. Think about how your reader might search for that specific page with search terms like:
  • online masters in engineering management
  • what is biomedical engineering?
  • title IX education resources
  • photographing northern lights
  • how to apply for scholarships?
  • when is the FAFSA deadline?
  • what is the difference between engineering and engineering technology?
Multiple Keyword Phrases

It is very difficult for a webpage to achieve search engine rankings for multiple keyword phrases—unless those phrases are very similar. A single page may be able to rank for both "biomedical engineering jobs" and "biomedical engineering careers". Ranking for "student affairs" and "dean of students" or "gender discrimination" and "violence reporting procedures" with a single page is unlikely.

If you want to rank for multiple keywords phrases with your website, you will need to make a separate webpage for each keyword phrase you are targeting.

Placing Keywords

Once your keyword phrase is chosen for a given page, consider these questions:
  • Can I use part or all of the keyword phrase in the page URL (by using keywords in folders)?
  • Can I use part or all of the keyword phrase in the page title?
  • Can I use part or all of the keyword phrase in page headings and subheadings?
Answering yes to these questions can improve your search engine ranking. Be natural and user-friendly, though. For instance, you do not want the word "engineering" to show up three or more times in the URL or have the phrase Northern Lights repeated in the page title and also every heading. Readability and usability still trump search engine optimization.

Content

Beyond page URL, title, and headings, content is most influential on search engine rankings. Repeat your keyword phrase several times throughout the page—once or twice in the opening and closing paragraphs, and two to four more times throughout the remaining content. Be authoritative. Strategically link to relevant sources and additional information—both within your organizations broad website and even to other websites which are useful.

Experience and Expertise

When developing your content, it is especially important to lend your experiences and your expertise to your target audience. This will help your content stand out against everyone else's—including the plethora of content being created by generative artificial intelligence (AI) each day. Experiences and expertise builds credibility, engages users, and fosters long-term success. It aligns with search engines' goals of delivering high-quality, relevant information to users and can contribute to a strong online presence and improved SEO performance.

SEO Formatting

Don't forget to use bold, italics, heading tags (especially an H1), and other emphasis tags to highlight these keyword phrases—but don't overdo it. You still want your language and writing style to read naturally. Never sacrifice good writing for SEO. The best pages are written for the user, not for the search engine. Read more about SEO marketing to help you find new content opportunities.

2. Update Your Content Regularly

You've probably noticed that we feel pretty strongly about content. Search engines do, too. Regularly updated content is viewed as one of the best indicators of a site's relevancy, so be sure to keep it fresh. Audit your content on a set schedule (semesterly for example) and make updates as needed.

Blogging

Writing additional content, rich with keyword phrases, on your departmental news blog can also boost your search engine rankings. Blog posts can even be shorter updates about the specific topics you are targeting. Interlink your related CMS webpages and blog posts when it helps give the reader a better picture or additional information about the topic.

3. Metadata

When designing your website, each page contains a space between the <head> tags to insert metadata, or information about the contents of your page. If you have a CMS site originally produced by the UMC web team will have pre-populated this data for you. However, it is important for you to review and update metadata as your site changes over time.

Title Metadata

Title metadata is responsible for the page titles displayed at the top of a browser window and as the headline within search engine results. It is the most important metadata on your page.

For those with a CMS website, the web team has developed an automated system for creating the meta title for each webpage based on your page title. This adds to the importance of using well-thought-out page titles rich with keyword phrases.

Description Metadata

Description metadata is the textual description that a browser may use in your page search return. Think of it as your site's window display—a concise and appealing description of what is contained within, with the goal of encouraging people to enter. A good meta description will typically contain two full sentences. Search engines may not always use your meta description, but it is important to give them the option.

Keyword Metadata

Keyword metadata is rarely if ever used to tabulate search engine rankings. However, you should already know your keyword phrases, so it doesn't hurt to add them into your keyword metadata. You'll want to include a variety of phrases. As a general rule, try to keep it to about 3-7 phrases with each phrase consisting of 1-4 words. A great example would be "computer science degree."

Use alt tags

Always describe your image and video media using alt tags, or alternative text descriptions. They allow search engines to locate your page, which is crucial—especially for those who use text-only browsers or screen readers.

4. Have a link-worthy site

A webpage which is content-rich, authoritative, unbiased, and helps visitors learn more about what they are interested in is most likely to attract links from other websites, which improves your search engine optimization.


Improve your authority and credibility by adding relevant links within the text. Instead of having "click here" links, try writing out the name of the destination. "Click here" has no search engine value beyond the attached URL, whereas "Michigan Tech Enterprise Program" is rich with keywords and will improve your search engine rankings as well as the ranking of the page you are linking to. Always use descriptive links by linking keywords—it not only improves search engine optimization, but also adds value to your readers, including those with disabilities or who are using screen readers.

5. Optimize for mobile and execute technical SEO

Ensure your website is mobile-responsive and offers a seamless user experience on smartphones and tablets. Remember to optimize images and other media for faster loading on mobile devices. You can test your website's mobile-friendliness using tools like Google's Lighthouse testing tool.


Work with a strong web development to implement best pratices for technical search engine optimization. This includes providing a fast, seamless user experience that is intuitive and high-performing. Compress images, minimizing HTTP requests, and enabling browser caching. Use a clean and organized URL structure that is easy for both users and search engines to navigate. Implement schema markup to enhance rich snippets and improve the visibility of your content in search results.
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Tips To Get the Money for Your Dream Home

24 September 0
5 Tips To Get the Money for Your Dream Home


Many people rent apartments or studios because it is a more affordable housing option, especially for young adults. In 2023, the real estate rental market grew from last year’s $2,376 billion to $2,561.84 billion. However, most people are still working toward buying their own dream home.

If you still cannot afford to buy your own house, this short guide is for you. After reading, you will get crucial tips that can help you get the money you need for your dream home.

1. Apply for Jobs Online

One way to get the money you need for your dream home is by augmenting your salary. Try applying for jobs online through Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer.com. These freelancing sites offer opportunities for people to do a variety of positions, including the following:
  • Writing
  • Web Designing
  • Web Programming
  • Digital Marketing
  • Data Entry
  • Virtual Assistant Services
If you are fluent in a second language, you can offer translation services at Gengo. If you are knowledgeable in web design, you can even drum up business by making a translation site of your own.

Another way to make money online is by using sites like UserTesting.com, where you can get paid for testing websites. You only have to share your thoughts on specific websites and applications.

However, you must complete a short test before you can start working. Moreover, the pay you will receive depends on the test type.

Those with a penchant for embroidery, woodworking, jewelry-making, or pottery can sell their products on Etsy. This site allows artisans to market and sell their art, home goods, and other creative knickknacks.

You can save money for your dream home by working full-time or part-time online. Some gigs may not pay well, but the money you will get can still increase your savings.

2. Know How Much You Need To Save

After choosing where you want to live, you will know how much you need to save. Having a budget can make creating a savings plan with a deadline easy.

The down payment can be the priciest fee you must save for when buying a new house. Remember that most mortgage lenders recommend having at least 20 percent of the total price of your dream home as a down payment. This amount can help you save on private mortgage insurance (PMI) monthly costs, which can help you save more in the long run.

Another option you have is to look for government financing. The following are examples of housing support you can get from the government:

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) mortgages: The USDA offers loans to low and medium-income earners who want to buy homes in rural areas at zero down payment rates.

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans: FHA loans require borrowers to pay a 3.5 percent down payment and have a credit score of at least 580. You may also get this loan if you have a 500 credit score, but you must pay a 10 percent down payment.

Veterans Affairs (VA) loans: US citizens associated with the military can apply for VA loans for housing support with no down payment.

3. Minimize Expenses

This tip may seem obvious, but it is still worth mentioning. Failing to minimize expenses could delay buying your dream home because you might be tempted to use your savings during emergencies.

Remember that downsizing and minimizing expenses can be the fastest way to save for a significant purchase. Evaluate your finances and check for recurring subscriptions, assets, or fees you can do without. You can channel the savings to the account you reserve for your new home.

4. Work With Professional Real Estate Agents

Hiring a competent real estate agent can be worth it because they can help you find your dream home based on the specifications and budget that you provide. Moreover, they can help with the administrative tasks associated with purchasing a house, such as filing the necessary paperwork with government agencies and banks.

Working with an agent gives you peace of mind that your financial investment will be legitimate. However, the agent may charge service fees, so ensure you have the budget for their services. You should also specify the scope of work and corresponding payment to manage expectations from the partnership.

5. Do Your Research

Even with the help of a professional real estate agent, you should still do thorough research on your own. This strategy involves the following:
  • Knowing the current market trends when it comes to buying homes and other real estate properties
  • Looking for local real estate websites and listings
  • Ask for advice from people who you know with experience in buying property
Remember that you can only make informed decisions with the correct information. So don’t be afraid to ask questions to keep yourself informed.

Take all the time you need to prepare before making a big purchase, especially as investing in a home requires significant thought and preparation.
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Monday

Why does software have Bugs? : 20 simple ways to fix Software Bugs

11 September 0
Why Does Software Have Bugs


Why software has defects is a very broad question and at times can be purely technical. There are many reasons for the occurrence of Software Bugs. Some people that are not so tech-savvy call them computer bugs.

The most common reasons are human errors and mistakes made in designing the program and writing the source code. Another prominent reason could be incorrect interpretation while getting the software requirements.

Once you get to know why the software is having defects, and the causes for bugs, then it will be easier to take corrective actions to resolve and minimize these defects.


Top 20 Reasons for Software Bugs

Let us understand in detail.

1) Miscommunication or No Communication

The success of any software application depends on the organized communication between stakeholders, development, and testing teams, during various stages of the software development process. A lack of organized communication often leads to miscommunication.


Proper communication should start right from the time of requirement gathering, then its translation/interpretation to the document and continue during SDLC.

If the requirements remain unclear and incorrectly translated into specifications, the software is bound to have defects due to ambiguity in requirements. Certain Software Defects get introduced into the development stage itself if the developers are unaware of the right specifications.

Also, communication errors can happen if the software application is developed by some ‘X’ developer and maintained/modified by some other ‘Y’ developer.

Example: The development team deploys a new change but the testing team is unaware of it. Testers might suddenly find some unintended behavior and a lot of time can go into finding the cause. Proper communication within the team could have avoided this problem. So, effective communication remains the key to software development.

2) Software Complexity

The challenging complexity of the current software applications can be difficult to adapt to for anyone with little experience in modern-day, almost daily changing software development methods and techniques.

The enormous rise of various third-party libraries, Windows-type interfaces, Client-Server, and Distributed Applications, Data Communication Systems, large relational databases as well as free RDBMS, varied techniques for building APIs, a large number of development IDEs, and the sheer size of applications have all contributed to the exponential growth in software/system complexity.

Unless the project/program is well designed, using object-oriented techniques can complicate the entire program, instead of simplifying it.

Example: Assuming, in a program there are too many nested if-else statements and unfortunately in user interaction one of the logical paths gets triggered which was unintentionally missed in testing although rigorous testing was done.

This might very well lead to a software bug and debugging & fixing it could be a real nightmare. This cyclomatic complexity can be reduced using switch cases or ternary operators, as applicable.

3) Lack of Designing Experience/Faulty Design Logic

As the design is the very core of SDLC, quite a good amount of brainstorming and R&D is required to arrive at a reliable and scalable design solution.

But, many times self-imposed timeline pressures, lack of patience, improper knowledge of technical aspects, and a lack of understanding of technical feasibility can all lead to faulty design and architecture which in turn will introduce several software defects at various levels of SDLC, resulting in extra cost and time.

Example: The popular communication app ‘Slack’ had received criticism for its public DM feature. Although a useful feature, allowing users (friends) from outside the organization to participate in chat was unacceptable to many organizations. Perhaps the Slack development team could have given more thought while designing this feature.

4) Coding/Programming Errors

Programmers, like anyone else, can make common programming mistakes and may use ineffective coding techniques. This may involve poor coding practices like no code review, no unit testing, no debugging, unhandled errors, faulty input validations, and missing exception handling.

Along with these, if the developers use the wrong tools, for instance, faulty compilers, validators, debuggers, performance checking tools, etc., then there is a very high probability that lots of bugs will creep up in the application.

Also, not all developers are domain experts. Inexperienced programmers or developers without proper domain knowledge can introduce simple mistakes while coding.

Example: Clicking on the ‘Cancel’ button does not close the window (which was expected behavior), although entered values are not saved. This is one of the simplest and most often found bugs.

5) Ever-Changing Requirements


Continuously changing requirements may be a reality and fact of life in some fast-changing business environments and market needs. The motivation and enthusiasm of the development team may be certainly affected, and the quality of work may be reduced significantly.

Various known and unknown dependencies need to be taken care of while working on many such minor or major changes. A significant amount of QA effort may be required and if not done properly may bring in many bugs in software. Keeping track of all such changes is again an overhead and complex task, which may further result in more application errors

In such cases, the management must understand and evaluate the resulting risks, and QA & test engineers must adapt and plan for continuous extensive testing to keep the inevitable bugs from running out of control. All these will require much more time than the originally estimated time effort.

Example: For an e-commerce website, the initial requirement was for product search to be based on product name, but a few days before the release, it was decided to have a search based on product code as well. In this case, improper testing or insufficient testing time will almost certainly result in bugs getting leaked into the production environment.

6) Time Pressures (Unrealistic Time Schedule)

As we all know, scheduling time and effort for a software project is a difficult and complex task, often requiring a lot of guesswork and historical data. When deadlines loom and the pressure mounts, mistakes will happen. There could be bugs in coding – some or many.

Unrealistic schedules, though not common, are a major concern in small-scale projects/companies resulting in software bugs.

As a result of unrealistic release schedules, and project deadlines (internal/external), software developers may have to compromise on certain coding practices (no proper analysis, no proper design, less unit testing, etc.), which can increase the probability of bugs in software.

If there is not enough time for proper testing, it’s quite obvious that defects will leak. Last-minute feature/design changes can also introduce bugs, at times most dangerous software bugs.


Example: Drag and book a resource (event) functionality (which was a high priority was developed for a multi-storefront application under a tight deadline. However, due to limited testing time, there were DST issues.

7) Egotistical or Overconfident People

People prefer to say things like:
  • ‘No problem’
  • ‘Piece of cake’
  • ‘I can whip that out in a few hours
  • ‘It should be easy to update that old code’
Instead of:
  • ‘That adds a lot of complexity and we could end up making a lot of mistakes’.
  • ‘We do not know if we can do that; we’ll wing it’.
  • ‘I can’t estimate how long it will take until I take a closer look at it’.
  • ‘We can’t figure out what that old spaghetti code did in the first place’.
  • If there are too many unrealistic ‘no problems’, then it results in software bugs.
Making assumptions by being overconfident will certainly bring in some or many software bugs at each stage of SDLC.

Example: One of the developers was quite sure of taking care of the performance aspect while downloading a large chunk of data in MS Excel and suggested the tester not to carry out more tests with such data. Eventually, it resulted in a bug in the production environment.

8) Poorly Documented Code

It is tough to maintain and modify code that is badly written or poorly documented; the result is Software Bugs. In many organizations, management provides no real incentive for programmers to document their code or write clear, understandable code. Many times there are no set processes and standards for coding.

In fact, it is usually the opposite, they get points mostly for quickly turning out code, and there’s job security if nobody else can understand it (‘if it was hard to write, it should be hard to read’).

This poorly written and not so well documented code becomes a maintenance nightmare. Any new programmer working on this code may get confused because of the complexity of the project and the poorly documented code.

Many times it takes a longer time to make even slight changes in poorly documented code, as there is a huge learning curve before making any code change.

Example: The testing team discovered several bugs as a result of the migration of some screens of a legacy product (which has been in use for over 20 years) from C++ to C#. The main reason was a lack of proper code documentation and/or comments.

9) Software Development Tools (Third-party Tools and Libraries)

Visual tools, class libraries, shared DLLs, plug-ins, npm libraries, compilers, HTML editors, scripting tools, etc. often introduce their own bugs or are poorly documented, resulting in added bugs.

Software engineers tend to use continuously and rapidly changing/upgrading software tools. Keeping pace with the different versions and their compatibility is a real and major ongoing issue.

Example: Defects in Visual Studio Code or deprecated Python libraries add their own level of disadvantages/challenges to writing effective software.

10) Obsolete Automation Scripts or Over-Reliance on Automation

The initial time and effort taken to write automation scripts are quite high, especially for complex scenarios. If manual test cases are not in proper shape, then the time required will significantly increase.

Automation scripts need to be maintained regularly, wherever required, as per the changes done in the application. If the changes are not done on time then those automation scripts can become obsolete.

Also, if the automation test script is not validating the right expected outcome, then it will not be able to catch the defects and it does not make any sense to rely on these scripts.

Being excessively reliant on automation testing can cause manual testers to miss bug(s). For successful automation testing experienced and dedicated personnel is required. Also, the support of management is of utmost importance.

Example: After the product enhancement, one of the automation test scripts was not updated in time. Furthermore, bugs were discovered late in the testing cycle because the corresponding manual test cases were not executed due to the presence of the automated script. This added to the delay in software delivery.

11) Lack of Skilled Testers

Having skilled testers with domain knowledge is extremely important for the success of any project. Domain knowledge and the tester’s ability to find defects can produce high-quality software. But appointing all experienced testers is hardly possible for all companies as the cost factor and team dynamics come into the picture.

Compromise on any of this can result in buggy software.

Poor and insufficient testing is becoming the new norm or standard in many software companies. Testing is being taken lightly which may involve a lack of proper or no test cases, flaws in the testing process, and the process itself getting done without giving much importance. All of these factors can certainly cause various types of software bugs.

Example: One good example could be insufficient DST-related testing for the event booking software feature.

12) Absence or Inadequate Version Control Mechanism

The development team can easily keep track of all the changes done to a code base with the use of proper version control tools/mechanisms. Lots of software errors definitely will be observed without having any version control of the code base.

Even while using version control, the developer should take care to ensure that he/she is having the latest version of the code before committing any changes to the relevant code file.

Example: If the developer commits changes to more than one task at once (which is not standard practice), reverting the code to the previous version (which may be required if the latest commit causes build issues, etc.) will be extremely difficult. As a result, new bugs may be introduced during the development phase.

13) Frequent Releases

Releasing software versions (for example, patches) frequently may not allow the QA to go through the complete regression test cycle. This is one of the major reasons nowadays for having bugs in the production environment.

Example: The PDF download feature of a multi-storefront application began breaking in the production environment because the tester neglected testing of this feature due to insufficient time and the fact that it was only checked in the previous release, and no changes were made to this feature.

14) Insufficient Training for Staff

Even for experienced staff some training may be required. Without sufficient training on required skills developers can write incorrect logic and testers may design not-so-accurate test cases, resulting in software bugs and errors at various stages of the SDLC and testing life cycle.

This may also involve misinterpretation of the gathered requirements/specifications.

Example: A survey application was collecting data, which could be downloaded as an MS Excel file. However, due to a lack of technical knowledge, the developer failed to consider performance issues that could arise as a result of a large amount of data.

When the record count reached 5000, the application began to hang for hours with no result. This test was also missed by the tester, most likely due to insufficient training.

15) Changes at the Eleventh Hour (Last-Minute Changes)

Any changes done at the last minute either in the code or any dependencies (e.g. hardware requirement, version of libraries used) can cause the most dangerous software bugs and failures.

Example: The version of a third-party library in one of the web applications was changed just two days before the release. The tester clearly did not have enough time to test, and there was defect leakage into the production environment.

16) Ineffective Testing Life Cycle
  • Test cases are written without a proper understanding of requirements.
  • No proper test setup (test environment) for different environments.
  • Lack of traceability matrix
  • Insufficient time is given for regression testing
  • Lack of proper bug report
  • Incorrect or missing test execution prioritization
  • No importance is given to the testing process.
Here are a few more reasons for Software Bugs. These reasons mostly apply to Software Testing Life Cycle:

17) Not Automating Repetitive Test Cases and depending on the testers for manual verification every time.

18) Not tracking the development and test execution progress continuously.

19) The incorrect design leads to issues being carried out in all phases of the Software Development Cycle.

20) Any wrong assumption(s) made during coding and testing stages.
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Friday

Role Of Business Analysts In SCRUM

08 September 0
Role Of Business Analysts In SCRUM And Why Is A QA Best For This Role?


Responsibilities of a BA

There are several Roles of Business Analysts in Scrum and there are certain responsibilities to which a BA should adhere.


A few selective ones among them are mentioned below.
  • Grooming product backlog based on the prioritization provided by the product owner.
  • Analyzing customer needs and finding solutions to address them.
  • Creating requirements in the form of user stories with appropriate acceptance criteria.
  • If in case the user stories have already been created by the product owner (with acceptance criteria), then review them to make sure that all business rules are covered and the acceptance criteria meet the user story functionality.
  • Work with product owners and stakeholders to understand the scope, suggest improvements to the requirements, etc.
  • Prepare documents like wireframes, design flow, UI, etc., as and when required.
Apart from this, a Business Analyst is an important participant in the brainstorming sessions when the team meets to discuss the upcoming sprint backlog. The BA guides the team, helps them to understand the requirements, and even at times has to approve the implementation.


He also works closely with QAs like analyzing test coverage, converting real-world use cases into test cases, providing insight to test complex functionalities, etc. BA also participates in planning meetings to help the team in estimations by helping them to understand the flow, complexity, and dependency.

BA has to always keep learning about the new trend that is going on in the market, keep innovating and stay updated about the business area for which the product has been made.


Business Analyst as a Product Owner

Depending upon the customer and the company, it happens that some companies have the Business Analyst as the product owner. BA is the contact point for all queries. BA then becomes the mediator between the team and the stakeholders.


BA has to understand the requirements of the stakeholders, their thinking about taking the business ahead, and what (and how) the business should grow. Then based on the requirements of the stakeholders, the BA must create the documents, user stories, prioritization the stories, help the team understand them, answer their queries about the same, etc.

The most important thing to note here is that this is advisable when the BA is physically available and is not geolocated to a different time zone so as to avoid the ‘gap in communication’.

If the BA as in the product owner is geolocated to a different time zone, then it is not possible to approach him every time and the only way to communicate is by email or chat or call, hence this may result in lack, gap, and even miscommunication at times.

As per my experience, this should be followed when the BA is sitting in your office, next to your team so that your work won’t hamper, and (s) he will be easily approachable. From a BA’s point of view, they own the product on behalf of the stakeholders/customers, make appropriate decisions, and even need to learn new skills which may include learning some technicalities of development.


Having a Business Analyst as a Product Owner is an added advantage because the BA is able to understand the product very well, and prioritization and scoping of tasks can be negotiated as well.


Business Analyst as a Team Member

The other option is to have the Business Analyst as a team member because the Product Owner will not be available every time. If the Business Analyst is a team member then they can help their peers with backlog grooming.

Having a Business Analyst as a team member is more advantageous because the technical team finds it easy and comfortable to communicate with the BA for clarifications or discussions. BA is also working closely with the QA team for testing i.e. analyzing the coverage, use cases covered, any hidden requirements, dependability or effects.


Sometimes the acceptance criteria written by the product owner may be vague and not clear, then as a team member, it becomes the responsibility of the BA to write elaborate and well-explained acceptance criteria. If the team needs more information, then the BA can also create wireframe documents, flow documents, etc. to help the team understand the requirements.

In large-scale projects where the modules are distributed among teams, having a BA for more than one team is also an added advantage. Since BA is the same across teams, (s)he can think about the interoperability of the modules, how new features or updates will affect the other modules, etc.

Thus, this would help a great deal to the technical teams to consider such aspects as not always do the user stories or acceptance criteria mention such.


Importance and Role of Business Analysts in the SCRUM Team

The role of Business Analysts in SCRUM is undoubtedly very important in the success of a project. Their involvement starts right from understanding the customer’s need for a Sprint Demo. They are the first point of contact for the technical team for clarifications. They are even more important in the initial phases of a new project and the projects which are large in scale.


The Product Owner will not always be a good writer, sometimes they come from a technical background and hence it becomes the responsibility of the Business Analyst to write the stories, acceptance, wireframes, etc.

In my project, our PO was not so good with documentation and even the user stories written were never more than 2-3 liners while the acceptance criteria were only a 1 liner. It was the Business Analyst who used to modify them, make them more explanatory and elaborative.

Even at times, it happened that our PO wrote user stories that had 21 or more story points, and hence the Business Analyst had to spend extra time & effort in breaking them down and prioritizing them with the Product Owner.


You can imagine what would happen if there was no Business Analyst and your Product Owner has created a user story like “As a customer, I want to perform all banking operations for my account”, with acceptance criteria like:
  • The customer should be able to log in.
  • The customer should be able to make transactions on my account.
  • The customer should be able to download my historical statements etc.
Now, in my opinion, this user story would hold even more than 34 story points, hence there is a need to break it down further. Things will worsen for the technical team if the proper flow diagrams and UI screens (to be created) are not provided.

This would lead to a failing sprint, and in turn, a failed project. Unless the Product Owner is a trained/practiced Business Analyst, there is a need to have one on the team.
 
Why is QA the best fit for this Job?

QA is a person who verifies the proposed solution for a problem/requirement by testing it. Hence the Business Analysts / Stakeholders / Product Owners are very eager to know about the feedback of QA. The involvement of a BA in testing is little more than what it is in development.


A Business Analyst works closely with QA in reviewing the test case coverage which provides insight into hidden flows and requirements/effects. Thus this kind of knowledge sharing (by the BA) makes them understand the product functionality, the business rules, the customer expectations, the flows, dependencies, and everything completely.

QA always tests from the point of view of the end customer who would be using the product, hence the chances of helping the customer for improvements, enhancements in the product are more (when compared to a developer). Developers develop the product for the given user story and the set of acceptance criteria but do not always think about how a customer would use the product.


In development, the implementation of a product, the flow, and the rules are well defined but testing is completely based on logical thinking and the ability to think from the point of view of the end-users.

QA can start getting into the role of Business Analysts in SCRUM because of the lot of opportunities that are presented in the day-to-day work.
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Tuesday

7 Best Plugins For Monetization

22 May 0
These plugins all have a track record of monetizing blogs, but it’s important to not get too carried away when you’re choosing which ones to install. Take them one step at a time, and install them as you see fit because although the could technically all be used together, it’s unlikely that you’d want to use them all at the same time – it would be a little bit much.

Ad Injection


Ad Injection from review my life makes managing your different ads even easier, as you can place them on your site, and within your content. You can use any type of ad that you want, including Google AdSense, Amazon Associates, ClickBank, TradeDoubler, etc. into the existing content of your WordPress posts and pages. You can control the number of adverts based on the post length, and it can restrict who sees adverts by post age, visitor referrer, and IP address. Adverts can also be configured in the post (random, top, and bottom positions) or in any widget/sidebar area.


I personally found this plugin to be incredibly useful as I was able to input ads where I had never had them before and start to see an increase in my earnings. This plugin works especially well for me as I write very long posts, never under 1000 words, often exceeding 2000, so it’s acceptable to include a small break, by using an advert. Ads are commonplace now, and so long as you don’t overdo it, no one is ever too offended by seeing them. You need to be careful that you don’t start to include too many ads because they will decrease the worth of each ad, and will actually result in lower earnings – it’s simply supply and demand. Experiment with your own website and you’ll soon come to a situation that maximises your ad earnings.


WordPress Shopping Cart Plugin

This is a premium WordPress shopping cart plugin, built by Tribulant that allows the WP blog admin to sell both digital and physical goods online plus any services the admin decides to offer. This is perfect for anyone who sells online teaching courses, hands-on training, premium support, or any other non-product related sales that are service oriented. Using this premium WordPress plugin you can easily find ways to monetize your WP blog whether it’s through selling digital products like ebooks, online services, or any tangible goods.


You can set up your multiple products and categorize/organize them into multiple product categories. Add additional images to showcase your products so that users know what they are buying and add digital downloads to products if needed so that users can securely download paid files from your website.

With suppliers, shipping methods, payment gateways, product variations/custom fields, product inventory, affiliate products, discount coupons and many other amazing features, you can run a full-featured online WordPress shop that suits your needs. The cost is just $54.99 for a single website licensee, but once you start to see a return, you’ll forget that you ever even spent that money.


Amazon Associate Filter

I don’t know about you, but I find the whole process of manually going in and creating custom HTML links for Amazon through the Associates Central, really laborious. That’s why I was so happy to find this plugin, which stops you from even having to log in to your Amazon. You simply share a normal amazon like like you would any other link, and this plugin will pull your information and add it to the link when someone clicks on it. Now you don’t have to be bothered by spending ages putting together hundreds of links through Amazon, which will encourage you to link more often – I recently made 140 of the hard way.

Another really good selling point is that people are always asking me to follow up questions about products that I’ve written about, and I can’t include HTML code in the comments, so I’m losing commission when I help people out, by providing them with a specific link. Now, I don’t have to worry about this because not only is the plugin is doing all of the hard work for me, but it’s inserting links where I couldn’t have them before.


WordPress-Amazon-Associate

You might be wondering why I’m suggesting another Amazon Associates plugin when clearly there’s a plugin already out there that does the job just fine, and that’s true, to a certain extent. You see, this is more than just another Amazon plugin because it does more than just provide you with links and commissions, it also comes with various advertising widgets, which help to improve sales. This plugin also fully supports Amazon product localization to supported markets, such as Canada, Germany, France, Japan, United Kingdom (GB), and the United States.

The WordPress Amazon Associate plugin is designed to be your all-inclusive source for enriching your website with Amazon Products and Widgets embedded with your unique Amazon Associate Tag. Widgets such as the carousel have been proven to provide better results and more commissions, as they’re more like adverts than anything else. So long as you’re advertising the right products, to the right crowd, then there’s a good chance that your commissions are going to be much better than the space that would have been taken up by Google ads. It’s certainly worth trailing.



Amazon Affiliate Link Localizer

This plugin not only automatically changes any Amazon link on your site to use your affiliate ID, but it also changes the link to point to the user’s local Amazon store. This means that if your visitor is visiting from the UK they’ll get a link to Amazon.co.uk, and if they’re visiting from the US they’ll get a link to the same product on Amazon.com – All you have to do is provide all your affiliate IDs.

It doesn’t matter if the link is in your post, in your template or anywhere else on your page – it’ll be converted automatically. This can make a noticeable difference to your earnings, from a very small amount of effort. The last time I checked, 66% of my traffic came from America, and 10% came from the UK, so by simply installing this plugin, I can tap into the UK market and increase my earnings by approximately 15%. With the exception of checking that the plugin works after you make the odd update, you very much just install this plugin and leave it to do its thing.


SEO Smart Links


If you’ve been following this site for a while, then it will be no secret to you that I love this plugin, as it’s easy to set up, and has numerous benefits. The idea is that you input different keywords, and you assign links to them so that whenever these keywords pop up in your text, they automatically redirect to different content that you’ve preselected. Obviously, there are a great many uses for this when you’re trying to promote your own content, throughout your own website, as you can link to different articles, and keep your readers interested.

The beauty of this plugin is that you don’t have to just link within your website, you can link to anywhere on the internet, which can be used for affiliate marketing purposes, or even just to gain recognition from a source that you’re referring to. In my niche of photography, there’s a program called Animoto, which can be used to create video slideshows, and they have an affiliate program, which provides me with money, every time someone goes to their site, through my special link. This is nothing special or unique, as you’ll find that there are plenty of programs out there that offer a similar service, and I’m sure that you’ll have no problem finding someone in your niche too. All I have to do is to assign certain keywords, such as ‘animoto’ and ‘video slideshow’, and they will automatically send people to the website, using my custom link. Now I can start earning passive income, every time I write a certain keyword.



Cleeng Content Monetization

This is a very cool plugin, which allows you to sell articles, videos, images & downloads, whether it’s a single item, or a long time subscription, and anything in between. Cleeng (pronounced cling) is designed in a similar way to cable TV, where you have to pay to see good content. You can limit access to certain parts of your website, which holds the information that someone is looking for until they’ve paid for the access. It’s a really simple system, and the same used by large newspaper organizations, such as The New York Times, who insist on money to see the latest articles, and it seems to work for them. With Cleeng you can sell any individual piece of content directly from your own website.

It’s certainly a bold idea, but it seems to be working so far. This plugin could be considered a bit of a risk, depending on your niche, and how readily available the information is, but it’s been proven to work. The great thing about it is that you keep 80-90% of the money and there are no hidden costs; all payment fees, user support, software maintenance is taken care of. You just need to create the right content that sells.
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