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Our Agile Values

At Viderity, we are big fans of Agile ways of working. There are various methods branded “Agile,” with Scrum™ being the most well-known, although people sometimes incorrectly conflate Agile and Scrum. However, Agile is not a method. Rather, it is a set of principles stated in the Agile Manifesto, and a resultant way of thinking about how best to develop software. A given method can be more or less adherent to these principles, and so be more or less “agile”.   The awkward truths of software development At its heart, Agile is about acknowledging and addressing some awkward truths about most, if not all, software development activity: Requirements change We often assume that with enough up-front analysis, solution requirements can be fully described and documented...

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2018 Digital Trends Impacting Government

Technology is constantly changing as new tools are developed and old tools are modified or repurposed, and these commercial innovations are having a growing impact on how we govern. What citizens come to expect from the government is evolving as these new advanced tools mesh with their daily lives. This is requiring government organizations to not only understand these new tools, but to know when and how best to implement them to further their mission. Going forward, let’s explore four technology trends that are currently impacting citizen engagement and digital communications, including live video, immersive tools, bots, and wearables.   Trend 1: Live video Live video is a teenager in Internet years, but with Facebook launching their live video product in 2016, there is...

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The Keys to Driving Successful Digital Transformation

The terms “Digital Workplace” and “Digital Transformation” swirl so prominently in the corporate air these days that it is hard to go a day without hearing them, if not inhaling them. In a recent study conducted by IDG Research for Unisys, nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents stated that it is “highly important” for their organizations to implement digital business over the next 12 months by substantially modifying their technology as well as their IT processes and resources. The survey identified five key priority areas: mobile application development, cloud deployment, social media, data science, and security. Digital business transformation requires an experimental mindset that is inclusive of the entire business—marketing, sales, services,...

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Product Management Is Really Innovation Management

What is innovation? Innovation is not new.

Humans are creative by nature. Innovation is written into our DNA. We have our wits, not our strength or speed, to thank for the fact that we didn’t end up as just so much smooth-skinned lion food thousands of years ago. When faced with challenges, we conceive innovative solutions that change the way we live our lives. Driven by humanity’s intense need communicate, our ancestors innovated from pictures painted on cave walls to spoken language, then to written language, then from handwritten books to the printing press and newspapers, and on to radio and TV. The spiral of innovation has continued into the Internet age with the creation of electronic books, social media, and...

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Beyond Twitter and Facebook: Other Social Media Platforms Organizations Can Use to Reach Customers

Social media strategies are more important than ever!  Beyond Facebook and Twitter, other platforms may be quite valuable in connecting with customers. Here are a few well worth considering: ▪  Instagram is a mobile photo & video-sharing service. Users take images or videos, apply digital filters, and share them on the application itself (and on a wide variety of social networking services). Although Instagram does not allow images and videos to have alternative text, users should provide a detailed caption explaining the image. Use Camel Case for multiple words within a hashtag. ▪  Yelp traditionally showcases crowd-sourced reviews of local businesses. However, as announced this month, GSA is encouraging agencies to launch their own Yelp pages in order to attain public feedback...

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Digital Marketing Tools to Reach and Retain Clients

Diverse People Connecting With Social Media Who doesn’t want to create and nurture new customer relationships? In welcoming these critical connections, digital marketing tools can help your team with focus and organization, division of labor, scheduling, and task automation. Below, you will find a list of great tools. Happily, many of them are either free or very inexpensive. Just one more plus on the path to customer integration. Tools to Help Publish Content To be successfully “found” by customers, great relationship development and a stellar reputation are critical. In addition, there’s no denying that written content can help, especially when published in the form of a blog. There are many tools to help you do just that. Here are some that we recommend: WordPress: WordPress...

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Bridging Gaps With Wikis

One great way to connect with the public is by building a Wiki. The word Wiki comes from the Hawaiian, meaning “quick”. And, that’s what a Wiki is: a fast and easy way to engage people. Specifically, it’s an online database that allows anyone to edit or add content. In creating a Wiki, you’re essentially inviting others to help take ownership of an issue. It’s democratic to the core. Everyone is on an equal playing field, and can suggest solutions that  might not have been considered. Surely, you’ve heard of Wikipedia (an online crowd-sourced encyclopedia). The public is free to edit Wikipedia and update its web pages, allowing it to grow and change over time. Many other sites embrace the community...

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Time For Spring Cleaning – Refresh Your Website For Higher Google Ranking

If you’ve put off developing your website in either responsive design or a separate mobile site, then your site will have difficulty ranking in Google's mobile search results. If traffic to your website is predominantly mobile and your website is not mobile-friendly, then your traffic will most likely be decreased due to low ranking.

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Winning Government Contracts and Steering the Future

Budget reductions at government agencies can heighten competition for federal contracts. Old programs are discontinued; departments are restructured; experienced workers leave, jeopardizing existing relationships. What expertise do you offer potential agency partners, and what are the terms that will define how that partnership works? Understanding contract types can help you level the playing field for your business and aid you in winning contracts and developing business relationships that last. A recent article published by the Department of Defense offers some great insights into pending budget cuts and restructuring. Moving forward, the government will be looking for specialists in smaller quantities. A contract with single-digit full time equivalents may not offer a high enough payout for large...

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