Arquivos software - SoftDesign

How Remote-First Squads Create Digital Products

Pâmela Seyffert — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 10:11:10 +0000

SoftDesign’s purpose is to transform people and businesses. Thinking about expanding its reach, we adopted the remote-first model and crossed borders to serve customers around the world. As of 2020, through remote work, our remote-first squads became even more multidisciplinary, which resulted in more complete services that support the entire digital innovation journey of startups and corporates, both domestic and international.

To explain how the teams collaborate with our customers in practice, we spoke with Project Managers Henrique Della Mea Rossi and Patrícia Fischer Barbosa. In the article below, we share with you how our collaborative and remote culture positively impacts the creation of applications, platforms, and enterprise software. 

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From North to South

Just like our customers, our collaborators are also spread around the world. It is through this combination of languages, cultures, and knowledge that we create transformative digital solutions together. In the market for 25 years, SoftDesign unites strategy and technology in digital products aimed at achieving business objectives. 

Over time, we realized that the responsibility of our squads remains the same, regardless of their geographic location. So, when we serve customers from Brazil or the United States, for example, we prove that remote work is already consolidated in our culture. 

For the Project Manager, Henrique Della Mea Rossi, our people are very communicative and are always available to assist customers. “We seek to deliver and communicate what is needed with great transparency. We have a great relationship with the corporates we work for. After all, it’s not because we’re not together in person that things don’t happen. On the contrary, each team member is in a different city, and we see this as a competitive advantage for the business”.   

This advantage is easily identified in the development of digital solutions, since we see the market globally. “We work with customers that have domestic and international strategies, and that is why we cannot adopt a vision that contemplates only one region. The diversity of people on the team allows us to see the world in a broader way. This mix is very positive for the product, as users can also be physically anywhere. This needs to be considered, especially when scaling”, highlights Rossi.  

High-Performance Remote-First Squads

To save business and drive innovation, our remote-first squads are made up of high-performance professionals: Product Managers, Designers, Developers, Testers and Agilists. With the knowledge of each of these specialists, each solution gets closer to achieving competitive advantage.  

However, for remote-first squads to act, some tools are essential. According to SoftDesign’s Project Manager, all meetings are held online, through the Teams platform. In addition, without Miro and Jira, for example, it would be impossible to hold retrospective meetings, alignment conversations, create roadmaps, share ideas and hypotheses. For this reason, we increasingly seek to structure these tools to give visibility to the team and the IT Managers and Directors of partner corporates. 

When a startup, scale-up or corporate hires SoftDesign, it doesn’t just hire people, but its knowledge, skills and market experience. For Rossi, we bring strategic technology to the customer, capable of supporting decision-making. “We create software to make people’s daily lives easier, and we believe that our working method delivers value. The result is more satisfying products, built to meet real needs, which reduce waste and positively impact their users and, consequently, our customers”. 

For remote corporates, territorial and cultural barriers are challenges that can be turned into opportunities. “There is a lot of dialogue in this relationship, and this is fundamental for any project, whether domestic or international. We instill confidence in the customer, who understands that remote-first squads are highly engaged,” emphasizes Rossi. 

From Brazil to the World 

Remote-first squads also impact the cost of operation. As meetings take place online, travel is no longer necessary. Therefore, the customer does not need to invest time and budget in displacements and continues to have full access to the team’s professionals and the development status of the digital solutions.  

To bring realities closer together and promote a Culture of Collaboration, we have established workflows that guarantee our partners a comfortable and integrated relationship. An example of this is one of the projects we are currently developing with an American company, which has a time difference of two hours less than Brazil. This type of situation is not a problem, since with flexibility it is possible to organize and adapt the team’s schedule. 

The Project Manager, Patrícia Fischer Barbosa, points out that this is possible because our mindset and work methodology is agile. “We did notice a cultural difference with international customers, mainly in the way of thinking. However, our technical quality allows us to pass on the necessary confidence to overcome possible barriers. After all, we are specialists, and we know how to compose agile remote-first squads according to the needs of each project”.   

For Patrícia, SoftDesign’s internationalization was a natural process, which accompanied the growth of the technology area in recent years. “We have technical and behavioral quality, in addition to excellent communication. We are effective and we try to do what will really meet the needs of the customer and their business, through data. Our team is not an executor, it is strategic”. 

Quality and Engagement

Trust and transparency are the basis of our professional relationships. SoftDesign has a level of maturity, experience and innovation that allows us to serve corporates of different types and sizes. Our quality is related to the corporate culture, which encourages the education and personal and professional development of each employee.  

As a result, we have a team of focused, responsible, committed and high-performance professionals. According to Patrícia, we deliver even more as a remote company, because this model adds value to our people’s lives. “What matters is the result of the product, not the hours of development. The goal of an agile team is to see the product being used. This is what makes us satisfied, this is our DNA”. 

We believe the customer’s success is our success too. For that, we invest in the creation of multidisciplinary remote-first squads, which combine essential skills for good software development. They are:

Product Strategy: creation of a prioritization strategy focused on enhancing the value delivered, meeting business objectives and achieving established goals. 
Technology: construction of solutions with the work of specialists in Programming, Architecture, Infrastructure and Cloud.  
Design: creation of user-centered digital solutions that guarantee the best usability. We are specialists in User Experience (UX), User Interface and User Research.   
Agility: we develop transparent and adaptive work processes, which result in sprints with frequent deliveries.

Our work model also allows the expansion of teams according to your business needs, including new skills that include knowledge in Product Marketing, Architecture and Cloud, for example.  

Now that you know that remote-first squads are the best option to boost your digital product, get in touch with us by filling out the form below! We will put a high-performance team together, focused on delivering results.

Let’s build exceptional software solutions together!

Experience having a reliable partner to your IT challenges. Let’s talk about our unique approach to discover and deliver outstanding solutions.

O post How Remote-First Squads Create Digital Products apareceu primeiro em SoftDesign.

Mioflux: a healthcare software for Miotec

Pâmela Seyffert — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 20:59:12 +0000

Miotec develops healthcare software, biomedical, and virtual reality equipment. In the market for twenty years, the company was founded to help professionals who deal with human development and find it difficult to measure information and make decisions. 

Its main healthcare software is an electromyography sensor that quantifies information from muscle data. The sensor captures the electrical activity of the muscles, both contraction and relaxation, and presents such data to the health professional. 

To boost innovation to its product, in 2019, Miotec joined forces with SoftDesign to create Mioflux, a piece of equipment connected to the electromyography sensor capable of measuring urinary volume and flow. The goal is to support pelvic physiotherapists in the treatment of children with urinary difficulties, people in the postoperative period, and adults with voiding disorders. 

We spoke with Fabiano Ergoni, CEO & Founder of Miotec, to learn more about the challenges and achievements of this project. Watch the video below and learn about the history of Mioflux. Don’t forget to turn on the subtitles.

Why work with SoftDesign?

Miotec had an achilles heel: talent retention. The company set up internal hardware and healthcare software teams to develop its equipment. However, after a few months, the professionals ended up leaving the company and taking their knowledge about the products away.

Fabiano Ergoni, CEO and Founder of Miotec, understood that this problem should not be his and that, as an entrepreneur, he needed to dedicate himself to business objectives and to the launch of new products. When talking to SoftDesign, he felt safe with the company’s transparency: 

“Osmar (A. M. Pedrozo – SoftDesign’s CEO) was able to listen to me and understand my vision of the future for Miotec. He didn’t want to sell me a ready-made product, he offered me a solution that could be expanded in the future, and warned me about the importance of making a conscious investment”. 

A Creative Planning Process

With the partnership established, the first step was to start Product Inception a creative process that SoftDesign has been carrying out since 2016. Its purpose is to define the objectives of the project, plan the software development, and define the necessary investment. 

Initially, the idea of Mioflux was quite broad: a healthcare software that could receive several applications and serve the most different types of hardware. But, through market research carried out with health professionals, it was possible to understand the actual pains and needs of the personas.  

In this way, technical and design requirements were prioritized for the first MVP (Minimum Viable Product). SoftDesign’s team of Designers created the product prototypes, focusing on an easy and intuitive interface. The Product Manager, in partnership with the development team, focused on backlog estimates and release strategy.

Part of the Mioflux Conception. Source: SoftDesign.

Focus on Healthcare Software Development

While the Miotec team worked on the hardware, the SoftDesign team developed the healthcare software. A communication protocol was created in partnership, so the information transaction had the best performance. 

The SoftDesign team opted for development with Electron, a multiplatform web technology; and used  React to create the interfaces. The visualization of the graphs was done in  D3.js, and its creation in real-time uses HTML5 associated with Canvas. The database chosen was NeDB, as it is lightweight and allows working with documents (exams). 

Following the Agile Method, fortnightly meetings were held, in the sprint deliveries, for alignments and route corrections. Through the Jira tool, everyone was able to monitor the evolution and speed of work daily. According to Fabiano: 

“All of this provided transparency, both for Soft’s managers and for us, the project’s investors. So it was possible to fix problems quickly, and we achieved our goal. The product is already on the market and we have received many compliments”. 

Mioflux feature. Source: SoftDesign.

The Future of Mioflux

The Mioflux is a kind of scale, with a measuring cup, connected to the electromyography sensor (hardware). When the patient urinates in this equipment, it measures the time for the first drop to fall, the volume, and the urinary flow; and transmits this data to the system (software).  

With this information, the physiotherapist prescribes the appropriate treatment, which can often be performed with the aid of Mioflux. This is because the equipment also has a visual biofeedback: a screen with colored circles that the patient can follow to learn to relax or contract the pelvic muscle. 

Hundreds of physiotherapists already have the equipment in their offices. In a constant dialogue with users, Miotec receives feedback and works on the evolution of the product. 

The next step is to extend home care, as many people are not comfortable urinating in clinics. With that in mind, an application will be developed soon, which will enable the sending of information between the patient and the healthcare professional. 

We will continue working together with Miotec to support the implementation of its manifesto: taking care of subjectivity through technology.  

Let’s develop your digital product? Fill out the form below.

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O post Mioflux: a healthcare software for Miotec apareceu primeiro em SoftDesign.

SoftDesign: why choose?

Pâmela Seyffert — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 18:02:27 +0000

The search for differentiation in the job market is something that unites entrepreneurs and professionals in the most varied sectors. To stand out from the crowd, the way you think, and act has become an important strategy for those who really want to gain a competitive advantage. But what really makes a company authentic? At SoftDesign, we believe that expanding hard and soft skills through knowledge makes us unique. In a horizontal environment, we promote a lifestyle that is based on collaboration and continuous learning.

Our way of working

However, we know that these skills need to break out from the world of ideas, as these discourses only find a reason to exist when put into practice. To Osmar A.M. Pedrozo, our CEO, the IT sector has changed a lot in recent years and now that the market is heated like never before, practical knowledge has gained even more value. “Our professionals have the opportunity to keep themselves updated through weekly and monthly meetings that promote the exchange of knowledge, such as the SoftDrops and the Practice Communities meetings. In addition, we are also increasingly betting on the training of trainees“. It is known that taking a graduate course requires a lot of dedication and long-term commitment. If this mindset makes sense to you, then SoftDesign is the right place. “We really want to develop people. We are always looking to learn new things to apply them on a daily basis, with a focus on generating value for the professional as well as for the client. Therefore, investment in training is essential, as to innovate we need to master new technologies”, Pedrozo emphasizes. Being a human company is also important to us. According to SoftDesign’s CEO, our differentiator is identified in our stable relationships. We work daily to build a company that values sustainability, transparency, and horizontality. “Being simple says a lot about our culture. Our ecosystem is not based on protocols and all people are of equal importance, regardless of their positions. We believe that we make a positive impact on the world when we help others, so we encourage a sense of community. Of course, this is a constant search. Nothing is ready, and everything can always improve. Everyone is responsible for the environment we create to work”.

Learning and Development

For Marcia Borges Fortes, responsible for the people development department at SoftDesign, the technology sector alone can attract excellent professionals. However, being horizontal in the management of the company and operating through Agile Methods, all within a Collaboration Culture, are differentiation strategies that make the organization more attractive and able to promote innovation. “As a company, we have a responsibility to create opportunities and encourage the search for knowledge, and we do this through our benefits program for education, certification, among others. We live in a world where change is constant, especially in the technology sector. Therefore, it is necessary to meet market demands while encouraging the search for continuous learning”. This type of investment is beneficial for both sides, as associates acquire new knowledge that will be part of their lives, and the company acquires new skills, which results in an organization capable of meeting various demands. When a client seeks SoftDesign, our expertise allows us to indicate the best methods and technologies for that digital project and product.

Join SoftDesign

SoftDesign has grown a lot in recent years, so we are focused on further strengthening our culture and values. According to Marcia, learning needs to be seen as an endless process that does not end at university. “There is a lot of knowledge available beyond diplomas. Of course, certifications are important, but the development journey continues for a lifetime; we need to monitor and respond to the needs and transformations of the world, the market, and society”. At SoftDesign, by carrying out continuous assessments of skills and preparing an Individual Development Plan (IDP), we were able to identify which skills need to be worked on and the areas that our associates are interested in developing. “It is important to reinforce a mindset which is open to knowledge and take learning beyond formal education. Thus, it is possible to think of possible actions to be performed in daily work, reflect on long-term careers, and show associates that they have autonomy and responsibility for their development”, Marcia emphasizes.

Expertise and Collaboration

Remote work has put us just a click away from each other: an important factor for those working on the client’s side. Outsourcing managers Ranusa Souza and Carlos Poitevin say they believe that the technical skills of professionals must be aligned with their behavioral stand. “A strong point in IT knows how to work collaboratively, as teams are increasingly horizontal, working from the conception to the delivery of the product”, they highlight. Experience and the diversity of clients and projects also represent the differentiation of SoftDesign professionals. In addition, we work with the most up-to-date technologies, always focused on innovation, encouraging certifications such as the Scrum Foundation Professional(SFPC) and the Kanban Foundation(KIKF). According to Ranusa, soft skills are increasingly gaining prominence in the job market. Therefore, in addition to being technically good, the professional also needs to act with empathy. “This composition is essential, whether to work with national or international clients. Our company values a pleasant and challenging environment in which to work. Our feedback culture is also a differentiator, as we maintain a recurring and monitoring cadence, carried out by peers, leaders, and clients”, he emphasizes. Furthermore, managers seek to build a close relationship with their reports through emotional intelligence. “The associate is not just one of many. We know that the market is very heated, but we are proud to work in an artisanal way. We develop gems and the beauty of this is intrinsic in the data collected internally and in the usability of the products and services created”, Poitevin highlights.

Agility and Innovation

Raphael Rodrigues is a Scrum Master at SoftDesign and guarantees that the company’s technical quality has always been a differentiator. “At SoftDesign, we have many qualified professionals, with experience, adaptability of knowledge, and the ability to face problems daily. An example of this are the projects carried out in well-established companies, which gave us an opening to grow together with our partners”. Our culture seeks to understand, raise awareness, and prioritize people’s problems. To achieve this, we use our way of thinking to create solutions, always respecting the culture of partner companies, focusing on business agility. “Our toolbox is not a closed one. Therefore, design is still very present in our processes. We are also flexible in business; we carry out comprehensive mapping capable of proposing solutions in a broad and holistic way due to the technical skills of the team”. We are a service company. Therefore, we solve demands thorough knowledge that is converted into value deliveries. “At SoftDesign, we empathize with the problems of others, as this thought is part of our culture. We don’t do what we do for money at all costs. We want to be a company that has a way of working that makes sense for associates and customers”, Rodrigues highlights.

How we add value to your business

So, what is SoftDesign’s way of working after all? Transparency, autonomy, management, and the union of different generations are some of our differentiators. “I think autonomy helps in decision-making, and people who make decisions without fear of making mistakes develop creativity. This reflects on performance, as associates start believing more in themselves. By engaging people, we deliver an even better service”, Rodrigues explains. Experimentation culture is also an important ally, as it generates learning. “For large companies, we offer the stability and expertise of our staff, as we do not have a significant turn-over and our technical level is high. For startups, we provide an experimentation environment focused on creating the business model, always based on knowledge, and building a relationship of trust”, he concludes. We are open to new associates, partners, clients, and projects. If you can relate with us, fill in the form below, and we will contact you.

Let’s build exceptional software solutions together!

Experience having a reliable partner to your IT challenges. Let’s talk about our unique approach to discover and deliver outstanding solutions.

O post SoftDesign: why choose? apareceu primeiro em SoftDesign.