Storyboard

Systematically developing high-quality reusable software components and frameworks has traditionally been a tall order. Many developers successfully reuse code snippets from one program to another, which saves a certain amount of development time; however, this practice does little compared to leveraging assets like architectures, components, and frameworks.

There are a number of reasons (both technical and non-technical) why software reuse is difficult, particularly in companies with a large installed base of legacy software and developers. One of the reasons we see most frequently – and one of the easiest to correct – is the failure to separate business logic from the UI (user interface). Projects with interwoven business logic and UI code are time-consuming and tedious to convert over to new screen sizes, hardware platforms, or operating systems - a common requirement.

There are four steps you need to take if you are building products with embedded GUIs (graphical user interface) and want to take advantage of code reuse in a systematic fashion. Although it’s Storyboard-specific, the central ideas are applicable elsewhere.

When it comes to the buying patterns of North American consumers, the market is changing. It used to be that you could make one dishwasher, one toaster, and one vacuum cleaner to attract a mass audience but that is less and less the case. Successful brands now target both the high-end as well as the low-end of the market for several reasons:

• Hourglass economy – upscale consumers look for luxury while those less affluent look for value
• Brand loyalty – young consumers become loyal long-term purchasers at the low end when they form early buying habits
• Tech adoption curve – early adopters are less cost-sensitive and pay more for the latest tech while technology laggards do not
• Marketing trial – upscale products are a great way to test new ideas before building products at volume
• Competition – multiple product price levels help companies grab market share away from competitors
• Shelf space – product proliferation captures more attention in both bricks-and-mortar and online stores

The kitchen is becoming one of the tech scene’s fastest growing spaces. It makes sense: the kitchen is the center of the home – where we nourish ourselves, bond with our families, and socialize with friends.  New technologies are bursting into the smart kitchen scene with the intent to give people back the time they currently spend planning, preparing, and cooking food. It’s a long-awaited combination: food ecosystem meets modern tech.

We have our own insights about where kitchen tech is going through our work helping customers develop cutting-edge consumer products, especially as it relates to those with embedded UIs. But to get a fresh perspective, we decided to talk to Michael Wolf, publisher of the Spoon and creator of the Smart Kitchen Summit (SKS), to ask him what epic trends we could expect to see at this year’s show in Seattle, Washington.

The 3 hottest kitchen trends to see at SKS 2019 are...
Trend #1: Consumer products with multi-modal inputs 
Trend #2: Software-defined appliances
Trend #3: Embedded projection screens

For many years, product success was based on mass marketing, mass production, and massive retailers. But the world has changed. More and more people are choosing to pay a premium for fewer but higher quality goods. This trend of premiumization is creating new markets for Coach purses, BMW sedans, and Callaway golf clubs with younger, less affluent buyers. Of course this trend applies to high-tech purchases too – Nielsen reports that 29 percent of North American customers are willing to pay top dollar for their personal electronics.