Practices Articles
We’re curious people by nature. And we love to teach others what we’ve learned. So explore our blog to gain fresh insights from our expertise in areas ranging from culture to AI.
SEP Wins TechPoint’s 2024 Innovation Service Partner of the Year Mira Award
SEP Recognized as Indiana’s Top Innovation Service Partner, Winning TechPoint’s Prestigious Mira Award Westfield, Indiana - SEP has been named the Innovation Service Partner of the Year by TechPoint at the 25th annual Mira Awards. The Mira Awards, Indiana’s largest…
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Many product organizations today face similar struggles: delivery cycles take longer than expected, timeframes are unpredictable, and schedules lead to unforeseen costs and outcomes. Often, designed, built, and delivered features go unused, ultimately failing to achieve the desired business results. We’ve seen these struggles appear when organizations pursue a solution without understanding critical assumptions about […]
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Design Configuration Management: The Awesome Best Practice You Didn’t Know You Needed
We’ve had a design practice at SEP for over a decade but didn’t have an official Design Configuration Management (DCM) process until recently. For most of that time, we’ve been a pretty small group of designers who typically had their hands full doing good work for our clients. Historically, designers on a project would hit […]
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Naming Your Computer: How to Do It & Why It Matters
One of the tools you will be using daily at work is your computer, and that’s why one of your first onboarding assignments is usually naming your computer. Your computer is an extension of you, your interests, and your work! At SEP, we like to give our computers a unique name that feels meaningful to […]
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Using Generative AI Every Day at Work? An AI Strategist’s Honest Take
I use Generative AI tools because, as a developer, I can’t ignore them. My clients and peers expect me to be at least conversant in AI technologies if not an expert. Maintaining that expertise means engaging with new tools as they come out. I’ve made a point to use them where I could for the […]
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AI Code Gen Tools Need Human Developers to Produce Good Code
Last year, AI code gen tools made a huge splash in the software development world. Again. Someone had the bright idea that “Hey, source code is text. Maybe we can generate that!”. What started as one big offering has grown to dozens of tools to write our code for us. These tools excite some, terrify others, and leave many wondering […]
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Optimizing Discoverability in 5 Simple Steps: Unmatched IA in UX Design
In user experience (UX) design, taxonomy and ontology are two important but often overlooked tools. Taxonomies organize information into groups. Meanwhile, ontologies focus on relationships and concepts within a specific area. By understanding these concepts, we can enhance a product’s information architecture. First, let’s start by discussing the basics of taxonomy and ontology. Then, once we […]
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Chaos or Clarity? Improve Your Product Design With Systems Thinking
Embarking on the Adventure of Systems Thinking Hey there, product professionals! Ever feel like you’re embarking on an epic adventure when crafting products? That’s because, in a way, you are! Product design is like navigating through a galaxy of intricate relationships. Each decision made sends ripples through this cosmic web. This shapes our creations in […]
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Is a Lift and Shift Migration the right fit for your cloud project?
Picture this: Your team has been wrangling databases, applications, and web servers hosted and run on hundreds of VMs for years now. You have workarounds for some of the most egregious limitations, but alas… you know the time has come to replace your VMs with cloud hosting. You know that the inefficiencies and security concerns […]
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Invest in Your Career Growth with Small Habits for Professional Development
Some Professional Development activities are time-consuming. Gaining a certification for a cloud platform, for example, requires hours of learning and study before the hours of testing. This may feel like an intimidating amount of work. However, even a busy schedule can include a few small habits for professional development that, over time, will add […]
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