Category Archives: Technology

Posts related to technology in general.

Kerika is now available in 37 languages

Technology

We have always had users from around the world, and we estimate that close to 80% of them are from countries where English isn’t the main language.  To make Kerika even easier to use by our global user base we did a massive translation effort, using a combination of AI and sheer hard-work, to create translations of our website in 37 languages.

This is far more than competitors, even those with budgets that are 100x larger than ours, has attempted; Trello, for example, is available in 20 languages, Asana in 12. But then, our competitors aren’t thinking as globally as we are: we have always had a vision of producing a powerful task management tool that’s easy enough to be used by people from anywhere in the world.

AI isn’t perfect yet, by any means, so it’s possible that our translations have mistakes. We welcome your feedback: if you see anything that you think needs correcting, please send us a screenshot.

Here’s the full list of the non-English languages that Kerika is now available in: click on the links to view the Kerika website in that language.

босански български език Hrvatski
čeština Dansk Nederlands
Eesti keel Suomi Français
Deutsch Ελληνικά ગુજરાતી
हिंदी Magyar nyelv íslenska
Bahasa Indonesia Italiano 日本語
한국어 Iatviešu valoda Lietuvių kalba
Bahasa Melayu Norsk Tiếng Việt
Język polski Português Yкраїнська мова
Pусский Srpski Slovenčina
Español Svensk Tagalog
ภาษาไทย Türkçe ㄍㄛ=ㄇㄠ
English

When you login you will be prompted to choose your preferred language; the default will be the dominant language in your country.  You can always change your language preference later, by clicking on the My Profile link on the top-right corner of the app:

What Got Done and What’s Due: By Quarter

Technology

The What Got Done View, that’s accessible from your Dashboard, now has a new feature: it can show you everything that got done by calendar quarter:

This can be accessed from the Settings dialog from this View: just click on the gear icon at the top right corner of the app.

This feature is also available for the What’s Due View: now you can see how your long-term deliverables stack up over the next four quarters.

This By Quarter View should help folks that need to report to their bosses what the team is getting done, on a quarterly basis.

Kerika just got better: why you are seeing this message more often

Kerika, Technology

“Kerika just got better…” is a message you are seeing almost daily, and that’s thanks to the massive 2-year effort that overhauled our old backend and made it much easier to push out changes.

We are now rolling out bug fixes and feature improvements on a daily basis, using our modern architecture. Previously we had to batch these up and do large upgrades; now we can push out the smallest changes, when we feel they are ready to go.

Under the old architecture taking the servers down for maintenance was a painful necessity; now changes can be deployed without any downtime.

All changes still go through extensive internal testing, and new features go through a lot of usability testing in particular, before anything gets pushed out.

Two ways of referencing URLs in Kerika

Technology, Usability

When you include a URL in a task’s details tab or chat, Kerika will look up the URL and then display the title of the page.  This is really useful because the URL may be very long and generally unintelligible, and people find the name of the site to be more useful.

Here’s an example, where the URL for the New York Times website is included in a chat message:

After this chat is sent, Kerika will look up the URL and then use the site’s name when the chat is displayed in Kerika, like this:

This is useful most of the time. The original URL, from the Wall Street Journal was long and contained many characters as a suffix  that most people would not find helpful.

But sometimes you want the URL itself to be clearly visible, and that’s possible in Kerika if you use the special escape character called the tilde “`” which appears on the top-left corner of English keyboards.

Here’s how you would use the tilde to “escape” the URL you are referencing:

And this is how it would look in the chat stream:

Because you used the tilde character to bracket the URL, Kerika doesn’t try to show the name; instead it shows the URL exactly as it is.

Another useful improvement from Kerika 🙂

We just overhauled the entire back end of Kerika

Kerika, Technology

An effort that took 2 years finally completed yesterday when we updated the Kerika app.

This massive project involved rewriting everything on the back-end of Kerika in order to modernize the architecture and set up us for a more rapid development of end-user functionality, as well as making it easier to release new versions in the future using Docker container.

Our old backend was not well designed: everything ran as a single monolithic server. Over the years we moved slowly away from that, by building new features as microservices, and while that helped a little, it wasn’t enough.

We had reached a point where it was taking exponentially more time to build new features, and we were facing operational risk as well because the old backend was poorly understood and document.

A complete rewrite was necessary, and we bit the bullet on that a couple of years ago. There was significant cost and complexity but our great team powered through all the challenges, particularly when it came to transitioning our main database away from MySQL (hosted as RDS, by Amazon) to a NoSQL model using Google’s Firestore service.

Now that we are done we can start delivering more functionality, starting with support for non-English languages.

Stay tuned for our first non-English language, which will be Hindi, to be offered in a couple of weeks.

Digital Workplace: Essential Tools to Optimize Workflows

Agile & Scrum, Kanban & Lean, Team Collaboration, Technology, , ,

The transition to remote work has been swift, and digital tools have become the backbone of modern workplaces. However, the landscape of remote work is still fairly new and many teams are still far from their greatest potential. Still, if they polish their processes, remote teams can be as productive as they would on-site, and even more. This article will present digital tools essential to optimize digital workplace workflows and productivity.

Project Management Tools

Project management tools are the backbone of any team’s workflow. Project management tools centralize your team’s tasks and projects, enabling employees to manage tasks, deadlines, and resources.

Use a project manager to track progress and identify any bottlenecks. Likewise, logging tasks and project information adds a layer of transparency and accountability to project management tools.

In any case, your workflow can only be as good as the project management software you use allows you to. Some of the most popular project management tools available include Asana, Trello, and Basecamp. However, Kerika stands out from the rest by its own merits.

Kerika: The Ultimate Management Tool for Remote Teams

Kerika is a powerful project management tool that helps teams work efficiently and collaboratively. It offers a variety of features to meet the requirements of the most demanding users. Here are some of the features that make Kerika a must-have tool for any digital workplace:

  • Visual Boards. Whiteboards and task boards from which users can see the big picture of a project. Visualize the workflow and identify any bottlenecks at a glance.
  • Integrated Chat. This feature eliminates the need for external communication tools to collaborate since team members can communicate in real-time without leaving the platform.
  • Task Assignments. Easily assign tasks to team members and track their progress in a complex yet intuitive tasks board. Ensure that everyone is aware of their responsibilities and deadlines, making it easier to complete projects on time.
  • Customizable Templates. Kerika offers customizable project board templates that can be used for different types of projects. Save time and ensure that all team members are on the same page. Plus, templates are handy for onboarding new employees into your workflow.
  • User-Friendly Interface. Kerika’s user-friendly interface makes it easy to navigate and use, so everyone on the team can use the tool without any training or technical expertise.

File Sharing and Collaboration Software

File-sharing software enables employees to store and work with files no matter where they are located and from multiple devices. Such flexibility reduces the time and effort needed to search for documents or to track down the latest version of a file, something methodic and disorganized employees enjoy alike.

File-sharing tools such as Google Drive also enable multiple people to collaborate on the same document simultaneously, opening the possibility of real-time feedback and faster completion of tasks. In like manner, users can easily leave comments and make suggestions.

Administrators can easily control who has access to specific files or folders, ensuring that confidential information is kept secure. Permissions can be set to allow different levels of access to different users, making it easy to share files with only those who need to see them.

Communication Platforms

Effective communication is key to a successful digital workplace. With communication platforms such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom, team members can stay connected and work together seamlessly through video and audio calls, and screen and file sharing.

On the other hand, video conferencing tools with virtual reality (VR) technology are a more cutting-edge option. VRth finds industrial applications in industries such as architecture and engineering by allowing teams to visualize and interact with 3D models Yet, VR can also work as a space for brainstorming, meetings, and events. To know more about VR meeting platforms, check Virbela and NextMeet.

Cybersecurity Tools

Cybersecurity tools such as firewalls, and intrusion detection systems help businesses to protect their data from cyber threats. On the other hand, these tools also help businesses to comply with data protection regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

Additionally, virtual private networks (VPNs) are essential for any business that values data privacy and security. VPNs create a secure and encrypted connection between a business’s network and the internet, preventing unauthorized access to sensitive information. VPNs are especially important for remote workers who need to access company resources from outside the office. Here is a list of some of the cheapest VPNs.

Process Automation Software

Business process management software can help businesses streamline their operations by automating repetitive tasks and workflows, including data entry, invoice processing, and customer service.

Besides, artificial intelligence (AI) technology is increasingly being used to improve productivity in the digital workplace, taking care of complex tasks and clearing humans from them. AI-powered productivity tools can help automate tasks, provide personalized insights and recommendations, and analyze data to identify opportunities for improvement. Tools of this kind include beautiful.ai, for coming up with presentations, and Mem made to organize information.

Mind Mapping Software

Mind mapping software can help teams visualize and organize complex ideas and concepts through brainstorming, planning, and collaborating. Among popular mind-mapping tools, we find MindMeister, MindManager, and XMind.

On the other hand, digital whiteboards can help teams collaborate and brainstorm more effectively, especially in remote settings: Visualize ideas by drawing or writing them, or share them with others and receive feedback. Popular digital whiteboard tools include Miro, Google Jamboard, and Microsoft Whiteboard.

Guest post from Cybernews.com

Kerika has a free Template for Teachers to plan their classes

Academic & Nonprofit, Kanban & Lean, Technology, Tutorials, , , ,

Click on the image to view this Template/

This template is for teachers and professors that want to manage their teaching schedule. It offers all the tools you need to manage your teaching schedule. It gives you the flexibility to create new cards and columns inside the template.

If you want one place to manage your multiple lectures and classes, this template is perfect for you!

How to use this template:

  1. Use Resources: you will find many useful tools that will help you manage your teaching schedule. You can add your resources by editing the existing cards or creating new ones.
  2. Start of the semester: Each new semester requires creating a plan, booking specialized areas, sharing material with students, etc. And each card in this column is designed to help you with that.
  3. Week 1: Use this column when you’re finished creating a semester plan, and you are ready for the first of the semester. Create a card for each lesson plan for the first week in this column. Or use the existing cards and start filling details.
  4. Week 2: Use this column when the first week of your semester is over. Create a card for each lesson plan for the second week in this column. Or use the existing cards and start filling details.
  5. Week 3: Use this column when the second week of your semester is over. Create a card for each lesson plan for the third week in this column. Or use the existing cards and start filling details.
  6. Add more columns: When you click on the vertical three dots in any column, it will show you a tab named ‘COLUMN ACTIONS‘. It will allow you add a column to the left or right, depending on where you want a new column. This is useful when your semester is longer than three weeks, and you want more columns for them.
  7. End of the semester: This column is useful when your semesters are over, and you want to plan things for your last semester. For example, final exams.