Why Documentation Is Very Important for Software Development?

This is mainly a written material, video, image instruction that comes with computer software. The software documentation helps in explaining how to use a service or a program. There is a mainly different type of software documentation such as:

  • Requirements documentation
  • Architecture documentation
  • Technical documentation
  • End-user documentation

In software development, documentation is a key activity that must not be ignored. The more detailed and defined documentation of your project, the better your team will understand what do they need exactly to achieve to make your product thrive.

The codes are needed to be reviewed, unit tests, and automation tests apart from writing, and designing. Documentation is given the least attention which is not right. Documentation is one of the best solutions that can help you in feature if you want to make any changes. It’s very important to take out the extra time to write a proper description that will help in saving a huge amount in the future.

Documentation Will Make Coding Easy:

If anyone wants to understand what exactly happens inside your coding then all you have to do is point them to the documentation. This will help in saving a lot of time as they don’t have to depend on you. If being a developer if you want to understand anything then this even helps you a lot.

  • The codes that are used in creating features are very complicated. When looking at one section of code may not make it clear several other sections are deeply linked to it.
  • All the service comes with a unique API with it. Documentation is needed when writing how to use those API that can be read outside the code.
  • The co-workers in another department can even read the documentation and can know how it works properly.
  • The code you wrote will help in act differently when you look at it. You can even change things if they don’t meet your expectations.

Importance of Software Documentation:

  1. Clarify your business goals, requirements and activities: With a proper documentation, you can share the business goals and requirement with your managers and team mates so that they have a clear vision and goals and the activity they perform will be more towards the success.
  2. Design and Specify your product: This comes in Architectural/Design documents and it gives you complete overview of how your products look like.
  3. Everything is clearly explained: When you makes End User documentation of the product of software, you have to explain each and everything about its working. It describes each feature of the program, and assists the user in realizing these features.
  4. Any body can work on other’s code: If you are a developer, it is not sufficient to write good codes only but you also need to take cares about the documentation part, which can be helpful to other developers while working in a team.
  5. Helpful in proper communication: A good software documentation is helpful in proper communication. The written procedure helps you to make interaction within several departments.

Documentation may be in the form of time records, daily reports by a project manager, schedules, photographs, videos, correspondence either by a letter or an email or fax, filing, or by information logs. The importance of documentation is so tremendous, many project managers are now terming it their top priority while managing any kind of work.

  • Documentation is the best, and sometimes the only way you can keep a record of the work done, the strategies used, the changes that occurred and all the little specifics an average human mind is capable of forgetting. Knowing the history of the project is essential for the current plan of action as well as how you proceed in the future.
  • Your clients want answers all the time. So does your team and your own boss! Last but not the least and very importantly so, you yourself need answers too. Documentation helps you deal with all these queries.
  • While carrying out a project, you may need to document every other thing to protect your own self from being accused falsely. People tend to blame project managers for whatever goes wrong. Documentation in the form of letters, emails, photographs or schedules is proof that protects you from lawsuits or other complications later on.
  • Documentation is evidence of a good project management. It helps you track activities related to the project, find out if time constraints are being met, monitor productivity and plan for the future. A good project manager will never leave any loose ends to his project.
  • By carrying out this important task, the project manager and the stakeholders are all expecting the same outcomes. There are no unpleasant surprises and no unknown risks.
  • Conflicts, disagreements and problems amongst all parties seldom arise. When all aspects of the project are right in front of everyone, it leaves little room for argument.
  • Documentation also helps every individual member involved to have complete knowledge of their responsibilities, have a clear idea of what is expected from them and how they need to manage their work.
  • If the correct record keeping protocol is followed, it gives the project manager complete control over the project by being the best source of knowledge for the entire team.

What Is Cross-Platform Development?

The term “cross-platform mobile app development” or “hybrid mobile app development” is an approach that allows developers to build a mobile solution that is simultaneously compatible with several operating systems and platforms (Android, iOS, Windows).

Hybrid applications have a native look and feel due to the combination of native code with independent code that’s suitable for multiple platforms. Developers write the code once and then reuse it, thus making it possible to release a product quickly.

Business Benefits of Cross-Platform Development

Launching the software simultaneously on various platforms

When you work on cross-platform app development, you can launch your software quickly on various platforms. The source code is written once for all platforms. This means you don’t need to hire a separate software development team for each platform, as it’s possible to launch and update the software by using a variety of cross-platform development tools.

Faster development time

It requires the deployment of a single script instead of writing separate scripts for each platform. This significantly speeds up development time and cuts time to market, which benefits everyone, from the dev team all the way to marketing.

Reaching a wider audience

Cross-platform application development offers you an opportunity to reach a larger audience. How so? Think about it – if your app is compatible with multiple platforms and operating systems like the web, iOS, and Android, it can be used by a larger number of users. It’s a great way to maximize your exposure – with less effort and time.

Faster and easier updates

Since cross-platform applications are Internet-based, updates are nice and easy. Users don’t have to download separate updates, which would require the maintenance and support of multiple app versions. The app is updated automatically for all customers to ensure they always have the most current version of the app, which positively impacts its performance.

Cost savings & shorter time to profitability

All of the above-mentioned advantages entail significant cost savings. With the development speed, cross-platform development brings, your time-to-market for each platform is shorter than if you had to create each app from scratch. This means you can get your software to generate revenue much sooner. You don’t need to maintain a software development team for each platform you launch your app to, which will bring significant savings over time.

Choose a Cross-Platform Development Tool

Let introduce 3 famous cross-platform mobile development tools:

React Native

This cross-platform framework was introduced by Facebook in 2015. React Native caused an enormous wave in the trend for hybrid frameworks. Since its debut, it has become one of the most popular mobile application development frameworks. Well, it is due to its code reusability feature and ready-to-apply elements that considerably shortens development time. Also, this framework can render a native-like interface that users love.

Xamarin

Xamarin launched in 2011. The framework was once independent but later acquired by Microsoft. Xamarin is an open-source framework that uses C# coding, which means it can work on any platform, including Android and iOS.

Flutter

Flutter is the latest framework among the three on the list. This is another open-source, cross-platform framework that seamlessly creates native interfaces for Android and iOS. This framework is perfect for startups building a minimum viable product (MVP). Instead of creating two separate apps for Android and iOS, you can build Flutter cross-platform apps that look native on both platforms.

Why are Wireframes so important?

Wireframes are blueprints that illustrate the elements of a website. Creating a wireframe gives the client, the developer, and the designer an opportunity to take a critical look at the structure of the website, web application, or mobile application and allows them to make revisions easily. Most teams discuss the requirements with their clients, and maybe sketch a few quick ideas on paper, and then jump right into Photoshop to design the layout or into Dreamweaver to do the coding. This is not always the best approach as this can result in hours of productive time being wasted on revisions. It’s always best to design wireframes as an initial step in the designing process to save loads of time in the long run. By doing this, you can address problems early and not wait to resolve the issues during the full-color phase.

Just simple and clear

Having an unpolished framework minus the aesthetic details eliminates the distraction of an element’s visual treatment. A simple wireframe without any color distraction will let you get important feedback on sizing, layout, and placement without your client making life harder for you.

Get a close-up view of the web site design

Project requirements might seem like excellent viable ideas during project initiation, but unfortunately, projects are rarely simple. Anyone with experience will know the number of unforeseen problems that you’re likely to face when you start drawing the design ideas on paper. Wireframes take considerably less time to design than Photoshop layouts, so you can spend time early on using wireframes to map out the functionality of the pages. This will help you get a thorough understanding of the user experience at the early stage and therefore identify potential usability problems with the design. It’s better to make adjustments early rather than spending time on full revisions.

Know your client better

Working on wireframes will let you understand your client’s ideas better. The feedback you get from your client and your interaction with them will give you a better understanding of what to expect during future stages of the project. For example – when you initially layout quick line drawings of the page, the client might comment on a particular element on the layout. As you’re working through the process of wireframing you may notice that the client is consistently commenting on certain elements. This will help you track the feedback patterns and learn about what your client wants to see and what they don’t like. Having this knowledge and applying it to the future phases of your project will save considerable amounts of time.

Save time and effort

It takes a lot more time, effort, and expertise to create a full-color layout on Photoshop than a wireframe. The first time your client will see the finished design is after you have spent all the effort creating it. But design changes are inevitable and more time and effort will be spent making the revisions. However, when we review wireframes, both internally and with clients, design changes can be reworked in a matter of minutes. If you don’t like the size of the button, make it smaller. If it is too small, then tweak it a bit to the perfect size. Wireframing makes it quick and inexpensive to make revisions on any day.

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What are the steps involved in the digital transformation plan?

First step: perception

The first and the most important step in digital transformation is the feeling of need among the senior managers of the organization. Lack of understanding will lead to non-cooperation and non-cooperation will be effective in the failure of the plan.

Second step: strategy planning and formulation

At this stage, the needs of the organization at all levels will be identified in general and without going into details. Based on the identification, the priorities of the organization will be extracted and the overall strategy of the transformation plan will be formed.

Third step: planning and recognizing and analyzing the requirements of micro-strategy formulation

At this stage, based on the defined priorities in the previous step, an accurate understanding of the requirements of each system and each process begins and the path of system design and then development to the establishment and improvement of the system is planned. The output of this stage will be used for the production of systems.

Fourth step: implementation

This step can be started simultaneously with the second step to implement the infrastructure, and based on the priority set in the previous step, the systems will be implemented based on the latest technology in the world and will be connected to each other.

Fifth step: Creating values

after implementation of each system, first, the desired system will be operated on a trial basis, which after resolving the problems in the pilot phase, will be fully operational at the level of the entire organization.

Sixth step: monitoring system performance during implementation and plan for subsequent improvements

At this stage, all exploited systems are thoroughly reviewed and new improvements and ideas are identified in a written form and re-entered in the development stage.

Why do growth managers need to understand the demand for change and get involved?

The first requirement to begin change is to understand the need for change in the organization’s senior managers.
Due to the complexity of organizational change and the initial defensive positions among employees and middle managers in establishing organizational change, the support of senior managers is very important. The organization’s senior managers should not only support these digital transformations but also should take the role of leadership and guidance of this change in the organization and play a role as an active member in the field of organizational transformation. The following are some of the most important roles of senior managers in this development:

  • Provide the basic foundations needed for organizational change
  • Patience and support in getting the job done
  • Fully prepared to deal with unexpected issues and try to find a solution
  • Leading middle managers and employees and preparing the organization to accept change
  • Dealing with barriers and obstacles to change and paving the pattern of routes

How we could work on your projects?

Fixed price projects

It is called “money for the result, a model defining the service to be provided very accurately, and then sets a single price for the project, regardless of how much time and expense the supplier’s company incurs.

When is the model used?

Exact requirements, detailed specifications, strict deadlines for delivery. The customer knows what he will get at the end of the development period. It is ideal for projects with fixed requirements, budgets, and strict deadlines.

Customer advantages

  • cThe fixed delivery time. The project plan is known.
  • Warrpanty
  • Minimum risks

Сustomer requirements

Exact specification. All changes to the specification are estimated and planned separately.

Supplier requirements

Exact estimation and Project Plan. Meeting the deadlines. Adequate Quality of Service.

How the work scope is defined?

The scope is set in the specification and is implemented in the project plan.

How the work costs are defined?

The price of the project is based on estimation and is a part of the commercial offer. Fees are based on the estimation model, personal rates, and risks.

Warranty and post-delivery support

The warranty period is for three months. During this period, all bugs should be fixed by the supplier for free. The specification is used as a baseline for identifying bugs. Post-delivery support should be carried according to a separate contract and is to be paid separately.

Time and material

They are also called “money for spent time & resources. The supplier provides specialists of a specific professional level, and the customer pays only for the time and resources spent on the project. In the case of partial workload, the minimum quota per month is set up, and terms of specialists’ availability influence on rates.

When the model is used?

No complete vision of the final product and no exact terms of delivery. Possibility for the creation of a work team with a specified workload. Paid min. Quota (for example, 50% of the usual month workload).

Ideal for Agile development methodologies. Suitable for projects developing MVPs, prototypes, or for teams that are part of remote customer teams.

Customer advantages

  • Possibility to start with partially defined requirements
  • Medium hourly rate
  • Flexibility in work volumes

Сustomer requirements

Partial requirements. The adequate workload for the team(according to the minimum quota).

Supplier requirements

Rough estimation for planning. Adequate Quality of Service.

How the work scope is defined?

Upon agreement. Usually, work is set in the form of short user stories that might be made more precise during implementation. An approximate Project Plan and estimation can be provided as an orientation.

How the work costs are defined?

Daily rates for different specialists are agreed on upfront. At the end of each month, the supplier provides the customer with the invoice based on the amount of time and resources expended. Weekly reports on spent time are sent to the customer.

Warranty and post-delivery support?

No warranty is provided. The same resources provide Post-delivery support within the bounds of the T&M model.

Dedicated team

The supplier will build a team of resources according to customer project requirements. Payment is made according to allocated team time. The customer is responsible for providing an adequate workload to keep the dedicated team busy. The supplier offers estimates for planned work, but these estimates are used for planning, not price estimation, or invoicing.

When the model is used

No complete vision of the final product and no exact terms of delivery. Need for long-term expertise to focus on a fixed team. Assumed 100% of the workload, paid downtime.

Ideal for regular product development & support. Ideal for Agile development methodologies. Suitable for projects developing MVPs, prototypes, or for teams that are part of remote customer teams.

Customer advantages

  • Fixed teams with a focus on one customer
  • The lowest hourly rate among all models
  • Full control & full availability of the team
  • Collected expertise

Сustomer requirements

Preparing an adequate workload for the team.

Supplier requirements

Rough estimation for planning. Adequate Quality of Service.

How the work scope is defined?

Upon agreement. It can be set in an approximate Project Plan.

How the work costs are defined?

Monthly rates for different specialists are agreed on upfront. Payment is made upfront for the whole month of the team allocation. Weekly reports on spent time are sent to the customer.

Warranty and post-delivery support

No warranty is provided. The same resources provide Post-delivery support within the bounds of the dedicated team.

Why digital transformation is essential in the organization?

In the new millennium, businesses’ vision for digital transformation has shifted from a one-time event to an ongoing strategy. These changes are happening so fast that there is no time to rest and the companies, like sharks, must be constantly moving to survive in the water and the stakeholders must be fully aware of the adoption of new technologies to be able to move fast in the global market. And it’s obvious that the ability of businesses to compete in the global market is directly affected by the speed with which they adopt new technologies.
We have to say that digital transformation for the companies, especially the traditional ones, is an essential requirement that will be imposed on your business by the market, customers, and lifestyle changes. No matter how big your organization is or how much market share or power it has, the power and market share will gradually shrink as customer behavior and tastes change. In return, implementing digital transformation can ensure the survival of your organization or better yet, stabilize market share, or in a much better way, can increase your market share and profit margin. So digital transformation is a matter of survival.

What goals will you achieve after implementing the digital transformation into your company?

  1. Achieving a fully digital organization: This way, all traditional processes will be transformed and modern digital processes will be replaced.
  2. Access to up-to-date and real statical data: All the statical data will be real and up-to-date and you can rely on them to make strategic decisions in the organization.
  3. Simplification of the activities and reduction of costs: With this method, the workflows will improve and digital systems come to help the users and in addition to simplifying processes, costs are also reduced.
  4. Changing the organizational processes: in the process of digitizing organizations, many traditional organizational processes will evolve and be optimized and efficient in the new direction
  5. Increase system agility and efficiency: By simplifying work processes, in addition to agility in providing services, system productivity will also increase and will be effective in the growth of the collection
  6. Creating integration and communication between systems: all the data in all systems will be in connection and integrated systems based on modern technology will be achieved.
  7. Paving the way for further business development: Recording the advances that have been made, the organization can complete its development process by relying on information at a higher speed and managers can make more accurate decisions
  8. Evolving the attitudes of managers and employees: By evolving in systems and organizational methods, the way of thinking of managers and employees will also change and you will see organizational change.
  9. Increasing customer and employee satisfaction and market share: after the establishment of new systems and methods, we gradually see an increase in customer and employee satisfaction and an increase in market share, and the development path of the organization will be smoother.
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Why we need a project discovery

What is the project discovery?

Project discovery is a process of gathering information about a project to help people understand its vision, goals, and scope.

It helps identify the client, users, and stakeholders’ needs and defines the system’s strong and weak points or app.

Why the project discovery is needed

17% of IT projects turn out so bad. They cause the collapse of the company. While only 7% of the projects are delivered late, 45% exceed the estimated budget. Careful analysis and planning could prevent many failures.
Also, I suggest having a project discovery :

  • if you have no complete idea of the final product.
  • If your project has several stakeholders
  • If your projects are too complicated.
  • And if you plan for long-term projects.

What happens when you refuse the project discovery stage?

  • You may be faced with a project that doesn’t meet your needs.
  • Your project implementation may extend the expected boundary.
  • You may run out of money because of the extended boundary.
  • The deadlines of the milestone may be missed.

What will be the steps of the project discovery?

  • In the first step, we will analyze the company requirements by interviewing stakeholders.
  • In the second step, we will have some market research about the requirements besides analyzing similar studies.
  • In the third step, we will work on the strategy about actions targeted at bringing the idea to life. What’s more, the task should be performed with financial and time benefits in mind.
  • In the fourth step, we will prepare the functional design that contains everything related to the application or site’s operation and functionality.
  • In the fifth step, we will transform the functional design into a visual prototype that will bring the idea to reality.
  • In the sixth step, we will work on the technical side of the application and prepare a technical design.
  • In the last step, we will prepare a rough estimate of the project implementation cost. The purpose is to give an understanding of what costs the project may require.

Please call us to talk more about how we could convert your idea to reality or help you in your organization’s digital transformation.

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Why Scrum works and has visible effects on software projects?

While up to half of software projects are unsuccessful, statistics show that Scrum raises the effectiveness of project management, and as many as 62% of projects run this way will succeed.

Scrum is a project management tool for a working life cycle. It is an Agile framework to properly manage the development cycle. As you’ve probably noticed, Scrum is very popular – especially in software projects. This is completely understandable. Scrum is valued for its high efficiency and its well-designed project management system.

Have a look at another statistic. Various sources show that up to 90% of teams working with Scrum say they have improved the quality of their work because of it. Scrum is also very popular for another reason: it is aligned with the Agile approach, which sets the highest standards for project management.

Let talk about the advantages of the scrum:

# 1 Scrum is efficient

When working with Scrum, your team has the chance to achieve the highest levels of efficiency. This is possible due to the ‘sprints’ scheduled within a specific time frame. During this time frame or sprint, the team focuses on selected tasks. The sprint is carefully planned by the Scrum Master, who is responsible for time management.

# 2 Scrum ensures high-quality results

For good reason, Scrum is one of the most frequently used methodologies in software projects. One of its key features is ensuring quality. During a sprint, the team focuses on pre-set tasks. This avoids the usual distractions from adding unplanned tasks. The exchange of knowledge and support among sprint members also ensures high-quality results.

# 3 Scrum allows you to see effects quickly

The work of the team is noticeable quickly. The work takes place over strictly defined functionalities that are ready and tested when the sprint is finished. Because the product is developed in stages, you can see the effects of development.

# 4 Scrum saves you money

Due to the effective time and tasks management, focused on eliminating bugs in the sprint, Scrum speeds up how you build your product. You will notice very quickly that your budget is being used effectively. You do not waste time dealing with unnecessary amendments. After finishing the sprint, the team goes to work on the next functionalities in the next sprint.

# 5 Scrum is transparent

This is an important feature, especially for customers who want to monitor the progress of work on their product. Thanks to the sprints, they know exactly which functionalities the team is currently working on. They can also see the effects of this work relatively quickly. The aim of the development work is clear for both the team and the client.

# 6 Scrum provides support for all team members

If someone in a sprint has a problem with the task, then they can consult with the whole team for support. Other members in the sprint will provide help or, if necessary, complete the task. Knowledge exchange and mutual support help keep the sprint stable and avoid delays.

# 7 Scrum is user-friendly for sprint members

Scrum allows sprint members to choose the tasks they want to complete. This way, they can work on what they really like or are good at. The tasks are assigned by the Scrum Master, whose goal is to select the best tasks for the skills of each sprint member.

# 8 There are tools to support work in Scrum

Due to the huge popularity of Scrum, there are many tools available that support this project management methodology and allow you to control all processes and stages.

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How we manage the projects?

What is Scrum?

Scrum is a framework that helps teams work together. Much like a rugby team (where it gets its name) training for the big game, scrum encourages teams to learn through experiences, self-organize while working on a problem, and reflect on their wins and losses to continuously improve.

While the scrum I’m talking about is most frequently used by software development teams, its principles and lessons can be applied to all kinds of teamwork. This is one of the reasons scrum is so popular. Often thought of as an agile project management framework, scrum describes a set of meetings, tools, and roles that work in concert to help teams structure and manage their work.

How does scrum project management work?

The scrum approach to project management enables software development organizations to prioritize the work that matters most and break it down into manageable chunks. Scrum is about collaborating and communicating both with the people who are doing the work and the people who need the work done. It’s about delivering often and responding to feedback, increasing business value by ensuring that customers get what they actually want.

Shifting from traditional project management approaches to scrum project management requires an adjustment in terms of the activities that are carried out, the artifacts that are created, and the roles within the project team:

Activities in scrum project management

The main activity in scrum project management is the sprint, a time-boxed iteration that usually lasts between 1-4 weeks, with the most common sprint length being two weeks.

Sprint planning meeting: at the start of each sprint, a planning meeting is held to discuss the work that is to be done. The product owner and the team meet to discuss the highest-priority items on the product backlog. Team members figure out how many items they can commit to and then create a sprint backlog, which is a list of the tasks to complete during the sprint.

Daily scrum or daily standup: each day during the sprint team members share what they worked on the prior day, will work on today, and identify any impediments. Daily scrums serve to synchronize the work of team members as they discuss the work of the sprint. These meetings are time-boxed to no more than 15 minutes.

Sprint review: at the end of a sprint, the team demonstrates the functionality added during the sprint. The goal of this meeting is to get feedback from the product owner and any users or other stakeholders who have been invited to the review.

Sprint retrospective: at the end of each sprint, the team participates in a retrospective meeting to reflect on the sprint that is ending and identify opportunities to improve in the new sprint.

Sprint Demo: at the end of each sprint, the team will have a demo to the clients to show what exactly to do during the sprint and they will show the output product to the clients.

Then with the scrum team and clients have all the control over the project and the changes could implement fast and clients will be completely aware of the work progress.

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How do we stay GDPR-friendly for our clients in an outsourcing environment?

Under the GDPR, data management is carried out by the “controller” and the “processor.” How the personal data of an individual is used is determined by the controller. The role of the processor is to process the personal data on the part of the controller. 

providers play the role of the data processors and the companies that outsource are the data controllers.

Outsourcing firms that want to work with EU-based companies require strengthening their data security and privacy policies in order to align themselves with the standards laid down by the GDPR

In the case of a data breach, both the company and the outsourcing provider can be held liable and penalized heavily. Therefore, both the data controller (company) and the data processor (outsourcing services provider) should strictly adhere to the guidelines laid down by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The following steps can help us in becoming fully compliant with GDPR:

  1. We Know What Is GDPR: 

We know about the GDPR and its effects on our business. First of all, we identify which of our business processes require changes in order to attain full compliance with the GDPR. We make all of our employees aware of the GDPR by providing training to them so that each and every department in our organization knows how to safely handle the users’ data.

  1. We Have A Review Of our Technologies And Business Processes each 3 month 

We review our business processes and look for where they are lacking in following the GDPR standards. Adopt new procedures and, if required, hire specialists so that we are able to meet the standards. Examine the technologies that are actively being deployed in your firm. Check if these technologies are adequately meeting the technical requirements for ensuring data security and privacy as required by the GDPR.

We could implement all the necessities in your product to be GDPR friendy.

  1. We could Set Up A Data Register for your business: 

As part of the GDPR, data protection associations have been set up by the European countries. They have been set up for the purpose of enforcing the GDPR and monitoring compliance. You should create a data register, which is a record of data processing activities. If for any reason, a data breach takes place, you will be required to show the data register to the data protection association.

  1. We will Build A Data Security Roadmap for your product : 

We will prepare a data security road map at the beginning of the projects. It helps us in prioritizing where the greatest security risks are present and in setting up goals and milestones. Data security techniques like encrypting, pseudonymization, etc. can help us meet our security goals.

  1. We could carry Out Periodic Assessments: 

Once we have set up and put into practice the technologies and processes required for becoming fully compliant with the GDPR, our next step is to carry out periodic assessments for ensuring everything is working as expected. Keeping data management and security in order will help you in preventing any sort of data breach, and will, therefore, save you from heavy penalties for GDPR non-compliance.