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The AI-Prepared Enterprise: Constructing the Clever Office with Cisco


The tempo of innovation sparked by generative AI has been breakneck—and it’s solely simply starting. This AI wave is a serious know-how disruption, and we’ve realized from previous know-how disruptions (cloud, mobility, the web) that networks want elementary change to help the brand new know-how. 

Within the office, AI will affect the character of labor itself, with people orchestrating the work of AI assistants and AI brokers, robots in factories making choices autonomously, and self-service buyer interactions dealt with agentically. AI will carry out human-like work, however at machine velocity and scale. And it’s going to present firms a better degree of productiveness. Throughout a inhabitants of eight billion individuals, it’s going to really feel like we have now the collective throughput capability of 80 billion. 

But paradoxically, in a world the place adoption of generative AI is mainstream, human interplay turns into much more essential. Whether or not one-to-one or many-to-many, real-time dialogue, debate, and communication of concepts are the moments when groups make progress and work will get achieved.  

AI not solely reinforces the significance of collaboration, it additionally places large calls for on networks. Taken collectively, this requires a elementary rethinking of infrastructure to construct a future-proofed office. 

To deal with these new community calls for, at Cisco Reside San Diego we introduced a new structure for the AI-ready safe community. It begins with a unified administration platform—cloud-first administration for Meraki, Catalyst, and new gadgets throughout each community area: routing, switching, wi-fi, and industrial. Our method delivers constant operations for cloud, on-premises, or hybrid, together with advanced enterprise deployments with capabilities like superior configuration of routing and community materials.  

Digital assurance is built-in for visibility throughout each owned and unowned infrastructure. We’re additionally asserting expanded ThousandEyes vantage factors, together with new Wi-Fi 7 entry factors, cell gadgets, and industrial IoT gadgets. New organization-wide and client-level assurance views allow speedy drill-down to points. 

Simplifying community operations with AI 

Unifying gadget administration and digital assurance in a single platform unlocks new prospects for AI-driven operations. Reality: AI is determined by knowledge. And one of the best community knowledge comes from a typical community platform. With our platform, we’re evolving community operations to be AI-pushed 

Cisco AgenticOps is our new paradigm for contemporary IT. Powered by knowledge aggregated throughout the community in our unified platform, it allows more and more autonomous analysis and determination throughout domains—with people all the time in management. At its core is our Deep Community Mannequin, a domain-specific massive language mannequin (LLM) educated on Cisco’s huge networking data, together with CiscoU and Cisco Licensed Internetwork Professional (CCIE) supplies. This AI understands networks like IT professionals do, slashing decision time. 

AgenticOps begins with Cisco AI Assistant, a conversational interface for figuring out points, diagnosing root causes, and automating advanced workflows. It’s deeply built-in into the platform, so IT groups can simply incorporate it into their workflows.  

On high of AI Assistant is the brand new Cisco AI Canvas. This shared, interactive workspace contains a groundbreaking generative UI that pulls from the identical networking, safety, and observability knowledge that powers the unified platform. IT groups interface with AI Assistant and remedy with AI Canvas, constructing real-time dashboards to information corrective motion. Crew members can share dashboards with colleagues and save them to persist throughout periods. AI Canvas makes use of superior reasoning fashions to interrupt down troubleshooting into structured steps. When groups agree on a proposed answer, AI Canvas takes motion to repair the issue, from implementing a configuration change to executing steps in a runbook. This collaborative method makes use of AI to convey NetOps, SecOps, and different groups collectively for quicker downside decision.  

The muse: scalable gadgets prepared for AI 

AI functions are including stress to all networks—campus, department, and industrial—demanding larger capability and decrease latency. To deal with this visitors surge, we’re introducing a brand new technology of purpose-built community gadgets. 

For entry networks, two new good switches: the Cisco C9350 Mounted Entry Sensible Swap gives 48 multigigabit (mGig)/90W Common Energy over Ethernet (UPoE) downlink ports, as much as 4×100 Gbps uplinks, and as much as 1.6 Tbps stacked capability. The Cisco C9610 Modular Core Sensible Swap scales as much as 256×100 Gbps ports and 51.2 Tbps capability with redundant supervisors. Powered by Cisco Silicon One, these switches construct on our knowledge middle good swap momentum and have community processors and co-processors for extra features like AI and safety.  

We’re additionally extending our Wi-Fi 7 portfolio with the brand new Cisco CW9179F entry level. That includes software-controllable beam switching, 16 spatial streams, redundant 10 Gbps ports, and built-in GPS for auto-location and Automated Frequency Coordination outside, it brings excessive efficiency to massive venues like stadiums and arenas. The brand new Cisco Campus Gateway gives high-performance cloud administration for campuses with as much as 5000 entry factors and 50,000 purchasers, without having to reconfigure networks and VLANs deployed with conventional wi-fi LAN controllers. 

Extra calls for on entry networks places extra calls for on the WAN, and 10 Gbps uplinks are giving approach to 40+ Gbps uplinks. Our new Cisco 8000 Collection Safe Routers ship quick and scalable SD-WAN, built-in next-generation firewall, and post-quantum safety in a single-box answer. With as much as 3x efficiency of earlier generations, a number of uplink choices as much as 2×100 Gbps, and versatile WAN connectivity choices (together with 5G and LTE), they provide forwarding throughput as much as 190 Gbps and IPsec throughput as much as 63 Gbps (at 512-byte packet measurement). We’re additionally introducing our Unified Department answer to simplify managing department networks with a DevOps method, changing CLI instructions with APIs and programmatic automation. Be taught extra concerning the new 8000 Collection Safe Routers and Unified Department. 

For industrial settings, we’re introducing 19 new switches within the Cisco Industrial Ethernet Collection, designed for industrial AI functions like vision-based high quality inspection, AI-powered robots, and autonomous high-speed autos. Paired with a brand new unified Wi-Fi and Extremely-Dependable Wi-fi Backhaul (URWB) answer, we ship resilience and scalability for IT/OT convergence.  

Fusing safety into the community 

New AI workloads and elevated visitors quantity imply an expanded assault floor. AI is making a technology of vibe coders; subsequent is a legion of vibe hackers. IT and safety groups are dealing with an amplified menace panorama, and this calls for a brand new method: fusing safety into every layer of the community.  

Our multi-layer method to safety begins with the system itself, with our gadgets are safe by design. Quantum-secure boot ensures solely verified software program runs, and we’re introducing Reside Shield—compensating controls that allow directors handle new exploits rapidly, earlier than patches could be utilized. 

Subsequent, we’re securing community connectivity with quantum-resistant encryption for IPsec, MACsec, and WAN MACsec, future-proofing your community in opposition to more and more frequent “harvest now, decrypt later” assaults. We’re additionally enabling quantum-resistant encryption for administration visitors to the gadget itself. 

We’re securing customers, endpoints, and functions with scalable segmentation, Software program Outlined Entry (SDA), and next-generation firewall. By integrating with Cisco Safety Cloud Management, we are able to have coverage outlined centrally with enforcement distributed all through the community.  

However we’re not stopping there. We’re persevering with to push the envelope in safety for the community. Our new good switches are additionally prepared for Hypershield—Cisco’s innovation for distributed mesh firewalls. Furthermore, our Common Zero-Belief Community Entry (UZTNA) structure secures customers and gadgets with least-privileged entry, delivering a constant expertise from wherever customers join.  

Empowering individuals: clever collaboration experiences 

Constructing future-proofed workplaces can be about empowering individuals to work extra successfully. AI should improve experiences for each clients and staff—so we’re delivering improvements to rework contact facilities, convention rooms, and on a regular basis work.  

The brand new AI-powered Room Imaginative and prescient Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) digicam redefines conferences by monitoring presenters, framing audio system, and adapting to room dynamics. This digicam options easy deployment with energy, video, and controls over one Ethernet cable and cloud-based administration with Management Hub. Discover how we’re delivering cinematic conferences in Snorre Kjesbu’s weblog. 

Organizations additionally have to ship real-time, personalised buyer interactions. We’re introducing new Webex AI Agent capabilities for simpler self-service, together with expanded AI engine help and prebuilt, industry-specific templates for quicker AI Agent deployment. Learn extra on our AI-powered buyer expertise bulletins in Jay Patel’s weblog. 

We’re dedicated to empowering our clients with alternative and adaptability, and now Cisco brings the ability of AI to on-premises deployments.  

With improvements like background noise removing and background blur, we’re making conferences on our on-premises answer distraction-free. For purchasers of Cisco Contact Middle Enterprise, common availability of launch 15 allows Webex AI Agent and AI Assistant capabilities.  

The long run-proofed office, powered by Cisco 

Cisco supplies the options and improvements it is advisable thrive within the AI period. We perceive that constructing future-proofed workplaces requires a complete method, and Cisco delivers the complete breadth of networking, safety, and collaboration options wanted to empower your group for no matter comes subsequent. 

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A product supervisor’s information to adapting Android apps throughout units



A product supervisor’s information to adapting Android apps throughout units

Posted by Fahd Imtiaz, Product Supervisor, Android Developer Expertise

As we speak, Android is launching a couple of updates throughout the platform! This consists of the beginning of Android 16’s rollout, with particulars for each builders and customers, a Developer Preview for enhanced Android desktop experiences with related shows, and updates for Android customers throughout Google apps and extra, plus the June Pixel Drop. We’re additionally recapping all of the Google I/O updates for Android builders centered on constructing glorious, adaptive Android apps.

With new kind components rising regularly, the Android ecosystem is extra dynamic than ever.

From telephones and foldables to tablets, Chromebooks, TVs, automobiles, Put on and XR, Android customers count on their apps to run seamlessly throughout an more and more numerous vary of kind components. But, many Android apps fall wanting these expectations as they’re constructed with UI constraints resembling being locked to a single orientation or restricted in resizability.

With this in thoughts, Android 16 launched API adjustments for apps focusing on SDK degree 36 to disregard orientation and resizability restrictions beginning with giant display units, shifting towards a unified mannequin the place adaptive apps are the norm. That is the second to maneuver forward. Adaptive apps aren’t simply the way forward for Android, they’re the expectation in your app to face out throughout Android kind components.

Why you need to prioritize adaptive now

500+ devices including foldables, tablets, Chromebooks, and mobile-app capable cars

Supply: inner Google information

Prioritizing optimizations to make your app adaptive is not nearly maintaining with the orientation and resizability API adjustments in Android 16 for apps focusing on SDK 36. Adaptive apps unlock tangible advantages throughout person expertise, improvement effectivity, and market attain.

    • Cellular apps can now attain customers on over 500 million energetic giant display units: Cellular apps run on foldables, tablets, Chromebooks, and even appropriate automobiles, with minimal adjustments. Android 16 will introduce important developments in desktop windowing for a real desktop-like expertise on giant screens, together with related shows. And Android XR opens a brand new dimension, permitting your present apps to be out there in immersive environments. The person expectation is obvious: a constant, high-quality expertise that intelligently adapts to any display – be it a foldable, a pill with a keyboard, or a movable, resizable window on a Chromebook.

    • “The brand new baseline” with orientation and resizability API adjustments in Android 16: We consider cellular apps are present process a shift to have UI adapt responsively to any display dimension, similar to web sites. Android 16 will ignore app-defined restrictions like mounted orientation (portrait-only) and non-resizable home windows, starting with giant screens (smallest width of the machine is >= 600dp) together with tablets and internal shows on foldables. For many apps, it’s key to serving to them stretch to any display dimension. In some circumstances in case your app is not adaptive, it might ship a damaged person expertise on these screens. This strikes adaptive design from a nice-to-have to a foundational requirement.

Side by side displays of non-adaptive app UI with on the left with text reading Goodbye 'mobile-only' apps and adaptive app UI on the right with text reads Hello adaptive apps

    • Improve person attain and app discoverability in Play: Adaptive apps are higher positioned to be ranked larger in Play, and featured in editorial articles throughout kind components, reaching a wider viewers throughout Play search and homepages. Moreover, Google Play Retailer surfaces scores and critiques throughout all kind components. In case your app just isn’t optimized, a possible person’s first impression is perhaps tainted by a 1-star evaluate complaining a few stretched UI on a tool they do not even personal but. Customers are additionally extra more likely to interact with apps that present a terrific expertise throughout their units.
    • Elevated engagement on giant screens: Customers on giant display units usually have totally different interplay patterns. On giant screens, customers could interact for longer classes, carry out extra advanced duties, and devour extra content material.
    • Ideas noticed a 70% enhance in person engagement on giant screens after optimizing.

      Utilization for six main media streaming apps within the US was as much as 3x extra for pill and telephone customers, as in comparison with telephone solely customers.

    • Extra accessible app experiences: Based on the World Financial institution, 15% of the world’s inhabitants has some sort of incapacity. Individuals with disabilities rely on apps and providers that assist accessibility to speak, be taught, and work. Matching the person’s most well-liked orientation improves the accessibility of purposes, serving to to create an inclusive expertise for all.

As we speak, most apps are constructing for smartphones solely

A display of varying Android form factors, including a tablet, a desktop monitor, a laptop, a large-screen mobile, hand-held device, and an in-car app screen

“…trying on the variety of customers, the ROI doesn’t justify the funding”.

That is a frequent pushback from product managers and decision-makers, and for those who’re simply top-line analytics evaluating the variety of pill classes to smartphone classes, it’d look like a closed case.

Whereas top-line analytics may present decrease session numbers on tablets in comparison with smartphones, concluding that giant screens aren’t definitely worth the effort based mostly solely on present quantity is usually a entice, inflicting you to overlook out on priceless engagement and future alternatives.

Let’s take a deeper look into why:

      1. The person expertise ‘rooster and egg’ loop: Is it doable that the low utilization is a symptom quite than the basis trigger? Customers are fast to desert apps that really feel clunky or damaged. In case your app on giant screens is a stretched-out telephone interface, the app probably offers a unfavourable person expertise. The dearth of customers may replicate the dearth of expertise, not all the time essentially lack of potential customers.

      2. Past person quantity, take a look at person engagement: Do not simply rely customers, analyze their value. Customers work together with apps on giant screens in a different way. The massive display usually results in longer classes and extra immersive experiences. As talked about above, utilization information exhibits that engagement time will increase considerably for customers who work together with apps on each their telephone and pill, as in comparison with telephone solely customers.

      3. Market evolution: The Android machine ecosystem is continuous to evolve. With the rise of foldables, upcoming related shows assist in Android 16, and kind components like XR and Android Auto, adaptive design is now extra important than ever. Constructing for a particular display dimension creates technical debt, and should gradual your improvement velocity and compromise the product high quality in the long term.

Okay, I’m satisfied. The place do I begin?

A three-step workflow outlines how to optimize your Android app to be adaptive

For organizations prepared to maneuver ahead, Android gives many sources and developer instruments to optimize apps to be adaptive. See beneath for get began:

      1.Test how your app appears to be like on giant screens at this time: Start by your app’s present state on tablets, foldables (in numerous postures), Chromebooks, and environments like desktop windowing. Affirm in case your app is offered on these units or in case you are unintentionally leaving out these customers by requiring pointless options inside your app.

      2. Tackle widespread UI points: Assess what feels awkward in your app UI at this time. We’ve got loads of steering out there on how one can simply translate your cellular app to different screens.

          a. Test the Giant screens design gallery for inspiration and understanding how your app UI can evolve throughout units utilizing confirmed options to widespread UI challenges.

          b. Begin with fast wins. For instance, forestall buttons from stretching to the complete display width, or change to a vertical navigation bar on giant screens to enhance ergonomics.

          c. Establish patterns the place canonical layouts (e.g. list-detail) might resolve any UI awkwardness you recognized. Might a list-detail view enhance your app’s navigation? Would a supporting pane on the aspect make higher use of the additional house than a backside sheet?

      3. Optimize your app incrementally, display by display: It might be useful to prioritize the way you method optimization as a result of not all the things must be completely adaptive on day one. Incrementally enhance your app based mostly on what issues most – it is not all or nothing.

          a. Begin with the foundations. Take a look at the giant display app high quality tips which tier and prioritize the fixes which can be most important to customers. Take away orientation restrictions to assist portrait and panorama, and guarantee assist for resizability (for when customers are in cut up display), and forestall main stretching of buttons, textual content fields, and pictures. These foundational fixes are important, particularly with API adjustments in Android 16 that can make these features much more vital.

          b. Implement adaptive structure optimizations with a give attention to core person journeys or screens first.

              i. Establish screens the place optimizations (for instance a two-pane structure) supply the largest UX win

          c. Help enter strategies past contact, together with keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and stylus enter. With new kind components and related shows assist, this units customers as much as work together together with your UI seamlessly.

          d. Add differentiating hero person experiences like assist for tabletop mode or dual-screen mode on foldables. This may occur on a per-use-case foundation – for instance, tabletop mode is nice for watching movies, and twin display mode is nice for video calls.

Whereas there’s an upfront funding in adopting adaptive rules (utilizing instruments like Jetpack Compose and window dimension courses), the long-term payoff could also be important. By designing and constructing options as soon as, and letting them adapt throughout display sizes, the advantages outweigh the price of creating a number of bespoke layouts. Take a look at the adaptive apps developer steering for extra.

Unlock your app’s potential with adaptive app design

The message for my fellow product managers, decision-makers, and companies is obvious: adaptive design will uplevel your app for high-quality Android experiences in 2025 and past. An adaptive, responsive UI is the scalable method to assist the various units in Android with out growing on a per-form issue foundation. When you ignore the varied machine ecosystem of foldables, tablets, Chromebooks, and rising kind components like XR and automobiles, your enterprise is accepting hidden prices from unfavourable person critiques, decrease discovery in Play, elevated technical debt, and missed alternatives for elevated person engagement and person acquisition.

Maximize your apps’ affect and unlock new person experiences. Study extra about constructing adaptive apps at this time.

Higher Estimates Are Attainable on Agile Groups


The subject of estimation might be contentious. One large purpose is that, with regards to creating estimates for agile planning, persons are concurrently your biggest asset and biggest impediment.

Higher Estimates Are Constructed on Higher Understanding

Estimating is a human activity, and people might be difficult. Irrespective of how clearly you outline and clarify the method, estimates are influenced by bias, background, and particular person views. Even should you and your staff perceive the speculation behind estimating with story factors, should you don’t account for human nature and persona dynamics, you may nonetheless encounter issues.

I’m not saying your staff members are downside individuals; I’m positive they’re superior. It’s simply that folks convey baggage and preconceived notions to the estimation course of.

How Individuals Issues Trigger Estimation Issues

A staff’s previous experiences with estimation can contribute to future issues with estimation. For instance:

  • That one one who will not budge on an estimate.

  • These one or two individuals who seem to associate with the method, however aren’t actually placing within the effort.

  • These new staff members who’re unsure about estimates, story factors, or are intimidated by extra dominant voices within the room.

  • That one hold-out who refuses to estimate something that is not of their skillset. (The article “3 Roles That Have to Be Concerned with Agile Estimating” goes into why it is so important for the entire staff to take part in giving estimates.)

If you happen to can’t wrangle your particular person staff members’ hidden biases and opinions—to not point out various areas of ability and expertise—you’ll battle to work as a cohesive staff and produce correct estimates.

Different Causes Groups Keep away from the Estimation Course of

Many groups are additionally reluctant to estimate for worry of making a plan that stakeholders will use in opposition to them.

Purchasers and stakeholders will all the time need to know what can be delivered and when, however it is troublesome to foretell this if the work is new or unfamiliar, particularly if these identical stakeholders predict perfection reasonably than accuracy. (One positive method to assist is to guarantee everyone seems to be on the identical web page about what sort of estimate is being offered.)

Groups with a historical past of going by way of the motions of making plans and estimates that they know lack accuracy simply to verify a field are more likely to complain about offering any estimates in any respect. These groups probably complain that they only need to get on with constructing one thing. (This is why, regardless of their protests, estimates might be useful to builders.)

Sound acquainted? Most of the points surrounding estimates stem from the idea that, as people, we’re simply unhealthy at estimating.

However that is not true.

Individuals Are Good at Estimating Sure Issues

Individuals undoubtedly battle to estimate some issues however others they’re surprisingly adept at estimating precisely.

For instance, later as we speak I plan to jot down one other weblog put up. I estimate it can take two hours to finish the primary draft of that. It is unlikely to take precisely two hours however it can in all probability take between one-and-a-half and three hours. For the aim of planning my afternoon, that is a superb estimate.

(Learn “5 Methods to Obtain Correct Estimates Everybody Trusts” for extra on why good is the enemy of excellent, together with why it is finest to specific estimates as a spread.)

Again once I was instructing in-person Licensed ScrumMaster® programs, I’d arrange the room the day earlier than. I’d put a whole lot of provides out for every individual within the class. I needed to cling some posters on the wall. And so forth. From expertise, I might estimate {that a} typical room set-up would take 30-45 minutes. I’ve arrange for therefore many Licensed ScrumMaster programs that I really feel pretty assured in that estimate.

There are in all probability a myriad of comparable duties that you end up estimating (efficiently) most days—whether or not it is fixing dinner, driving to a pal’s home, or going grocery purchasing.

“We’re good at estimating acquainted issues. Estimating unfamiliar issues is tougher.”

We’re fairly good at estimating these items as a result of now we have a sure stage of familiarity with them. We’re not pretty much as good at estimating issues we aren’t aware of.

Proof That Software program Estimates Are Extra Correct Than They Appear

Knowledge helps my declare that people are inclined to estimate effectively.

In a 2004 evaluate of the present analysis on software program estimates, College of Oslo professor and Chief Scientist on the Simula Analysis Laboratory Magne Jørgensen discovered most estimates to be inside 20 to 30% of actuals. And on software program initiatives, he didn’t discover an total tendency for estimates to be too low:

The massive variety of time prediction failures all through historical past could give the impression that our time prediction capability could be very poor and that failures are rather more frequent than the few successes that come to thoughts. That is, we expect, an unfair analysis. The human capability to foretell time utilization is mostly extremely spectacular. It has enabled us to succeed with a wide range of necessary objectives, from controlling advanced development work to coordinating household events. There isn’t any doubt that the human capability for time prediction is amazingly good and intensely helpful. Sadly, it typically fails us. –Magne Jørgensen

Busting the Fantasy That Software program Tasks Are All the time Late

But when we’re truly pretty good at offering correct estimates, why is there a typical notion that we’re unhealthy at it, particularly with regards to estimates on software program initiatives?

One purpose is that organizations are inclined to inexperienced gentle to underestimated initiatives way more typically than overestimated initiatives. (This weblog put up reveals why groups underestimate and the #1 purpose even agile initiatives are late.)

Situation 1: The Underestimated Undertaking

Think about a boss who describes a brand new product to a staff. The boss needs an estimate earlier than approving or rejecting work on the venture. Let’s suppose the venture, if performed out, would truly take 1,000 hours. In fact, we do not know that but, for the reason that staff is simply now being requested to supply an estimate.

For this instance, lets say the staff estimates the venture will take 500 hours.

The boss is proud of this and approves the venture.

However…ultimately it takes 1,000 hours of labor to finish. It is available in late and everybody concerned is left with a vivid reminiscence of how late it was.

Situation 2: The Overestimated Undertaking

Allow us to now think about one other situation taking part in out in a parallel universe. The boss approaches the staff for an estimate of the identical venture. The staff estimates it can take 1,500 hours.

(Keep in mind, you and I do know this venture is definitely going to take 1,000 hours however the staff does not know that but.)

So what occurs?

Does the staff ship early and have fun?

No. As a result of when the boss hears that the venture goes to take 1,500 hours, they resolve to not do it. This venture by no means sees the sunshine of day so nobody ever is aware of that the staff overestimated.

“Overestimated initiatives are much less more likely to get authorized.”

A venture that’s underestimated is more likely to be authorized than a venture that’s overestimated. This results in a notion that growth groups are all the time late, nevertheless it simply appears that method as a result of groups did not get to run the initiatives that they had probably overestimated.

Overconfidence Can Lead to Inaccurate Estimates

Though we’re not essentially unhealthy at estimation, groups are undoubtedly not as correct as they might be. In my expertise, this often stems from an overconfidence in our capability to estimate precisely.

To assist individuals see how this occurs, I ask a collection of ten questions at school. The directions are easy: Present the reply a spread that you’re 90% assured will include the reply. I clarify that nobody must know the precise reply to supply an accurate reply; the reply can be right whether it is correct, if it falls within the vary.

For instance, I would ask estimators to estimate when the singer Elvis Presley was born: “Give me a spread of years that you’re 90% sure will include the right reply.”

If the estimator is a large Elvis fan, they will know the 12 months he was born. They could even know the precise date, and in consequence, they would not probably want to provide a spread of years to supply an correct reply.

However most time, individuals do not know fairly that a lot about Elvis. Their vary must be wider as a result of they’re much less aware of what they’re estimating. Keep in mind, I desire a vary of years that persons are 90% assured comprises the right 12 months.

They could begin by pondering, “Did not he have some hit information within the fifties? Or was it the sixties?”

They could then suppose that if Elvis was recording on the age of 20, and had hits within the fifties, an early 12 months of his start might be 1930.

And on the higher vary, if he was recording within the sixties, maybe he wasn’t born till 1940.

So they could come again with this estimate: Elvis was born from 1930–1940.

And on this case, they’d be right, since Elvis was born in 1935.

The following 9 questions intentionally ask for solutions that is perhaps harder to slender down. For instance I would ask what number of iPads had been bought in 2019, or what number of athletes competed within the 2016 Olympics, or for the size of the Seine River.

Now, for every query, the parameters stay the identical:

  • Present a spread of numbers (items/athletes/miles, and so forth.) that you just suppose comprises the right reply.

  • Be 90% assured that the right reply is inside that vary.

What occurs is stunning! Regardless that I inform them to provide me ranges which can be 90% sure of, most individuals get most questions unsuitable.

“Regardless that I inform them to provide me ranges which can be 90% sure of, most individuals get most questions unsuitable.”

The ranges they supply are often a lot smaller than they need to be when contemplating their unfamiliarity with the topic.

For instance, lets say that I don’t know what number of iPads had been bought in 2019. If I need to be 90% sure the vary I give comprises the right reply, I ought to present an enormous vary, say zero to at least one billion. That will be extensively exaggerated, however I might be assured in my reply.

In my expertise, the ranges individuals decide are narrower, suggesting that we overestimate our personal capability to estimate precisely.

It is a simplified illustration, however there are quite a few research that recommend persons are overconfident with regards to forecasting.

The Secret to Getting Higher, Extra Correct Estimates

Knowledge reveals that particular person estimators do enhance when introduced with proof that their estimates are unsuitable.

In a single research of software program growth work (“How A lot Does Suggestions and Efficiency Assessment Enhance Software program Improvement Effort Estimation? An Empirical Examine“), researchers discovered that on the primary ten objects groups estimated, programmers had been right solely 64% of the time.

When supplied with suggestions that their estimates had been unsuitable, these identical programmers improved to 70% right on the second set of ten objects. After which to 81% on the third set, after further suggestions on their accuracy.

It is clear that understanding how shut estimates match actuality might help you and your staff enhance at estimating initiatives.

One other method you and your staff can get higher at creating correct estimates and plans is thru coaching. Mountain Goat gives private and non-private estimating and planning coaching, in addition to on-demand video programs, that can assist you and your staff enhance at creating agile estimates and plans.

I encourage you to discover all of our estimating and planning course choices to search out the one which works finest on your scenario.

Final replace: June tenth, 2025

A product supervisor’s information to adapting Android apps throughout units | by Android Builders | Android Builders | Jun, 2025


With new type components rising frequently, the Android ecosystem is extra dynamic than ever.

From telephones and foldables to tablets, Chromebooks, TVs, automobiles, Put on and XR, Android customers anticipate their apps to run seamlessly throughout an more and more various vary of type components. But, many Android apps fall wanting these expectations as they’re constructed with UI constraints equivalent to being locked to a single orientation or restricted in resizability.

With this in thoughts, Android 16 launched API modifications for apps focusing on SDK degree 36 to disregard orientation and resizability restrictions beginning with giant display units, shifting towards a unified mannequin the place adaptive apps are the norm. That is the second to maneuver forward. Adaptive apps aren’t simply the way forward for Android, they’re the expectation to your app to face out throughout Android type components.

500+ devices including foldables, tablets, Chromebooks, and mobile-app capable cars
Supply: inner Google knowledge

Prioritizing optimizations to make your app adaptive isn’t nearly maintaining with the orientation and resizability API modifications in Android 16 for apps focusing on SDK 36. Adaptive apps unlock tangible advantages throughout person expertise, growth effectivity, and market attain.

  • Cellular apps can now attain customers on over 500 million lively giant display units: Cellular apps run on foldables, tablets, Chromebooks, and even appropriate automobiles, with minimal modifications. Android 16 will introduce vital developments in desktop windowing for a real desktop-like expertise on giant screens, together with related shows. And Android XR opens a brand new dimension, permitting your current apps to be accessible in immersive environments. The person expectation is obvious: a constant, high-quality expertise that intelligently adapts to any display — be it a foldable, a pill with a keyboard, or a movable, resizable window on a Chromebook.
  • “The brand new baseline” with orientation and resizability API modifications in Android 16: We imagine cellular apps are present process a shift to have UI adapt responsively to any display measurement, similar to web sites. Android 16 will ignore app-defined restrictions like fastened orientation (portrait-only) and non-resizable home windows, starting with giant screens (smallest width of the gadget is >= 600dp) together with tablets and inside shows on foldables. For many apps, it’s key to serving to them stretch to any display measurement. In some circumstances in case your app isn’t adaptive, it may ship a damaged person expertise on these screens. This strikes adaptive design from a nice-to-have to a foundational requirement.
Side by side displays of non-adaptive app UI with on the left with text reading Goodbye ‘mobile-only’ apps and adaptive app UI on the right with text reads Hello adaptive apps
  • Enhance person attain and app discoverability in Play: Adaptive apps are higher positioned to be ranked larger in Play, and featured in editorial articles throughout type components, reaching a wider viewers throughout Play search and homepages. Moreover, Google Play Retailer surfaces scores and critiques throughout all type components. In case your app just isn’t optimized, a possible person’s first impression is perhaps tainted by a 1-star overview complaining a few stretched UI on a tool they don’t even personal but. Customers are additionally extra more likely to interact with apps that present a fantastic expertise throughout their units.
  • Elevated engagement on giant screens: Customers on giant display units usually have completely different interplay patterns. On giant screens, customers might interact for longer classes, carry out extra advanced duties, and devour extra content material.

Ideas noticed a 70% improve in person engagement on giant screens after optimizing.

Utilization for six main media streaming apps within the US was as much as 3x extra for pill and telephone customers, as in comparison with telephone solely customers.

  • Extra accessible app experiences: In response to the World Financial institution, 15% of the world’s inhabitants has some kind of incapacity. Folks with disabilities depend upon apps and providers that help accessibility to speak, be taught, and work. Matching the person’s most well-liked orientation improves the accessibility of functions, serving to to create an inclusive expertise for all.
A display of varying Android form factors, including a tablet, a desktop monitor, a laptop, a large-screen mobile, hand-held device, and an in-car app screen

“…wanting on the variety of customers, the ROI doesn’t justify the funding”.

That’s a frequent pushback from product managers and decision-makers, and should you’re simply taking a look at top-line analytics evaluating the variety of pill classes to smartphone classes, it would look like a closed case.

Whereas top-line analytics would possibly present decrease session numbers on tablets in comparison with smartphones, concluding that enormous screens aren’t well worth the effort based mostly solely on present quantity generally is a entice, inflicting you to overlook out on invaluable engagement and future alternatives.

Let’s take a deeper look into why:

  1. The person expertise ‘hen and egg’ loop: Is it attainable that the low utilization is a symptom moderately than the basis trigger? Customers are fast to desert apps that really feel clunky or damaged. In case your app on giant screens is a stretched-out telephone interface, the app seemingly offers a detrimental person expertise. The shortage of customers would possibly replicate the dearth of a superb expertise, not at all times essentially lack of potential customers.
  2. Past person quantity, have a look at person engagement: Don’t simply rely customers, analyze their price. Customers work together with apps on giant screens in another way. The massive display usually results in longer classes and extra immersive experiences. As talked about above, utilization knowledge exhibits that engagement time will increase considerably for customers who work together with apps on each their telephone and pill, as in comparison with telephone solely customers.
  3. Market evolution: The Android gadget ecosystem is constant to evolve. With the rise of foldables, upcoming related shows help in Android 16, and type components like XR and Android Auto, adaptive design is now extra crucial than ever. Constructing for a selected display measurement creates technical debt, and should sluggish your growth velocity and compromise the product high quality in the long term.
A three-step workflow outlines how to optimize your Android app to be adaptive

For organizations prepared to maneuver ahead, Android gives many sources and developer instruments to optimize apps to be adaptive. See under for methods to get began:

1: Verify how your app appears on giant screens at present

Start by taking a look at your app’s present state on tablets, foldables (in numerous postures), Chromebooks, and environments like desktop windowing. Verify in case your app is out there on these units or in case you are unintentionally leaving out these customers by requiring pointless options inside your app.

2: Tackle widespread UI points

Assess what feels awkward in your app UI at present. We now have a whole lot of steering accessible on how one can simply translate your cellular app to different screens.

a) Verify the Massive screens design gallery for inspiration and understanding how your app UI can evolve throughout units utilizing confirmed options to widespread UI challenges.

b) Begin with fast wins. For instance, forestall buttons from stretching to the complete display width, or change to a vertical navigation bar on giant screens to enhance ergonomics.

c) Determine patterns the place canonical layouts (e.g. list-detail) may clear up any UI awkwardness you recognized. Might a list-detail view enhance your app’s navigation? Would a supporting pane on the facet make higher use of the additional house than a backside sheet?

3: Optimize your app incrementally, display by display

It might be useful to prioritize the way you method optimization as a result of not the whole lot must be completely adaptive on day one. Incrementally enhance your app based mostly on what issues most — it’s not all or nothing.

a) Begin with the foundations. Take a look at the giant display app high quality pointers which tier and prioritize the fixes which are most crucial to customers. Take away orientation restrictions to help portrait and panorama, and guarantee help for resizability (for when customers are in cut up display), and forestall main stretching of buttons, textual content fields, and pictures. These foundational fixes are crucial, particularly with API modifications in Android 16 that can make these elements much more necessary.

b) Implement adaptive structure optimizations with a concentrate on core person journeys or screens first.

i. Determine screens the place optimizations (for instance a two-pane structure) supply the largest UX win

ii. After which proceed to screens or elements of the app that aren’t as usually used on giant screens

c) Help enter strategies past contact, together with keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and stylus enter. With new type components and related shows help, this units customers as much as work together along with your UI seamlessly.

d) Add differentiating hero person experiences like help for tabletop mode or dual-screen mode on foldables. This will occur on a per-use-case foundation — for instance, tabletop mode is nice for watching movies, and twin display mode is nice for video calls.

Whereas there’s an upfront funding in adopting adaptive ideas (utilizing instruments like Jetpack Compose and window measurement courses), the long-term payoff could also be vital. By designing and constructing options as soon as, and letting them adapt throughout display sizes, the advantages outweigh the price of creating a number of bespoke layouts. Take a look at the adaptive apps developer steering for extra.

The message for my fellow product managers, decision-makers, and companies is obvious: adaptive design will uplevel your app for high-quality Android experiences in 2025 and past. An adaptive, responsive UI is the scalable approach to help the various units in Android with out growing on a per-form issue foundation. When you ignore the varied gadget ecosystem of foldables, tablets, Chromebooks, and rising type components like XR and automobiles, your enterprise is accepting hidden prices from detrimental person critiques, decrease discovery in Play, elevated technical debt, and missed alternatives for elevated person engagement and person acquisition.

Maximize your apps’ impression and unlock new person experiences. Be taught extra about constructing adaptive apps at present.

Splunk + Cisco ThousandEyes: New Integration for Finish-to-Finish Digital Resilience


Cisco unifies observability and assurance to supply readability and resilience throughout the digital footprint, serving to to resolve points sooner.

To unlock the complete potential of AI and automation, groups can’t afford to waste time stitching collectively siloed insights. That’s why we’re bringing Splunk Observability and Cisco ThousandEyes Assurance nearer along with new bidirectional integrations that join the dots throughout your digital stack – from utility to infrastructure to community. Whereas many purchasers already use each options by means of open requirements like OpenTelemetry, these new integrations go additional – designed to make sure shared context for sooner root trigger evaluation, faster restoration instances, and in the end higher efficiency and reliability for finish customers.

Digital resilience means with the ability to keep forward of points earlier than they escalate and responding quick once they do – serving to what you are promoting or group keep up and operating, irrespective of the disruption. With Splunk and ThousandEyes collectively, you get sooner, smarter insights that assist resolve incidents earlier than customers ever really feel the affect. It’s a serious step ahead towards unified observability and assurance – serving to you anticipate issues, speed up response, and ship resilient, always-on digital experiences.

Proactive difficulty decision throughout the complete digital footprint

Whereas Splunk empowers you to construct a number one observability apply, with visibility throughout purposes and infrastructure to see the enterprise affect of efficiency issues, ThousandEyes Assurance extends this visibility with deep intelligence throughout owned networks you management and unowned networks you don’t (similar to ISPs and cloud suppliers) so you may see, perceive, and enhance each linked expertise.

By combining real-time observability with deep community intelligence throughout your digital footprint, Cisco allows ITOps, networking, and engineering groups to correlate telemetry information from purposes, infrastructure, and exterior networks like ISPs right into a single, unified view. With superior analytics, AI-driven incident administration, and automatic workflows, the integrations assist groups forestall issues, resolve points sooner, and ship dependable digital experiences for customers.

Collectively, Splunk and ThousandEyes are serving to organizations obtain stronger digital resilience by offering a unified view throughout utility, infrastructure, and networking domains. These integrations embody:

  • The Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI) integration with Cisco ThousandEyes: Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI) is a premium AIOps resolution for clever IT operations, offering AI-driven occasion correlation, service well being and enterprise KPI monitoring, predictive analytics and automation. With the brand new bidirectional integration between Splunk ITSI and ThousandEyes, ITSI clients acquire deeper visibility into each owned and unowned networks, in addition to crucial digital expertise insights for sooner, smarter root trigger evaluation– now seamlessly built-in into their current views. On the similar time, ThousandEyes clients profit from enriched information by accessing their community well being correlated with Splunk ITSI’s service well being and enterprise affect evaluation immediately throughout the ThousandEyes platform. The consequence: NetOps, ITOps, and engineering groups are higher outfitted to stop and include points, delivering AI-driven incident administration throughout all purposes, infrastructure, and networks.
  • Splunk Observability Cloud integration with Cisco ThousandEyes: This integration brings collectively ThousandEyes Assurance capabilities and Splunk Observability Cloud to supply clients a full view of the complete digital stack. Now, networking and engineering groups get shared context and visibility that empower them to collaborate to unravel points sooner. This integration leverages new ThousandEyes distributed tracing assist to tug hint information from Splunk APM into the ThousandEyes platform, displaying the backend utility companies and interactions between them. And with in-context cross-launching capabilities, you may seamlessly navigate between platforms to additional examine points. Now joint clients get a unified view from community to cloud to utility, breaking down silos between groups to allow them to resolve points sooner.
  • Cisco ThousandEyes App for Splunk: The Cisco ThousandEyes App for Splunk empowers clients to mechanically acquire, map, and visualize digital expertise intelligence from ThousandEyes inside Splunk dashboards. Unlock speedy insights with seamless integration of ThousandEyes information and pre-built, customizable visualizations for fast worth.

One supply of reality throughout groups

Whether or not troubleshooting gradual apps, a community difficulty, or AI-enabled purposes – Splunk and ThousandEyes are empowering organizations to get to the basis reason for cascading issues sooner inside their tech stack, with much less guesswork.​

To maximise the approaching potential of AI and automation, organizations have to consolidate information and visibility. Via these mixed capabilities throughout Splunk and ThousandEyes, organizations can knock down silos and obtain stronger digital resilience to anticipate the wants of each at the moment’s and tomorrow’s environments.

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