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Telescopes are evolving, and their appeal is ever widening, and the Vaonis Hestia is the perfect example. It was first announced almost a year ago, billed as the world’s first smartphone-based telescope. It’s supposed to make astronomy more accessible than ever – and I’ve been putting it through its star-gazing paces.  

The Hestia is a fresh take within a wave of new smart telescopes entering the world of astronomy in the last couple of years: Vaonis itself already makes the Vespera smart telescope, which can automatically detect what’s visible in deep space at any given moment based on your location, and automatically shift its orientation to give you a closer look at your chosen galaxy, nebulae or distant planet. Oh, and it takes pictures too – it’s astrophotography made easy.

Bonuses can be an excellent tool to incentivize and reward all kinds of employee behavior, from meeting performance goals to referring new workers. However, calculating bonus payouts and tax withholding can be confusing for both employers and employees in the United States. In this guide, we cover the main types of bonuses and explain how to calculate bonus pay and taxes using the 2024 rates.

What is a bonus?

A bonus is an additional reward offered to employees beyond their regular wages or salary. Most bonuses come in the form of money, though some employers offer non-cash bonuses as well. There are many different types of bonuses; see the next section below for details on the most common bonuses.

Types of bonuses you can give to employees

Non-discretionary bonus

Non-discretionary bonuses are outlined in the employment contract. As long as the employee meets the requirements, the employer must give them the bonus.

Discretionary bonus

Discretionary bonuses are not outlined in the employment contract, and thus are given at the discretion of the employer. Discretionary bonuses give employers more leeway over how often to offer bonuses and how much money to give employees.

Sign-on bonus

Sign-on bonuses, which are one of the most common types of bonuses, are given when a new employee signs their employment contract. These bonuses often function as a recruiting tool and are meant to incentivize candidates to accept the job offer. Sign-on bonuses may be paid out in one lump sum at the start of employment, or spread across paychecks for the first year of work.

Milestone bonus

Milestone bonuses are essentially performance bonuses. They are given out when employees or teams hit certain performance goals or metrics, AKA “milestones.”

Annual bonus

An annual bonus is given to employees at the end of a fiscal year. Annual bonuses may be guaranteed, meaning that they will be given no matter how well or poorly the company has performed in the past year. These bonuses may also be conditional upon the company hitting certain revenue or profit benchmarks.

Retention bonus

Retention bonuses are offered to incentivize key employees to stay with the company for a set amount of time; they might be offered during a specific event, such as a merger, acquisition or other organizational changes. Retention bonuses may also be offered to employees in high-demand, difficult-to-replace roles who are more likely to be poached by a competitor.

Referral bonus

Referral bonuses are given out when a company hires a new employee who was referred by a current worker. Some companies offer a variable referral bonus, giving out larger payouts for highly competitive, in-demand jobs. Other businesses offer a flat rate referral bonus that doesn’t vary depending on which job is filled.

Holiday bonus

Holiday bonuses are usually given at the end of the calendar year, around the winter holidays. Instead of being tied to performance like so many other bonuses including annual bonuses, holiday bonuses are a sign of gratitude from the company for the employees’ hard work. Holiday bonuses are typically calculated as a certain percentage of each employee’s annual salary.

Spot bonus

A spot bonus is a typically small cash bonus often in the form of a gift card given to employees “on the spot.” Some popular occasions for spot bonuses include celebrating employee birthdays and rewarding excellent customer service.

Non-cash bonus

As the name suggests, non-cash bonuses don’t involve money; examples of non-cash bonuses include extra paid time off and employee parking spots.

DOWNLOAD: This guide for choosing a payroll service from TechRepublic Premium

How to calculate bonus pay

Bonus pay is typically calculated as a percentage of the base salary or gross wages. For instance, if an employee makes $100,000 a year and receives a 20% performance bonus, their bonus would be $100,000 x 20% = $20,000. If an employee makes $60,000 a year and receives a 5% holiday bonus, their bonus would be $60,000 x 5% = $3,000.

Some bonuses are offered as a flat rate and don’t require any kind of calculations to be made; for example, some companies offer a $500 referral bonus for new hires across the board. Double check your company’s bonus policy to see if bonuses will be a percentage or a flat rate.

How are bonuses taxed?

There are two ways that bonuses may be income taxed in the United States: the percentage method and the aggregate method.

With the most straightforward method, the percentage method, the employer will treat a bonus as separate from the employee’s regular wages. All bonuses under $1 million will be taxed at a 22% rate, and all bonuses over $1 million will be taxed at a 37% rate. These bonus payments are often made outside of the regular payroll cycle. Payroll software such as Rippling makes it easy for administrators to process bonus payouts at any time, and it doesn’t charge extra for additional runs — a must-have feature if your company plans to make a lot of off-cycle bonus payments.

The second way, the aggregate method, is a little more complex. With this method, the employer adds the bonus to the paycheck and pays the employee in one lump sum according to the regular payroll schedule, without specifying the separate amounts. Because the bonus isn’t separated out as supplemental income, the federal government treats it like regular income and taxes it at whatever income bracket tax rate it falls into.

If you have a bonus payment coming up and are curious how much income tax will be withheld through either method, then you can use this free bonus tax calculator from TurboTax to see what the difference would be.

Bonuses are also subject to additional payroll taxes withholding, including Social Security, Medicare and FUTA (federal unemployment taxes). Additional taxes may be withheld for state income taxes or local taxes. Employers often err on the side of caution when withholding taxes from bonuses, so employees may get a refund after they file their taxes.

How to minimize the tax impact of a bonus

Fortunately, there are a couple things that employees can do to minimize the payroll tax impact of a bonus. First of all, they can contribute to their 401(k) or IRA. If they expect to take a pay cut in the next tax year, they can also ask their employee to defer the bonus payment until the following year so it will be taxed at the appropriate rate.

It’s the weekend, which means you have more time in which to solve Connections! And you might need it – because this one is potentially tricky. There are hints below if you need them.

What should you do once you’ve finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I’ve also got daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too.

In today’s ever-changing business environment, tech executives need to be nimble like Fred Astaire, determined like Amelia Earhart and strong like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Beyond that, they need to know which capability to apply when, for how long and in what ratio. Today’s dynamic business strategies demand that tech leaders constantly adjust the styles of their investments and operations to consistently maximize the value and performance that their business partners require.

To do this, tech leaders must bring together individuals, processes and technologies as a complex team structure that strives toward common goals aligned on business outcomes. A careful balance of capabilities, both human and technological and within and across teams, is required for this to succeed. Too much of one and not enough of another, the right balance at the wrong time, and desired outcomes will not be realized.

An IT “style” is part capability, part swagger and lots of intent

To meet the needs of the business, your IT organization must leverage the four IT styles — enabling, cocreating, amplifying and transforming — in the right balance. A style, beyond its capabilities, has characteristics unique to each team’s intent. Some teams will be charged with “enabling” business success by providing rock-solid resilience, stability and security; other teams will “cocreate” products and services that open new markets for business partners. Business transformations may need teams to “transform” their operations with emerging technologies. Teams that want to maximize the potential of their technologies and processes may look to “amplify” the performance of their operations with automation and data analytics.

Blending these styles and their associated IT capabilities ultimately expresses what the organization or leader wants to be known for, as well as meets their business needs and expectations. It is how high-performance IT organizations best align themselves for positive business outcomes. The tech leader must help realize business objectives, express which style best represents the long-term target for IT, and then ensure that teams across the IT and business ecosystems are all driving toward the same outcomes.

SEE: Forrester’s 2024 Tech Leadership Predictions About AI, HR, Budget and Manufacturing

There is no steady state, only a current state with a vision forward

A steady state can manifest itself and be demonstrated in many ways. Never adopting a new technology, or adopting new technologies every time a new one is introduced, are mindsets to which leaders and teams can become attached. An IT organization that stays in place is in fact falling behind its peers; moving too fast, however, will drive IT investments that may never deliver value to business partners that can’t catch up.

There must be an intended purpose to the style of operation that IT takes on. Tech leaders must perpetually assess their current-state performance against the business objectives and then rebalance the emphasis on each of the four styles accordingly to ensure that:

• Enabling efforts are prioritizing capabilities that efficiently stabilize, operate and protect the business and then consistently deliver on their promises, creating trust. Additionally, enabling capabilities can promote adaptability that provides the platform for future growth.
• Cocreation is taking advantage of technology partnerships to acquire new skills. Teams must collaborate on product and experience delivery with a focus on skills such as agile development, DevSecOps and product management.
• Amplifying actions optimize business outcomes at scale. Advances in automation, AI and analytics must be harnessed to streamline processes, deliver insights and optimize business outcomes such as sales, inventory costs and customer experiences.
• Transformation initiatives fuel tech-led business. Tech-led innovations and emerging technologies such as chatbots and generative AI accelerate business in new directions. Tight organizational alignment and a deep understanding of customer needs are critical to be adaptive and quickly shift capital, people and technology to stay ahead of the changing market.

Tech leaders: Let your intents drive your IT style

Tech leaders can maintain their swagger and be true to what they want to be known for by employing the right balance of styles that drive strategic intents. Ensure that you have a clear understanding of your organization’s desired outcomes. The strategic objectives will indicate the mix of IT capabilities that you must prioritize regarding associated costs, investments and performance constraints. Consider the following tech leadership tips.

You can’t grow on top of unstable foundations.

If your organization struggles with stability or resilience, you cannot grow, nor will your business partners trust in your capabilities. Invest in the IT ecosystem to enable growth while simultaneously reducing costs. Establish technological visibility across the enterprise to empower proactive actions and improved operations.

The more the merrier — work together for increased benefits.

Reduce the friction between teams and increase the momentum of work with agile development, design thinking and product management. Extend developer reach and energize other teams to improve both employee and customer experiences.

Make the most out of your existing investments.

There is no shortage of options to help amplify good practices that you already have in place. Utilize automation capabilities to eliminate mundane, redundant tasks from resource queues. Analyze operational data to promote proactive problem resolution.

The future is happening today; you needed to be ready for it yesterday.

New technologies are being released every day. Implementing and utilizing the right new technologies gives business leaders the opportunity to change direction, accelerate or decelerate as they see fit with little notice. Businesses rely on their IT team’s implementations of transformational technologies to respond to dramatic market changes and shifts in business strategy.

Challenges are opportunities for tech leaders

Every day brings new challenges for businesses to overcome. These challenges are often new opportunities for technology leaders to bring the business in a new or better direction that advances your goals ahead of competitors. Each new challenge must be met with an assessment and possible adjustment to your operating style.

You must always, however, maintain the right balance of styles through these changes. In doing so, you will be sure to deliver high-performance IT and continuously improve business results.

This article was written by Carlos Casanova, a principal analyst at Forrester who serves technology executives and technology architecture and delivery professionals. His research includes artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps), observability, digital experience monitoring (DEM), application performance monitoring (APM), infrastructure monitoring, cloud monitoring, and the use of OpenTelemetry in these areas. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Cybersecurity researchers from Outpost24’s KrakenLabs observed a new and quite unique malware campaign that seems to values quantity over quality.

Usually, when hackers compromise a device, they deploy a single piece of malware and try their best to remain unseen and persistent, as they use the computer for whatever end goal they have.

Launching a career as a business analyst requires a blend of analytical skills and business acumen. The main objective of the role is to bridge the gap between business needs and technical solutions.

Business analysts are responsible for understanding the business processes, identifying areas for improvement and defining the requirements for new systems or upgrades. Specifically, this could involve creating data models, communicating with different departments about their needs, researching new technologies, and creating reports or presentations of results.

Investing in the correct technology is very important to businesses, so demand for business analysts is high. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for management analysts, which includes business analysts, will grow by 10% between 2022 and 2032 — much faster than the average for all occupations.

Whether you’re researching your first job, transitioning from a different area of business or embarking on a complete career change, this guide will provide all the information you need to become a successful business analyst. It covers:

• What a business analyst does.
• The average salary of a business analyst.
• How to launch a career as a business analyst.
• The best business analyst courses.

Disclaimer: This article is sponsored by Coursera.

What does a business analyst do?

A business analyst is responsible for a number of tasks to help improve business efficiency, including:

• Conducting interviews, workshops and surveys with stakeholders to understand their requirements and goals.
• Creating documentation of business requirements and use cases.
• Using SQL and Excel to identify trends, issues and opportunities for improvement in large data sets.
• Compiling charts, tables and other elements of data visualization.
• Evaluating technical solutions to determine which one best meets the business needs.
• Forecasting, budgeting and performing variance and financial analysis to support decision making.
• Supporting staff through changes and organizing testing and quality checks after changes have been made.

SEE: 87 Excel Tips and Tricks: From Beginners to Pros

What is the average business analyst salary?

According to Glassdoor, the average annual salary of a business analyst in the U.S. is between $70,000 and $118,000, with an average additional pay, including any bonuses or profit sharing, of $36,000.

The average salary for a business analyst in the UK is between £32,000 and £54,000 a year, depending on location and level of experience, while additional pay is an average of £3,000.

What skills are required to be a business analyst?

While many business analyst roles do not require a specific set of skills, there are a number of skills that will assist greatly with day-to-day tasks or that you may be required to learn on the job. These skills include:

• Data analysis: Proficiency in analyzing datasets, identifying trends and making decisions based on the data is often required in the role.
• SQL: Structured Query Language is used for data extraction and manipulation in databases. Its use can significantly speed up the process of data analysis.
• Excel: Knowledge of pivot tables, charts and complex formulas can also improve efficiency in data analysis.
• Data visualization: Tools like Power BI and Tableau are used to create interactive and visually appealing data visualizations, making it easier to interpret complex data sets.
• Basic programming: Familiarity with programming languages such as Python and R can help in automating data analysis tasks.
• Project management tools: Jira, Trello and Asana are tools commonly used by business analysts to plan, track and manage project tasks.
• Business acumen: A solid understanding of business operations, strategies and financial principles will help an analyst make more suitable decisions.
• Communication: Communication skills, both written and verbal, are key for business analysts for clearly conveying ideas and findings to stakeholders.
• Project coordination: Proficiency in this area comes from experience assisting in the planning, execution and monitoring of projects, as well as innate organizational skills.

Be sure to highlight these skills or experiences where you have demonstrated them on your résumé or CV when applying for your first business analyst role.

SEE: How to Query Multiple Tables in SQL

How do you launch a career as a business analyst?

As the role of business analyst is so varied, so are the routes into it. There is no set formula to landing that first job; however, there are a number of actions that will take you in the right direction.

Earn a degree

Hiring managers will typically consider a wide range of degree types when assessing candidates for a business analyst role, as there are many transferable skills that can be picked up in different fields of study.

An undergraduate degree in a business-related field (e.g., accounting, business information systems, business studies, economics or finance) will likely be the most relevant and also show that you are interested in the industry.

Most STEM degrees, like math, engineering and computer science, will also provide the necessary technical skills, including knowledge of statistics, programming, modeling and Excel as well as ability to perform research and conduct presentations.

If you already have an undergraduate degree, you might consider an additional post-graduate qualification, such as a Master of Business Administration or a masters in a relevant field like business analytics.

However, neither an undergraduate nor a postgraduate degree is an essential prerequisite for many business analyst roles.

Obtain work experience

Work experience is another great way of earning the skills necessary to get your first job as a business analyst and demonstrate your interest in the role. It also allows you to assess whether the job is right for you. This work experience can be obtained through a short-term placement, internship or apprenticeship.

These resources for U.S.-based applicants may help you find a relevant placement:

Here are resources for UK-based applicants, including internships and apprenticeship schemes:

Take a course or certification

There are numerous courses available that are either specific to business analysts or will provide you with some of the necessary skills to break into the industry.

Professional qualifications are offered by the International Institute of Business Analysis and range from entry level to ones that require a number of years of experience as a business analyst. Such courses also involve quite significant financial contributions. For example, the exam alone for the IIBA Entry Certificate in Business Analysis is currently available for $350.

While expensive, having a recognised certification can make your application stand out and show the hiring manager that you have the skills, knowledge and passion necessary to do a good job. However, there are a number of other relevant qualifications that can be taken online, such as those offered by Coursera, for a much lower price or for free.

SEE: The All-Inclusive Business Analytics Certification Training Bundle

What are the best courses for aspiring business analysts?

Microsoft Business Analyst Professional Certificate — Coursera

The Microsoft Business Analyst Professional Certificate course prepares aspiring business analysts with the skills necessary for an entry-level position. Modules cover techniques for identifying business problems, using Microsoft Excel for data analysis and visualization, modeling business processes and data and communicating findings to stakeholders.

At the end of the course, learners complete a capstone project that puts the skills they’ve learned to the test in a real-life scenario that can be referred to in job interviews. The course can be completed from home and at one’s own pace, and its content is regularly updated to ensure it applies to today’s industry requirements.

Price

A Coursera subscription costs $49–$79 USD or £39 a month after a 7-day free trial.

Duration

Three months at 10 hours a week.

Business Analytics with Excel: Elementary to Advanced — Coursera

The Business Analytics with Excel course focuses on the essential skills for data analysis using Microsoft Excel. It covers basic to advanced Excel functions, data management techniques and descriptive statistics. It introduces learners to linear and integer optimization, decision analysis and risk modeling — all of which are common analytical frameworks used for business decision making.

Modules are structured with videos, practical exercises and quizzes to ensure the skills can be applied in real-world business cases. The course was prepared and is taught by academics from Johns Hopkins University, including associate mathematics professor Dr. Joseph Cutrone. Like the Microsoft course, this can be completed from home and at one’s own pace.

Price

$49 USD or £39 for a shareable certificate, or free for just the course materials.

Duration

Three weeks at seven hours a week.

Entry Certificate in Business Analysis — IIBA

The ECBA is a well-recognized certificate from the International Institute of Business Analysis designed specifically for individuals new to business analysis. It covers key knowledge areas from the BABOK Guide — the globally recognised standard for the practice of business analysis — including business analysis planning, requirements life cycle management, strategy analysis and more.

Gaining full certification involves completing at least 21 hours of professional development and passing a 50-question exam. This course requires a more significant financial commitment than those on Coursera.

Price

The certification exam costs $350 (£275), but the cost for the learning materials depends on their format (in-person course, guide book, etc). A two-day online course from The Knowledge Academy is currently priced at $2,523 (£1,995).

Duration

This is dependent on the resources and the learner themselves, but 4–6 weeks of self study is recommended.

Professional Certificate in Agile Business Analysis — BCS (UK only)

Agile methodology is a project management approach that breaks a large project down into smaller incremental steps known as sprints. This certification from the British Computer Society teaches the skills to effectively perform business analysis in agile environments. It covers agile methods in general before looking at specific agile analysis, modeling and documentation techniques. Learners will also gain an understanding of how to analyze business goals by breaking them into sprints and how to evaluate whether agile methods are appropriate for the situation.

This course requires a more significant financial commitment than those on Coursera.

Price

It depends on the practitioner, but prices tend to range from £1,300 to £2,500.

Duration

Three days, before a 90-minute exam.

Framer is a Dutch company that has been making waves in the web design industry since its inception in 2015. Initially focused on high-fidelity design and prototyping, Framer has evolved to become a comprehensive platform that bridges the gap between design and development. 

With its AI website builder, Framer is redefining the way websites are created and published. By simply providing a text prompt, users can generate responsive web pages in a matter of seconds. AI creates unique combinations of layout, copy, and styling for each page of the website, which can be further customized to suit individual preferences. Framer also offers a wide range of theme options, allowing users to mix and match display fonts, text fonts, and color palettes to create a cohesive look.

An evolution of the Scrum and Agile methodologies was born in the quest to assist teams in moving between Kanban and Scrum and vice versa. In the same vein as the coining of words like brunch for breakfast and lunch and malware for malicious and software, we got Scrumban. As it’s a blend of Scrum and Kanban, it’s meant to deliver more flexible and efficient workflows. Let’s discuss how it works, how it compares to Scrum and Kanban, and when to use this hybrid approach.

What is Scrumban?

Scrumban is simply a combination of Scrum and Kanban. Scrum shines for its structured and iterative framework, while Kanban is best represented by its visual workflows and focus on continuous improvement. Scrumban is a hybrid project management methodology born out of a combination of these standout Scrum and Kanban principles. This gives Scrumban users enhanced flexibility and optimized workflows and enables them to adapt quickly to changes.

How does Scrumban work?

Scrumban leverages Scrum features such as daily stand-ups and retrospectives to ensure regular progress assessment and team alignment. It simultaneously uses Kanban’s visual task management and work-in-progress limits — a set number of cards on a board to prevent overworking — to optimize workflow and maintain steady productivity. Teams use visual boards to track tasks through various project stages.

Instead of fixed-length sprints, Scrumban uses on-demand planning, where new tasks are scheduled based on current needs and workload. The outcome is a more responsive and adaptable planning process. Additionally, it incorporates bucket-size planning, which involves managing long-term goals and breaking down larger objectives into smaller, manageable tasks that can be prioritized dynamically.

This approach also dilutes the importance of deadlines, as on-demand planning and using bucket-sized goals mean sprint tasks can come and go based on long-term goals, with stages of review and reiteration in between. With this hybrid approach, you get a balanced, flexible framework that suits various project environments and promotes continuous improvement and adaptability​.

Scrum vs Kanban vs Scrumban

To better understand the differences and similarities between Scrum, Kanban and Scrumban, let’s start with a comparative table summarizing their key aspects:

Scrum

Scrum is a well-defined framework that promotes structured roles and time-boxed iterations called sprints. The Scrum Master expedites the process, the Product Owner manages the project backlog and the Development Team works on the sprint goals. Scrum ceremonies, including daily standups, sprint planning, reviews and retrospectives, ensure continuous improvement and alignment. Scrum is best for projects with evolving requirements, providing a clear structure for iterative development and incremental delivery.

Kanban

Kanban emphasizes visualizing the entire workflow and placing limits on work in progress to improve project efficiency. There are no fixed roles or time-boxed iterations; instead, you have tasks pulled from a backlog as capacity allows. This continuous delivery model helps teams maintain a steady workflow and quickly adapt to changes. Kanban software is particularly useful for projects needing constant workflow and flexibility, such as maintenance and support tasks.

Scrumban

As previously mentioned, Scrumban merges Scrum’s structured planning with Kanban’s visual workflow management. It enables teams to balance planning and flow, making it ideal for projects with fluctuating requirements. Scrumban is especially beneficial for teams transitioning from Scrum to Kanban and vice versa, as it offers the flexibility to adapt to changing priorities while maintaining structured progress tracking​.

Benefits and drawbacks of Scrumban

As a merging of two Agile methodologies, Scrumban introduces a variety of benefits and limitations to project management.

Benefits of Scrumban

• No team hierarchy: Since there’s no hierarchy, there’s no clear leader of a group and each team member has equal opportunity to make decisions.
• Flexibility: Scrumban is suitable for projects with changing priorities, as it allows teams to adjust workflows dynamically.
• Enhanced visualization: With Scrumban, users get more effective visual boards to better track progress, identify bottlenecks and improve transparency and accountability.
• Continuous improvement: Scrumban encourages regular assessment and refinement of processes, increasing efficiency.
• Lower planning overhead: It eliminates the need for fixed-length sprints​​ and minimizes the planning overhead associated with Scrum.

Drawbacks of Scrumban

• No team hierarchy: The absence of team hierarchy is both a benefit and a disadvantage. Depending on the use case, lacking a clear leader and having a self-managed team can introduce performance bottlenecks for your team.
• Learning curve: If your team is unfamiliar with Scrum or Kanban, they may require training to implement Scrumban effectively.
• Complexity: Combining elements from both methodologies can introduce complexity in managing processes.
• Resource-intensive: Continuous monitoring and improvement can be resource-intensive.
• Potential for overmodification: Teams run the risk of overmodifying the framework and ultimately losing the benefits of structured processes​​.

Project management tools that support Scrumban

Jira

Jira by Atlassian is a robust project management software solution that supports both Scrum and Kanban frameworks, making it perfect for implementing Scrumban. It offers features such as customizable workflows, advanced reporting tools and detailed issue tracking, equipping teams with the right tools to visualize their work and manage tasks through sprints with work-in-progress limits.

Jira has pricing tiers that range from a free plan that covers 10 users to enterprise-level plans and an entry-level premium plan that starts at $8.15 per user​ per month.

ClickUp

ClickUp is a versatile project management platform suited for small to medium-sized businesses. It supports Scrumban with its visual task boards, goal tracking and detailed task dependencies, allowing teams to manage workflows flexibly. ClickUp’s extensive integration capabilities with various third-party applications enhance its utility for streamlining project management processes.

Pricing options include a free tier and paid plans starting at $7 per user per month.

Miro

Miro is known for its interactive online whiteboards that facilitate visual project management and qualify it for implementing Scrumban. It allows collaborative teams across various business sizes to create customizable boards to visualize workflows, set WIP limits and collaborate in real time.

Miro’s flexibility and ease of use are complemented by pricing tiers that start with a free option and extend to premium plans that are priced at $8 per member per month​.

When to use Scrumban

Scrumban is great for organizations looking for a balanced approach to project management that combines the strengths of Scrum and Kanban. If your team needs a method that adapts to changing priorities and enhances collaboration, Scrumban is the ideal solution.

Consider Scrumban when you find yourself dealing with any of the following scenarios:

• Transitioning between methodologies: Since Scrumban was initially designed to help teams transition from Scrum to Kanban, you can gradually adopt Kanban practices while maintaining familiar Scrum elements for a smooth transition without abrupt changes​​.
• You have long-term projects with changing requirements: Scrumban’s combination of iterative planning and continuous flow supports long-term planning while accommodating small changes over large increments of time​​.
• Continuous flow projects: If you have projects with a continuous workflow and no definitive deadlines, unlike Scrum, which resets its board after each sprint, Scrumban is a good fit, as it maintains a continuous flow of tasks.
• Teams seeking more flexibility than Scrum: If you find Scrum too rigid but still need some structure, you can consider Scrumban for its more flexible planning and execution compared to strict Scrum frameworks​.
• When on-demand planning is preferred: Scrumban supports on-demand planning rather than fixed sprint planning, which benefits teams that need to adapt quickly to evolving priorities and demands.
• Teams looking to reduce meeting overhead: Scrumban requires fewer formal meetings than Scrum, which is a good thing if you find Scrum’s meeting schedule too demanding. Plus, fewer meetings can help maintain focus on productive work while still allowing for necessary communication and alignment​.

For further exploration of Kanban and Scrum, see our top open-source Kanban boards and explore the best Scrum certifications of 2024.

We all know Amazon‘s Alexa is smart, more so perhaps than we give it credit for. Every time we ask the voice assistant to “set a timer for 12 minutes” or play our favorite radio station, there’s a momentary existential crisis as we remember it can do much more, like commanding thousands of the best smart home devices to spring into life whenever we need them.

More specifically, there’s a Routines feature called Sound Detection, where Alexa can be configured to do all manner of things when it hears a certain sound. These include the sounds of a baby crying, an appliance beeping and a dog barking, as well as running water, snoring, and coughing.

If you’re a Windows system administrator or aspiring to become one, you can learn PowerShell scripting online, in your own time, with The 2024 Windows PowerShell Certification Bundle.

Everybody feels like they have too much to do and not enough time these days. For IT professionals and systems administrators, however, there’s a way to make life a little easier. Microsoft PowerShell — often referred to as Windows PowerShell — is one of the best tools on the market for automating administrative tasks when working on a Windows Server or workstation, but there is a learning curve that not everybody is prepared to embark upon.

About this bundle

Even if you have no experience with Windows PowerShell, you’ll find this bundle useful. At the start, you’ll get a tour of PowerShell, learn the advanced settings and customization options available in Syncovery, and use Windows Event Viewer, Task Scheduler and Task Manager.

You’ll get started with PowerShell scripting, learning basic command lines, understanding the underlying concepts of PowerShell and learning how to integrate PowerShell with non-Microsoft projects. Eventually, you’ll learn advanced scripting techniques, understand Active Directory management using Windows PowerShell and use PowerShell as an automation tool. By the end of the courses, you’ll be able to use PowerShell with a range of Windows tools to automate tasks, handle files, pull reports and much more — saving you valuable time.

Go from Windows PowerShell zero to Windows PowerShell hero, and learn the essentials with this fantastic deal. Right now, you can get The 2024 Windows PowerShell Certification Bundle for just $14.97 through July 21st at TechRepublic Academy.

Prices and availability are subject to change.