Monthly Archives: September 2014

Technology in Action—Utilities

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On occasion I like to feature a job or profession that makes use of technology in new and unique ways. Recently I highlighted technology in farming and today it struck me as I was walking down the street that a lot of cool innovation is in use by our utility companies. This seems like a fairly staid industry at first glance, but utility companies are deploying some technologies that make their products (electricity, gas, water) more cost effective and their delivery and monitoring more efficient.

Electric Utility

Utilities such as Pacific Power here in the Northwest are installing automated meters that can be read from a vehicle on the street rather than requiring a person to enter a customer’s property. The new meters are equipped with a radio module for transmitting data and are read by a roaming utility vehicle equipped with a radio receiver and computer. That information is downloaded to billing and accounting systems to generate utility bills. Perhaps driverless cars can take over in the future, or data can be transmitted wirelessly to the utility, thus eliminating the use of a vehicle. This is a way that IT can add value to the electric utility industry.

Water Utility

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is installing automated water meters that  transmit water usage to nearby rooftop antennas. This eliminates the need to drive around reading meters, which in New York City is a big plus. The technology reduces the need for estimated billing based on prior usage, which was always a best guess and caused a utility to either charge too much or too little. Automated meters reduce the error and the need to adjust bills. This technology enables customers to view daily usage via an online interface and may inspire them to conserve water.

Gas Utility

Natural gas meters use the same automated devices as water and electric utilities. One of the benefits of these devices, particularly in places like New York City where data is transmitted up to four times a day, is the utility company can promptly detect and respond to a leak. Current data is compared to a known baseline or to an averaged norm and if there is a large anomaly the system can flag an inspector to investigate. No more dangerous gas leaks, flooded yards, or large gas or water bills. IT to the rescue!

Thoughts

I began thinking about this technology while walking down the street and noticing black mushroom-looking devices on the lids of pit meters embedded in sidewalks and driveway aprons. I had never seen them before and my curiosity got the better of me, and there was a utility worker nearby I could ask. Many cities have already completely converted to automated meters and enjoy the conveniences of accurate data collection and billing. In future blogs, I will continue highlighting technology in other sectors. Have you ever thought about unique applications of technology? Sometimes it can come to you out of the blue while you are walking down the street.

Author Kelly BrownAbout Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional, adjunct faculty for the University of Oregon, and academic director of the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at night.

Streamline Software Testing with Data Driven Automated Testing

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Today’s post is written by Michael Grater, a 2005 graduate of the AIM Program and Quality Assurance lead at R/GA, a digital design firm that provides applications, design, and digital advertising for some of the largest companies. In this blog, we asked Michael to share his thoughts on his experience with the automated software testing process and provide methods on how you can improve your own testing and quality assurance.  In software testing, it is very difficult to anticipate all of the different actions that an end user might want to take. Large applications can often include a million lines of code or more and it is incumbent on the quality assurance professional to test all of the potential scenarios within the application. It is very cumbersome to test these paths one at a time, so it is common to automate the testing into a series of repeated scenarios.  This is much the same as employing a robot to test the new iPhone 6 to ensure that the customer experience is error free.  Often, a 100% success rate is impossible because of the complexity of modern applications, but the method proposed by Michael below will make the process quicker and more efficient and will uncover a higher number of errors that would have otherwise slipped into the final version of the software. 

shutterstock_162820130There are instances in the software testing process when in a shortened amount of time you either have a large number of scenarios to cover or a large number of features. These scenarios may also involve running the same tests repeatedly over a period of time. In cases like this, it becomes advantageous to use a method of test automation known as “data driven testing.”

 

As an example, in most cases, when viewing a login screen, there are essentially two fields and a button, and the steps would look like this:

  1. Open URL,
  2. Click on Login link,
  3. Enter User ID/email address,
  4. Enter password,
  5. Click on login button.

At the same time, there are multiple scenarios when it is necessary to test such features as:

  1. Entering a valid user ID and invalid password,
  2. Entering an invalid user ID and valid password,
  3. Leaving the user ID field blank but entering a password,
  4. Entering a user ID but leaving the password field blank.

Using an automation test tool, the steps can be programmed once and consist of entering a user ID, entering a password, and clicking on a button. Then the test can be configured to run based on data in a file (spreadsheet, flat file, xml file). The data is imported into the test and the execution steps leverage the data to either enter values in fields, provide URL links to be opened, or code values that are equal to features such as buttons or navigation.

The logic behind the test would look like this:

Load data file (contains URL, User ID, and password data)

If

  • Open URL (variable, parameterize),

–  Pull value from data file—insert into test,

  • Click on Login link,
  • Enter User ID (variable, parameterize),

–  Pull value from data file—insert into test,

  • Enter password (variable, parameterize),

–  Pull value from data file—insert into test,

  • Click on Login button.

View page—confirm successful login.

Is there more data?

Then, go to the next record.

Although the test consists of approximately four or five steps, it is configured to loop and execute based on the amount of data stored in the file.

The benefit of doing it this way is that the test can be reused over and over again. If a particular feature has to be retested, the automation test can be executed, generating a report of whether the tests have passed or failed. This also frees up QA staff and allows them time to focus on other areas of the project to test, maybe in places where automation is not an option.

When working with test automation, having adequate time to plan, setup, and verify that the test is working correctly is needed. Test [R1] automation can become a very efficient way to test software but it is not always a viable solution.

This concept can be applied to any automation tool. In my current position with R/GA, we’ve used this technique on multiple projects with tools such as Selenium and Jmeter.

Michael Grater

QA Lead, R/GA New York

How Safe is the Cloud?

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padlocked cloudA lot of attention lately has been paid to the security of the cloud, particularly Apple’s iCloud service. There have been recent high profile celebrity hacks resulting in the sharing of photos that were thought to be private. The question I have been reading in the last couple of weeks, even in my local newspaper, is this: Is the cloud safe? The answer, maddeningly, is yes and no. This blog post will cover the definition of the cloud and how you can make the answer to that question “yes.”

Defining the Cloud

The cloud is really just a term for offsite storage. It is a convenient place to store files, whether they are photos, contact lists, or e-mails, so that you can access them from multiple devices in multiple locations. Say, for example, you take a picture from your smartphone and wish to view those same pictures from your tablet or your laptop or share them with friends. Rather than carrying those pictures around on a hard drive to view them on different devices or show friends, those pictures are stored in a common place, in the cloud storage. The cloud goes by different names such as iCloud, Google Drive, Google+, and Microsoft OneDrive. It also goes by names such as Pinterest, Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter. Basically it is a common place to store, retrieve, and manipulate your files. The question then becomes: What if you want to take a picture but NOT store it in the cloud?

It’s All in the Sync

The key is to understand when your device is synchronizing with the cloud or with another device. In Android, for example, there is a Google Drive app that is an interface to help you download and sync files between your Android device and the cloud. You can also swap files between Android and your Google+ account or between Android and your Dropbox or Box account using a simple app.

Developers have done their best to make these apps intuitive and user friendly, but they have also masked the complexity of moving files back and forth to the cloud or to another device. As a result, some smartphone users just push the “sync all” button, which duplicates all files to the cloud. This is great for backup, but it also means that your files are now in a less secure area than just your phone. As recent events show, there are still some vulnerabilities in the cloud, and occasionally a cloud service is breached and personal data is compromised. One answer to this is to employ an application such as Encdroid for the Android OS, which encrypts your files and makes them more difficult to hack. Another solution is to understand where your files are and how they are getting there.

Thoughts

My challenge to you this week is to review your files and take an inventory of where you are storing everything. You may have signed up for a Google+ account and forgotten about it. When you get that new Android phone, however, you can bet the good folks at Google have a record of that account and would be happy to send all of your files to be backed up there. Be a savvy technology user and make sure you understand whether you are vulnerable and in what areas. In the end, that knowledge will make you and your data safer.

Author Kelly BrownAbout Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional, adjunct faculty for the University of Oregon, and academic director of the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at night.

shutterstock_63935509I am a confessed optimist. I am not a realist, nor am I even a plain optimist. I am a flaming optimist. The glass for me is not just half full; it is completely full. Always. I go into every situation with eyes wide open, and I always expect the outcome to be the best. The focus of this blog post is to share my experiences and to show that a positive attitude can have physical and mental health benefits.

Expect the Best

Optimism comes from the Latin word “optimus” meaning “best.” Optimists always expect the best in every situation. It does not necessarily mean that they are perfectionists and get upset when things don’t go well. On the contrary, they are able to deal with adversity objectively, knowing that “this too shall pass.” If you always expect the worst, you will often get the worst. Conversely, if you expect the best, you will receive the best. Some dismiss this as a mind trick, but it does work.

Practice Gratitude

This may seem trivial, but regular practice goes a long way towards developing a positive attitude and optimism. Often, we have a tendency to focus on the negative things in life, but I challenge you to find something, however small, that you are genuinely grateful for. My wife often asks me what color the sky is in my world. My answer is always the same, “It’s blue, it’s always blue!” Even when it is raining, I try to think about the benefits of rain rather than focusing on my own discomfort. (This is not always easy to do when it is pouring). Once you develop a strong position of gratitude, you can then pass it along to others to help them on their journey. This has benefits for you and for others. Optimism is contagious!

Health Benefits

According to a recent article from the Mayo Clinic, researchers are finding the following benefits attributed to optimism and a positive attitude:

  • Increased life span,
  • Lower rates of depression,
  • Lower levels of distress,
  • Greater resistance to the common cold,
  • Better psychological and physical well-being, and
  • Better coping skills during times of stress.

Researchers are finding that a positive attitude leads to better health, which leads to a more positive outlook on life. It is a reinforcing cycle!

Thoughts

Are you an optimist? If not, I would invite you to try it out and see if it doesn’t improve your outlook. Find one thing that you are grateful for and focus on it. Gradually add other things in your life that you are grateful for and soon you will be expecting positive things to come to you. If you are already an optimist, let me know what you do to keep a positive attitude. If you are just starting your journey towards optimism, let me know how it is going! By all means, pass along your positive attitude to others.

About Kelly BrownAuthor Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional, adjunct faculty for the University of Oregon, and academic director of the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program . He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at night.

Managing a Farm Today—Agriculture Uses IT Too

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I occasionally research how technology is being applied to different fields. Lately, I have been thinking about how technology is helping agriculture. Obviously others have been thinking the same thing but with more of a profit motive in mind. In May of this year, there was a conference held in Palo Alto, California, titled “Silicon Valley Agtech.” Their tagline is “Silicon Valley AgTech is where technology meets agriculture, Silicon Valley meets the Silicon Prairie, and innovation comes back to the farm.” Their aim is to bring together agriculture technology startups and venture capitalists to try to accelerate the interest and growth of this industry in Silicon Valley. Here are a few technologies that are aiding farmers and ranchers now.

Telematics

Telematics is the combination of telecommunications and informatics. It has to do with sending information to and from a remote object such as a vehicle. The GPS unit in newer cars is one such example of telematics, but the agriculture industry is using it in unique ways. GPS technology in newer tractors and farm implements can tell the driver precisely where to plow, plant, spray, and harvest. Harvest yield information can be uploaded in real time so that a farmer can tell immediately what to expect from his crop. Of course, all of this information exchange is going to result in a larger amount of data to be processed.

Big Data

Information collected in the field will include a new array of data points and could easily move into the area of big data. Some farm service companies are already getting into the cloud services business, specifically to collect, process, and make sense of data points. You can either upload data from the tractor thumb drive or upload the telematics-collected data directly to the service provider. Either way, the service provider stores, analyzes, and creates visualizations to help you understand where you can improve your farming and your crop yield.

Robotics

Farm equipment is not quite to the point where it can drive itself (think Google tractor) but it is getting close. Sprinkler pivots in large farm fields are often computer controlled with a remote or an app and require little human intervention when set up properly. There are farm service companies, however, that are developing tractors and other equipment to operate without a driver. With the telematics mentioned above and smart cameras, they will be able to operate within the parameters and confines of a field. This will free up the farmer to do higher value work such as analyzing the yield report sent by his cloud service provider.

Thoughts

Technology can be used to aid efficiencies in fields (no pun intended) as diverse as agricultural production. This also represents new opportunities for entrepreneurs and IT workers who have a passion for farm production and want to work to increase yields and decrease waste.

Do you know of other fields that are increasing their use of technology in a unique way? Let me know. I am always interested in learning more. 

Author Kelly BrownAbout Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional, adjunct faculty for the University of Oregon, and academic director of the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at nigh