Low Code in 30: Integrating Conversational Platforms to Enhance UX | Mendix

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Low Code in 30: Integrating Conversational Platforms to Enhance UX


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    [00:00:00.739] welcome the low code and 30 [00:00:02.399] I'm Jeff Goldberg, a member of the evangelist [00:00:04.690] team at Bendix. [00:00:05.980] In today's weapon are we're going to spend 30 [00:00:08.210] minutes talking about conversational platforms [00:00:10.769] for collaboration and communication [00:00:13.160] to enhance user experience. [00:00:16.019] Loco 10 30 is a monthly webinar [00:00:18.030] Siri's dedicated to educating [00:00:20.210] you on the benefits of low code application [00:00:22.579] development in your company. [00:00:25.100] Over the past year, we've concentrated [00:00:27.170] on the fundamental components of the medics. Slow [00:00:29.390] code platform [00:00:30.739] covering topics like accelerating Dev [00:00:32.820] ups and application, lifecycle management, [00:00:35.490] building mobile experiences, [00:00:37.500] comprehensive security [00:00:39.240] and openness and expense ability. [00:00:41.799] You can view these recordings via the low code [00:00:43.840] and 30 playlist on our YouTube channel. [00:00:47.630] In this new season of low code and 30 [00:00:50.149] you'll learn about how men Dix is expanding [00:00:52.250] the low code ecosystem through complementary [00:00:54.700] technologies made more accessible [00:00:56.899] through the platform, [00:00:58.520] discover the evolution of APS to [00:01:00.670] experiences made easier through [00:01:02.909] visual programming, [00:01:04.439] and discuss the challenges and opportunities [00:01:06.890] self service application development brings [00:01:09.200] to bear within the enterprise. [00:01:11.939] Before we begin, [00:01:13.269] let's explore what the medics platform is [00:01:15.760] and how it helps companies just like yours [00:01:18.090] make the future. [00:01:20.870] Medics was born to help enterprises win [00:01:23.069] with apse because it's the fastest and [00:01:25.140] easiest low code platform to create [00:01:27.390] and continuously enhance any kind [00:01:29.620] of app at scale, [00:01:31.239] including Web APS, offline [00:01:33.269] first global APS, rest AP eyes, [00:01:35.599] micro services and more. To fit [00:01:37.599] a variety of use cases. [00:01:41.439] Medics helps you achieve your goals through [00:01:43.459] a visual model driven development [00:01:45.459] platform, enabling professional developers [00:01:47.950] and stakeholders in the blind of business [00:01:50.530] to collaborate throughout the entire application. [00:01:53.170] Lifecycle everything from requirements, [00:01:55.609] gathering, development, deployment [00:01:58.049] and finally operating our [00:02:00.379] rated into the platform TTO help make [00:02:02.390] developers lives easier and to bring [00:02:04.670] them closer to their customers. [00:02:07.260] As a result, development is faster [00:02:09.300] and more efficient because the business [00:02:11.389] and I combined their domain expertise [00:02:13.849] during application creation. [00:02:16.259] Application quality is significantly [00:02:18.289] higher because requirements and outcomes [00:02:20.460] are in alignment [00:02:21.819] and total cost of ownership is lower [00:02:24.139] because adopting an agile and [00:02:26.169] enter of process reduces [00:02:28.199] rework after applications go live. [00:02:33.020] In the past 20 years, communications [00:02:35.150] have changed dramatically multiple [00:02:37.169] times [00:02:38.419] when, at one point, the on ly ways to communicate [00:02:40.919] with colleagues and customers was face [00:02:42.979] to face snail mail [00:02:45.009] or through plain old telephone service, [00:02:47.159] also known as pots. [00:02:48.830] The arrival of the Internet age. In the late [00:02:50.930] 20th an early 21st century [00:02:53.210] ushered email and instant messaging [00:02:55.389] into the mainstream of how people communicate [00:02:58.919] with the greater availability and affordability [00:03:01.659] of mobile phones [00:03:03.110] and the arrival of smartphones and the [00:03:05.180] AP economy [00:03:06.719] waiting to contact someone because you weren't [00:03:08.960] near a phone disappeared, [00:03:11.189] and the always on culture we live [00:03:13.289] in today began its march to prominence [00:03:16.650] messaging an instant communication [00:03:18.750] moved from the office base [00:03:20.539] to the consumer space, [00:03:22.210] and not on ly did this make connecting and [00:03:24.330] collaborating with other's easier. [00:03:26.479] It made it instantaneous [00:03:28.300] at a global scale. [00:03:31.419] A study performed by Global Workspace [00:03:34.000] Analytics of the Fortune 1,000 [00:03:36.530] saw employees spending greater than 50% [00:03:39.240] of their time away from their desk. [00:03:41.979] Collaboration tools like slack and [00:03:44.180] video conferencing over the Web from WebEx, [00:03:46.979] Go to and Zoom have made [00:03:49.039] it possible for companies to enable employees [00:03:51.919] tto work remotely and interact [00:03:53.969] with colleagues from mobile devices wherever [00:03:56.409] they could pick up a wireless signal. [00:03:59.419] Picking up on these B to B trends, it's [00:04:01.590] R R. Donnelley surveyed leaders in marketing [00:04:04.030] and technology in 2016 [00:04:06.409] to get their take on the future of [00:04:08.449] B to C Communications, [00:04:10.729] 99% said Mobile [00:04:12.770] will be critical in there. Be to see strategies, [00:04:15.840] an 87% [00:04:17.529] plan to prioritize multi [00:04:19.529] channel customer experiences [00:04:21.910] in a coordinated delivery model across [00:04:24.319] multiple devices. [00:04:26.500] So how are technology companies in the communication [00:04:29.220] sector addressing this opportunity? [00:04:32.009] Inside the enterprise [00:04:33.750] tools like Slack Skype for [00:04:35.860] business, [00:04:36.699] Microsoft teams [00:04:38.220] and others facilitate 1 [00:04:40.329] to 1 and group conversations [00:04:42.600] with a number of capabilities. Beyond messaging, [00:04:46.120] they all have chat file sharing, [00:04:48.899] light videoconferencing and screen [00:04:51.100] sharing. In addition, slack [00:04:53.459] and teams have robust AP eyes for [00:04:55.610] integrating two way communication between [00:04:58.079] services in the form of notifications, [00:05:00.610] alerts, reminders and more. [00:05:04.000] Many other software companies recognize [00:05:06.519] they need to play in this ecosystem [00:05:08.740] for expanding their own user base [00:05:10.889] and have established connectors and [00:05:12.970] integrations with their own. AP eyes [00:05:17.639] BEA to see communications have their own set [00:05:19.810] of platforms to choose from [00:05:21.629] forming a category called See pass [00:05:24.160] communication platforms. As a service, [00:05:27.420] providers in this space offer secure [00:05:29.579] and scalable services for integrating [00:05:31.769] SMS, [00:05:32.759] Emma's [00:05:33.939] text chat, [00:05:35.240] Bot's video chat and [00:05:37.420] more directly into Web and mobile applications [00:05:41.230] from twill EOE and a via toe [00:05:43.329] live person in next Mo. [00:05:45.250] These in many more companies seek to [00:05:47.269] make it easier and cheaper to implement [00:05:49.529] messaging, automation and contact [00:05:51.629] center integrations into their at [00:05:53.829] portfolios. [00:05:56.740] While these happen, aggressions for B to B [00:05:59.019] and B to C use cases supply [00:06:01.019] a standard set of actions. It's between the [00:06:03.069] source and destination. [00:06:04.848] Exceptions appear, requiring customization [00:06:07.418] to solve the problem. [00:06:11.658] Unfortunately, just dropping a slack [00:06:13.798] work space into the enterprise are making [00:06:15.988] an investment in A Via C Pass [00:06:18.309] doesn't solve the overarching problem [00:06:20.319] with communications. [00:06:22.319] As Dominic Kent says, [00:06:24.088] solutions for enterprise communications [00:06:26.528] are like snowflakes. [00:06:28.158] No two are alike. [00:06:30.709] There's always a need to do something with [00:06:33.168] or as a result of the interaction, [00:06:36.259] Kent goes on to say, [00:06:37.778] Administrators need a very specialized [00:06:40.168] skill set to maintain [00:06:42.098] the's applications required customization [00:06:44.949] but within the confines of the application [00:06:47.079] creators. [00:06:49.459] What can't rationalizes is the benefit [00:06:51.619] of Sea Pass [00:06:52.959] is that it supports this custom ization [00:06:55.139] and doesn't force Byers into a [00:06:57.168] box. [00:07:02.158] On the other hand, [00:07:03.399] Thomas McCarthy how [00:07:05.338] takes the opinion [00:07:06.788] that the problem with Si pass and tools [00:07:08.869] like slack is that they are focusing [00:07:10.988] one level too low to support [00:07:13.119] efficient development of these applications. [00:07:16.408] he states that the data, rather [00:07:18.988] than the conversation, [00:07:20.759] is where the value lies in these services, [00:07:23.759] and they don't quite hit the mark in that department. [00:07:26.699] This is where men dicks fits in perfectly [00:07:29.428] because, as McCarthy, how aptly puts [00:07:31.608] it for workflow and business [00:07:33.759] communications. The game is in [00:07:36.019] the data, [00:07:37.218] not the message, [00:07:39.259] I stated earlier. Men. Dicks simplifies [00:07:41.769] Application Development for anyone [00:07:43.798] with a problem to solve [00:07:45.788] the combination of dragon drop tooling [00:07:47.788] for front and development and universal [00:07:50.168] understanding of the function layer with [00:07:52.189] visual micro flows and nana flows [00:07:54.809] helps everyone make custom solutions quickly [00:07:57.338] that have immediate impact. [00:07:59.809] The APP Store [00:08:01.048] Medics. Library of reusable component [00:08:03.387] tree accelerates time to market [00:08:05.538] because customizing a slack connection [00:08:08.327] or integrating video chat from a C [00:08:10.538] passed like a via or to Elio [00:08:12.608] into an application [00:08:14.187] is a dragon drop experience with [00:08:16.247] minimal configuration. [00:08:21.697] What are some of the applicable use cases for [00:08:23.838] these capabilities and medics? [00:08:26.608] The 1st 1 I'll go through today it's close [00:08:28.658] to work. [00:08:30.187] The evangelist team [00:08:31.817] that I'm a part of receives a lot of requests [00:08:34.177] from a variety of customers at men dicks. [00:08:37.057] It could be overwhelming sometimes [00:08:39.437] in the past thes requests came to us [00:08:41.488] via phone calls, emails or drive [00:08:43.768] by conversations, [00:08:45.217] and it made it hard for us to consolidate them [00:08:47.347] into our back lock, [00:08:49.028] which we managed through asana. [00:08:51.827] What ended up happening is we started [00:08:53.857] prioritizing [00:08:55.107] independently and not through our [00:08:57.138] normal scrum ceremonies. [00:08:59.927] So we help the next person that came to us [00:09:02.217] and promptly forgot what the customer [00:09:04.437] before them asked for help on. [00:09:07.528] We needed a way for our customers to converse [00:09:09.998] with us without distracting us [00:09:12.327] from our current tasks. [00:09:14.827] Enter Slack and asana [00:09:17.168] with Bendix [00:09:19.587] Slack has a very robust set of AP [00:09:21.947] eyes for extending their platform [00:09:24.077] and as I mentioned earlier, many vendors, [00:09:26.398] including asana, have built integrations [00:09:29.268] called slack APS [00:09:30.807] into their platforms that are easy [00:09:33.457] to install and configure. [00:09:36.317] However, sometimes the use case is a bit [00:09:38.498] more custom and requires additional information [00:09:41.028] to be exchange [00:09:42.658] than the standard slack integration [00:09:44.707] app can support. [00:09:48.028] Thankfully, medics offers rest, consume [00:09:50.418] and published capabilities [00:09:52.168] that may connecting two different platforms a [00:09:54.197] snap [00:09:55.498] and it enabled us to focus on addressing [00:09:57.597] our customers needs more efficiently. [00:10:00.827] Let's see it in action [00:10:06.340] from anywhere inside my slack workspace, [00:10:09.159] weaken type forward slash evangelist [00:10:11.889] dash request [00:10:13.649] a slash command is a component of a slack [00:10:16.019] app, and when it's invoked, it makes [00:10:18.090] a request to our medics. App. [00:10:21.200] The medics APP interprets the request [00:10:23.389] through arrest and point named Command [00:10:26.289] and calls a micro flow to send back [00:10:28.549] a dialog box and Jason Format [00:10:31.019] for slack to read and render. [00:10:34.120] It's in thiss micro flow that we use [00:10:36.179] the dialogue dot open action available [00:10:38.389] from our toolbox. [00:10:40.590] This is pretty cool because instead of having [00:10:42.600] to go through the process of building out the dialogue [00:10:44.899] dot open call, [00:10:46.320] it's available to me right from the tool box, [00:10:48.929] and I can just use it. [00:10:53.539] As for the rest of the function, there's a [00:10:55.590] good amount of customization going on, [00:10:58.159] and that's the part I was mentioning earlier. [00:11:01.059] While these services provides solid AP [00:11:03.320] I support, [00:11:04.490] they require a solid foundation [00:11:06.850] of JavaScript to understand how to use [00:11:08.950] them with [00:11:11.870] men. Dicks. I'm ableto build out that customization [00:11:14.649] visually [00:11:15.669] and easily see the different fields [00:11:17.940] that are being added to the dialog box. [00:11:22.159] Back in slack, [00:11:23.460] the dialog boxes appeared, and I'll fill [00:11:25.470] it in when I submit the form [00:11:27.870] slacks, interactive component framework [00:11:30.220] sends [00:11:31.350] that information [00:11:32.779] to my men. Dick Slack service again. [00:11:36.220] And as the request goes through the process, [00:11:39.009] the chat dot post message action [00:11:42.019] sends a message back to the user [00:11:44.220] who requested the task, [00:11:46.029] informing them that their information [00:11:48.129] has been posted in asana. [00:11:52.759] I can think of a number of use cases where [00:11:54.870] this capability could come in handy. [00:11:57.590] Consider a time sheet app like the [00:11:59.639] one we have in our template gallery. [00:12:02.360] We could integrate slack with this up [00:12:04.664] to send timesheets. Sign off requests [00:12:07.424] too slack [00:12:08.904] so the reviewer can approve, reject [00:12:11.684] or ask a question of the submit er right [00:12:13.924] from [00:12:15.355] the slack interface. [00:12:17.945] We'll dig into this case during our live [00:12:19.985] community webinar on June 26th [00:12:28.095] in the Last Lo Code in 30 we explored [00:12:30.514] the world of cognitive services [00:12:32.565] and ay ay through the lens of an [00:12:34.595] emergency response at, [00:12:37.264] we talked about how crowdsourcing emergencies [00:12:40.164] could speed up response. [00:12:42.904] What if the dispatcher needs to get more [00:12:45.004] information from this? A binner [00:12:48.345] In the current version of the APP, there's no [00:12:50.504] way for the dispatcher to contact [00:12:52.615] the person who submitted to the photo. [00:12:56.024] What if we added SMS capabilities [00:12:58.524] from a Via or Twill Leo [00:13:00.965] to enable the dispatcher to carry [00:13:03.044] on the conversation with the submit [00:13:05.195] er, Once [00:13:07.735] again, men, Dicks makes it easy [00:13:09.784] to integrate thes communication platforms [00:13:12.365] with reusable component tree and [00:13:14.394] easy to create and consume rest [00:13:16.745] functionality. [00:13:20.845] Okay, so I'm gonna wire up the [00:13:24.004] of via SMS capabilities [00:13:26.125] here, and how will do that [00:13:28.134] is to create a micro flow that's [00:13:30.335] attached to the save [00:13:32.995] button. The [00:13:37.524] first step in the micro flow will be to [00:13:39.754] take the SMS Perrin and add [00:13:41.914] the destination number that was received [00:13:44.955] is part of the emergency contact information. [00:14:00.414] Then we'll get the message counts so that we can [00:14:02.554] track. All of the message is that and [00:14:04.845] correspondence that air going between the dispatcher [00:14:07.394] and the senator. [00:14:25.575] Now we'll dig into the toolbox and [00:14:27.835] pick the via SMS connector. [00:14:44.585] Once the Via SMS component is [00:14:46.715] on, the micro flow will add an exclusive [00:14:49.184] split that will perform a conditional [00:14:51.965] to make sure that if thie message [00:14:54.394] fails, will get a message [00:14:56.634] that shows that failure. [00:15:03.485] If it's true, [00:15:05.485] we'll continue on and [00:15:08.524] add more information to [00:15:10.945] the message logs. So we'll take the message [00:15:13.225] we just sent [00:15:14.524] and send it off [00:15:16.894] into our database so that we can keep [00:15:19.115] that message. Log history is part of [00:15:21.235] the conversation. [00:15:34.904] Let's go ahead and add thie [00:15:37.105] rest of the properties or members of [00:15:39.345] the message logs so that we get [00:15:41.355] that incorrectly. [00:16:02.674] The last two things will do is we'll add [00:16:04.684] an emergency event. Ah, committal. [00:16:07.105] So will commit the emergency event, object [00:16:09.197] the database and then we'll close [00:16:11.456] the page. [00:16:12.866] Ah, signifying the end of [00:16:14.876] the life cycle of sending [00:16:17.157] thie message. [00:16:24.527] Once the APP is updated, [00:16:27.376] we'll be able to go in. And [00:16:29.856] if we click on the [00:16:32.037] record regarding the [00:16:34.177] cat that's being chased by the old man, [00:16:37.157] we can see the information that was captured [00:16:39.356] previously in the new phone number [00:16:42.456] is already in this [00:16:44.527] task. [00:16:45.767] We can go ahead and click the send SMS [00:16:48.057] button, [00:16:49.846] and now we'll open up a new form, that [00:16:52.027] new form that we created, [00:16:55.116] and we can put in the message [00:16:58.267] here so we'll just type in. [00:17:00.596] Are you able to calm the man [00:17:03.226] who is chasing a cat [00:17:06.196] when we click the save button [00:17:08.747] that will trigger [00:17:10.737] ah Thea via service to [00:17:13.196] send that message? So we're calling [00:17:15.416] out to the, uh via a p I [00:17:17.666] and sending a text message to [00:17:20.166] our phone. And you can see here [00:17:22.346] is the phone [00:17:23.717] and the message is right there. [00:17:28.826] If we continue weaken, send another [00:17:30.846] message right away [00:17:33.646] and we can ask a follow up question [00:17:35.987] or give some guidance. [00:17:38.356] If you can calm them and down, maybe the cat [00:17:40.757] will come down from the tree, [00:17:43.007] we click, save and we can see that just [00:17:45.336] gets right. [00:17:46.317] Ah, added to the additional text [00:17:48.457] message. So [00:17:50.307] ah, via ah offers [00:17:53.027] not only one way but two way text [00:17:55.336] messaging. [00:17:56.346] Ah, in conversations. But [00:17:58.366] we're going to take a look at how that [00:18:00.497] works in twill Leo now. [00:18:12.208] So let's switch over to twill Leo, and [00:18:14.778] you can see the micro flow is identical [00:18:16.998] to Thea via SMS [00:18:19.347] micro flow that we created. [00:18:22.147] The only difference is changing [00:18:24.488] that one action [00:18:26.488] where instead of using a vie, [00:18:28.647] it's using Tulio. [00:18:32.917] We're going to show to Wei SMS [00:18:34.938] here, so we'll go back into [00:18:36.968] the same task were in before [00:18:39.647] and [00:18:40.887] send another SMS. [00:18:43.647] So this time we're asking the same [00:18:45.798] question. Are you able to come the man [00:18:47.837] down and get him to stop chasing the cat. [00:18:50.627] And now when we save and we send [00:18:52.627] this text [00:18:55.837] and when we click, save now [00:18:57.847] that's going to run through [00:19:00.208] Twilley O. And we received that text [00:19:03.998] pretty quickly, [00:19:05.137] and now we can respond to it [00:19:07.617] so I can say I'll try right now [00:19:10.347] and that's going to get captured and [00:19:12.508] sent back to the application through [00:19:15.077] a Web hook. So you can see here is the message [00:19:17.317] history. [00:19:18.718] I can go ahead and send another text message [00:19:20.897] and say he's not listening [00:19:23.448] to me and the cats hissing [00:19:26.548] and we refresh the message. [00:19:28.778] History. It's coming back. And one [00:19:31.097] of the benefits here is that [00:19:33.847] as a dispatcher having this conversation, [00:19:36.428] you can identify the sense of urgency [00:19:38.667] based on the communication that's going [00:19:40.798] back and forth. You're getting some more context [00:19:43.867] beyond the picture. [00:19:46.847] So from there you can basically [00:19:49.268] say [00:19:50.508] that you want that bystander [00:19:53.167] to stay in the area and that you're [00:19:55.178] going to contact police instead [00:19:57.258] of the animal control because it [00:19:59.307] seems like the man who's chasing [00:20:01.607] the cat is the bigger [00:20:04.048] ah challenge right now [00:20:06.228] to be worked out [00:20:08.347] and you can see that text comes back through. [00:20:10.952] And if we look at the message [00:20:13.403] history, we can see [00:20:15.063] that message that was sent. And then the last [00:20:17.073] message. Ah, that was received [00:20:19.863] by the bystander. [00:20:22.762] Now the way this works like a set is through [00:20:24.863] webs hooks. And if we go into [00:20:27.653] men dicks, [00:20:28.722] you, Khun, see that there is arrest [00:20:30.732] a P I for in [00:20:33.202] art will EOE connector. And [00:20:35.353] if we look at the messaging service, [00:20:37.383] this is the actual AP definition. [00:20:40.093] There's a message Web hook [00:20:42.173] in that message. Web Hook [00:20:44.133] calls a [00:20:47.692] micro flow [00:20:49.492] in that micro flow is what's [00:20:51.583] responsible for adding that [00:20:53.742] message to the message history [00:20:55.782] in the message log. [00:20:57.423] And if we go to twill Leo, we can see [00:20:59.702] how that [00:21:01.432] is done because there are those [00:21:03.633] inbound settings and there's that [00:21:05.762] request your L [00:21:07.972] for [00:21:09.173] the Web hook [00:21:10.573] right there. So [00:21:12.303] ah, it's pretty straightforward [00:21:14.583] integration [00:21:15.853] to make to a [00:21:18.042] messaging work and integrate it into [00:21:20.573] your application. [00:21:25.893] Communication platforms open many [00:21:28.012] new doors for connecting with users, [00:21:30.962] And while they abstract away the infrastructure [00:21:33.583] for providing those communications [00:21:35.893] or supply a robust set of [00:21:38.053] capabilities to extend a great [00:21:40.063] user experience, [00:21:41.942] they're only part of the overall solution, [00:21:45.692] paring them with a platform like [00:21:47.853] men. Dicks enables your enterprise [00:21:51.022] to maximize return on investment [00:21:53.482] because they become part of a more robust, [00:21:56.343] comprehensive solution [00:21:58.113] that you can customize rapidly [00:22:00.393] and it originally.

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