Toptal Blog

The Toptal Blog is the top hub for developers, designers, management consultants, executives, and entrepreneurs, featuring key technology updates, tutorials, freelancer resources, and management insights.

Toptal core team members share their experience, expertise, and perspectives on the Toptal Edge Blog

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How to Define an MVP Scope in 3 Hours

Scoping an MVP doesn’t have to take days. Product manager Phillip Wood explains how he gathers product specialists, designers, and engineers to brainstorm features, pare them down, and create wireframes—all in a few hours.

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Phillip Wood

Phil is a senior product leader with 17 years of fintech experience. He has led consulting engagements with Visa, Mastercard, and TD Bank, and built successful payment and business loan products with fintech startups. Phil has a record of driving increased user engagement through better product and UX design.

Elevate Your E-commerce Journey With Animated UX Microinteractions

Toptal experts share their insights and best practices for designing motion effects that enhance e-commerce UX and increase conversions.

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Emily Adiseshiah

Emily is a UX writer and editor whose work has been featured in UX Magazine, Usability Geek, Justinmind, and other noteworthy publications.

Python vs. R: Syntactic Sugar Magic

Python and R empower data scientists to solve problems using elegant syntactic sugar, simplifying coding and solution exploration. Each language brings its unique capabilities and approach to bear.

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Leandro Roser

Leandro is a data scientist and machine learning developer who creates solutions for companies, including Profasee and Boston Consulting Group. He has expertise with TensorFlow, Spark, Python, and R.

Forensic Accounting: Due Diligence’s Secret Weapon

More than just a way to investigate financial crimes, forensic accounting is the most in-depth form of due diligence and compliance. But smaller firms often overlook its value. Here’s why that’s risky.

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Ryan Zanoni

Ryan is a Senior Editor at Toptal. He has more than 11 years of experience as a writer and editor covering business and technology.

Necessary Friction: The Theatrics of UX Security

Contrary to conventional wisdom, there are times when making products harder to use can be beneficial. Here’s how to use positive friction to enhance UX security and user trust.

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Nenad Ivanovic

Nenad is a digital product designer and security expert who specializes in identity verification, e-commerce marketplaces, and fintech platforms. He has led design teams at creative agencies, IT firms, and startups, and has presented at conferences and events, such as UX Belgrade.

Supply Chain Lessons and Opportunities: Learnings From a Crisis

The supply chain crisis caused global players and local businesses alike to rethink logistics networks. Here’s how the world economy can emerge stronger and more resilient.

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Zachary Elfman

Zachary is an expert in financial modeling, fundamental analysis, and valuation. He has completed the sale of a small business, advised on early-stage funding rounds, and acted as interim CFO for startup companies. He holds a master’s degree in economic history from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Microsoft’s Power BI is one of the most popular software solutions used to perform social network analysis. Here’s how to create custom Power BI visuals in R for compelling and flexible results.

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Bharat Garg

Bharat is a data scientist and developer who specializes in designing and developing interactive reports and tools to facilitate decision-making. He has worked with small startups and large corporations, such as Comcast, MetLife, UnitedHealth Group/Optum, and Jefferson Health. One of Bharat’s projects delivered $6 million in revenue, and another delivered $10 million in savings.

Life in Motion: A Guide to Animating Mobile Data Visualizations

Animation can make data more comprehensible, engaging, and useful, especially on mobile. When animating data visualizations, designers should use motion design principles—and avoid common pitfalls.

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Daniel Nisttahuz

Daniel is a senior product designer with expertise in UI/UX, mobile, and motion design. Previously, he was the Principal Product Designer for the animation platform LottieFiles. His background as both a designer and an engineer gives him a unique perspective on technology and creativity.

Design Sprints: Fostering Creativity Through Constraints

How can creativity thrive in an environment of rules and set processes? The creative constraints introduced by design sprints can help product managers find the midpoint between structure and chaos.

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Daniel Hatton

Daniel is an innovation and product manager with seven years of experience at PwC, and a track record of working creatively and entrepreneurially to bring ideas to life and generate new value streams.