Toptal Blog

Technology is a democratizing force, and improving global access to tech education is a priority for organizations like Mozilla, IBM, and the United Nations. With its inaugural Scholarship for Women being awarded to a worthy candidate in Ghana this year, Toptal is proud to join the growing worldwide effort to help talented individuals and communities gain access to the tools and resources they need.

Human-centered design is about solving problems, not implementing solutions. This guide provides an overview of HCD, a process that ensures optimum user experiences, effortless interaction, and ultimately, business benefits.

Robotic process automation (RPA) has become a top priority for many companies in the last two years. Project Managers will increasingly have to manage projects developing software used not only by humans but also by bots. This article covers the opportunities and challenges of using RPA in project management.

Startup investors are not benevolent creatures, they’re looking for certain signals that help to persuade them to part with their money. This guide, written from an investor’s perspective, intends to help startups understand the key areas to focus on and emphasize when raising money.

How can designers move beyond personal insights to understand the problems users face? We introduce time-tested UX research methods that inspire user empathy and lead to better user experiences.

The whole point of smart contracts is that they need to be more secure and efficient than traditional contracts. So where do smart contract oracles fit in?

In the final installment of our three-part series, Toptal Blockchain Developer John R. Kosinski explains the role of oracles in the evolution of trust.

A vital part of creating an optimal user experience, visual hierarchy determines the order in which people take in and process information on a page, regardless of whether it’s digital or print.

Social responsibility is increasingly front-of-mind for employees as they consider where to build their careers. This article explores how skills-based volunteering can not only serve as a strong employee retention strategy in response to this greater desire for social impact, but also democratize highly skilled talent to help a broader range organizations and communities.

We often hear about business plans in the context of early-stage companies; however, constructing excellent business plans is difficult and time-consuming, so many entrepreneurs avoid them. But, is this a mistake?

While most people may be aware of the “soft” arguments for and against writing a business plan, in this article, a Toptal Management Consultant takes a data-driven approach to addressing the debate. In it, he finds strong evidence to support the notion that writing an excellent business plan is time well spent.