Why Developers Should Embrace Citizen Development

In this post, we look at citizen development, discuss what it is, the pros and cons, and discuss why professional developers should embrace it.

Read more: Why Developers Should Embrace Citizen Development

Citizen developer is a term used to describe individuals who are not professional software developers, but who have the ability to create software applications and automate processes through low-code or no-code platforms.

These platforms provide drag-and-drop interfaces and pre-built components that make it possible for people with little or no programming experience to build apps and automate tasks. This allows companies to empower their employees to become “citizen developers,” enabling them to solve business problems and improve processes by creating custom applications without relying on professional software developers.

Citizen development can help organisations increase innovation, speed up time-to-market, and improve collaboration between different departments. It also enables companies to leverage the expertise of employees who understand the specific needs of their business and can create solutions tailored to those needs.

Benefits of citizen development

Citizen development has several benefits for organisations, including:

1. Increased innovation: Citizen development empowers employees to find new and innovative solutions to business problems. By allowing employees to create custom applications that meet their specific needs, organisations can foster a culture of innovation and drive digital transformation.
2. Faster time-to-market: Citizen developers can create applications much faster than traditional software development processes, as they don’t have to go through multiple layers of approval and rely on professional software developers. This helps organisations to quickly respond to changing business needs and stay ahead of the competition.
3. Improved collaboration: Citizen development promotes collaboration between different departments and business units, as employees can work together to create solutions that meet the needs of their department and the organisation as a whole.
4. Increased efficiency: Citizen developers can automate manual tasks and streamline processes, improving efficiency and freeing up time for employees to focus on higher-value work.
5. Cost savings: By relying on in-house resources to create custom applications, organisations can save on the costs associated with outsourcing software development work or hiring additional software developers.

Overall, citizen development enables organisations to quickly respond to changing business needs, foster a culture of innovation, and drive digital transformation from within.

Downside of citizen development

While citizen development has many benefits, it also has some potential downsides, including:

1. Quality control: Applications created by citizen developers may not always meet the same quality standards as those created by professional software developers. This can result in applications that are less reliable, less secure, and more prone to errors.
2. Lack of expertise: Citizen developers may not have the technical expertise or knowledge of best practices for software development, which can result in applications that are not optimised for performance or scalability.
3. Integration challenges: Applications created by citizen developers may not integrate seamlessly with other systems and applications in the organisation, which can create problems with data sharing and communication.
4. Maintenance difficulties: Applications created by citizen developers may not be well-documented, making it difficult for other team members to understand how they work or to make changes to them. This can create challenges for long-term maintenance and support.
5. Compliance risks: Applications created by citizen developers may not meet the same security and compliance standards as those created by professional software developers. This can create risks for organisations, especially in regulated industries.

While these downsides should not discourage organisations from embracing citizen development, it is important to have proper governance in place to ensure that applications created by citizen developers are secure, reliable, and meet the standards of the organisation. This can involve setting guidelines, establishing quality control processes, and providing training and support to citizen developers.

Enabling citizen development

Enabling citizen development in an organisation involves several key steps, including:

1. Adoption of low-code or no-code platforms: To enable citizen development, organisations need to adopt low-code or no-code platforms that allow employees to create applications and automate processes without writing code. These platforms should be easy to use, accessible to employees across the organisation, and offer pre-built components and drag-and-drop interfaces.
2. Training and support: To ensure that citizen developers are able to create high-quality applications, organisations should provide training and support in the form of tutorials, documentation, and access to expert resources.
3. Governance and quality control: Organisations need to establish governance and quality control processes to ensure that applications created by citizen developers meet the standards of the organisation. This can include reviewing and approving applications before they are deployed, setting guidelines for application development, and establishing security and compliance standards.
4. Integration with existing systems: To ensure that applications created by citizen developers integrate seamlessly with other systems and applications in the organisation, organisations should have a well-defined integration strategy in place. This can include establishing APIs and data connectors to connect different systems, and ensuring that data is properly managed and protected.
5. Encouragement and recognition: To encourage employee participation and build a culture of citizen development, organisations should recognise and reward employees who create high-quality applications and automate processes. This can include providing recognition and incentives, such as bonuses, promotions, and public recognition.

By following these steps, organisations can effectively enable citizen development and harness the power of their employees to drive innovation, improve processes, and drive digital transformation.

Summary

In summary, using an API driven environment, you can as professional developers focus on other problems within your organisation and provide end-users, through their low-code or no-code platforms, with the ability to solve their own business problems using tightly controlled and well defined APIs.

While it’s easy to see why some people are scared of citizen development, as a professional, you shouldn’t be, it just provides more opportunity.

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