Modern technology is versatile and accommodates different personalities to satisfy market needs. Today non-technical users or business users can develop complex business applications through advanced business tools. The diversification allows organizations to handle overwhelming tasks through the help of non-IT developers. The introduction of no-code platforms has seen the rise of the Citizen Developer’s role in organizations. This positively impacts all business levels as companies can utilize their in-house teams to build business applications.
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Who is Citizen Developer?
Citizen developers, also called business users, are non-technical users with no coding knowledge and skills but can develop applications through advanced tools. Technology is using no-code software and other tech tools to empower citizen developers. Companies embrace the move as they can build mobile and business apps quickly within short durations. Citizen developers eliminate hiring programmers or IT developers for app building. This doesn’t disregard IT developers but comes as an option to help them in their IT field.
Before no-code development, companies required IT specialists to build applications. The process was tedious and time-consuming due to the planning and coding system. You can visit site for more information about Low-code/No-code technologies. Programmers developed a single app for months, a process that drained organizations financially. Note this wasn't the IT developer's fault since it was the only way to create apps back then. The introduction of a non-coding system has eliminated the long, tedious processes giving businesses a chance to build efficient applications.
Why does the business world require Citizen Developers?
Citizen development is gaining popularity among organizations. The role is a by-product of the IT tech requirements to satisfy the growing demands. There are several reasons why Citizen Development is on the rise:
IT demand
The majority of business processes are shifting from manual operations to digital systems. Organizations are seeking more IT skilled personnel. It's challenging to fill the IT gap, leaving companies with no choice but to incorporate citizen developers. This doesn’t mean the second option; technology has helped enhance their skills by providing digital platforms for easy IT management. Citizen developers are a great solution, especially for IT developers. They help relieve of some duties giving the programmers and IT experts a chance to venture into other complex projects.
Business demands
Businesses need to keep up with the growing client and work demands to succeed. The citizen development solution comes in handy to cover the IT gap and provide business apps for better functionality. Businesses require IT experts and citizen developers to work together for an efficient business process.
Role of a Citizen Developer
Note citizen development is not a replacement for IT experts or any other alternative. The role is pretty significant as the programmer’s role. Citizen developers work to ease the IT backlog and provide solutions to organizational needs. A citizen developer has multiple roles as follows.
1. Recognizing your organization's needs
The primary aspect of incorporating citizen developers in the business system is to help recognize any arising needs. The teams are perfect for the role as they easily learn about problems in departments and solve them quickly. Citizen developers help increase business productivity by sealing all loopholes and providing the best business solutions.
2. Solving the problems
After identifying the problems, the citizen developer should find reasonable solutions. The business user should implement the right tools and use acquired skills to solve the issues.
3. Creating mobile and business apps
Technology allows citizen developers to build business applications aligning with organization needs. The user doesn't require past coding experience as no-code platforms offer pre-installed features. This helps the user to build quality applications to suit particular needs. The IT developers can help in enhancing app security before launching the applications.
4. Assisting the IT department
The IT departments are still relevant in business operations. Citizen developers should work with the IT department to help realize the business goals. IT departments are sometimes overwhelmed with complex tasks, thus neglecting other important details. The citizen developer teams need to merge efforts and assist IT professionals in fulfilling all business tasks effectively.
Citizen developer governance
Organizations need to establish a citizen developer governance system for effective business operation and productivity. This helps Citizen Developers operate through governed systems and not overstep their mandates. Strict coding rules guide the coding or developers' world. The rules help IT developers operate under a particular coding protocol and respect their field.
Lack of governance might cause risk, especially in in-app and business security matters. Organizations can implement the following protocols for better governance.
Have a proper business vision and mission
Businesses need to create a vision for citizen developers before embarking on any projects. The organization should have a proper plan of the app development process tools and make time for other services. Remember, a citizen developer is an employee who undertakes other duties. This means they need to concentrate also on their department's tasks. Ensure to provide a conducive environment for the citizen developers for better services.
Have a centralized center for all citizen developers
Before any citizen developer decides to create an application, the matter should be approved by the managerial team. Organizations need to create a central database to control and monitor citizen developer activities easily. Businesses without follow-up or monitoring centers tend to lose resources as shadow IT circulates without management knowledge.
Identify and provide the right tools
Citizen developers also require quality work tools to develop unique tools. Business needs to create a system where all citizen developers work and present their projects. Ensure the platform is equipped with the necessary tools for better productivity. The company can easily track and train citizen developers from the platform on tool usage.
Citizen Development on the Rise
According to Forrester analysts, citizen development will play an increasingly important role in application development in the future. According to Forrester, as early as 2019, 24 percent of enterprise application developers were located outside of IT departments. This trend should continue to increase through the increased use of no-code tools. And the market researchers from Gartner also predict that by 2023 the number of citizen developers in companies will be at least four times as large as that of professional developers.
In order to establish citizen development, however, companies must develop a strategy and select the right technology. Market researchers and analysts see a particular trend in the use of no-code platforms. Gartner predicts that 65 percent of application development will be done using no-code tools by 2024.
Conclusion
Citizen developers play a significant role in the growth of organizations. They help increase productivity and bridge the IT gap in the industry. However, organizations must provide the right tools and systems such as no-code platforms to help boost the business user’s efforts. The citizen developer teams should collaborate with the IT department for effective business function.