{"id":17106,"date":"2022-12-29T13:00:13","date_gmt":"2022-12-29T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.finoit.com\/?p=17106"},"modified":"2023-04-04T05:03:24","modified_gmt":"2023-04-04T05:03:24","slug":"citizen-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.finoit.com\/blog\/citizen-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 7 Reasons Why is Citizen Development the Future of Agile Software Development"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to Gartner, around 70% of business software will soon be deployed using citizen development platforms. Offering a fast, easy, and efficient process to build applications, citizen development is surely the next frontier of agile software development. Here are in-depth insights.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI am converting this concept into application soon, Eric,\u201d remarked John, a business professional with no IT background. Both John and Eric have worked together for more than decades, have formulated strategies, and steered growth journeys. \u201cSince when have you become a software developer, John?\u201d asked Eric jokingly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s no fun, pal. We have passed those days when we had to rely on software developers to fructify our ideas into applications,\u201d John noted. \u201cHow can you forget the magnificent Excel on which we exhaustively worked for so many years?\u201d John questioned. \u201cTrue, I even built my own macros without anyone\u2019s assistance!\u201d Eric remembered.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. We have been citizen developers for so many years, but only that we have now reached a more advanced stage,\u201d goes John further. \u201cIndeed, this is a paradigm shift,\u201d acknowledged Eric.<\/p>\n

Like John and Eric, many non-IT business users are realizing the power of citizen development. However, citizen developers have not emerged all of sudden, rather it has been a phased evolution.<\/p>\n

In 2012, John K Waters, a Gartner analyst gave a call that \u201cwe are all developers now<\/strong>.\u201d The beginning of the new digital era had begun opening up new avenues for non-technical professionals to become developers.<\/p>\n

Becoming a subject of speculation, the idea of citizen development became a mainstream concept with the coming of no-code and low-code platforms. With a minimal understanding and knowledge of coding, building applications became a reality. These platforms become a ubiquitous medium to drive citizen development initiatives.<\/p>\n

Coming with a bag full of benefits, citizen development has begun enticing large as well as small enterprises alike. In 2020, Microsoft noted that it wanted to build 450 new apps by 2025 using low-code platforms. To implement RPA, Wartsila, the Finnish marine engineering giant, encouraged its staff to become citizen developers, who built more than 400 automated processes.<\/p>\n

Trends are giving way to citizen development being the future. The global low-code development industry is forecasted to reach $187 by 2030. And no-code\/low-code automation is offering the promise of reducing the application development time by 50%-90%.<\/p>\n

As we move ahead, we look at how the all-encompassing character of citizen development can be conducive to enhancing agility in software development.<\/p>\n

\n

Let\u2019s Understand the Concepts First: Who Are Citizen Developers and What is Citizen Development?<\/h2>\n

Gartner has defined citizen developers as \u201cemployees who create application capabilities for consumption by themselves or others, using tools that are not actively forbidden by IT or business units. A citizen developer is a persona, not a title or targeted role, and they report to a business unit or function other than IT. All citizen developers are business technologists; however, all business technologists are not necessarily citizen developers.<\/em><\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

So, what we get to see is that citizen developers are all those individual members of an organization who are not software development experts. However, they are experts in different areas of business and are supplemented by no-code or low-code platforms that can build applications that meet their requirements.<\/p>\n

This practice of non-IT people engaging in software development is termed citizen development. Remember, citizen development is an approach while no-code and low-code platforms are facilitators in the process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The Value of Citizen Development<\/h2>\n

Eric Knipp, who now leads Application Practice in Gartner for Technical Professionals (GTP) noted more than a year ago, in 2009 that<\/p>\n

“Future citizen-developed applications will leverage IT investments below the surface, allowing IT to focus on deeper architectural concerns, while end users focus on wiring together services into business processes and workflows. Furthermore, citizen development introduces the opportunity for end users to address projects that IT has never had time to get to\u2014a vast expanse of departmental and situational projects that have lain beneath the surface.<\/em><\/strong>”<\/p>\n

Businesses require a variety of software applications to achieve rapid digital transformation, support remote working, and streamline automation. But that\u2019s not easily achievable with the available manpower.<\/p>\n

Tech teams are finding it challenging to keep up with the growing backlog as demand for digital solutions grows. The cost of programming makes it tougher for firms to justify smaller projects, so they turn to less expensive alternatives (like shadow IT), but these are unstable and can lead to issues in the future.<\/p>\n

Utilizing no-code\/low-code platforms and assembling a group of citizen developers is a much more successful strategy. This increases the pool of developers and is relatively inexpensive, adaptable, strong, and secure.<\/p>\n

The quickest, simplest, and most scalable method for developing, configuring, and managing software is through citizen developers. Because of this, according to Gartner research, by 2024, citizen developers will be using low-code technology to deliver at least 70% of all new business software.<\/p>\n

The ability of citizen developers to clear significant amounts of organizational backlogs is one of their main draws. This is significant given that TWO-THIRDS of software projects are routinely behind schedule. Organizations that invest in developing citizen developers give people new skills and career options that keep people interested and motivated.<\/p>\n

\"Anyone<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Where is Citizen Development Making a Difference?<\/h2>\n

Citizen development has already begun leaving its footprints. The impact can be seen across many areas. The best citizen development initiatives typically include building business process automation applications. They adhere to the principles of routine, repeatable, and rules-based automation. You are seeking straightforward, objective activities that can be completed quickly and easily.<\/p>\n

Business users have grown more inclined towards bringing in AI and machine learning capabilities to improvise decision-making. With no-code and low-code machine learning tools, democratizing AI has become far easier for them.<\/p>\n

Enterprises can build applications with AI and ML capabilities without coding expertise. Thanks to low-code and no-code platforms with simple drag-and-drop features. These platforms help build machine learning applications while lightening the workload of data scientists. They make it simple to create and train ML models, much as how no-code and low-code development platforms are used to construct software applications quickly with little to no coding.<\/p>\n

In general, some areas where citizen developers can prove to be of massive value for organizations are:<\/p>\n