What is the concept of citizen development?

Citizenship development has become a trend in which employers encourage employees with less or no experience in app development to create applications using no-code or low-code (LCNC) instruments.

Citizen developers emerged from two issues that were a lack of highly skilled programmers as well as a growing desire for mobile applications. The development of citizen apps overcomes the problem of transferring information across an organization by making it accessible to everyone.

Citizenship development from a commercial viewpoint

Citizen development helps companies advance their digital evolution without worrying about increasing or waiting for the IT department’s backlog.

Since end users are an integral part of this process, both the commercial and business part of an enterprise can assess their requirements and formulate the strategy for the way they would like their application to appear and behave. 

Once the plan is in place, IT can serve in an oversight role to make sure that citizen development is in line with the company’s IT policy. The IT-Business collaboration helps keep finances under control and allows companies to develop, design, and launch high-value software in conjunction.

The emergence of low-code and no-code (LCNC) technologies are revolutionizing the development of software. With their intuitive, graphical design, LCNC(low-code and no-code)designs allow “Citizen Developers”–those who have little to no programming skills to create sophisticated mobile and web-based applications.

In reducing the need for specialization in coding, LCNC democratizes and streamlines software development, while eliminating the limitations that often plague traditional development lifecycles. The possible outcome? Improved speed, agility, and flexibility, as well as rapid prototyping, and “fail rapidly” capabilities are essential to the competitiveness of companies.

Although the benefits that could be derived from LCNC (low-code and no-code) are immense, companies must take action to maximize their results and avoid the pitfalls. The Citizen Developer job, for instance, is a job that requires training, skills, and preparation. Additionally, the company requires a method to measure the progress of projects, ensure they stay on track, and stop the spread of infrastructure and shadow IT.

To better understand the best way to go about it

 Here are five key elements of an effective citizen development strategy and a roadmap.

1. Make sure that the company is to be on the same page

For a successful citizen, development should be a top priority in the strategic plan that creates a transformative mindset that fundamentally alters the company’s attitude towards engagement, culture, and the development of talent.

Particularly citizen development is a way to redefine the relationship between technology and business, especially in the area of digital transformation and application development. Instead of being a task-master whose responsibilities are limited to coding and fixing bugs in software, the IT role is now an increasingly strategic role that focuses on tasks that create value, such as management, data integrity as well as security. By allowing Citizen Developers to build applications with little supervision from IT Additionally it improves efficiency and productivity as well as enhances IT’s potential pool of talent by freeing up resources.

While delivering positive results the model of citizen development can pose a major challenge for change management. Implementing and scaling the model could also involve several stakeholder layers across technology and business. To ensure that these interests are aligned to avoid confusion and avoid resistance, develop change ambassadors who have a solid understanding of the organization and excellent communication abilities at every level of the business.

2. Explore your path to professional development and growth

Not everyone can or should assume the Citizen Developer position. Remember that the specific requirements for skills are contingent on the organization’s goals and goals for LCNC. The identification of the most suitable individuals and develop of their skills through effective training is crucial to maximizing the outcomes.

An LCNC model of growth for talent that integrates technology and business will help develop the necessary capabilities and create a culture that empowers employees. By clearly defining the responsibilities of each individual, and detailing the progression paths of each employee such a model can ward off the opposition and encourage employees to take on new and creative positions. Without a clearly defined growth path, LCNC can create uncertainty within IT departments over job roles and career opportunities advancement, which can negatively impact the turnover rate.

3. Create a comprehensive governance model

An operating model that is focused on citizen development is a complement to the governance structure that addresses the demands of scalability and suitability security, supportability, and accessibility of applications that are built upon the LCNC platform.

There are elements that include a flat organizational structure that is focused on value creation, and decisions based on experience instead of the rank of a person. Teams that are self-organized have clearly defined objectives and guarantee transparency of each member’s contribution. The metrics based on results measure both operational and financial performance and reward success. Tools help identify the features that are required and capabilities in the platform. Control and freedom are balanced to allow for innovation while maintaining conformity.

The creation of a center for excellence (CoE) focused on citizen development could solve some of the specific demands of LCNC implementations. In one way, a CoE blends application development expertise with software life cycle management experience along with soft communication and collaboration abilities. This integration is a way to gain the support of Citizen Developers on cross-functional teams as well as a determination to scale up and adopt citizen development. Additionally, the CoE can establish and strengthen collaboration between business and IT, as well as bring transparency, clarity, and accountability to the program.

4. Use a consistent method to review and take stock of initiatives

A solid framework to evaluate prioritizing, track, and evaluate citizen development initiatives is crucial. Without it, companies run the risk of having an uncontrolled spread of applications. Imagine a scenario in which Citizen Developers unleash their newly developed skills and create software applications like these could be Word files or PowerPoint presentations. This could result in massive technical debt and limit adoption, and create problems for enterprises and sprawl in the areas of security performance, functionality, and quality.

Assessment capabilities are essential to ensure that every application meets non-functional requirements like usability, security, and interoperability. These requirements can be overlooked during the process of developing an application which can lead to a broad variety of performance and security issues that could be harmful to the entire project as well as the company.

5. Find the right partner

Successful implementation of the LCNC model is dependent on an extensive and deep understanding of technology, strategy operation, as well as managing change. With all the moving parts companies that have a citizens development strategy will benefit from having a partner to guide them on their digital innovation path.

The most important aspects to consider when choosing a partner are the ability of the partner to be aligned with the general vision and direction while making sure that they can customize the LCNC implementation to meet particular goals. Understanding specific industry requirements is also essential and so is the capacity to match the LCNC model with the unique characteristics and skills of citizens Developers. Since business requirements will naturally change in time, partners must be able to adapt to the changing environment and the changing dynamics of competition.

LCNC (low-code and no-code)platforms as well as the model of citizen development offer new opportunities for companies looking to re-think their method of software development, facilitate digital transformation and increase the competitiveness of their business. However, the model will require essential elements like the commitment of leaders, effective governance structures, and processes to encourage collaboration and support. Third-party expertise can aid in the creation of a comprehensive strategy as well as an execution plan that connects all of these elements together to improve results and minimize the risk.

Citizen developer movement

The employees were heavily dependent on IT to improve their performance or to work. Employees had high expectations of IT to continuously develop applications and ensure that they function running smoothly, despite the latest features, updates, and other upgrades.

The burden of this kind of responsibility on one department is not feasible for them to meet the rapid changes that occur in the business landscape every single day, as well as the constantly evolving requirements of employees and customers.

This resulted in the development of the citizen movement, whose development is described in the following paragraphs:

1. The change from the traditional function of IT

IT was shifted to an entirely different position where their previous role was transformed to infrastructure development so that the necessary tools and information can be available to employees who can then use those elements to solve specific business challenges.

2. The adoption of low-code no-code programming

The core of the trend is the use of no-code low-code platforms to provide easier solutions for businesses. The majority of companies are turning to these platforms to create applications. This is a trend that is growing because it allows citizen developers to tackle market problems quickly.

3. Informing employees about the procedure

Anyone who has the knowledge of these tools may be able to be involved in the creation of applications for business and then become a citizen developer. When it comes to the issue between citizen developers opposed to. expert developers, simplicity is a major plus in favor of the citizen developer.

4. IT is the man who runs the fort

IT is still a requirement in the movement of citizen development as an over-viewer that can determine the risks associated with integrations and permissions. Without it, developers can’t develop, maintain or update solutions.

Conclusion:-

Citizenship development seems to be the best way to ensure a better future for the company. It is a successful movement that will continue to innovate over the next years. To reduce IT load and monitor shadow IT, citizen developers can be used to manage the IT backlog. Citizens developers need to have access to low-code, no-code platforms to be able to create applications. You can contact  Brisk Logic to get a no-cost trial based on the benefits we have already mentioned.