Citizen Developer Apps are the future of App Development. Here's Why.

It’s a problem found in any organization that’s grown to a certain size. Business users need specific applications for their work, but IT is always swamped with requests from every team in the organization.

Something has to give. And usually, what gives is security.

All too often, in the frustration that comes from not getting their requests fulfilled on time, business users turn to shadow IT and third-party tools that aren’t properly vetted for their compliance with company security protocols.

This is a massive risk since insecure tools can lead to data leaks and loss of trust from customers.

But what if there was a way to alleviate all of this? What if you could actually make sure that business users get the tools that they need, on time? What if you didn’t have to hire more IT staff? What if you could satisfy everyone?

Enter the LCNC and citizen developer paradigm

No-code and low-code platforms have captured the imagination of businesses worldwide, promising a way out of the never-ending battle between IT and business in the name of citizen development.

No-code solutions provide business users with a platform to develop the apps they want, without needing to know how to code, ensuring that business users can become citizen developers, creating the applications they need, without the need to call IT for every single implementation.

By becoming citizen developers, business users don’t need to find escape in a third-party tool when they can create their own citizen development applications that meet their specifications.

But the true beauty of citizen developers is that they have a better idea of what they want to develop. They have a clearer vision of the application, and that’s not something that can be explained to anyone through flowcharts and meetings.

When they create the apps they imagine in their head, that singular vision makes for a better app than most large-scale collaborative efforts. They tend to be more usable and less cluttered than applications that are made with huge teams.

Learn more: Gartner on Citizen Development

Giving a sense of ownership in IT

For the most part, technology is just given to business departments by the IT gods. Whether it be hardware, software, passwords, or a custom solution, the relationship is very transactional. The business puts in a request, and IT either delivers or defers to a budget or time crunch.

Building out the capabilities of citizen developers changes the whole narrative. Now, instead of IT merely accepting the request for a new application, it can offer a platform and say, “Here, you can build it yourself with this tool.”

Giving business users a no-code platform to create their own business apps has many benefits. First, citizen developers have a sense of ownership over their new apps. They built them, so they want them to run perfectly. They will take them seriously and look for ways to improve them, instead of viewing them as rented property built by the IT team.

Second, building apps on a no-code platform will reveal just how complicated the process is. If there are limitations in the platform that require the IT team to come in and help, the business is looking for more of a mentor and less of someone to demand to fix their tool.

Third, there’s a greater chance that the application will be more effective. When business users make their own apps, they won’t add any additional frills to them but will demand a certain level of basic functionality. This makes the app all the more effective and powerful.

Learn more: Unlocking the power of citizen development

Apps made by citizen developers are not infallible

There is a danger when it comes to empowering citizen developers. Even with the proper tools, they may not know what to do or end up making tools that aren’t secure enough.

That’s where it becomes necessary to introduce a few platform leads into every department. They don’t have to be IT, but they should know their way around the development front enough to become a subject matter expert to guide other citizen developers.

Subject matter experts enable citizen developers by having the necessary knowledge around low-code or no-code solutions to help them with their development. By having an SME around, none of the citizen developers in your organization are left stranded whenever they need help.

Learn more: Citizen Developer vs Professional Developer

Role of CIOs and IT managers in citizen development

Democratizing the app development process by enabling non-IT users to build an app sounds like a simple idea. But it comes with a lot of hurdles that can cause major problems in an organization if not properly handled. Distributing IT work to non-technical people and segregating enterprise data will meet some resistance from top-level executives that will have to approve it.

Then there’s the challenge of getting IT and non-IT employees onboard. The responsibility of synergizing the various aspects of citizen developer initiatives often falls on the CIO or IT manager in an organization.

Here are some reasons why they must know more about citizen development, all the benefits it offers, and be more involved in it:

1. Get buy-in from high-level executives

According to Gartner, 87%^[2] of senior business leaders say digitalization is a priority. But this does not mean they’ll always be on board with citizen development initiatives. In fact, one of the major causes of failure in digital transformation initiatives is the lack of buy-in from high-level executives within an organization.

The CEO, board members, and other key decision-makers within an organization will only trust technology projects sanctioned by the CIO or IT manager who can effectively communicate the potential benefits of adopting a citizen development approach to them.

Learn more: How Does Citizen Development Facilitate Digital Transformation?

2. Put the “citizen” in citizen development

The so-called citizens that are being empowered to build their own apps may not always want these apps. They were not primarily hired to perform such tasks and may not be hyped about it. Only a fraction of non-IT employees will be naturally interested in taking up app development. It’ll take effort from the IT manager to get them onboard with creating technology and not just using it.

According to Mckinsey, 70%^[3] of digital transformations fail, most often due to resistance from employees. Even in cases where employees are already using some form of technology to simplify their tasks, CIOs will still have to encourage the adoption of low-code technology that introduces a different level of innovation to how they work.

Like the high-level decision-makers, employees must understand the benefits of citizen development, and only an IT manager that is fully aware of these benefits can sell the platform to them.

3. Foster collaboration between IT teams and citizen developers

Doing citizen development without involving IT will only lead to Shadow IT (a dangerous form of IT that can open the door to various security and IT infrastructure challenges). The CIO will have to serve as the much-needed bridge that encourages cooperation between the traditional IT team and the citizen developers.

This ensures that business users are creating apps that are compliant with established IT policies as well as the performance and security requirements as determined by the IT department. The two groups cannot work in isolation or the desired transformational impact will not be achieved.

4. Showcase the benefits to IT teams

Some sort of animosity is expected between traditional IT and citizen developers. Many would consider citizen development an unwanted invasion into their space and would resist such changes. It is the responsibility of the CIO to show these people that citizen development can be beneficial to them as well.

This includes showing them how low-code platforms can free them from the responsibilities of building apps that citizen developers can build on their own and allow them to focus on more important and challenging issues within the organization.

Learn more: How Citizen Development Unites Business and IT

Conclusion

IT often bears the brunt of an organization’s growth,  more than any other department. But with proper planning, a good low-code or no-code platform, and some clear restructuring in your organization, that doesn’t have to be the case. The transition can be relatively smooth as well.

If you’re on the hunt for an easy-to-use no-code platform that you can teach your organization to use without extensive effort and massive restructuring, try Citizen Development Platform. It’s got a plethora of tools that are easy to understand for anyone, without having to know how to code beforehand. If you’re interested, you can get a free trial and check it out yourself.