Translated into German, the term citizen developer means something like “civilian developer” or “department developer.” Citizen developers are tech-savvy employees who create IT applications for their own department.
The company provides the citizen developer with a standardized development environment in the form of Low-code or no-code platforms available. In contrast to professional software developers, citizen developers have no special programming or IT skills and are usually dependent on supporting software tools. With the help of the platforms, citizen developers can, for example, create simple web applications using the proven modular principle. As end users and experienced experts in their field, Citizen Developers know all requirements within the department and are particularly suitable for software development of context-relevant programs.
Citizen developers are being used due to a shortage of IT specialists
Citizen developers play a central role in the digital transformation of companies. By using specialized department developers, the path is shortened — from the actual idea to the finished software. Since Citizen Developers are always knowledgeable and knowledgeable, they are familiar with the problems, tasks, goals and processes of their own department. As a result, citizen developers can develop independent applications as needed and without much training time. In companies worldwide, there are significantly more potential citizen developers than professional software developers. In addition, the lack of IT capacities is definitely an important bottleneck when it comes to digitizing business processes.
IT departments in companies generally have limited resources. This creates a comparatively long backlog (list) with the desired solutions that have not yet been implemented in practice. Thanks to today's software solutions in the form of cloud, low-code, no-code and SaaS tools, just about every employee can contribute to development and work as a citizen developer. Department developers can act independently of the respective capacities of their IT department and accelerate digital transformation in companies enormously.
The need for citizen developers is increasing
According to experienced analysts at Forrester Research, citizen developers will play an increasingly important role in the future and will be used more and more frequently in application development. According to a study by the market research company, around 24 percent of all application developers were based in companies outside their respective IT department as early as 2019.
According to experienced analysts, this significant trend is expected to increase even further due to the increasingly frequent use of popular low-code tools. The well-known market researchers from Gartner Inc. predict that the number of citizen developers will increase significantly in the future. According to Gartner, four times as many citizen developers will be working in companies by 2023 as professional developers.
In order to successfully establish citizen development, the companies involved must definitely develop a suitable strategy and opt for the optimal technology. Analysts and market researchers see a strong trend in the use of popular low-code platforms. Forrester experts expect the market for low-code platforms to expand by at least 40 percent over the next 2 years. By 2024, around 65 percent of all application developments are to be carried out using low-code tools.
Citizen development from a company perspective
IT and technologies have become an integral part of our everyday lives. Most customers are used to using programs from their private areas that work simply and quickly and are also mobile. In addition, understanding and learning curve are constantly increasing. Although customers and specialist departments are not becoming IT experts, the demands on day-to-day business are constantly increasing.
If it is easily possible today as a private consumer to submit an application online, then this expectation naturally also manifests itself in business life. A particularly negative example: The negative experience of employees has an impact on the company's customers. Many companies still work internally with cumbersome Word documents and countless Excel spreadsheets. Should a customer service representative rummage through this messy information network at the customer's request, he will usually encounter several problems with the quality of the data. In the worst case scenario, this results in dissatisfied customer service agents and dissatisfied customers. End users need three important things so that they can complete their tasks with the highest level of satisfaction:
- the right IT support
- the right processes
- the right technology
Citizen developers provide companies with several advantages
Every citizen developer has a big advantage called an outside perspective. Many professional developers lack this or is only available to a small extent. In simple terms, a citizen developer knows what is important to users in the programs. Users usually have either no or at least no in-depth IT knowledge. In the business sector, a citizen developer is particularly valuable for companies. IT systems are essential in these areas and users often lack the appropriate background.
Every citizen developer deployed increases the company's productivity because he performs additional development work. Many citizen developers start their careers on their own. They usually encounter a major problem and solve it outside of their working hours and with the help of their own development. In this way, future citizen developers draw attention to their talent. At the same time, they present their company with a practical solution to the problem. If employees are then allowed to continue working as citizen developers in their company, they are extremely motivated and feel a special form of appreciation.
How does the IT Citizen Developer rate?
The main task of the IT department is to ensure that everyday business operations run as smoothly as possible. In addition, the IT department must complete many other tasks. IT managers must update the company's internal IT infrastructure and also develop programs that meet the high expectations of customers and management. This great pressure is intensified because most IT departments have too thin staffing levels. At the end of 2019, on average, every third company in Germany was looking for new developers. Should the IT department in the company not just limit itself to important maintenance and also become creative again, it is definitely in the interest of all parties involved if the IT departments integrate citizen developers into their processes. Citizen development takes place within and outside IT departments.
Citizen developers are employees or applications from the specialist department who develop programs for their own area. In principle, can
- with the support of the in-house IT department and existing development environments (low-code and no-code platforms)
- independent of the in-house IT department
Nowadays, a citizen developer doesn't have to be a professional IT developer anymore. This could be, for example, a former software developer who is now active in the respective specialist department. Or it is a company employee who creates smaller programs at home in his spare time. In addition, it is possible for several department developers to work together in one team. A citizen developer:
- knows all requirements for the software solution to be developed, as he and his respective department are both users and beneficiaries
- has no time to wait for new features to be released, to adapt existing functions, or to fix bugs
Citizen development versus shadow IT
Employees in companies who are tech-savvy and develop independent solutions for their own specialist area are by no means new. In most cases, such applications were implemented without the support and knowledge of the responsible IT department. Individual employees or entire specialist departments procure, program or operate software autonomously, this is known as shadow IT (shadow development). Without the knowledge and control of the in-house IT department, such an unofficial secondary system exists alongside the existing IT infrastructure. In most cases, the secondary system does not meet organizational requirements in terms of documentation, control, reliability and security.
Citizen development differs from shadow IT in several areas. The IT departments of the departments provide every citizen developer with a standardized environment for the development of applications and thus the applications can be programmed on a uniform, technological basis. Citizen Development is not an unofficial secondary system like shadow IT, but an official part of companies' existing IT infrastructure right from the start. Companies benefit from the innovations and initiative of their individual specialist areas. In addition, the implementation of Citizen Developer solutions can be monitored centrally and continuously by the in-house IT department. The programs, which are documented in writing, function reliably and meet all safety-related requirements.
The development of software applications in business sectors is constantly increasing. The providers of no-code and low-code platforms have identified this development as a huge future market. To gain a foothold, try to combine the advantages of existing shadow IT with central software development.
Citizen Developer — Disadvantages and Challenges
Citizen development not only has advantages. Companies are faced with a number of disadvantages and challenges. The following questions and problems must be answered and resolved:
- What is the quality of the implemented software solution in terms of documentation, code coverage and code smells?
- How well and extensively is the developed software tested, how secure are the applications and who has the rights and options?
- How well is the process for collecting the necessary requirements?
- How are stakeholders involved in detail and how are the possible scenarios considered in practice?
- Who is responsible for maintaining and maintaining the developed software?
- Who carries out any necessary refactoring in the company?
- Who is the point of contact if problems arise?
The use of a citizen developer can reduce existing development costs, as the activities do not require additional programming experts and resources. However, if a full cost calculation is carried out, including an analysis of opportunity costs, the benefits of citizen development are no longer universal.
Are there any problems or risks when using a Citizen Developer?
The integration of software developments from a citizen developer requires the use of a professional programmer in most cases. Integration is extremely difficult in some companies because some citizen developers do not comply with current standards. In addition, the work of citizen developers can create unwanted shadow IT that exists in addition to regular IT systems and is usually not adequately documented. Should important work processes be moved to the newly created shadow IT, this can become a problem for the company. For these reasons, there are some critical voices that question the extent to which companies should rely on the development work of a citizen developer.
Citizen developers help with digital transformation
Citizen development is increasingly becoming a central part of application creation in companies. Many companies suffer from a shortage of skilled workers and are unable to advance their IT projects. To ensure that application development does not come to a complete standstill and continues to progress at an above-average speed, it should be pushed forward with all available resources. Citizen developers can accordingly close the gap created by the shortage of skilled workers and help affected companies to successfully advance their digital transformation. In order for citizen developers to be able to effectively help companies, they absolutely need the support of their in-house IT department and must also have access to all necessary tools.
The low-code and no-code platforms play a key role in this context, as they create a connection between specialist departments and IT. With the help of these special platforms, development work in companies can be significantly accelerated and this has a positive effect on entrepreneurial success. Citizen developers ensure significantly shorter waiting times, because the specialist departments don't have to wait for the in-house overloaded IT to take care of the respective problems.
Citizen developers create independent solutions with low-code and no-code platforms. These speed up internal processes in companies and help to achieve greater employee satisfaction. Thanks to the platforms, citizen developers are no longer forced to create their solutions in so-called shadow IT. With the help of low-code platforms, the developed solutions can be easily monitored and placed in the official corporate context. Through their technical affinity, existing expertise and creativity, citizen developers contribute significantly and sustainably to the success of the company.
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