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Citizen development is the process of non-technical employees building applications without knowing how to code, using no-code and low-code platforms. Any interested employee with a learning interest and a knack for technology can become a citizen developer, with some training. Employees who are power users or business developers already have an upper hand and can be recruited for this initiative easily. Your organization needs to be clear regarding the roles and responsibilities associated with becoming a citizen developer, along with providing access to the appropriate tools. Figuring out who can become a citizen developer within your organization can also help you get an idea of the total scale and scope of this initiative.

You may be able to find employees who can become citizen developers across departments and disciplines within your organization. Creating a list of candidates and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each can help you create teams and decide which responsibilities can be distributed. Asking this question is important as you can accurately predict the scope and scale of the initiative and plan ahead depending on the number of citizen developers.

Your organization will also have to choose between a variety of methods and platforms for actually creating the applications. Ideally, an organization should have a unified platform on which all of the citizen developers can work and collaborate. ​ This platform should be capable enough to deter employees from using any other unauthorized software to create applications, which can lead to shadow IT. Ensure that your platform can meet all of your citizen developer’s needs so that you can avoid any unpleasant surprises in the future! You also need to outline and finalize the processes that will be followed by these employees. Without a clear method of working, the citizen developers may flounder instead of thriving. The citizen developers should also be trained and informed about the regular methods and processes followed by the application development and delivery teams. Adopting similar processes can ensure that these departments are aligned and can ensure a more streamlined way of working.

Many questions need to be answered within the organization before settling on a certain no-code/low-code platform. There are a wide variety of apps and platforms on the market, so make sure to create a checklist of the features and integrations that you need before going platform hunting. Sometimes, ready-to-use products in the market might not meet your requirements, so you might need to create a unique platform according to your specifications. Make sure to put a lot of thought into this decision, as it can dictate how the rest of this initiative goes. If you choose a suitable platform, your initiative may become extremely successful. However, if you rush and choose an unfit platform, it can result in a failed initiative and losses in both time and money for the organization. Choose wisely and start your citizen development program on the right note.

There are a wide variety of projects that need to be handled in the IT department, and it’s important to define what can and can’t be handled by the citizen developers. Due to the different skill levels of each type of developer, it can be beneficial to assign projects depending on the overall complexity. Citizen developers aren’t formally trained in application development, which can pose a problem for tackling complex applications. Meanwhile, professional developers know a lot about application development but need to handle repetitive, everyday projects that take up time. They may also be creating Business-to-Employee (B2E) applications, which doesn’t pose a challenge and can be done by creating templates to follow. A good compromise can be allowing the professional developers to work on mission-critical projects with a lot of technological complexity which can pose a challenge and keep them engaged with their work. Meanwhile, the citizen developers can tackle general projects that are low in complexity but great for learning more about application development. The citizen developers may also have different ideas for solving a problem, which can lead to innovative and unique solutions. You can divide up your projects according to a system that works best for you, but this framework for the delegation of application development projects is important to ensure that this initiative goes smoothly. Also, Find out where your organization stands in the world of citizen development.

You’ll also have to decide which apps will be a top priority for your citizen developers. Different types of apps need to be created and you need to decide whether the internal or customer-facing apps will be prioritized. Also, the citizen developers will probably have other tasks and responsibilities for their other roles in the company, so you need to define which tasks should be prioritized by them. Answering these questions will provide your citizen developers with a clear idea of what is expected of them and what their roles and responsibilities will be moving forward in this new role.

Often, businesses have to pivot and respond to changes in the environment immediately, and long development times can seriously hinder this process. This can result in business leaders taking action in the form of buying or procuring tools that can help improve efficiency within their jobs. They may also try to creatively use pre-existing tools to become more efficient. The long development times are often a consequence of having accumulated a lot of IT backlog, resulting in a lack of professional developers to tackle all of the projects. This IT backlog can prompt business users to look for their solutions if the IT department cannot provide them with one within the timeframe that they need. Organizations have started using citizen development to accelerate digital innovation/transformation and increase responsiveness to the business. The scale and responsibilities of your citizen developers will depend on the total amount of IT backlog within the IT department. As the citizen developers don’t have formal training when it comes to coding and application development, they may be able to help with smaller projects that are required for improving workflows or project management. Lessening this IT backlog burden can help increase the IT department’s focus on business-critical transformative projects, leading to digital innovation and change throughout the organization in the long run.

Within an organization, there are often common goals and deadlines that need to be met to ensure that a project goes successfully. This can only happen when the IT departments and business teams are aligned regarding these goals. The sole responsibility for making decisions regarding technology in the organization no longer rests with the IT department, which means that they need to be vigilant when others are making technology decisions. With a clear focus on the end goal, the business and IT teams can work together to create the functionalities that are needed. To facilitate this collaboration, many organizations are turning to low-code/no-code platforms to bridge the gap. When citizen developers are allowed to build applications in an IT-governed secure platform, these applications can help fulfill the needs of the business teams while using the technical know-how of the IT department. If your business leaders and IT department are aligned towards a unified goal or vision, your citizen development initiative will have a much smoother transition.

Shadow IT is the use or purchase of any software without the IT department knowing. This can become a huge problem for companies that are trying to implement a citizen development initiative. If each person starts assuming that they know best and uses their own chosen app, the IT department will be hard-pressed to have an accurate estimate of how many apps are in current use and how many are redundant. This can lead to various cybersecurity concerns and potential data breaches depending on the information that is being transmitted using these new unknown apps. Forming a strategy for dealing with shadow IT is imperative as it can prevent security disasters in the future. One of the best strategies to avoid this is to allow citizen developers to build applications on a secure platform that is owned and governed by the IT department. This ensures that there is a closed environment in which citizen developers can experiment in, and the IT department can easily keep an eye out for any possible problems in the applications being built. There are multiple ways to combat this issue and it’s particularly important to have asked and answered this question before going ahead with your citizen development endeavor

You will need to develop a framework for governing the citizen development initiative. Leaving it all in the hands of the IT department could lead to it simply becoming another burden. So, business leaders and IT professionals need to work together to build a robust framework that can ensure the security of the data of the organization and catch any possible mishaps. The citizen developers also need to be made aware of this framework and what it entails to ensure that they’re on board with the idea. They’ll be the ones operating in this environment so it’s important to take their opinions into account as well to an extent.

Citizen developers can come from a variety of backgrounds, across your organization. Each of these individuals will have their domain knowledge from their current departments, making them a great asset for applications that need to be created within that department. There may also be differences in the skill levels and capabilities of the employees, which will require an analysis of their overall growth as a citizen developer. However, each organization and company may handle this differently.

We've made a perfect starting point. So you can get creating today. All the functions that are standard in Citizen Developer are listed below. ​ What you get, straight from the start: CRM, HRM, Opportunity Management, Order Processing & Logistics, Production & Shop Floor, Stock Control, Warehousing, Case Management or ITIL, Work Orders, Override Security, Create Tables, Fields & Views, Query Builder, Lookup Editor and Translation Editor. If you are questioning what everything means, no worries we explained everything below. Register today and start creating your visions and dreams into working applications.

What it means: CRM is a system used by businesses to manage interactions and relationships with current and potential customers. It typically involves organizing customer data, tracking interactions, and managing sales pipelines. What it does: CRM helps businesses improve customer relationships by centralizing customer information, facilitating communication, and providing insights to better understand customer needs and preferences.

What it means: HRM involves managing the human resources of an organization, including tasks like recruitment, employee onboarding, performance management, training, and payroll. What it does: HRM systems streamline administrative tasks related to managing employees, ensure compliance with employment laws and regulations, and support the development and retention of a skilled workforce.

What it means: Opportunity management refers to the process of identifying, tracking, and managing potential sales opportunities within a business. What it does: It helps businesses monitor leads, analyze sales pipelines, and prioritize efforts to maximize revenue generation.

What it means: This involves managing the process of receiving, fulfilling, and shipping customer orders, as well as overseeing the associated logistics such as inventory management and transportation. What it does: Order processing and logistics systems ensure efficient handling of orders from placement to delivery, minimizing errors and delays in fulfillment.

What it means: This pertains to managing manufacturing processes and activities that occur on the shop floor, including production scheduling, quality control, and equipment maintenance. What it does: These systems optimize production efficiency, track work-in-progress, and ensure that manufacturing operations meet quality standards and deadlines.

What it means: Stock control, or inventory management, involves overseeing the levels and movement of inventory within a business. What it does: Stock control systems help businesses track stock levels, forecast demand, and manage replenishment to prevent stockouts or overstocking.

What it means: Warehousing refers to the storage and management of goods within a warehouse facility. What it does: Warehousing systems organize inventory within the warehouse, optimize space utilization, and facilitate efficient inbound and outbound logistics.

What it means: Case management involves managing and resolving individual cases or incidents, often following ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) best practices for IT service management. What it does: Case management systems track and document cases from initiation to resolution, ensuring timely and effective handling of issues or requests.

What it means: Work orders are instructions or requests for specific tasks or services to be performed, often in a maintenance or service context. What it does: Work order management systems assign, track, and prioritize work orders, helping organizations efficiently manage service delivery and maintenance activities.

What it means: Override security allows authorized users to bypass or override certain security restrictions or permissions within a system. What it does: It grants specific users or roles the ability to access, modify, or execute functions that would otherwise be restricted, typically for legitimate reasons such as troubleshooting or administrative tasks.

What it means: This involves designing and configuring database structures, including tables to store data, fields to define the attributes of data, and views to present data in a particular format. What it does: It enables users to define the structure of databases according to their specific requirements, facilitating efficient data storage, retrieval, and analysis.

What it means: A query builder is a tool or interface used to construct database queries visually or through a simplified syntax, without requiring direct knowledge of database query languages like SQL. What it does: Query builders simplify the process of querying databases by providing a user-friendly way to specify search criteria and retrieve desired data.

What it means: A lookup editor is a feature or tool used to manage lookup tables or lists within a system, which are used to provide predefined values for selection in data entry fields. What it does: Lookup editors allow administrators or users to maintain and customize lookup tables, ensuring accurate and consistent data entry.

What it means: A translation editor is a tool or interface used to manage translations of text or content within a software application or system, facilitating localization for different languages or regions. What it does: Translation editors enable users to view, edit, and manage translations of text strings or content elements, ensuring multilingual support and localization compliance.