A recent survey of 5,000 CIOs shows 56% see citizen development -- the creation of applications outside of formal IT channels -- as one of their top priorities moving forward. Nearly two in five, 38%, started a citizen development program just this year.
Close to two-thirds, 65%, say citizen development will help reduce IT backlog, and 63% say it helps reduce process completion time, according to the survey published by Kissflow. People now building their own apps hail from operations (30%), human resources (28%), and marketing (20%), the survey finds.
Where does professional development end and citizen development begin? The line is increasingly fuzzy, experts agree.
Also: Meet your new IT superhero: Citizen developers flex their AI muscles
"Business users are increasingly taking on their own app development through no-code and low-code platforms that allow them to build applications without needing deep technical skills," Marinela Profi, strategic AI advisor at SAS, told ZDNet. "Platforms like these empower business users to create custom solutions, automate workflows and streamline processes that previously were the domain of developers."
For some companies, handing business users the keys to app development may be a matter of business necessity. "A while back, we encountered a significant hurdle during a CRM system change," commented Gary Hemming, owner and finance director at ABC Finance. "We couldn't wait for the IT staff or developers because of the tight deadlines and increasing costs."
To
get
applications
moving
faster,
finance
team
members
at
ABC
"decided
to
create
their
own
custom
solutions
utilizing
no-code
tools,"
Hemming
said.
"They
automated
repetitive
operations
like
manual
data
entry
and
reporting,
which
reduced
hours
of
work
to
minutes.
It
improved
our
productivity
by
25%
and
allowed
us
to
deploy
changes
within
days,
something
that
previously
took
weeks."
This
shift
"is
about
practical
problem-solving,
not
just
tech
empowerment,"
said
Hemming.
"Our
team
didn't
suddenly
want
to
be
developers
--
they
simply
needed
quicker
solutions
to
business
problems.
When
traditional
development
timeframes
or
budgets
are
too
tight,
individuals
on
the
ground
often
know
what
is
required
and
can
deliver
it
more
quickly
using
these
new
technologies.
It's
also
had
an
unexpected
impact
on
morale
--
employees
feel
empowered
when
they
see
their
efforts
directly
increasing
efficiency."
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Citizen developers come across just about every industry. "Developer teams across the globe are facing limitations, meaning companies have far fewer developer resources in general to work with," Savinay Berry, CTO and head of strategy and technology at Vonage, told ZDNet. "Low-code and no-code APIs offer a valuable tool for teams with limited resources and different skill sets to speed up the innovation process."
With such APIs, "non-IT professionals like junior product managers or business analysts can develop a basic prototype, expanding the number of people in an organization that can build apps or software systems," Berry added.
Still, other industry observers say citizen development is still in its infancy -- low-code and no-code approaches require a change in the very concept of developer.
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"Right now, we're not seeing business users take on large-scale app development traditionally done by professional developers," said Cory Chaplin, leader of West Monroe's technology and experience practice. "It's first important to clarify what app development means."
For instance, "building complex software or enterprise-level applications is not happening in a big way among business users," Chaplin added. "However, there's definitely been a big uptick in the use of citizen data science and analytics tools. We're also seeing individuals experiment with generative AI and newer, more user-friendly tools. While business users aren't building enterprise grade applications, they're making use of tools that make complex processes easier."
Obstacles still inhibit end-users from building and deploying their own applications. For starters, there is a learning curve, "even with simplified low-code and no-code tools," Berry said. "Business users might struggle with more complex logic or integrating various data sources, which still requires some technical know-how."
"The complexity of requirements can be daunting," said Profi. "Business needs often involve intricate processes and integrations that are beyond the capabilities of low-code tools. Non-technical, business-user-built applications may lack the robustness and scalability required for larger, enterprise-wide deployments. Without technical expertise, business users find challenges in ensuring applications are secure, compliant with data regulations, and aligned with company policies."
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This calls for effective collaboration "between business users and IT or developers to avoid issues like shadow IT, which can create security risks and inefficiencies," Profi added. "Addressing challenges like these involves offering more advanced tools, better training, and encouraging stronger collaboration between technical and non-technical teams."
Security is another concern "as any applications built outside of IT oversight can expose companies to vulnerabilities," said Berry. "Additionally, ensuring that these apps are scalable and can integrate smoothly with existing enterprise systems remains a challenge as collaboration with IT departments is likely still a factor here."
Also on the horizon is generative AI, which promises to accelerate citizen development of apps in a profound way. "By leveraging AI-backed tools, business users with minimal technical skills can create applications including public-facing websites, basic online marketplaces, mobile applications, virtual assistants, voice agents and chatbots, to name a few," said Berry.
For more sophisticated projects, "AI can assist these users in generating code, suggesting functionalities or even fully automating parts of the app-building process, drastically reducing the time and technical expertise required to develop apps," Berry continued. "In the future, we'll likely see AI copilots that guide users through the entire development process, from ideation to deployment."
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Given the relative simplicity of citizen development apps, software may not even be needed for certain situations, said Chaplin. "Anything a business user builds is typically done through low-code or no-code platforms, which, by their nature, are easier to use but often have limited depth and functionality. In many cases, there's no real need for end-users to build applications themselves because the problem can be solved in different ways."
Many organizations "are still understandably cautious about this wild, wild west of business users creating their own applications," said Chaplin. "There's a bit more alignment when it comes to things like citizen data analysis and analytics because it's their own data, and they understand how to interpret it. Even generative AI is still so new that it's not yet fully embraced either. There's also a bit of stigma -- many IT and tech teams aren't keen on business users taking these things into their own hands."