Citizen Development, AI, Fusion Teams, & the Future of Work

Ideas

Citizen Development

• AI and citizen development: Limits and opportunities - Dr Noel Carroll does an excellent job explaining where and how deficits in AI require human involvement. AI isn't creative. AI can't explain its own reasoning. AI doesn't have common sense.
• Pegasystems CEO says we are in age of citizen developers - Alan Trefler argues that citizen development is not only possible, but also vital. But organizations need to be careful not to mistake shadow IT for citizen development and focus on getting three pillars right: (1) executive support, (2) governance, and (3) upskilling. It also involves rethinking the role of IT as coach and practice manager is crucial for preventing the risk.
• Evolving Citizen Development to Meet AppDev Demand - Mike Fitzmaurice observes that we're been doing 'citizen development' now for nearly 10 years. During that time we've seen both promise and peril. He nicely describes the 'murky middle' problem that I wrote about last week, noting that organizations often see software development as either all-IT or -no-IT, when one of the best ways to view citizen development is through the lens of "collaboration, not abdication." In this, he proposes the idea of a 'citizen designer' who works as a member of a fusion team.
• Low code/no code solves skill shortages, but there’s a catch - Interesting comments from Venkat Thiruvengadam on low-code, automation, and the future of work. “People will be like, I have to hire all these expensive skill sets to deal with like half of the work anyways. They have time, I’m paying them salary, they might as well just go to the whole thing. Why do I have to deal with these two systems? Jobs are not getting eliminated, but it changes things. You have to evolve from what you were doing for a long period of time to doing something new.”

Artificial Intelligence

• A Look in the Engineers’ Toolbox: Low-Code for AI - Johanna Pingel writes that AI is not a 'get out of work free card.' AI can make tasks significantly easier, but domain expertise and clarity about project objectives are perhaps even more important now than before.
• 5 methods to adopt responsible generative AI practice at work - great ideas for 'boring' and productive ways to use IA, including documentation automation and further democratizing software development via low-code software. Essential in all applications, however, is strong domain expertise and prudence (governance) to mitigate potential risks.

True Stories (Case Studies)

Kellogg and Upskilling for the Digital World of Work

"As the demand for technology applications (apps) continues to grow, we will see citizen development become the norm. Citizen development is a business process that encourages non-IT employees to become software developers using IT approved platforms to create business applications. This year we will enable and encourage our organization to develop their own apps, by building a community approach to learning and support."

Upcoming events

Pegasystems community events

1. App Studio for Citizen Developers: An Introduction (April 19, 2023, 11 - 12 PM EDT)
2. Pega Citizen Development Show & Tell (May 25, 2023, 11 - 12 PM EDT)

Are you a Pega Citizen Developer? Join our community of practice on LinkedIn!