A Complete Guide to Citizen Development

Could citizen development be the answer to your tech-based woes? If you’re curious, then join us on this journey as we explore just how powerful and rewarding "citizen development" can be.

Stabilizing your business in the digital age comes with new challenges and customer expectations, but citizen development can be a powerful ally. As digitalization and advancing technology dramatically shift the business landscape, innovative solutions are essential to sustained success. 

IT teams have their hands full managing tech backlogs, so leveraging citizen developers for faster, more efficient solutions is an essential step towards hit! According to the article, 80% of organizations think citizen developers are reducing the workload of their IT departments.

What is citizen development?

Citizen development is the idea that people who are not professional developers can build apps with the help of easy-to-use tools. It is a citizen-driven approach to digital transformation that gives your teams the ability to build custom applications and solve their own problems. 

Citizen developers don’t need coding experience. Instead, they use low-code software platforms and APIs from other platforms to create process-specific mobile or web applications. With this concept, people with limited technical backgrounds can combine their skills and expertise with digitalization. 

Check out the pricing of the low-code platform, Kuika to get started now.

In this way, managers, HRs, customer service, and non-technical workers have the opportunity to develop target-specific tools without writing code. As a result, they add value to their fields and businesses.

Professional developer or citizen developer: what's the difference?

In recent years, the terms professional developer and citizen developer have been cropping up more and more in conversations about development. Let's explore the key distinctions between the two. 

Professional developers

• typically have access to more formal methods of education, including college-level study, and continued learning instruction tailored to their job roles. 
• understand the complexities of programming languages and possess project management skills. 
• come with an in-depth knowledge of software architecture, and they solve complex programming problems.

Citizen developers

• are typically self-taught users who understand basic coding fundamentals. 
• apply their skills acquired through blogs, forums, libraries, video courses, or tutorials. 
• often educate themselves, so their knowledge and ability may be narrower in scope.
• do, however, bring useful technical solutions based on their unique perspectives. Using drag-and-drop tools, citizen developers can create applications tailored to their needs without a significant amount of coding expertise.
• can build apps quickly with low-code platforms.

Citizen developers are no substitute for your whole IT team. It would be beneficial to work with citizen developers who can support the IT team. This way, IT can devote time to more complex tasks to increase efficiency in business processes.

What can citizen developers create?

Citizen development can be a powerful tool in business, allowing your employees to create applications and programs tailored precisely to their own needs. To understand what citizen developers are capable of, we can just check low code’s various use cases. 

Some of those are:

• Mobile applications that are customized to their day-to-day operations,
• Mobile-friendly web pages,
• Sophisticated database systems,
• Dashboards and reports,
• Prototypes and MVPs,
• Automating business processes.

Furthermore, citizen developers can change existing programs and apps. It makes them more efficient or effective. Ultimately, citizen development gives individuals the power to design projects that are suitable for their own unique needs.

Moreover, no matter what industry you work in, your teams can make the workflows smoother and more efficient by using low code.

Why citizen developers?

Citizen developers offer a wealth of benefits to organizations that leverage their expertise.

• They provide cost savings since they are typically already employed. 
• They often have a good understanding of how an organization works and what solutions would be most effective.
• Citizen developers reduce the workload of the IT team thanks to these platforms.
• They can also build agile applications faster, without needing the same degree of technical training that IT professionals require. 
• Their knowledge of user needs is unparalleled and they can even bring fresh perspectives and ideas to the application development process. 
• They can be employees from different departments. In this way, citizen developers can improve the functioning between their departments and IT. 

With these talented individuals on board, you can quickly deliver cutting-edge digital products that meet users' needs while staying ahead of competitors.

How to get started with citizen development

Achieving citizen development requires honing vital skills and adhering to best practices. To easily craft your app, it's essential to get familiar with user experience fundamentals so users can benefit from a smooth journey while navigating around your creation.

It's time to take the next step and harness the power of low-code platforms – a revolutionary way to build apps with less coding. From the flexibility in customizing your app, to a wealth of support resources available so you can get help on hand when needed; there are plenty of features and options out there for those who want fast access to creating their own mobile or web application! 

Discover Kuika’s low-code platform to get the most out of citizen development.

Do your homework, be informed about what’s possible - then make doorways open up toward success. With the right low-code platform in place, you can begin your journey of citizen development and build a powerful app that meets your user's needs. 

Final Words

In the rapidly changing business world, the need for new applications arises quickly and often. Rather than wait for a professional developer to become available or spend a lot of money on an outside development team, consider working with citizen developers. 

With Kuika’s low-code platform, citizen developers can create the necessary applications in a fraction of the time it would take for a professional developer. Plus, since citizen developers are typically already familiar with your company’s processes and data, they require minimal training which saves even more time and money. Get started for free.