[ad_1]
By Dinesh Varadarajan, CPO, Pocket Flow
The way businesses create software is changing. In this age of rapid digital transformation and access to codeless and low-code tools, business leaders are increasingly empowered to develop new applications tailored to their needs. Low-code is opening the door to more collaboration, which has traditionally been a major barrier to advancing digital transformation efforts.
Likewise, the lack of skills remains a barrier to digital transformation. Labor market volatility has created a new gap between the supply and demand for skilled developer talent. With the growing demand for application development coupled with the ongoing supply/demand mismatch for developer resources, no-code and low-code tools offer more than just a temporary solution.
The collision of these two trends fundamentally changes the relationship between business and IT organizations in modern enterprises. According to a recent study by Gartner, citizen developers will outnumber professional developers 4-to-1 by 2023. How can these two employee bases fare when business employees are empowered to drive innovation in their organizations by taking on projects previously only handed over to their IT colleagues? Working together – or even getting along?
Such transitional periods bring conflict and conflict. Will IT leaders be ready to make changes to the tech stack for their untrained colleagues? Will business leaders resent the controls put in place by technology executives?
Citizen developers and IT professionals can work together to modernize operations and create new efficiencies in business processes. The key is to clearly define each team’s roles and responsibilities, keeping everyone in the organization on track to achieve shared goals.
Citizen Developers: Controlled Innovation
Necessity is the mother of innovation: In business, those closest to the problem are more likely to come up with a solution. And while civil developers may not have the same skill level or experience as their IT colleagues, they are more intimately aware of the headaches and challenges they face every day. As organizations separate responsibilities between business staff and IT professionals, the goal should be to provide channels and opportunities for citizen developers to build creative solutions to their everyday problems.
Citizen developers can make a real difference in process optimization by providing continuous improvements. These business people can develop applications using no-code or low-code platforms to automate or simplify tedious tasks, as they recognize opportunities for improvement. Over time, these improvements provide significant value by improving work flows and increasing the productivity of each employee.
IT Professionals: The Next Level Initiative
An IT employee may initially feel that a business employee is building a new software solution. Over time, however, this approach allows IT professionals to shift their focus from day-to-day process improvement to complex technical initiatives that have a greater impact on business goals. This change in approach will be rewarding as enterprises will benefit from more employees contributing to continued operational efficiency.
Certain technical developments can only be achieved by experts. For example, the new APIs are providing new opportunities for business innovators to build small applications at the same time as citizen developers. IT leaders must take responsibility for cybersecurity, especially as the efforts of citizen developers increase the overall surface area for potential attacks.
Of course, IT professionals also have a role to play in guiding and overseeing the efforts of citizen developers. An effective system gives employees the freedom to be creative while putting in place safeguards to protect the entire system.
Shared responsibilities
The best IT infrastructure is a system of checks and balances where citizens and professional developers work together toward common goals. By articulating these goals at the outset and identifying paths to success for each team, the entire organization can stay focused on innovation and growth.
In smaller organizations, this balance can be achieved by establishing an IT mentoring program – connecting citizen developers with their professional partners to foster growth. In large enterprises, IT professionals are responsible for large training sessions or courses to help business employees get the most out of their low-code tools.
As silos continue to break down in enterprises, it’s clear that business and IT teams must find new ways to work together and thrive. Working in good faith toward common goals, with a healthy respect for each other’s experiences and perspectives, can help any organization overcome economic pressures or recruiting challenges. From senior developers to new business hires, everyone has a role to play in corporate innovation.
[ad_2]
Source link
