Citizen Developer Trends

8/16/2019 Citizen Developer Trends

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Heroes or Villains?

How IT SeesCitizen Developers

A Survey of Rapid Application Delivery Platform Users


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Index

Digital Transformation Requires Business to Think Differently

Working in Harmony for Enterprise Success

Investigating the Role of the Citizen Developer

Survey Results

Case Study: Allan Bros

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Digital Transformation Requires

Business to Think DifferentlyEnterprises Prot from Faster Rates of Innovation

According to McKinsey and Company, businesses on the digital frontier experience two to

three times faster prot margin growth. The rm also states that by 2025, digitalization is

expected to contribute $2 trillion to US GDP and could displace up to 12 million middle-skill

workers. Companies, governments, and other organizations should prepare for the challeng-

es and opportunities that digital transformation will bring.*

The Rise of the Citizen Developer

Silos that separate employees by function slow down the pace of innovation, and so

business leaders are insisting their organizations remove the barriers that hinder advance-

ment. To make this happen, companies are enabling employees who will use a business

application to have a hand in its development. These “Citizen Developers” have roles that are

removed from software and application development. Their knowledge of the business,

however, makes them instrumental to the development of elegant, powerful applications

that solve business problems and accelerate digital transformation.

*The Accelerating Digitization of the US Economy,February 2016, McKinsey Global Institute

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Empowering Citizen Developers

Rapid application development and delivery (RAD) platforms offer faster development and

deployment times and reduce IT backlog. Equally impor tant, these platforms enable compa-

nies to harness knowledge capital f rom all levels. The use of visual development and the

elimination of most hand-coding means almost anyone can design a business application. In

essence, RAD platforms provide Citizen Developers a sandbox for applying their knowledge

of the business to application development. Different groups in a company are able to

exchange knowledge and skills while gaining a better understanding of company goals and

how various business initiatives contribute to achieving those objectives.

How Does IT Benet?

RAD platforms can bring development under one roof. They provide a solution that ensures

traditional IT departments retain control over processes related to security, governance,

reliability, integration, and other standards.

And, by shifting resources away from basic app development to tasks that are more strategic

to the company, IT is seen as supplying leadership rather than simply offering coding andtechnical skills.

“I completely changed my lifewith OutSystems, I was the rstclient to adopt it in Italy, andI’m still enthusiastic about it.”

Paolo PalmisanoRisk Manager, BANOR SIM SpAMilan, Italy

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Working in Harmony forEnterprise Success

Why Citizen Developers Need IT

By empowering line of business employees to build apps, business units can avoid the waits

caused by backlogs in their IT departments. Yet, even with the latest generation of RAD

platforms, Citizen Developers still need IT to help them with integration, deployment and

security. IT ensures that Citizen Developers are designing applications safely, with control,

and that their applications conform to company standards.

Why IT Needs Citizen Developers

Digital transformation is a priority, and IT is tasked with delivering the most impact and

speeding the pace of delivery. By enabling Citizen Developers to initiate application projects,

IT can increase its strategic value to the enterprise.

Why the Enterprise Needs This to Work

Applications that are built for specic business purposes and processes enable enterprises to

gain quick wins and improvements. Time is of the essence, and relying on traditional applica-

tion development techniques places a burden on IT.

Moving to digital business requires a newer and faster approach to application development.

Implementing a well-designed platform that empowers Citizen Developers to participate in

building apps -- which they and their peers will use - - can provide organizations with keen

insight into the business while ensuring speed and security.

CitizenDevelopers

IT

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Investigating the Roleof the Citizen Developer

A Survey Sheds Light

With an objective of understanding the effect of Citizen Developers on the industry,

TechValidate surveyed nearly 200 enterprise IT professionals and executives who use

OutSystems Platform for rapid enterprise application delivery. Their responses shed light on

the role of the Citizen Developer in organizations and how IT can use their work to increase

the pace of innovation.

The responses also offer insights into how IT can:

• Enable Citizen Developers to reduce IT backlog

• Retain control over the development process

• Prevent “shadow IT” from building apps that lack security, reliability

and documentation

• Involve application end-users in early design and development phases

• Deliver apps that solve business challenges and integrate with legacy systems

• Meet application architecture, security and governance standards

Survey Information

The majority of respondents are IT professionals from banking, nance, technology,

transportation, energy, utilities, healthcare, and government as well as other industries. Their

responses helped TechValidate uncover IT and Citizen Developer trends in organizations of

all sizes, sectors and locations.

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Survey Results

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Are Citizen

Developers a Reality? The majority of organizations responding to this

survey have not begun to implement Citizen

Developer programs. However, 32% indicated they

were currently enabling or planning to enable Citizen

Developers, thus indicating a growing trend.

“The Platform supports fast learning and develop-

ment of both smart and desktop services using agile

development methodology, among many other

features.”

Ibrahim AbdohIT Manager, Dubai CourtsDubai, United Arab Emirates

Does your company enable employees, who are not developers by trade (Citizen

Developers), to create apps?

https://www.techvalidate.com/tvid/1FD-AFD-281

Only IT and “coders by trade” build appsin our organization 68%

We will enable Citizen Developers in thenext 1-3 months 5%

We currently enable Citizen Developers17%

We are considering enabling CitizenDevelopers 10%

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Who Are the CitizenDevelopers?

The majority of respondents conrm that Citizen

Developers are employees who are not in IT, but

instead are either analysts or other business

professionals.

“The Platform is very easy to use and you don't

necessarily have to be experienced in development

to create websites and applications easily.”

Jonathan Bick IT Specialist, AXA UK PLC

England

How would you dene the term Citizen Developer? This is a multiple-choice question - response percentages may not add up to 100.

Employees, who are not professionally trained developers,creating applications in IT or in a business line.

A business analyst or business professional creating apps

An Excel, Access, Lotus Notes or similar power user creating apps

Professional developers reporting directly to a line of business

Former software engineers that moved to a marketing, sales or operations role

Former Cobol or Access/VBA programmer creating apps outsi de of IT

Other

https://www.techvalidate.com/tvid/A98-B28-435

64%

52%

25%

24%

12%

9%

7%

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https://www.techvalidate.com/tvid/BDB-579-B6F

Top 7 BenetsCompanies Gain from

Citizen DevelopersEnterprises that use Citizen Developers increase their

rate of innovation on initiatives directly related to

improving the efficiency of their business.

From speeding up the process to saving money,

reducing IT backlog and increasing innovation,

respondents indicate that Citizen Developers bring

real value to the enterprise.

Beyond that, they can free IT to use its resources in

ways that are more strategic and productive to the

organization.

“OutSystems Platform is an awesome tool set thatsaves an enormous amount of time.”

Robert Holbrook IT Manager, Atos IT Services UK, LtdLondon, UK

What were the primary benets realized by your organization from empowering

Citizen Developers? This is a multiple-choice question - response percentages may not add up to 100.

Faster time to app delivery

Lower cost of delivery

Enable innovation through technology outside of IT

More visibility within organization

IT/Business relationship strengthened

Distribute / Decentralize IT backlog

Less shadow IT

Other

67%

48%

41%

41%

39%

37%

30%

4%

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https://www.techvalidate.com/tvid/2DE-454-6D5

PrototypingApplicationsDominates Citizen

Developer ProjectsNearly three-quarters of respondents indicate that

prototyping applications is the primary activity for

Citizen Developers. This response demonstrates the

need to increase speed when it comes to developing

apps that solve existing business challenges. As

more companies use Citizen Developers and more

non-IT employees join their ranks, the number that

will be prototyping will likely increase. However, the

small percentage that are building robust enterprise

apps will almost certainly not remain that small.

“The development team have picked up the use of

OutSystems in record time and actually enjoy devel-oping within this tool! Excellent (and refreshing) for

me as a manager to not have moans and groans

about the actual system!”

Esther ConranCustomer Engagement & Innovation Team Manager,Worcestershire County CouncilEngland

To what level have “non-professional coders” (Citizen Developers) been able to build apps

using OutSystems Platform? This is a multiple-choice question - response percentages may not add up to 100.

Able to prototype applications

Able to build small departmental apps

Able to build functional employee-facing apps

Only IT builds apps in our organization

Able to build robust customer-facing app

Able to build robust enterprise apps

79%

49%

29%

16%

16%

8%

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https://www.techvalidate.com/tvid/69A-281-488

When Do CitizenDevelopers Hit the

Wall?Almost three-quarters of our respondents say that

their Citizen Developers require assistance with

integration. Other areas they need help with include

back-end processes, database development, and

workow.

As much as Citizen Developers can do on their own,at some point they need IT to take over their applica-

tion. By providing employees with a RAD platform, IT

can retain control and ensure that apps meet

standards for integration and other areas.

“I have been very impressed in the quality of the

Platform, it’s completeness, and the ability to execute

on projects with clients.”

Robert StephensPartner, Fortium PartnersAtlanta, GA - USA

Using OutSystems Platform, which parts of the application development process do Citizen

Developers require technical assistance with?

This is a multiple-choice question - response percentages may not add up to 100.

Integration

Back-end processes

Database development

Workows / Rules

Front-end UI design

No assistance needed

71%

57%

43%

41%

37%

6%

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https://www.techvalidate.com/tvid/84F-D6B-B7C

Top Skills CitizenDevelopers Need

According to survey respondents, any understand-

ing of traditional coding and data modeling,

front-end web development and business analytics

can be an asset for Citizen Developers.

With the increase in Millennials in the workforce,

companies can expect to hire more employees with

coding skills, even those in non-IT roles. They will

certainly bring increased levels of technicalknow-how to the Citizen Developer role.

Enterprises that implement a RAD platform are

well-positioned to accelerate change for end-users

as well as previously conservative IT organizations.

“I feel extremely comfortable using the Platform. I

had the bootcamp last year and my team is develop-

ing great solutions right now.”

Juan Manuel Monterrubio PortillaIT Manager, Estafeta Mexicana SA, Mexico

What skill sets do non-IT staff need to successfully transform into a Citizen Developer that can

effectively use a Rapid Application Delivery platform? This is a multiple-choice question - response percentages may not add up to 100.

Some traditional coding skills

Data modeling / database concepts

Front-end web development skills

Business analytics and business analysis experience

Traditional spreadsheet and word processing skills

Other

51%

51%

49%

47%

30%

9%

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https://www.techvalidate.com/tvid/341-703-74F

Speed: The BigReason for RAD but That’s Not All

As standards have matured and RESTful APIs are

commonplace, RAD platforms can resolve many

enterprise challenges a Citizen Developer faces. For

example, those who currently use Excel, Access, Lotus

Notes or even Cobol to build and deploy applications

benet from almost no hand-coding and more visualdevelopment in a secure, governed enterprise

environment.

OutSystems customers report that saving time is the

most critical reason to implement a RAD platform.

“… I now can deliver functional software faster thanany other tool.”

Grant McDonoghIT Director, I-Sixty ServicesPretoria, South Africa

What are the primary reasons your organization chose to use a rapid application development

platform (OutSystems Platform)? This is a multiple-choice question - response percentages may not add up to 100.

Time savings

Simplied lifecycle management

Ease of integration

Cost savings

Leverage existing skill sets

Other

90%

63%

49%

39%

22%

8%

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https://www.techvalidate.com/tvid/1B0-86C-13B

Is Bi-modal IT Gaining Traction?

More than half of respondents report that their

approach to monitoring their application develop-

ment projects is on a case by case basis.

Because Citizen Developers are part of the self-ser-

vice trend, RAD platforms are able to ease integra-tion, governance, and security responsibilities that

form the core duties of transformed IT organizations.

“I love OutSystems! The built-in source code control

and automated deployment [including SQL] was a

HUGE factor in deciding to purchase OutSystems.”

Bob TervinIT Manager, Applied Systems, Inc,Chicago, IL - USA

Thinking about Gartner’s bi-modal IT approach, does your company encourage “mode 2”

development by having IT systems and governance processes in place for application

development by Citizen Developers?

We monitor each app dev project on acase by case basis 51%

We do not govern or controlapplications built outside of IT 17%

We currently have formal systems andgovernance processes for app dev 32%

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Extremely HighRecommendation Rate

In our survey, a solid majority of respondents stated they would likely recommend

OutSystems Platform to their peers.

OutSystems Platform is the perfect choice for enabling Citizen Developers because it

enables them to design applications based on their knowledge. They can then turn themover to IT for integration, deployment and security, so that IT retains control and governance

over the process.

OutSystems Customer Satisfaction

“The platform allows you tocreate web applications in afraction of the time of usingconventional tools.”

Jean LombardCEO, Lapis Software Associates, LLCParsippany, NJ - USA

of customers are likely to

recommend OutSystems.91%https://www.techvalidate.com/product-research/outsystems/facts/6A6-4B3-A43 18


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Case Study:Allan Bros

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Allan Bros.:Citizen Developers Cut Time by 83%

Overview: Allan Bros., Inc. is a fruit growing, packing and shipping company with orchards

throughout Eastern Washington.

Challenge: Delivering great-tasting, high quality, uniform produce forces growers to waste a

tremendous amount of product by either picking too early or too late.

To address the challenge, the company decided to digitalize its operations with mobile apps

that maximized efficiency of the operations and protability of the harvests. The company

needed a new way to pick and process fruit at the perfect moment, and to provide informa-

tion directly to pickers in the eld in order to improve quality and yield.

“We'd much rather take some-one who knows the businessand has aptitude for develop-ment and technology andteach them how to develop,than try to take a developerand teach them the business.”

Autumn BernierCIO, Allan BrothersNaches, WA - USA

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Solution: Employees at Allan Bros. combined their extensive domain knowledge of how to

grow, pick and pack fruit with their basic knowledge of OutSystems Platform.

Three warehouse employees served as Citizen Developers, including a shipping clerk and a

fruit sizing manager. Using the visual modeling environment, the team built a cross-platform

mobile application on OutSystems Platform.

The app enables employees on the production lines to monitor fruit for quality, size and

other factors and communicate in real time that information to pickers in the eld. Thisguides them to select riper, tastier fruit and to reduce bruising. Their app also had the same

look and feel as their other systems so it was easy for them to use.

Results: The Allan Bros. Citizen Developer team improved the productivity of its packing line,

cutting time by as much as 83%. Fewer employees do more work, allowing the company to

invest in protable and innovative areas.

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Conclusion

For businesses to quickly attain digital transformation, they must enlist their entire

workforce. By thinking and acting beyond their IT department, these organizations are able

to take advantage of the knowledge of all their employees to rapidly develop applications

that solve business challenges.

Those in IT who invest in a platform that enables Citizen Developers to build new applica-tions in a safe and controlled environment will gain allies throughout their organization.

Sales, marketing, human resources and others gain access to tools that will speed up the

pace in which they can do their jobs, better connect with customers, and perform additional

tasks that deliver value to the enterprise.

By implementing a RAD platform, IT retains control of the shift that is affecting businesses

and other organizations. IT leaders can ensure their needs are met as well as the rest of the

company’s, both now and into the future.

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Available as a cloud or on-premises solution with deep integration to

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