Admission News Going to College

Citizen Development: A Guide for College Students

Written by CB Community

Digital revolutions unfold with multiple advanced systems that require modern businesses to adapt and incorporate into their system.  The transforms eliminate manual business operation, thus introducing advanced technical skills.

Companies need to align their workforce to adapt to the digital changes and enhance productivity. The rise in tech development outweighs the number of professional developers in the industry. Businesses scramble to hire or outsource skilled workforce to maintain the systems.

However, technology considers business concerns by offering simplified digital software tools. The systems don’t require advanced knowledge to operate.

Today businesses can utilize the in-house workforce to develop business applications.

The innovation of low code software has erased the need for hand-coding services. Organizations can turn their employees into basic citizen developers to attain quality enterprise apps.

The scrapping off of hand-coding/traditional coding allows businesses to improve their operation and profitability.  The low code software is compatible with various systems and requires no IT knowledge to operate.

Basic users can build applications within a few hours or days. The process saves time and cost directed toward hiring programmers to create a single application.

So what does this mean for college students? Keep reading to find out how you can get involved in this exciting new field of IT:

Citizen Developers and Low-Code

Organizations have developed an easy system of training basic users to citizen developers. The companies utilize their in-house teams to learn and develop applications that suit the business needs.

The new technology allows employees to discover new potentials in various business fields. Most citizen developers can create, modify and use an application quickly.

Low code helps design single apps to handle multiple activities.

Who is a Citizen Developer?

Citizen developers are people without any formal IT or software knowledge/training. The individual uses low-code systems to design and venture into app development.

The terms mean a person without any knowledge or skills in software development.

The Rising Need for Citizen Developers

Due to the drastic changes in the digital market, organizations are pushed to seek alternative ways to handle the pressure—the modern customer demands for fast digitized services, thus compelling businesses to adapt to modern tools.

There is no time or enough workforce to address the current markets. This provides room to train citizen developers to cover the software development gap.

There are various reasons why the need for citizen development is on the rise:

IT/Software Development Needs

Business automation requires more skills and workforce to implement the operations.  Organizations are transforming their teams to developers to handle the new digital solutions.

However, the process is easily accomplished through low-code software tools.

Business Perspective

The rising tech development demand encourages employees to turn to citizen developers and solve business issues. The system doesn’t abolish or eliminate the need for IT professionals but provides extra help to the department.

Basic IT users can now develop simple business apps to meet business solutions. Low-code systems provide citizens and developers with visual graphic tools as guides during app development.  This helps companies handle the rising customer demands and provide fast, quality services.

How to Become a Skilled Citizen Developer After College

Most companies have no strategic training program for citizen developers. Some provide the employees with the software to maneuver around.

However, there are several basic ways one can become a citizen developer:

Seek Out the Automation Leader’s Help in an Organization

Many organizations have an IT department that comprises skilled software/IT developers. The automation leader can best handle citizen development programs by providing basic IT knowledge.

A citizen developer should connect and learn skills in the development program. The basic operation skill will help other employees run low-code platforms efficiently without much help.

Get Reskilling or Up-Skill Classes

Technology allows people to learn a new skill through social media platforms.  Citizen developers can enhance their skills by uploading citizen development programs online.

Organizations can also empower the employees by training before introducing the systems.

Implement the Skills

After learning the low-code development skills, try out the knowledge by building a business app. employees can analyze the app and see whether it meets the business requirement.

The knowledge and skills will develop as the teams use the services.

The Benefits of Learning Citizen Developer Skills

The citizen developer skill holds many benefits for the company and user. The skill helps narrow the IT gap and provide the best business services.

Organizations Meet the Demands to Develop Apps.

App development helps businesses efficiently operate and accomplish their tasks fast. Some business applications allow customers to shop online or state their needs through the platforms.

Producing more apps helps reduce customer complaints and provide quality services per their demands.

Meeting User Needs

Citizen developers can create apps that meet specific user needs. They can easily relate to the customer’s issues and provide a better solution.

Increasing Productivity

The app development technology helps easy business operation and increases revenues. Organizations can automate various tasks to help save time and cost, increasing productivity.

Beats Competition

The business market contains tough competition as companies thrive on shining and winning more customers. Organizations using citizen developers’ knowledge to develop quality apps have an advantage over competitors.

The company can produce more within short periods and make high profits.

Conclusion

The adoption of citizen developers in the software development field has helped many companies grow and meet business demands.

The skills also enable the employees’ to perform in various departments. This helps distribute knowledge and increase potential to every employee in the business.

About the author

CB Community

Passionate members of the College Basics community that include students, essay writers, consultants and beyond. Please note, while community content has passed our editorial guidelines, we do not endorse any product or service contained in these articles which may also include links for which College Basics is compensated.