Last month, at the virtual symposium for CIOs and IT executives, Gartner predicted that by 2023, the number of active citizen developers at large enterprises would be at least four times the number of professional developers. 

For those unaware, a citizen developer develops software using low-code or no-code platforms, alongside analytics tools to automate processes for themselves and their teams, without any formal training in software development.   

What is bringing this change? 

Today, most companies use citizen developers to create software for enterprise business software or applications, which a particular company uses for a specific purpose. Typically, these developers work under the IT department, and trained/professional developers oversee their work to ensure the end product/result meets the expectations. 

Thanks to the rise of hyper-automation, this is helping businesses enable people with limited coding knowledge to develop sophisticated software. In most cases, companies do not ask for prior training in software development, but certain qualities qualify them for this job. 

For example, the candidate must understand the need for the software and how the end-user will be using it. That helps you develop the right features for the product. In addition, the developer needs strong problem-solving skills, a deep interest in learning about software development, the ability to take constructive criticism and work with little supervision. 

In the business context, the group includes business technologists or trained, full-time developers/coders who are integrated into a department like marketing, operations, finance, accounting, etc.

Breaking Stereotypes

Gartner strongly believes that enterprises need to partner with professionals outside of IT to automate business processes and data integration. In a way, this eliminates the dependency on software development teams. 

Further, it said that companies should break the notion that citizen developers‘ work is insignificant or trivial. On the contrary, Wong said they are doing serious work, creating algorithms, user interfaces, or building new capabilities. 

The Outcome 

In a recent survey conducted by Gartner, only 42 per cent of people reported using tools specifically designed for them. They have not been offered access to those tools, which are often only made available to centres of excellence or other departments within the organisation, said Wong. 

In comparison, 64 per cent said that they were working with database, data science, AI, and analytics tools, 59 per cent said that they worked with application development tools, and 45 per cent said they worked with integration tools, including data integration and API management tools. 

The outcome, 82 per cent of the people, said that the tools are making their departments more effective, 68 per cent said it is improving efficiency, and 63 per cent said it is boosting business agility. 

What is hyper-automation? 

According to Gartner, hyper-automation is a business-driven, disciplined approach that businesses need to identify, vet, and automate their enterprise processes rapidly. “The possibilities for hyper-automation are so vast that IT can not pursue them alone – and should not try to,” said Jason Wong, a distinguished VP and analyst on software design and development at Gartner.

How to go about it?

To get the most benefit from business-driven automation, Wong suggested three mantras, i.e. co-operate, co-own, and co-create. 

• Co-operate: Organisations should take these groups seriously and work to amplify/enhance their skills. 
• Co-own: Businesses should provide access to various tools and include business technologists and citizen developers in communities of practice that promote growth. 
• Co-create: Include these developers in multidisciplinary groups who plan big initiatives and help them understand broader enterprise considerations such as technology risk.

Lastly, organisations should work in unison to ensure their business achieves automation that makes it more efficient and effective while ensuring that the IT team can support whatever the business develops, said Wong.