What is the Role of a Citizen Developer?

The power of technology has always rested in the hands of those who understand it. But with new innovations in the field of software development, that dynamic is changing. Low-code and no-code tools are now giving people from non-technical backgrounds, to create complex applications independently with minimal training.

A citizen developer is a person who typically comes from a non-engineering background and builds applications with the help of IT-sanctioned low-code and no-code platforms. Citizen development is slowly becoming a crucial department for companies as the need for unique user-centric apps is growing. According to a survey, almost 84% of respondents said they wanted to see their companies do more to encourage citizen development.

Role of a Citizen Developer

Citizen developers are not just an alternative for traditional coders but the ones who undertake many important responsibilities in an organization. From ideating to recognizing business needs to app building, there is a lot on a citizen developer’s plate. They mainly have the following duties:

1. Recognizing business needs

An essential aspect of becoming a citizen developer is knowing how to recognize what a business needs. A developer who recognizes the problem is the best person to build tools that can solve it. Citizen developers can be successful agents who can help their organization upskill or reskill. For this, they must be on the lookout for skill-building opportunities.

2. Being a problem-solver

Being a problem-solver is an excellent quality to have if you are a citizen developer. Recognising problems is not enough if someone else has to develop solutions for them. Critical thinking, observational learning and research can help you develop various solutions for a single problem.

3. Self-learning attitude

Citizen developers are self-learned individuals when it comes to understanding the basics of coding and app development. But even if you get professional training, self-learning will always be a part of the deal. With the low-code technology constantly evolving, citizen developers need to continually evolve to learn new skills, coding styles, and platforms. Thankfully, platforms like Crust low-code are easy enough to understand and operate with minimal training.

4. Building apps

There are a lot of things app-engineers need to consider before building apps. They have to ascertain the UI of the platform, API integrations, visual components, etc. A citizen developer’s primary responsibility is to ensure that all end-users specific requirements are met when the app goes live. With Crust’s open-source low-code solution, anyone can build apps easily, but it takes a skilled citizen developer to build one that can be an instant hit with the users.

5. Accepting and employing feedback

No matter how well you build an app, there will always be a few errors initially. Hence, it is extremely important for citizen developers to listen to the client’s feedback and make necessary changes in the app until it becomes the best version of itself.

Similar to the feedback to work, citizen developers must also be able to accept feedback regarding their skills. In the ever-growing environment, working on your shortcomings is the only thing that can help you grow with your surroundings.

6. Assist the IT department

Hardcoders are still indispensable to organizations in a way that only they can solve critical software-related issues and develop complex and unique codes. However, this makes citizen developers even more essential to organizations.

By taking over the basic app-building processes, citizen developers help the IT departments become more time-efficient. According to a study, 80% of the surveyed organizations said that citizen developers gave their IT teams more breathing room.

Crust Low-Code: Strongest Ally To All Citizen Developers

Crust low-code solutions are the answer to all the problems that citizen developers face today. Crust low-code is an open-source platform that enables everyone to build apps from easy-to-use automation services to a drag-and-drop visual editor.

Crust’s low-code solution comes enabled with RestAPI and many more features that almost eliminate the need to know traditional coding. Try a demo of the revolutionary low-code platform to see your business become the fast-paced tech-savvy company that the competitors look up to.