Get more from low code

To appreciate the role a low-code center of excellence can play, look at where the low-code movement fails most citizen developers today.

We can do this by thinking about a software application having three layers of complexity — of looking, metaphorically, like a tiered three-layer cake. The small top layer consists of the user interface — the screens, reports and dialogue boxes end users see — as well as the business rules that shape the application’s output. Below that is the middle layer where all the heavy lifting gets done — the data collection and processing required to execute the business rules. Finally, the bottom layer is where the low-code application is integrated with existing back-end information systems.

In the increasingly specialized world of software development there aren’t a lot of coders who can build all three layers of that cake to optimal specifications. For citizen developers, it’s an even bigger ask.

Most wouldn’t be able to build the middle layer or bottom layers, and many would struggle with the top layer if they didn’t have at least a modicum of coding background or an ability to think visually in terms of screens and flow — if they weren’t adept at what we sometimes call “systems thinking.” The question for citizen developers isn’t binary — can they do it or not — but rather how deep can they go?

Because the answer for most is “not very deep,” citizen developers still need a lot of help. Just with the sheer volume of options and capabilities being released by low-code vendors, it is hard for citizen developers to leverage the full capabilities of any given platform. Even where they are able to navigate the low-code landscape, there’s still a problem. Without appropriate guardrails, citizen developers risk becoming just another form of shadow IT whose work could compromise enterprise-wide data security and system integrity.

A low-code center of excellence can address the problems inherent in today’s low-code landscape. In form, it takes the shape of a small set of people — software architects, engineers and developers, as well as project managers — who shepherd new low-code software applications from ideation to production.

That said, simply creating a low-code center of excellence will not push the cultural shift many business leaders will want to encourage — one that favors greater enterprise reliance on low-code/no-code platforms rather than unending requests of IT. The center of excellence can promote this cultural shift, though, by pushing out to end users exercises based on real-world use cases that allow them to get their hands dirty exploring the nuts and bolts of the platform and actually configuring low-code applications. These use cases should to be specific to a given business unit. A marketing use case will not be relevant to a supply-chain organization.

What about low code’s promise of time savings? It’s still there. In the center of excellence, software developers accustomed to writing code from scratch can still benefit from working with low-code platforms, allowing them to complete complex projects efficiently and deliver value quickly.

Citizen developers can benefit, too. At first blush, it may seem that taking on a software development project would exacerbate the time constraints busy end-users already wrestle with. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Before low-code, an employee with an idea for a new software application would have to write laborious process documents, journey maps, or business requirement documents to educate developers on what they hoped to accomplish. Even then, they risked seeing some of those requirements lost in translation. With a low-code approach, by contrast, a citizen developer can show the pros what they want the finished application to look like and keep expectations in synch from day one.

Once a low-code center of excellence is up and running, it can generate ongoing traction by publishing a list of out-of-the-box integrations for each low-code platform, as well as new plug-ins of integrations recently developed in-house. It should be easy for new users to check the library of available integrations for reuse and so reduce reliance on IT. Additionally, each plug-in should be supported with documentation specifying the extent of its functionality and instructions for its use.

Once a low-code center of excellence is up and running, it can generate ongoing traction by publishing a list of out-of-box integrations for each low-code platform.

KPMG is deeply involved in helping companies define and implement their digital transformation strategies — and in helping them leverage low-code development platforms to make those strategies come to life. We’re actively working with organizations to create centers of excellence that will guide their use of low-code platforms moving forward. Among other things, we’re helping them identify the types of positions to be filled, create strategies for working with the business and understand the types of skills they should be looking for in citizen developers.