The Citizen Developer and AI Assistance

Introduction: Transforming Enterprise Software Development

The convergence of citizen development capabilities with AI assistance is revolutionizing how organizations approach software creation and digital transformation. This symbiotic relationship is empowering business users to develop solutions independently while leveraging AI to enhance productivity and innovation.

Citizen Developers in the Enterprise Ecosystem

A citizen developer is defined as “an employee who creates application capabilities for consumption by themselves or others, using tools that are not actively forbidden by IT or business units”. Unlike traditional developers, citizen developers typically work outside IT departments and leverage simplified development environments to create business solutions without extensive programming knowledge. This emerging role has gained significant traction as organizations seek to accelerate innovation while alleviating the burden on IT departments.

Citizen developers represent a fundamental shift in how enterprise software is created. Rather than waiting months for centralized IT services to address specific business needs, these business-oriented developers can rapidly create customized applications that directly address departmental requirements. This approach not only accelerates innovation but also ensures that solutions are precisely tailored to operational needs.

The Relationship Between Citizen Developers and Business Technologists

While all citizen developers are business technologists, not all business technologists function as citizen developers. Business technologists are professionals working outside traditional IT departments who focus on crafting innovative technological solutions and analytical capabilities tailored to internal and external business needs. They apply innovative tools to enhance various aspects of business operations with the aim of improving efficiency, driving growth, and facilitating informed decision-making through strategic use of technology.

The distinction is important within the enterprise business architecture context, as it highlights how technical capabilities are dispersed throughout modern organizations rather than being concentrated solely in IT departments.

The Rise of Low-Code and No-Code Platforms

The citizen development movement is intrinsically tied to the evolution of low-code and no-code platforms. These environments are designed to simplify application creation through visual interfaces and pre-built components. Low-code platforms require minimal coding knowledge, while no-code solutions enable development entirely through drag-and-drop interfaces and visual scripting.

Key Characteristics of Low-Code Development Environments

Low-code/no-code environments enable citizen developers to design user interfaces by selecting icons, interconnecting components like “Lego bricks,” and applying actions to them. The platform then handles testing to ensure functionality and manages deployment for production use. This dramatically simplifies the development process while maintaining quality standards and IT governance.

These platforms serve as the technological foundation that has made the citizen developer role possible, addressing what could be described as providing “a form of sovereignty by giving everyone the opportunity to develop their projects quickly and at lower costs.”

AI Assistance and AI Application Generators

The integration of artificial intelligence into development platforms represents the next evolution in citizen development. AI assistance is transforming how non-technical users interact with technology and create solutions.

AI Application Generators

Modern AI application generators allow users to create functional applications through simple text prompts or conversations. Tools like Jotform’s AI App Generator enable users to “create apps by simply chatting with an AI tool about the type of app they want to create”. Similarly, UI Bakery offers an AI App Generator for creating “functional, data-driven apps instantly by simply providing a prompt detailing desired features”.

These tools represent a significant advancement in accessibility, further lowering the barrier to entry for citizen developers. By describing requirements in natural language, even users with minimal technical understanding can generate sophisticated applications.

Enterprise AI in Citizen Development

Enterprise AI integrates advanced AI-enabled technologies within large organizations to enhance various business functions. When applied to citizen development, enterprise AI can automate routine tasks such as data collection and analysis, while also handling more complex operations like workflow automation and customer service.

AI assistance tools like “AI Assist” demonstrate how artificial intelligence can automatically answer about 85% of repetitive queries using conversational AI, freeing human workers to focus on more complex tasks. This represents a significant productivity enhancement when incorporated into citizen-developed applications.

Enterprise Systems and Business Enterprise Software

Enterprise Software Fundamentals

Enterprise software, also known as enterprise application software (EAS), consists of computer programs designed to satisfy organizational needs rather than those of individual users. These solutions typically handle business operations, enhance management reporting, and support production processes at scale.

Within enterprise contexts, citizen developers often work with enterprise information systems (EIS), which improve business processes through integration. These systems must be accessible to all parts and levels of an organization while handling large volumes of data with high quality of service.

The Enterprise Systems Group Role

The Enterprise Systems Group typically functions as a specialized IT unit that “provides, maintains and manages sustainable and scalable systems in support of the institute’s business activities”. This group oversees the design, development, and maintenance of business software solutions while working closely with administrative offices and business units.

As citizen development grows in prominence, Enterprise Systems Groups increasingly focus on governance and enablement rather than serving as the sole source of development capacity. This shift allows them to concentrate on maintaining enterprise computing solutions while empowering business users to create departmental applications.

Enterprise Business Architecture and Citizen Development

Enterprise Architecture provides the blueprint for an organization’s structure and operations, identifying IT systems, applications, and processes and how they interconnect. Within this framework, citizen developers operate as agents of innovation and efficiency at the departmental level while adhering to broader architectural guidelines.

The integration of citizen development into enterprise business architecture requires thoughtful governance. Organizations must balance autonomy with standardization to prevent fragmentation while still enabling innovation. This leads many organizations to adopt what search result describes as environments that are “approved and administered by the IT department,” which no longer handles development directly but instead provides frameworks and oversight.

Enterprise Resource Planning and Digital Transformation

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems integrate the management of core business processes in real-time through software and technology. These systems provide an integrated view of business processes using common databases and track resources, commitments, and operational status.

Citizen development plays an increasingly important role in digital transformation initiatives by allowing rapid iteration and experimentation. As organizations implement digital transformation – integrating digital technology into all business areas to fundamentally change how they operate and deliver value – citizen developers serve as change agents who can rapidly prototype and deploy new capabilities.

Technology Transfer and Open-Source in Citizen Development

The Role of Technology Transfer

Technology transfer-the process by which innovations are turned into commercial products-takes on new dimensions in the citizen development context. While traditionally focused on university and federal laboratory innovations, similar principles apply when citizen developers transform business ideas into functional applications using low-code platforms.

The key role of technology transfer professionals in protecting intellectual property and assessing commercial potential has parallels in how organizations manage citizen-developed applications, particularly when these applications provide competitive advantage or intellectual property value.

Open-Source and Software Bill of Materials

The incorporation of open-source components is common in citizen development platforms. Understanding these components requires a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)-a comprehensive inventory detailing every software component within an application, including open-source libraries, API calls, versions, and licenses.

For citizen developers, SBOMs represent an important governance tool that helps organizations track vulnerabilities and compliance issues in applications built with low-code platforms. As Gartner predicts, by 2025, 60% of organizations will need SBOMs as part of their cybersecurity practices, indicating the growing importance of this approach in enterprise governance.

The Various Types of Technologists in Citizen Development

The landscape of citizen development incorporates multiple types of technologists as identified in research:

1. Analysts who interpret complex data sets to inform decision-making

2. Advocates who champion technology adoption within organizations

3. Communicators who bridge the gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders

4. Businesspersons who align technology with business objectives

5. Designers who focus on user experience and interface

6. Facilitators who coordinate technology projects

7. Educators who train others in technology use

8. Builders who develop technical solutions

9. Organizers who manage resources and strategic planning

10. Scientists who conduct research to advance technology

Citizen developers may embody several of these roles simultaneously, adapting their approach based on organizational needs and project requirements.

Conclusion: The Future of Citizen Development and AI Assistance

The synergy between citizen developers and AI assistance represents a transformative force in enterprise software development. As low-code platforms continue to evolve and AI capabilities become more sophisticated, organizations can expect further democratization of application development and accelerated innovation cycles.

The successful integration of citizen development into enterprise systems will require thoughtful governance, clear architectural guidelines, and strong collaboration between business units and IT departments. Organizations that effectively balance autonomy with governance will be best positioned to leverage citizen development for competitive advantage while maintaining enterprise-scale security, reliability, and integration.

As enterprise resource planning systems and business enterprise software continue to evolve, citizen developers supported by AI assistance will play an increasingly important role in tailoring these systems to specific organizational needs, driving digital transformation from within business units rather than as top-down initiatives.