In today's fast-paced digital landscape, project managers are at the forefront of driving positive business outcomes. They rely heavily on technology to enhance efficiency and deliver value. This is where Citizen Development (CD) emerges as a game-changer, promising to revolutionize project management as we know it. In this article, we'll explore why Citizen Development is critical to the future of project management and how it's changing the IT landscape.
What is Citizen Development?
Citizen Development platforms leverage intuitive "low-code" or "no-code" tools, enabling individuals with limited technical backgrounds to create applications and software solutions without having to master coding. This shift has profound implications for project managers, who can now work more agilely, developing the software they need without depending on IT or tech experts. Moreover, it encourages more employees across the enterprise to engage in coding, leading to a collaborative effort between project managers, IT departments, and citizen developers to ensure that applications adhere to governance frameworks.
How Is Citizen Development Changing the IT Landscape?
The adoption of Citizen Development is skyrocketing. ResearchAndMarkets predicts that the low-code application development market will surge to $27.23 billion by 2022, growing at an impressive 45 percent annually. FTI Consulting reports that 91 percent of businesses are either using or considering low-code/no-code platforms. Gartner even estimates that the number of active citizen developers will surpass that of professional developers by 2023.
How Does Citizen Development Benefit Organizations?
Citizen Development not only democratizes software development but also turbocharges digital transformation efforts within organizations. With an 86 percent shortage of software developers reported by IT decision-makers, CD eases the burden on busy IT departments and accelerates value delivery. It increases productivity, reduces costs, and helps organizations achieve outcomes more efficiently. However, to maximize its potential, organizations must establish a framework for safe development and deployment that aligns with IT guidance.
Why is Citizen Development Relevant to Project Managers?
Project managers, as change-makers within organizations, stand to gain significantly from Citizen Development. They can proactively drive change, execute transformation projects, and turn ideas into reality. CD empowers project managers and their teams to create business tools and solutions at every level of the organization, without requiring in-depth technical knowledge. It accelerates decision-making, speed-to-market, and stakeholder understanding, enhancing project management capabilities across different methodologies.
How Is PMI Encouraging Adoption of Citizen Development?
Project Management Institute (PMI) is committed to empowering project managers with the right tools. They guide project managers in harnessing the power of Citizen Development while ensuring IT governance and security compliance. PMI's approach includes educating project managers about CD foundations and best practices, enabling a "hyper-agile" way of working, and providing methods and standards for secure and scalable application development.
What Educational Resources Does PMI Offer?
PMI plans to introduce a comprehensive suite of training and certifications to help practitioners leverage Citizen Development fully. They already offer a Foundation course providing a comprehensive introduction to CD and best practices, along with the PMI Citizen Development Body of Knowledge (CDBOK™) as a centralized resource for implementing CD at scale. These resources empower professionals to develop, deploy, and manage applications safely and securely in their existing IT environments, ultimately speeding up CD adoption, increasing productivity, reducing costs, and ensuring project managers remain instrumental in enterprise transformation.
In conclusion, Citizen Development is a transformative force in project management, equipping project managers with the tools and capabilities they need to thrive in an increasingly digital world. PMI's dedication to educating and empowering project managers ensures they stay at the forefront of this critical trend, driving positive change within their organizations.