Low-Code/No-Code: Citizen Developers and the Surprising Future of Business Applications (The Future of Work)

If you are puzzled or scared by the idea of "citizen development" (of automation applications), read this book. NOW. Doing so will allay whatever fears you've got and make you smarter.In "Low-Code/No-Code: Citizen Developers and the Surprising Future of Business Applications", Phil Simon weaves together personal experiences (his and others'), tech-industry background, and product analysis into a pragmatic, useful, and readable guide for business people and their managers. Simon's book will inspire individuals to seek higher values in their careers through technology; managers will be awakened to the huge potential of tech work happening right under their noses to improve business operations.Simon's title may begin with products providing visual tools (as opposed to programming languages) to build business applications, but it ends with his passion -- the people doing the building.Citizen developers, in Simon's definition, are "people who can build powerful business applications using contemporary LC/NC tools." Despite lacking knowledge of either programming languages or software development generally, Simon asserts, LC/NC tools plus business knowledge allow citizen developers to contribute to business improvement just as professional developers can.Simon backs up this bold statement with many examples. He might have bolstered his argument by added examples from among he big companies that run large citizen development programs (e.g. Shell). No matter. The stories Simon are compelling, illustrating the unrecognized, overlooked potential of citizen development for every enterprise.For Simon, citizen development is personal and he injects his own story throughout the book. He came into the workforce without a background in computer science or software. Curious and impatient by nature, Simon began using technology tools to further his employer's and his own fortunes. He never looked back.Along his journey, Simon learned about data modeling, how software applications are best structured, and effective processes for conceiving, building, and delivering automation applications. At this stage, he's as capable as most professional developers of delivering robust, reliable software applications.Yet he's still exploring and learning. Lots of people like Phil Simon work in enterprises the world over.While Simon's knowledge of software expanded, the computer industry produced a stream of tools to enable his efforts. Some of these tools were and are aimed at making individuals more productive; some aimed to raise team effectiveness, some are software-development platforms.Analysts like me separate these tools into rigid market segments so we can measure revenue and growth rates. This is not Simon's purpose. He has lived a continuum of tools, and his approach to "the Great Classification Dilemma" seeks to inform curious business people.Simon's categories are based on the primary function of a given tool. And so, his "form building" category steers the reader to tools with the primary purpose of building forms. "Work and project management" tools like Monday.com didn't make it into my market segments, but Simon makes the case these tools are an important part of the landscape. There are lots of ways to automate business operations, and automation ideas arise from many sources."Low-Code/No-Code" highlights two dynamics often overlooked in discussions about citizen developers:1. Many business people have aptitude to use technology to solve business problems. People are not static; they learn and grow. Simon's own journey took him through helping companies implement an application they'd be unable to live without and even into programming. As citizen developers work, they will become a lot like self-taught pro developers. Thinking about them as forever inferior to pro developers is just wrong.2. Tech innovators have and always will seek simpler, more powerful ways to create automation through software development. GenAI is the latest development on a journey that goes back to the COBOL programming language, which had the goal of empowering business people. How far development technology has come since then! The trend will never stop. Thus, business people will have a never-ending stream of powerful tools they can use to contribute their best ideas for improving business."Low-Code/No-Code" is an important addition to the literature on citizen developers. It is not only informative and insightful, but fun. Simon employs a light, colloquial touch in his writing that often made me smile."Low-Code/No-Code" is part of Simon's ambitious book series about the future of work. This framing for citizen development is extremely valuable. Most discussions of citizen development are too focused on business people supplementing IT/development groups to tackle ever-expanding automation needs. While true, that focus misses the larger point that many workers today create automation as part of their jobs without being asked to do so. Harnessing their energy, expertise, and efforts will open new vistas of productivity and business effectiveness. Harnessing citizen developers is the future of work.

When I tell you I have been waiting for this book for years...I have been working in the low code/no code space for over 5 years, mostly as a not so visible part of other roles. The space has changed drastically over that time, the availability of tools has exploded, and continues to daily grow.Those with the curiosity and drive can become experts quickly as these platforms are user friendly and very intuitive. Phil does a great job in highlighting the industry causes for the blossoming of no code operators in organizations, from the dev shortage to the ease of use of these tools. It's clear this is the future of business development as outlined in the book.More and more people who have been dabblers are beginning to find official positions at large organizations in roles specifically outlined for this work, Netflix, Apple, Nike, NBC, to name a few, have posted job openings for things like Airtable Collaboration Engineer.This book comes at a time where many of us are searching for the vocabulary to make our case in organizations slightly behind the curve and this book lends legitimacy to a set of skills still often overlooked.Thank you Phil for your excellent assessment of the current, and hopeful future, business development landscape.

I recently read "Low-Code/No-Code: Citizen Developers and the Surprising Future of Business Applications" by Phil Simon and found it to be an incredibly informative and insightful book.One of the key strengths of Simon's book is its clear and concise writing style, which makes it accessible to readers of all levels of technical expertise. He does an excellent job of explaining complex technical concepts in simple, easy-to-understand language, which makes it a great resource for anyone looking to learn more about low/no code technologies.Throughout the book, Simon offers a wealth of insights and examples that illustrate the benefits of low/no code technologies and the current market landscape. He highlights the ways in which these technologies can empower non-technical people to contribute to the development of software and explains how they can help organizations to innovate and compete in today's fast-paced digital economy. In addition to its engaging and informative content, The book is also well-researched and well-sourced, with numerous references and real-world examples.Overall, I highly recommend to anyone interested in the potential of low/no code technologies to drive innovation and reduce technical barriers. Whether you're a non-technical person looking to get started with low/no code technologies, or a technical expert looking to learn more about their potential, this book is a must-read.

Employers, employees, and anyone who is fascinated with the speed at which technology is advancing should pick up a copy. Phil Simon is a brilliant researcher and writer, and he squeezes in a few good zingers, too. Surely, there will be more books on no-code coming, but I’m happy that this is the first of its kind.

A great read with no equivalent in French yet. I think it is a perfect introduction for anyone before making use of PMI’s manual dedicated to citizen development implementation at scale. I liked the stories allowing to understand the roots of the movement and finally learning about the origin of the concept of « citizen developer » yey!

Este libro presenta conceptos muy importantes para cualquier persona interesada en el desarrollo y está muy bien organizado para un fácil entendimiento.

and full of rich know how to make this work in your business. excellent book and writer.

I've been in the nocode space for a few years - and this book opened my eyes to possibilities of nocode and lowcode that I hadn't noticed before. It makes a great case for large organizations to innovate by leveraging nocode tools - something that traditionally required large investments and dedicated teams.It will be great to see how startups and large companies leverage these tools!I loved the book and highly recommend it to founders, managers and executives. This is what the future of innovation looks like.