Citizen development transforms manufacturing by empowering non-technical employees to build and deploy applications, driving agility and accelerating digital transformation. As Mark Venables explains, by embracing this model, businesses can optimise processes, reduce IT dependency, and boost competitiveness.
As the demand for digital transformation accelerates, companies are turning to an emerging model known as citizen development to increase agility and meet operational needs at scale. Empowering non-IT professionals with low-code and no-code tools can transform manufacturing processes by allowing more employees to participate in application development.
“Citizen development, coined by Gartner, refers to the non-IT employees who use technology platforms approved by IT to build applications for automating processes,” Andie Dovgan, Chief Growth Officer at Creatio, says. “These are domain experts, deeply knowledgeable about business needs but not necessarily technologists. This approach holds significant promise for businesses, as it enables teams outside IT to create solutions quickly, addressing operational needs without waiting for resources from an often-overloaded IT department.
Dovgan underscores the growing necessity for citizen developers in manufacturing, where the need for digital transformation spans order management, product lifecycle management, and customer interactions. “A modern manufacturing company has countless automation needs, from order processing to customer engagement,” he notes. “If everything relies on IT, there’s no way these companies can transform at the speed they need. Citizen development broadens the population involved in development efforts, empowering sales, operations, and product teams to innovate directly.”
The role of citizen developers in the AI-driven landscape
While the need for citizen development has grown, so has the complexity of aligning development efforts between business units and IT. A recurring issue, Dovgan points out, is the disconnect between what business users want and what IT can realistically deliver. “Business needs change quickly, often tied to specific goals, while IT is frequently bogged down with backlogs,” he explains. “Few CEOs would say they have more developers than they need, and there’s always an imbalance between available resources and the projects they tackle.”
This is where no-code platforms, enhanced by artificial intelligence, play a crucial role. Dovgan highlights how AI-driven development lowers barriers, making it easier to create applications. “With AI, the process is simpler,” he says. “A business user can describe what they need in natural language, such as ‘order management’ or ‘invoice tracking,’ and the platform generates it. This AI layer, combined with low-code/no-code, accelerates deployment timelines, allowing businesses to achieve results in weeks rather than years.”
Establishing ownership of citizen development
For citizen development to thrive, organisational structure is essential. Dovgan outlines two prevalent models: centralised and decentralised. “In a centralised model, a centre of excellence manages development efforts across the company, while a decentralised model embeds citizen developers within different departments,” he says. “Shell, for instance, employs a decentralised model, with around 10,000 citizen developers contributing to automation initiatives within their respective departments.
“Regardless of the structure, citizen development requires clear leadership and accountability. Leadership is crucial to drive change, and companies must designate a leader for the program. Depending on where the need is most pressing, it could sit with the CIO or even within go-to-market functions like sales, marketing, or customer service. Without this strategic ownership, he argues, organisations risk diluting the potential of citizen development.”
Demystifying low-code and no-code for non-technical users
As Dovgan explains, the terms low-code and no-code can be misleading, especially in terms of skill requirements. “Low-code still requires technical expertise, aimed at enhancing developer productivity, while no-code empowers non-technical users,” he explains. These tools offer visual interfaces that allow business users to assemble applications like Lego blocks.”
Creatio’s platform goes further by integrating AI capabilities that allow users to describe their needs in plain language. “Imagine describing a desired feature, and the system creates it. Users can then tweak these AI-generated elements with visual tools without writing a line of code,” he adds. “This simplicity enables business professionals to build applications that suit their specific requirements, allowing IT to focus on more complex, strategic projects.”
Accelerating agility and bridging the knowledge gap
The move to empower non-IT employees is not without its challenges, particularly in identifying suitable candidates for citizen development. “There’s often a misconception that anyone can become a citizen developer, but that is not quite true,” Dovgan points out. “Successful citizen developers have a knack for structured thinking. They can build complex Excel files or draw detailed process diagrams, showing they understand data and processes.”
This capability translates into practical benefits in manufacturing, where agility is critical. Dovgan shares an example from AMD, which used Creatio to streamline its marketing investment management. “They built a partner portal that automates campaign approvals with retail partners, giving them real-time visibility and faster go-to-market campaigns. This is what agility in manufacturing looks like a streamlined process, a faster response time, and an optimised budget.”
Citizen developers can also significantly impact agility on the shop floor, where the ability to deploy solutions quickly can minimise downtime and boost productivity. For instance, Howdens, a kitchen manufacturing company, used no-code tools to deploy a customer management solution across 800 depots in three and a half months. “It is a powerful example of how citizen development accelerates transformation in real-world scenarios,” says Dovgan. But, as he cautions, this approach requires behavioural shifts and new technology.
Transitioning to a citizen development model is challenging, with resistance to change and outdated legacy systems posing significant barriers. “People are often resistant to new processes, but legacy systems are an even bigger challenge,” Dovgan states. “Many manufacturers rely on outdated technology that lacks integration capabilities, making connecting these systems to new applications difficult. This is where a phased approach becomes critical. We advise companies to address specific use cases rather than try to overhaul their entire infrastructure at once.”
With a phased approach, manufacturers can address individual pain points incrementally, gradually building digital capabilities without overwhelming resources or disrupting operations. Dovgan emphasises the need for a “crawl, walk, run” approach to transition smoothly into the citizen development model.
IT’s evolving role in a citizen development framework
The advent of citizen development does not render IT obsolete. Instead, it transforms IT’s role into governance and strategic oversight. “It is essential to involve IT from the start,” Dovgan says. “This should not be ‘shadow IT’ on steroids. A healthy citizen development practice keeps IT involved, ensuring that governance and compliance standards are maintained.”
At Creatio, governance tools are built into the platform, with automated checks and approvals ensuring applications meet security requirements before deployment. “If an application is critical, it goes through IT approval,” he explains. “But for more straightforward applications, users can proceed independently. This frees IT from routine approvals, allowing them to focus on high-impact projects.
“For IT teams, citizen development can be transformative, shifting their role from task execution to strategic facilitation. IT becomes the facilitator, orchestrating digital transformation across the organisation. Instead of struggling with backlogs, they support a culture of innovation, enabling digital empowerment across the workforce.”
The future of citizen developers in manufacturing
Looking forward, Dovgan believes that citizen development will become ubiquitous across industries. “In the near future, every knowledge worker will have some degree of application-building ability,” he asserts. “Just as computers became standard tools, application-building will become a part of everyday work.”
The implications are profound for manufacturers. By empowering teams to develop and configure applications tailored to their unique processes, citizen development promises to streamline operations and boost competitiveness. Those who embrace this approach early will gain valuable experience, putting them ahead of the curve in their industry.
Dovgan concludes, “This is a shift toward a more adaptable, agile business model where the power to innovate is distributed across the organisation. Manufacturers who invest in citizen development and supporting technology now will be well-positioned to outpace their competition in an increasingly complex market.”
