Low Code/No Code Why, What & How

????????I have encountered Low Code/No Code terms more frequently off late than before. These solutions or platforms have been around for some time now but the emphasis on its use is gathering support. I read multiple articles about in HBR and also heard Satya Nadella talk about it during Microsoft? Ignite keynote that shows a renewed interest in this field. I have written a small piece on what I have understood about these solutions.

Why you need a Low Code/No Code solution?

“Necessity is the mother of invention” is an old proverb dating back to Aesop’s Fable. We have had numerous examples of it in our life viz: Telephone, Internet, etc.

Same applies to our today’s topic of discussion. There are various factors that has driven the growth of Low Code/No Code solutions. Some are mentioned below.

Growth of digitization in organization: Digitization has increased exponentially within organization; IT is not able to cope with the number of requests it receives from business for automating its tasks.

Speed of market changes: Gone are the days of multi-year roll out of IT systems. Business trends change at a rapid pace and IT systems need to keep up with the change.

Scarcity of IT staff: Organization are facing a scarcity of IT staff. They look up to technology savvy business people to stand up and own some of the digitization that happens in their domain.

What is a Low Code/No Code Solution?

As the name suggests these are platforms or development tools that allow Power users (Business users with some computer skills) to build simple applications without any technical training on how to code. These platforms do not have a steep learning curve. Users can start building their applications in no time with as little training as possible.

These systems are also built in such a way that create sandboxes around the applications built so that any error in one application does not bring down the whole IT. Power Users works within the boundaries of the platform to create solutions to fit their need that will enable their team members to work faster.?

These tools are business or domain friendly against the tools used by developers. They are used to build simple processes that automate part of the daily work that a team performs. It should not be used to build complex processes that span multiple business areas.

How to implement a Low Code/No Code Solution?

It is easy to roll out an application or an IT solution but difficult to maintain it over a period of time. Organization spends 10 times more money maintain their IT systems than in implementing them. These things need to be addressed for Low Code/ No Code solution as well.

Let’s look at how these impacts various stakeholders in an organization:

For IT: Traditionally IT had control over all the IT systems in an organization. They were responsible for implementing and maintaining of the solutions through its life cycle. With the advent of above-mentioned solutions, they own the platform but not the solutions built on top of those platforms. This brings about a change in the Operating model of said solutions. There is a new stakeholder in the RACI matrix that needs to be hold accountable in case of downtime.

For Business: Gone are the days where they had to wait on IT staff to roll out a new piece of software. They can use the platforms rolled out by IT to automate their own processes at their own pace. Technology savvy business people can upgrade themselves and work independently to create solutions that can be used by others in their department.

For Management: Before implementing a Low Code/No Code solutions they need to ensure the right governance is in place. Giving too much freedom to business to create their own applications will lead to no control over who possess which knowledge in the system. It becomes difficult when there is a plan to either upgrade or migrate applications. There is no one taking responsibility on the migration of application. There should be clearly defined accountability on business to maintain the piece of application that they roll out across the software lifecycle.

Conclusion

Low Code/ No Code solutions have been around the IT industry for quite some time. They have been effective in some part of the ecosystem. With the advent of newer platforms and current needs organizations will move to such solutions. Organization needs to take good care of governance of such solutions. They should define a clear operating model involving business as part of IT operations. Business can also on-board IT staff that are business inclined (in field of QA or Business Analysis) that can become their champions. It is a space to watch out for all parties involved.