What is a Citizen Developer in Manufacturing?

Citizen developers are workers who build production-ready applications in roles outside of IT or software engineering. Typically, they use IT-sanctioned platforms to create these applications.

Using no-code platforms, they can leverage their hard-won domain expertise without being limited by technical barriers. These platforms allow workers to build apps through a drag-and-drop style interface.

Though their job descriptions don’t necessarily call for coding, app development, or engineering, citizen developers can still build out applications and accomplish the same targeted business goals that a technical expert would.

Let’s look at an example of no-code citizen development in manufacturing:

Work instructions can be difficult to follow, easy to damage (if paper-based), and prone to misinterpretation. For factories with high-mix assemblies, high turnover, of rapid product cycles, they are inadequate to the task.

Using no-code app platforms, engineers can design media-rich, visual work instructions with IoT connectivity, that responds to operator actions in real-time, and guarantees that instructions are followed to the letter.

Leveraging Existing Knowledge Within the Company

Citizen developers’ primary function is not IT-related. They are process engineers, machine operators, designers, maintenance engineers, and plant operators by trade. They have years of knowledge on how your production lines actually work.

Therefore, they are the experts when it comes to understanding the ins and the outs of your shop floors. So when you allow them to turn those valuable insights into actionable solutions by putting them in the driver’s seat, you are letting the greatest experts of your teams maximize their potential.

Saves Time and Resources

Because citizen developers are able to build apps and analyze data sets on their own, improvements can be implemented a lot more quickly and efficiently. The iteration process eliminates the extra step of involving the IT team.

The number of tickets in the pipeline can also be reduced, meaning your experts in IT will be able to focus on the projects that deliver the most value.

To learn more about how next-gen manufacturers are embracing citizen development, watch the on-demand recordings from Next-Gen Manufacturing: The Rise of the Citizen Developer. You’ll learn how businesses are implementing no-code platforms that empower their engineers and managers to build powerful, rapid-built apps that solve problems without coding expertise.