Have you noticed how digital transformation demands increasingly faster and more customized solutions, yet IT teams are overwhelmed and under tight deadlines?
If you feel innovation is being held back by the limitations of the technical team, you’re not alone. The good news is that there’s a way to accelerate solution development and give autonomy to other areas of the business: the Citizen Developer.
In this article, you’ll clearly and practically understand:
- What a Citizen Developer is and why this concept is growing so fast;
- How any professional can become a Citizen Developer;
- The benefits, ideal tools, challenges, and risks that come with this movement.
Keep reading to discover how Citizen Developers can become strategic allies of IT and innovation in your company.
What is a Citizen Developer?
A Citizen Developer is a professional who, even without formal training in IT or deep knowledge of programming languages, can create digital solutions using low-code and no-code platforms.
These contributors are fundamental to the evolution of IT within companies, offering agility in solving day-to-day problems.
The concept emerged from the growing demand for innovation and automation within organizations, often at a pace faster than the IT department could handle.
Accessible and intuitive platforms enabled employees from different departments to begin developing their own applications and workflows.
Citizen Developer vs. Professional Developer
While both create digital solutions, their profiles, responsibilities, and approaches are clearly different.
A professional developer has solid technical training and works with traditional programming languages, complex frameworks, and more robust software architectures.
They are essential for critical systems, advanced integrations, security, and governance.
The Citizen Developer, on the other hand, is a business professional, such as an analyst, manager, or process specialist, who uses low-code and no-code platforms to solve everyday challenges, creating agile and customized applications without depending directly on the IT team.
It’s important to understand that there is no rivalry between Citizen Developers and professional developers.
On the contrary: their collaboration creates a more agile, productive, and strategic ecosystem within companies.
While IT ensures infrastructure, security, and integration across systems, Citizen Developers help accelerate deliveries, automate specific processes, and quickly test new ideas.
This partnership frees up the technical team to focus on more complex solutions, promoting decentralized, but coordinated, innovation.
The key is to create a collaborative culture with clear guidelines and tools that support this teamwork.
Who can become a Citizen Developer
The good news is that anyone within an organization can become a Citizen Developer—as long as they are interested in technology, have a good understanding of their area’s processes, and the concept aligns with the organization’s solution-building priorities.
No prior programming experience is required. Professionals in departments such as HR, Marketing, Finance, Logistics, or Customer Service often have deep knowledge of operational challenges and are well-positioned to propose and implement practical solutions.
The ideal Citizen Developer profile includes:
- Curiosity to explore new tools;
- Analytical thinking to identify improvement opportunities;
- Communication skills to collaborate with IT and other department
- An innovation-driven mindset and autonomy to test solutions.
With proper training and support from the IT department, these professionals can create efficient, secure applications aligned with the company’s strategic goals.
How to become a Citizen Developer?
Becoming a Citizen Developer doesn’t require advanced technical knowledge, but it does require a willingness to learn, curiosity to explore new tools, and a clear understanding of your day-to-day processes.
The path can be simple and accessible, especially when well guided. Here’s how to start:
Step 1: Understand low-code and no-code principles
Before diving in, it’s essential to understand how low-code and no-code platforms work.
They’re designed to democratize software development, allowing anyone to create digital solutions through visual interfaces, reusable components, and automation logic.
These platforms don’t require deep programming skills, but they do demand logic, organization, and clarity about the problem to be solved.
Step 2: Choose the right tool for you
There are many platforms designed for Citizen Developers on the market.
The best tool depends on your company’s context, existing system integrations, and learning curve.
Tools like Microsoft Power Apps, Mendix, and Pipefy stand out for their usability, security, and solid documentation.
Some offer free plans for testing and training, making it easier to get started.
Step 3: Develop and test your applications
Start with simple and well-defined projects, like automating an internal workflow or creating a request form.
Test your applications with end users and be open to feedback to improve the experience.
Over time, you’ll gain the confidence and skills to tackle more complex challenges.
Remember: IT support may be essential to ensure your solutions are secure and aligned with company best practices.
Start small with clear, simple demands. Validate your solutions with end users and collect feedback to improve. Over time, you’ll feel more confident to take on larger projects.
What are the benefits of Citizen Development?
The adoption of Citizen Developers within organizations is gaining momentum because it delivers value to different areas simultaneously.
From strategic gains to operational improvements, the benefits are broad:
For companies
Having Citizen Developers increases the organization’s ability to respond to challenges and opportunities.
This translates into greater agility in launching products, adapting processes, and reducing bottlenecks.
Additionally, development costs are significantly reduced, as IT can focus on critical demands while other teams autonomously handle internal projects.
For IT teams
Technology teams are no longer the sole source of innovation—they become facilitators and curators of digital transformation.
With the help of Citizen Developers, workloads can be balanced, deliveries accelerated, and focus maintained on complex, secure, and scalable solutions.
This collaboration contributes to a more strategic and less overwhelmed environment.
For end users
When the person building the solution deeply understands the problem, the result tends to be more aligned with the real needs of operations.
Applications developed by Citizen Developers are typically more intuitive, solve specific problems quickly, and improve the user experience in daily tasks.
They bring more efficient, personalized processes tailored to each team’s actual needs.
Key challenges and risks of Citizen Development
Shadow IT: the invisible threat
One of the main risks of Citizen Development is the emergence of Shadow IT, technology solutions created outside the knowledge, control, and oversight of the IT department.
When a Citizen Developer builds and implements applications without involving the technical team, the organization may face several issues:
- Lack of standardization between tools;
- Undetected security vulnerabilities;
- No access control or sensitive data management;
- Difficulty integrating with existing systems.
Although autonomy is one of the great advantages of Citizen Development, it must be tied to a clear and well-governed strategy.
Isolated initiatives may solve short-term problems but create chaos in the medium and long term.
The solution is ensuring that every citizen development initiative is visible and aligned with corporate IT guidelines.
Security and governance
For Citizen Development to be sustainable and scalable, a governance model must be in place that defines:
- Which platforms can be used;
- The minimum security and compliance standards;
- How technical oversight of the solutions will be conducted.
It is also essential to provide training, enablement, and an open communication channel between IT and Citizen Developers.
This alignment reduces risks and turns Citizen Development into a safe, collaborative, and strategic practice across the organization.
To avoid vulnerabilities, clear guidelines must be set, training must be provided, and platforms must allow for IT monitoring and control.
Best tools for Citizen Developers
Choosing the right platform is one of the most important factors for Citizen Developer success.
It must be intuitive, secure, well-documented, and preferably already familiar within the organization. Additionally, it should integrate with existing systems and provide visibility for IT to ensure governance.
Below are three widely adopted tools across industries:
Mendix
Recognized as one of the most comprehensive low-code platforms on the market, Mendix offers features for both beginner and advanced developers.
Its strengths lie in flexibility and the ability to scale projects with governance.
It offers version control, team collaboration, agile integration, and support for separate test and production environments.
It’s widely used in robust corporate projects involving multiple departments and regulatory requirements.
Microsoft Power Apps
art of the Microsoft ecosystem, Power Apps allows for easy creation of custom applications using pre-built templates and connectors to services like Excel, SharePoint, and Dynamics 365.
It’s ideal for companies already using Microsoft 365, offering native integration, enterprise security, and automation support through Power Automate.
It also enables permission control and centralized governance by the IT team.
Pipefy
Focused on process automation, Pipefy stands out for its user-friendly interface and ease of implementation by non-technical teams.
It’s ideal for departments like HR, Finance, Procurement, and Customer Service.
The platform allows users to build workflows, forms, approvals, and dashboards in just a few clicks, with a high level of customization.
It also integrates via API and connects with tools like Slack, Trello, and Google Sheets.
These tools not only empower Citizen Developers but also facilitate monitoring, standardization, and integration with corporate systems, making Citizen Development a safe, scalable, and IT-governed strategy.
Recommended for automating workflows and processes, it’s intuitive and accessible to professionals across various departments. Widely used in HR, Finance, and Customer Service.
Conclusion
The Citizen Developer movement is one of the most promising paths for companies seeking scalable agility, autonomy, and innovation.
By empowering professionals outside of IT to build technology solutions, a new universe of possibilities is opened—where collaboration across departments becomes key.
However, this practice must be supported by governance policies, the right tools, and ongoing support from the technology team.
Only then can the benefits outweigh the risks and digital transformation occur in a sustainable way.
If your company wants to accelerate innovation and empower internal talent, Citizen Development may be the next step. And TrueChange is here to support you on that journey.
Get in touch with our team today and discover how to drive innovation in your company—and take the next step toward implementing the Citizen Developer concept.
