Six common themes are found among some of the most successful Citizen Development Programs. These elements have helped to ensure the success and longevity of these programs. We've broken these themes into two major buckets: Key Decision Areas and Foundational Elements.
Foundational Elements
Several foundational elements need to be in place to achieve success with a citizen development program. One of the essential steps is adopting a low-code platform, such as the ServiceNow Platform, or a second low-code platform. However, having too many options can overwhelm citizen developers, and it's advisable to keep the number of low-code platforms to a minimum to avoid this. Embracing the journey is also crucial as a citizen development program is a multi-phase initiative that may take several years to complete. The key to success is to start with a focused approach and grow from there. Another essential factor is marketing or creating awareness about the citizen development program, which is critical for its success. Since IT professionals are not traditionally good at marketing, partnering with the business and getting them excited about the opportunities is essential. This unique partnership with the business helps to build momentum and enthusiasm for the citizen development program. You can find in-depth information about these foundational elements here.
Key Decision Areas
Before beginning any new Citizen Development Program, there are some important decisions that your organization needs to make. Successful Citizen Development programs have excelled in three crucial areas. Firstly, they have identified the appropriate types of use cases for Citizen Development and the characteristics of the right citizen developers. Secondly, they enable and empower citizen developers to start building applications and continue on their journey with confidence. Lastly, they put in place processes and technical guardrails to safeguard both the platform from citizen developers and citizen developers from each other. Best-in-class Citizen Development programs ensure that citizen developers can make valuable contributions to the organization without compromising on quality or security. You can explore these topics in depth by exploring the rest of the Citizen Development Center using the navigation below.
Citizen Development Center Navigation
Citizen Development - Center of Excellence
- Vision and Plan
- Themes of a Successful Citizen Development Program
- Define a Clear Value Proposition
- Understand the Foundational Elements
- Focus the Program
- Identify the Right Use Cases
- Recruit the Citizen Developers
- Enable and Empower
- Train the Citizen Developers
- Establish a Support Model
- Establish Guardrails
- Define the Application Lifecycle
- Automate the Development Process
