Citizen Development-Recruit the Citizen Developers

[Paige Duffey]

Recruit the right people​

When starting a Citizen Development program, it's critical to select the right people for your program. While this selection will be important for the entire duration of your program, it's especially important when first starting the program. Who are the best citizen developers? You want to select people who have both the right aptitude and attitude. ​

What is the target aptitude?​

Look for individuals who have existing tech skills. This may mean that they've essentially created personal apps by using excel macros, databases, or other consumer-oriented technologies to automate their workflows. These individuals use the technology available to them to automate and streamline their day-to-day work. On top of existing tech skills, they should have in-depth knowledge of their business processes and a good handle on general business apps. ​

What is the target attitude?​

Now that you've found people with the right aptitude, it's important to ensure they also have the right attitude. Look for individuals that already have a strong, existing partnership with IT. They should support and have the desire to uphold your policies and standards. It's imperative that they have an interest in participating in the program. ​

Recruit the manager​

Your citizen developers need to have the right aptitude and attitude, but they also need a manager that is willing to align with the policies of the program. You will need to recruit their manager to get their buy-in.  When recruiting their manager focus on getting them on board to drive business outcomes. Ensure that they are in alignment with policies and are committed to the program.  Without the buy-in of their manager, you may find that the support and continuation of the app falls flat if the Citizen Developer ever leaves the team.

Center of Excellence Navigation

Citizen Development - Center of Excellence

1. Vision and Plan
   1. Themes of a Successful Citizen Development Program
   2. Define a Clear Value Proposition
   3. Understand the Foundational Elements
2. Focus the Program
   1. Identify the Right Use Cases
   2. Recruit the Citizen Developers
3. Enable and Empower
   1. Train the Citizen Developers
   2. Establish a Support Model
4. Establish Guardrails
   1. Define the Application Lifecycle
   2. Automate the Development Process