The power to create applications is no longer confined to the IT department. A new wave of innovation is sweeping through businesses, driven by employees who are building their own digital solutions without writing a single line of code. This is the world of the citizen developer: an employee who builds new business applications using IT-approved tools and platforms, even though they don’t work in a traditional IT or software development role. This movement is fundamentally changing how companies innovate, solve problems, and accelerate their digital transformation.
If you’ve ever felt stuck waiting in a long IT queue for a simple app or workflow, you already understand the problem citizen development solves. It’s about empowering the people who know the business best, your employees, to build the tools they need, when they need them.
Think of a marketing specialist who creates an app to manage campaign assets or a finance analyst who automates an expense approval workflow. These are prime examples of the citizen developer at work.
Gartner, the research firm that popularized the term, defines a citizen developer as a persona rather than a formal job title. These individuals report to business units like operations or sales, not to the IT department. They leverage the power of low code and no code development platforms to create solutions that streamline their work, solve team challenges, and fill gaps that the central IT team may be too busy to address. The key distinction is that a citizen developer is a creator, producing new capabilities for their team or department.
The citizen development movement isn’t just a niche trend; it’s a massive shift fueled by a perfect storm of business needs. The primary driver is a significant gap between the demand for new software and the supply of professional developers to build it. It’s estimated that the global tech talent gap may reach 85 million unfilled roles by 2030. At the same time, the market need for new applications is projected to grow at least five times faster than IT departments can possibly deliver them.
This is where the citizen developer steps in. Low code and no code platforms have become incredibly powerful and accessible, giving business users the tools to bridge this “app gap”. The market for these platforms is surging, with Gartner projecting it will reach $26.9 billion in 2023 alone. The trend is so significant that Gartner predicted by 2024, 80% of technology products and services will be built by people outside of IT, a clear testament to the rise of the empowered business user.
It’s crucial to understand that citizen development is not the same as shadow IT.
Citizen development is the proactive solution to the problem of shadow IT. Instead of letting employees go rogue, you provide them with a safe, structured environment to innovate. Studies show that a stunning 30 to 40% of IT spending in large enterprises goes toward shadow IT. By embracing a formal citizen developer program, organizations can rein in this uncontrolled spending and channel that innovative energy into productive, secure, and integrated solutions.
The citizen development movement includes specialized roles that focus on specific types of solutions.
A citizen automator is a type of citizen developer who zeroes in on automating business tasks and processes. Instead of building a full application, they might use Robotic Process Automation (RPA) or workflow tools to eliminate repetitive, manual work. For example, an HR specialist could build a bot to automate parts of the new hire onboarding process. With 23% of enterprise IT automations now being built by non IT users, citizen automators are making a direct and measurable impact on operational efficiency.
A citizen data scientist is a business user who creates advanced analytics and even predictive models using user friendly tools. They are to data analytics what the citizen developer is to application building. They leverage their deep domain knowledge and combine it with accessible AI and machine learning platforms to uncover insights without needing to write complex Python or R code. Gartner once projected that the number of citizen data scientists would grow five times faster than traditional data scientists, highlighting a major shift toward democratized analytics.
While the benefits are immense, a poorly managed citizen developer initiative can create new problems. Without proper oversight, it can lead to a sprawl of disconnected, low quality applications that create more work for IT in the long run.
Key risks include:
These challenges highlight why governance isn’t optional, it’s essential for success.
Before the rise of citizen development, organizations had two main options to meet their software needs.
Citizen development offers a powerful third way. It provides a middle ground that combines the speed and business knowledge of internal teams with the safety and oversight of a structured IT partnership.
A thriving citizen developer initiative doesn’t happen by accident. It requires a thoughtful framework of governance, support, and collaboration.
Success hinges on IT shifting its role from being a gatekeeper to being an enabler. Instead of building everything, IT’s job is to provide the secure platforms, data access, and expert guidance that empower the citizen developer community. This partnership allows IT to offload the backlog of smaller requests, giving them what 80% of organizations call more “breathing space” to focus on complex, mission critical projects.
Governance and guardrails are the policies and rules that ensure citizen development happens safely and effectively. They are designed to mitigate risk without killing agility. This framework typically includes:
A Center of Excellence, or CoE, is a central team that leads, governs, and supports the citizen development program. A CoE is typically made up of both IT and business experts and is responsible for setting best practices, managing platforms, providing training, and fostering a community of citizen developers. It professionalizes the effort and is key to scaling effectively.
An intake and assessment framework is a process for submitting and evaluating ideas for new citizen built applications. It acts as a front door, ensuring that projects are vetted for business value, risk, and complexity. This prevents duplicate efforts and ensures a citizen developer takes on projects that are appropriate for their skill level, while more complex needs are escalated to IT.
Security must be built into the program from day one. This is achieved through a combination of technology, process, and education.
Technology is only half the battle. Citizen development thrives in a culture that values collaboration, learning, and empowerment.
For a citizen developer program to succeed, it needs alignment from top to bottom. This starts with executive sponsorship to secure resources and champion the initiative. It also requires clear communication about the roles and responsibilities of business teams and IT, creating a partnership rather than a turf war.
Fusion teams are cross functional squads that bring together IT professionals, business experts, and a citizen developer to work on a project collaboratively. This model blends deep technical knowledge with intimate business context, resulting in better, faster solutions. It breaks down the traditional silos and ensures that what gets built is scalable, secure, and perfectly aligned with user needs.
Often, citizen development begins organically, with a few enterprising employees building small solutions to make their own jobs easier. This grassroots approach is a powerful indicator of unmet needs and employee initiative. The key is for organizations to identify these bottom up efforts and bring them into the fold of a governed program, providing the tools and support to help them flourish safely.
Citizen development is a powerful engine for upskilling your workforce. It empowers employees with valuable new tech skills, boosting job satisfaction and engagement. Some companies are even creating formal career paths, with roles like “Automation Champion” or “Citizen Developer Lead.” Professional certifications, like those offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), are further legitimizing these skills and creating new opportunities for career growth.
The right tools and support are critical for turning enthusiastic employees into productive citizen developers.
Selecting the right low code and no code platform is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Key criteria include:
Many organizations find that a single tool isn’t enough. Gartner predicts 75% of large enterprises will use at least four different low code development tools by 2025. The goal is to find platforms that strike the right balance. For example, a platform like WeWeb’s visual development platform is designed for this hybrid world, offering an easy to use visual editor for the citizen developer while also providing the backend freedom, custom code integration, and self hosting options that professional IT teams require for enterprise grade applications.
Even the best tools are useless without proper training. A successful program invests in both initial onboarding and ongoing support. This includes hands on workshops, mentorship programs, online forums or chat channels for peer support, and a rich knowledge base of tutorials and best practices through resources like the WeWeb Academy.
For companies just starting out, an external implementation partner or consultant can be invaluable. A good partner can help you establish your governance framework, deliver initial training, and accelerate your first few wins, setting you on the right path for long term success. Find vetted experts in the WeWeb Agency Directory.
Moving from a few successful pilots to a widespread, impactful program is the final step. Scaling requires a deliberate effort to grow the community of citizen developers, strengthen governance, measure and broadcast success to build momentum, and fully integrate citizen development into your company’s core IT and business strategy. When you scale successfully, you create an organization where innovation can truly come from anywhere. For inspiration, explore our customer showcase.
Ready to empower your teams? Exploring a powerful and secure platform is the first step. See how WeWeb can help you build a citizen development program that delivers production grade applications with the speed of no code and the power of code. Book a demo.
A citizen developer is a user from a business department (outside of IT) who builds applications for themselves or others using low code or no code platforms that are approved by their company’s IT department.
No. The key difference is governance. Citizen development is a formal, IT supported initiative with rules and guardrails. Shadow IT is when employees use unapproved technology without IT’s knowledge, which can create significant security and compliance risks.
Not at all. Citizen development complements professional development. It frees up professional developers from building smaller, departmental applications, allowing them to focus on more complex, mission critical systems, architecture, and infrastructure.
They primarily use low code and no code application platforms. These tools feature visual, drag and drop interfaces that allow users to build applications, automate workflows, and design user interfaces with minimal to no traditional programming.
A good start involves getting executive buy in, forming a small cross functional team to lead the effort, selecting an initial user friendly platform, identifying a few simple pilot projects (you can jumpstart with starter templates), and establishing a basic governance framework before you expand.
Yes, when it is managed with proper governance. A successful program relies on IT to select secure platforms, set data access policies, and monitor the applications being created. A governed program is far more secure than the alternative of uncontrolled shadow IT.
The main benefits are speed and agility. A citizen developer can build and deploy solutions in a fraction of the time it would take through traditional IT channels, allowing teams to solve problems and seize opportunities much faster.
