MAY - 20238 IN MYV EWLow Code Application Platforms (LCAP) have allowed the delivery of innovation at speed. They have empowered and transformed legacy IT functions from service maintainers (keep the lights on) to business enablers. Furthermore, LCAP has expanded the resource pool by inviting non-native software-trained developers to enter the application development domain. These non-native application developers are commonly employees with deep business knowledge who understand their operational challenges and have developed broad relationships across the organization. These personas are very effective in discovery workshops and solution development sessions because of their deep business knowledge and extended stakeholder relationships. The inherent paradox is innovation at speed does not negate the need for traditional application development governance practices because the negation will inevitably stifle innovation. There is a real temptation to enter solution mode quickly without taking time to distill and document the problem we aim to solve and consider solution integration with our enterprise architecture. Furthermore, defining success criteria and associated targets is critical to measure and reporting project performance. I have experienced the delivery of small working prototypes that have become solutions in production which sounds excellent, but this practice establishes an expectation by our customers. More often, the case is rapid delivery without defining the problem, documenting the design, and establishing a project charter with clear success criteria and performance targets, which leads to conflict across stakeholders with alternate perspectives of product success and performance. Furthermore, precedence is a toxic attribute that can be difficult to course-correct back to a more governed framework. As organizations seek to increase productivity, improve efficiency and create an innovation culture, Low-code, No-code platforms provide a solution that realizes these ambitions. Here are ten learnings I have gained over several years of developing enterprise applications in our LCAP, which powered our strategic competitiveness. 1) Problem Definition - Spend time understanding the business challenge and defining the problem, ensuring multiple diverse stakeholder perspectives have been sorted. Then document and share with stakeholders to ensure alignment. The problem definition document will be the foundational reference for defining success criteria and performance targets. 2) Low-Code, No-Code, No-Go - Keep an open and broad perspective of the business challenge and problem definition. Refrain from assuming the solution is technology-enabled. Consider options to solve the problem without technology, such as a change in process or practice. I have seen technology-driven solutions implemented that resulted in marginal improvements because the root cause of the challenges was people and processes with no amount of technology able to compete. 3) Governance Fit - Consider an appropriate level of software development and project governance suitable for the size and maturity of the organization. The balance is between TEN LEARNINGS FROM THE ADOPTION OF AN LCAP BY HANI ARAB, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, ASSETLINKHani Arab
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