Luke Posey, Product Manager
What is a citizen developer?
Citizen developers are individuals inside companies who build software but weren't employed to do so; often not formally trained in software engineering.
Citizen developers can take many forms. Often, they're business professionals, analysts, or engineers who build software to fill business needs. They can come from any role that isn't formally assigned to building software. Citizen developers are often among the most curious and creative people in their companies because they're stepping outside their normal roles and comfort zones to solve problems.
Almost all enterprise code revolves around gathering data, transforming it (optional), and using/sharing that data. So, it's no surprise that citizen developers often have data needs that their existing tools can't meet.
Tools like Quadratic, a code-enabled spreadsheet, are perfect for citizen development. They're easy to use and extremely flexible, and they can be deployed on a developer's own infrastructure or used as a cloud service. These tools enable citizen developers to build flexible solutions that meet their team's business needs.
Citizen developer skill
The citizen developer often has limited formal software engineering experience. They use the tools available to build solutions that solve real problems. Citizen developers are usually tool agnostic, using whatever is available to build the solution they need quickly.
In modern enterprises, citizen developers are best positioned when using tools that are easily maintainable and scalable. Programming languages like Python and SQL are among the most common tools used in this way. Python is easy to learn and read, and SQL is the default language for accessing data.
Fortunately, with tools like Quadratic, citizen developers can use Python and SQL in tandem to build solutions that are easy to use and maintain.
AI has enabled a vast class of citizen developers to build solutions previously only possible for full-time software engineers and data scientists. In the age of AI, citizen developers are a few natural language queries away from getting AI to help them write and edit complex code to solve their everyday problems. With citizen developer tools like Quadratic, users can jump straight in with AI that understands their data and can help them write and edit code. Learn more about writing code in Quadratic.
DevOps hurdles
One of the most common hurdles for citizen developers is the complexity of deploying and maintaining their code on complex infrastructure. It's not unheard of for a citizen developer to spend endless hours getting their code to run, only to discover that it can't be deployed to their company's production environment.
Even if they can deploy their code, who's responsible for maintaining it? Maybe the citizen developer? How about when they leave the company? It's a common problem that once the developer of that code leaves, the code is no longer maintained. If no one can maintain it, that code falls by the wayside.
With a proper citizen development platform, novice developers can deploy their code to their company's production environment in a few clicks with Quadratic self-hosting, leaving the Devops to Quadratic.
Learn more about self-hosting Quadratic.
Self-serve analytics
Citizen developers are leaders in the current trend of self-serve analytics. They're building solutions that allow anyone to access data and solve real problems. They're helping everyone in their company be more data-driven and access data in ways that were previously impossible.
With tools like Quadratic, citizen developers can write code that connects to data sources, enabling flexible ad hoc reporting and self-serve analytics that meet end-users real needs. Users can jump straight into the data and edit and analyze it in a previously impossible way. They can also connect directly to APIs to access first and third-party data sources.
Instead of complex dashboards that aren't editable and whose data is often stale or opaque, users can now build solutions that let them drill deeper into the data. They can build live data connections and view and edit the code that makes everything work.
Learn more about connecting to your company's data with Quadratic.
Enterprise AI
Nowadays, every company is allocating a budget to AI. A recent Databricks report found 85% of enterprises are using AI, but only 29% of AI practitioners believe their tools are production-ready. AI is a massive opportunity for low code citizen developers; most companies are looking for ways to scale their businesses with AI. Despite this, a small percentage have the tools or resources to make it happen.
With citizen developer software like Quadratic, anyone can bring AI solutions to their company.
