How Can Low-Code/No-Code Development Be Used to Benefit Agencies?
While the low-code/no-code approach isn’t perfect — and is often the result of citizen developers fed up with the pace of application creation — it does offer several benefits for government agencies, such as:
- Creating proofs of concept. No-code and low-code tools offer a way for citizen developers to show government executives their ideas for improved applications can work in practice. Instead of simply presenting theory, staff can offer working proof and help drive executive buy-in and convince leadership to assign more robust development resources to the project.
- Increasing task efficiency. As Downs notes, the reduced amount of development time required for no-code and low-code apps makes them ideal for increasing everyday task efficiency. If staffers can build their own versions of familiar apps or quickly deploy much-needed functions, they can address their own operational concerns without getting IT involved.
- Avoiding the “good idea paradox.” Downs has seen it more than once: Staff members have a good idea for a new feature or application but only come with the idea itself. Unless the idea is good enough to get full development support, it never makes it past the brainstorming stage. Low-code and no-code solutions let citizen developers convert good ideas into simple apps, in turn offering a practical starting point that helps avoid the “good idea paradox.”
- Empowering remote work. With many staff members still working from home — and hybrid work approaches here to stay — it’s impossible for in-house IT teams to manage the sheer variety and volume of staff network connections, application preferences and much-needed features. Equipped with no-code and low-code tools, however, employees can build what they need when they need it.=
FREE RESOURCES: Get the tools you need to modernize your IT infrastructure.
Government-Compliant Low-Code/No-Code Platforms
According to Downs, the adoption of low-code and no-code platforms “is still relatively nascent at the government level. Not all agencies allow these tools because they don’t want to create a security issue.”
Still, these solutions are making inroads — as noted by Forbes, the U.S. State Department leveraged ServiceNow’s low-code App Engine to create, develop and deliver nearly a dozen apps to diplomats worldwide during the early days of the pandemic.
Some of the most widely used and government-approved platforms include:
- App Engine by ServiceNow. AppEngine by ServiceNow has seen use at both state and federal levels: In addition to being used to create COVID-19 apps for the State Department, the platform was also used to establish a centralized dispatch framework for emergency teams responding to U.S. wildfires. In practice, AppEngine makes it possible for government agencies to create new applications in half the time and at one-third the cost of traditional development methods.
- Honeycode by AWS. Honeycode by AWS uses familiar spreadsheet functions such as sheets, tables and formulas to help users quickly create new apps, and also offers templates for commonly created apps such as task trackers and event management tools. This government-approved low-code platform has already been used by private enterprise partners to provide government agencies with key document deliverables that require a high degree of compliance.
- PowerApps by Microsoft. PowerApps by Microsoft is available in both per-app and per-user frameworks, and according to the official PowerApps site is “available to US federal, state, local, tribal and territorial government entities and other entities that handle data that is subject to government regulations and requirements.” Last year, the platform was used by the Washington State Department of Health to create and deploy its Regional Government Emergency Response and Monitoring solution. The tool provides an aggregated view of COVID-19 cases and resources and is now used in 115 hospitals across the state.
Citizen developers are driving the next phase of digital transformation for state operations. Downs puts it simply: “Used properly, no-code and low-code frameworks can be a force multiplier for government agencies.”