The LowCode Rises

Read Time: 5 mins

Introduction:

The introduction of Low/No Code Application (LCAP) platform of late has completely disrupted the IT landscape. Now as part of to provide system solution for business problem along with Build Vs Buy option the evaluation of LCAP should also be factored. My attempt is to generalize a direction on when to prefer LCAP over Pro-Code when the decision is build the capability inhouse

Implementation Paradigm shift:

The Build approach would be enable to address the all the business requirements. It is typical that we end up with build decision if the requirement are unique for and the industry is not matured or doesn't offer a solution. You have full control on how the system should be design and managed. For business problem which is already solved the approach tends to be buy. Adding to this traditional decision making mix is now the LCAP platform that can enable organisation to build solution quickly, and typically cost much less than systems developed inhouse. With drag and drop or basic programming users can usually design and implement their individual or departmental systems in a few hours. Clearly the trend to explore LCAP has been gaining a lot of traction and the buzz in the industry is pushing a bias to adapt the platform.

Examine the Needs:

While application design the 3 core consideration are understanding the user ecosystem, the systemic process you are trying to enforce and the data handling that the system has to process. The consideration with user ecosystem are the size and concurrency of the application and will the application be leveraged by user base external to the organisation. The second factor would be to understand what business logic are we trying to implement? Is it a simple workflow / process automation ? Does the application have to orchestrate business logic and also integrate with other systems? The final factor would be the handling of data. Is it application performing a simple read / display of data ? Is the expectation that the application build should manage larger dataset and ensure that while processing the data the integrity / quality of the data is not compromised ?

Examining the above 3 core ingredients should help with direction of when to go with LCAP or Pro-Code. Below matrix is just a advocacy for decision making

Unpacking the decision making:

Don't get carried away with the LCAP buzz. They are great in building solution from cost and time saving. They would accelerate innovation and drive efficiency. But these platforms still need some level of software engineering skills. Do partner with platform experts to talk through about the solution and consider how to scale, maintain, integrate and govern. Application / capability built leveraging low code still have to work within the enterprise guidelines and can not operate like Batman outside the EA guardrails as a vigilante :-)..