There has been conjecture regarding the so-called “citizen a developer” for many years, including the extent of what they could truly create for themselves and the true output of their labor. After all, the mess-cleaning task is frequently delegated to the IT department staff.
According to a recent Deloitte report, the time may be right for the distinctions between developers and end users to become less clear. The report’s authors argue that instead of focusing on finding superstar software engineers, it makes more business sense to bring in citizen developers for ground-level programming. Or, as they put it, “instead of transforming from a 1x to a 10x engineer, employees outside the tech division could be going from zero to one.”
As opposed to Python or Java, they predict that future applications will likely be built on English or natural language commands.
It’s possible that all employees will work in technology in the near future, which will contribute to the rise of citizen developers. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its associated advanced analytics are the economic opportunities of the future. According to a recent survey conducted by nonprofit tech educational provider Per Scholas among 650 C-suite executives, 100 hiring managers, and 1,500 office workers, 98 percent of executives believe that within the next ten years, every job will be tech-related and tech skills will be essential in every industry.
According to the Per Scholas survey, workers are developing their tech skills and are aware of what lies ahead. With 43% of workers currently pursuing software, apps, AI, coding, and data science, these are the most sought-after upskills.
“More employees should carry out basic technology tasks in the years to come or simply oversee automated digital processes,” according to Deloitte, depending on the rate of automation. When these simpler tasks are assigned to non-IT or non-core staff members. “experienced engineers can focus on the highly complex tasks and novel builds on which they’re excited to work.”
The Deloitte authors note that companies frequently aspire “to hire 10x engineers, those who are 10 times as productive as the average developer.” “But searching for unicorns in the talent market is rarely a winning strategy.”
They go on, saying that many human skills may be enhanced by automated platforms and generative AI when used in an accepting and encouraging corporate environment. “10x engineers could become much less rare. Especially as generative AI continues to bolster developer productivity and opens up a future of increased workplace automation, many of today’s hindrances may not be relevant in the next five to 10 years.”
It all comes down to creating an excellent “developer experience,” not only in IT shops but throughout the entire company. “As technology itself continues to become more and more central to the business, technology tasks and required talent will likely become central as well. Standardized tools and platforms — as well as advanced low- or no-code tech — may one day enable all employees of a business to become low-level engineers.”