Shell’s citizen development program enhances business operations

Low-code and no-code technologies are revolutionizing software development, enabling new possibilities for process excellence and improvement. By empowering professionals to become the driving force behind process automation and transformation without the need for deep coding knowhow, low-code/no-code platforms democratize process management and automation, making them more accessible and adaptable. Gartner predicts that low-code technology will become the norm for most application development in the enterprise, accounting for 75 percent of new development by 2026.

Citizen development is the development of software applications by staff that are not professional software developers. At All Access: Low Code 2024, May Linn Liao Amorelli, IT projects business analyst at Shell, discussed the oil and gas company’s global citizen development training program “do it yourself” (DIY). The DIY program embraces the possibility that everyone, wherever they sit in the organization, can improve operations by developing software applications for their daily processes. It aims to deliver significant and rapid cost savings while supporting the democratization of digital skills among staff, unlocking untapped value with digital solutions.

Low-code/no-code key to Shell’s DIY development program

Citizen development is a critical element of Shell’s digitalization journey, empowering those closest to business problems to develop IT applications and deliver bespoke solutions, May said. Low-code or no-code applications have made it possible for nearly everyone to be a developer and generate value, allowing staff to create their own software with very little or no need for coding within a safe and controlled environment, she added. This is achieved through frameworks, a self-service portal, comprehensive training and community engagement.

“We started the program in 2019 within the IT strategy, recognizing the potential of low-code/no-code platforms. The program helps to empower every employee to utilize work processes, improving productivity, increasing agility and creating more value for customers.” With increasing workloads exceeding capacity, IT cannot address every issue or problem of the business alone. “So, we need more developers – it’s essential to have this,” May said. The DIY program also opens new career opportunities in the business, where staff can create fresh pathways that may not have previously been available to them.

READ: Low-code technology: A secret sauce for modern businesses

DIY program in action

An example of a success story from Shell’s program is Fernando, a refinery engineer in Texas, who developed an application to help manage and supervise complex and time-consuming maintenance procedures. For years, Fernando wanted ways to simplify them, and with Shell’s program, he finally could.

With no easy way to review data displaying the overall health and safety risks that come with site pump maintenance, Fernando intended to automate part of the process – especially the data collection and visualization. The idea came from consulting colleagues in Europe who faced similar challenges.

Fernando had not previously worked in the software development space, despite his technical background. To develop the app, he sought support from IT to overcome hurdles such as data access, with the self-taught trial and error approach proving to be an effective way to learn the basics. Shell’s established global community of citizen developers also helped Fernando, and he built the application in just a few months.

A self-led program

Interestingly, the decision of who takes part in the DIY program is not one led by seniors at Shell. Instead, it is the workers themselves who choose whether or not to participate, based on their needs and ambitions for improving and automating processes, May said. They learn about the tools and feel excited about what they can achieve on their own, before moving onto more complex projects, she added. “It depends on the developer appetite and how the company encourages them towards more expertise.”

There are various marketing and communication strategies involved in the program, which Shell is continually nurturing to help support curiosity and a learning mindset among workers, May said. This requires a certain type of culture, she added. An important part of Shell’s DIY program are its hackathon events. These are free, business-focused challenges designed to give citizen developers hands-on experience, develop and showcase skills and even win prizes.

READ: How low-code democratizes process automation

Citizen development and low-code challenges

There are many benefits of implementing citizen development and low-code technologies into processes, but there are some significant challenges that must be overcome, May said. The main challenges center around managing the rules of limitations and new ways of working, as well as alignment and tracking/maintaining the compliance of new applications, she added. “You also need to ensure you are not duplicating apps with the same goal.” The governance and framework of a citizen development program must be well-designed and communicated from the start, May concluded.

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