The “digitize or die” mantra may sound cliché, yet many Chief Information Officers (CIOs) grapple with turning their visions into reality, hindered by a shortage of digital talent. With only 27 million developers worldwide – 0.33% of the global population – the demand for digital expertise is booming against the backdrop of essential digital transformation. To address this challenge, leveraging low-code solutions like Microsoft’s Power Platform emerges as a viable solution. While still demanding expertise, low-code platforms streamline development by assembling existing components, significantly reducing time and effort. At AmeXio, we’ve observed a surge in low-code adoption, with low-code projects now supporting core organizational processes, serving thousands of users daily.
Yet, amid these expansive low-code initiatives, we’ve also observed that three pivotal elements crucial for successful implementations often elude the attention of customers: design, continuous integration, and process optimization.
The beauty of low code lies in its accessibility: within many organizations, a group of enthusiasts can quickly craft apps, easily shared among colleagues. However, therein lies a challenge: all too often, these low-code apps flout basic principles of user experience and consistent design. From haphazard button placement to inconsistent colour schemes and a lack of responsiveness, the pitfalls are plenty. If low code is integral to the overarching IT strategy, it falls upon IT to uphold and enforce overarching design and UX principles.
In our view, prioritizing thoughtful discussions around design and user experience is paramount in every Power Platform project. A clear, user-friendly, and cohesive design isn’t merely a luxury; it’s a linchpin for success. Our approach to low-code implementation starts with a detailed Figma design phase, tailored to our client’s unique requirements. This design journey requires extensive back-and-forth communication, ensuring seamless alignment between our client’s vision and our own UX expertise.
Furthermore, we always define a comprehensive set of Power Platform tailored design guidelines, ensuring each app maintains a unified and distinguished identity.
2. Continuous Integration & DevOpsAnother critical aspect often overlooked in Power Platform projects is the incorporation of continuous integration and DevOps practices. Today’s customers understand that both processes and applications are perpetual works in progress, continually evolving to meet shifting user demands. This perpetual evolution is one of the primary benefits of the cloud: applications can be swiftly delivered and seamlessly adapted to changing needs.
If you envision your low-code platform as a strategic asset, it must align with these modern agile IT methodologies. That’s why, right from the project’s outset, we prioritize establishing deployment pipelines, also in our low-code projects. This proactive approach empowers clients to maintain agility while upholding quality standards.
The initial investment in setting up these pipelines yields substantial benefits, even in the short term. By integrating continuous integration and DevOps practices, organizations can ensure their applications remain adaptable and robust, meeting evolving user needs without compromising on quality.
Have you ever encountered the term ‘Yesterwork‘? Coined by technology visionary Peter Hinssen, it refers to processes and tasks that persist stubbornly despite their outdated nature. Take, for instance, Hinssen’s experience with his health insurer, who offers a sleek online portal for requesting identification stickers, only to deliver them on paper via snail mail. Yesterwork is pervasive in most organizations, often persisting in digitized forms rather than being redesigned and optimized, let alone exploring the additional automation opportunities presented by AI.
In every Power Platform project, we urge customers to conduct a thorough examination of their existing processes, identifying areas ripe for automation and AI integration, and redesigning where necessary. The potential for improvement is vast: manual email dragging and dropping can be replaced by automated mailbox polling; tedious data extraction from contracts can give way to automatic extraction via SharePoint Premium; and data duplication in SAP can be eradicated through real-time connections. These optimizations represent the true transformation of Yesterwork into modern, efficient processes that also avoid employee frustration.
For organizations that view low code as more than just a frivolous tech sandbox, we firmly believe that the three elements mentioned above are indispensable for success. Low-code initiatives should adhere to the same principles and methodologies as your ‘traditional’ development endeavors, no more, no less.
Want to find our more? Find us at booth 13 at this year’s European Power Platform Conference in Brussels. We look forward to meeting you there!
