Development cycles using low code can be a great way to start your projects. Low-code development is becoming an increasingly popular approach to reduce manual coding and accelerate development cycles. This can be especially useful when you’re working on a tight deadline.
The low-code platform can also be a great way to get people with no coding experience involved in the development process. By implementing low-code solutions, organizations can enjoy greater agility, improved collaboration, and accelerated time to market.
However, this article will discuss low-code development’s essentials and key factors. Also, it will cover 6 ways to accelerate development cycles using low code.
The Essentials of Low-Code
Low code is a term used to describe software platforms that allow users to create applications without writing code. Instead, users can drag and drop pre-built components and connect them to create an application. Low-code platforms also usually come with a visual interface, making them easy for non-technical users. Here are statistics that show revenues for low code development technologies.
The benefits of low code are as follows:
- Turns idea into reality in minutes
- Legacy integration
- Simplifies maintenance
- Accelerates development
- Reduces IT backlogs
- Saves costs
- Improves productivity
- Bridges skill gap & resource shortage
- Increases productivity
- Quickens innovation
- Allows resources to be focused on core company activities
Key Factors of Low-Code Development
There’s no doubt that low-code application platforms are gaining popularity as they offer a faster and easier way to build applications. But what are the key factors that make low-code development successful? Here are 8 important factors to consider:
1. User Experience Is Key
Low-code development platforms must provide an intuitive and user-friendly experience, which is essential for success. Citizen developers, in particular, need to be able to quickly learn how to use the platform and be able to build applications without much prior experience.
2. Demand for Faster Development
As businesses strive to be more agile, there is a growing demand for faster development. Low-code development platforms provide a way to meet this demand, allowing applications to be built quickly and easily.
3. Enablement of Citizen Developers
Another key factor is the enablement of citizen developers. Citizen developers are non-professional developers who build applications to solve business problems. Low-code development platforms must be easy to use so that citizen developers can quickly learn how to build applications.
4. The Need for Flexibility
As businesses change and evolve, they need to be able to adapt their applications to meet new needs quickly. Low-code development platforms provide the flexibility to make changes quickly and easily.
5. Integration With Existing Systems
Another important factor to consider is integration with existing systems. Low-code development platforms must integrate easily with existing systems to access and share data.
6. Scalability
Another key factor is scalability. As businesses grow, they need to be able to scale their applications to meet the growing needs of the business. Low-code development platforms provide the ability to scale applications quickly and easily.
7. Security
Security is another important factor to consider, as businesses need to be able to trust that their data is safe and secure. Low-code development platforms must provide a high level of security to ensure that data is protected.
8. Support From Vendors
Finally, it is important to consider the level of support available from the vendor. The vendor should provide a wide range of support, including training, documentation, and helpdesk support.
6 Ways to Accelerate Development Cycles Using Low-Code
Let’s explore how you can use low code to accelerate development cycles and deliver applications faster than ever. Whether you’re a seasoned software engineer or just starting in coding, these 6 strategies will help you speed up development and save time.
1. Discover the Best Low-Code Platform for Your Unique Needs
When it comes to developing applications, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Choosing the best low-code solution for your business can take time, with more than 300 vendors providing solutions on the market. The best low-code platform for your needs will depend on several factors, including Collaborative IDEs, Productivity, Cloud support, Data integration, and Application lifecycle management. Let’s discuss them one by one.
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Collaborative IDEs
If you want to enable your entire workforce to co-create solutions, Make sure the platform you choose provides separate IDEs for expert developers and people with little to no coding experience. Throughout the application lifecycle, the solution should include built-in tools that allow excellent cooperation between business and IT teams.
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Productivity
The platform should include an IDE with drag-and-drop widgets, reusable components, and real-time collaboration features to boost development productivity and support developers of all skill levels. The platform should also provide various integration and give developers access to DevOps tools to quickly build complex apps and systems.
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Cloud Support
The platform should allow you to deploy on public, private, hybrid, and on-premise cloud environments and facilitate scalable development of cloud-native applications.
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Data Integration
The platform should be able to integrate with the system you select. Also, developers should be able to easily access, understand, and use data from any internal or external source without compromising data security.
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Application Lifecycle Management
Your low code platform should offer an integrated set of tools and services for continuous support throughout the application development lifecycle, including requirement gathering, idea creation, deployment, and performance monitoring.
2. Spend Sufficient Time on the Tool
When it comes to low-code development tools, it’s important to spend enough time on the tool to get the most out of it. Doing so can accelerate your development cycles and get more done in less time. Let’s discuss some tips to get the most out of low-code development tools:
- Use the tool regularly. The more you use the tool, the more familiar you’ll become with it and the more quickly you’ll be able to work with it.
- Take some time to learn all the tool’s features and capabilities. By doing so, you’ll be able to utilize its full potential and get the most out of it.
- Use the tool to its fullest potential. Feel free to experiment with it and push its limits. By doing so, you’ll learn its capabilities and how to utilize them best.
- Get feedback from others. Ask those who are experienced with the tool for their input and advice. By doing so, you’ll be able to learn from their mistakes and get the most out of the tool.
- Stay up to date on updates. As the tool is updated, you will add new features.
3. Start Small
Organizations that want to accelerate their development cycles using low code often wonder where to start. The good news is that you can start with a blank slate to take advantage of low code. Best way to accelerate your development cycles and get the most out of your low-code platform if you start small. Here are a few tips for starting small with low code:
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Focus on a Single-Use Case
When starting with low code, it’s important to focus on a single use case. Building too many things at once will only slow you down and make it harder to get the most out of your platform.
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Build a Prototype
Prototyping is a great way to learn about your low-code platform’s capabilities and get users’ feedback. By starting with a prototype, you can save time on features that you may not use or need to be revised.
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Use Existing Data
If you have existing data, you can use it to jumpstart your development. This data can populate your prototype or test new features before they’re released to the public.
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Automate Repetitive Tasks
One of the main advantages of low code is its ability to automate repetitive tasks. If you find yourself doing the same thing repeatedly, chances are there’s a low-code solution that can help.
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Get Feedback From Users
The best way to improve your low-code applications is to get feedback from users. By soliciting feedback early and often, you can ensure that your applications meet your users’ needs.
4. Consider the Target Audience Before Development
If you’re looking to accelerate your development cycles using low-code, it’s important to consider your target audience. Low-code platforms provide a quick and easy way to develop applications without writing code, making them ideal for businesses that want to move quickly and don’t have the resources to invest in traditional development methods.
However, not all low-code platforms are created equal. Some are more suited for certain audiences than others. When choosing a low-code platform, you must consider who will use the applications you develop. The following important factors:
- How technically savvy is your target audience? If they’re not very tech-savvy, you’ll want a platform that is easy to use and doesn’t require a lot of training.
- What kind of applications do you need to develop? You’ll want a powerful and flexible platform if you need to develop complex applications.
- How quickly do you need to develop applications? If you need to develop applications quickly, you’ll want a platform that is easy to use and provides a lot of pre-built functionality.
Keep these factors in mind when choosing a low-code platform, and you’ll be sure to find one well-suited to your needs.
Read More: What are the advantages of mendix?
5. Simplify Data Integration
Data integration is a critical part of any development project. It can be time-consuming and complex, often requiring specialized skills and knowledge. Low-code platforms simplify data integration, making it faster and easier for development teams to work with.
- Low-code platforms provide a visual, drag-and-drop interface for building data integrations. This makes it easy to connect different data sources and create the flows needed to move data between them.
- Low-code platforms also automate many tasks involved in data integration, such as creating tables and columns and mapping data fields. This can speed up development significantly.
Several low-code platforms are available, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. But in general, low-code platforms can save time and effort when integrating data into your development project. So, it’s important to understand your needs and requirements to choose the right platform for your project.
6. List To-Be Features Before Development
It’s important to consider all the features you want to include in your product before starting development. This way, you can ensure you have a clear development roadmap. Low-code development platforms are one way to achieve this. Low-code platforms allow you to quickly create prototypes and mockups of your product to get the stakeholders’ feedback. This can help you identify the most important features to your users and accelerate your development cycles. So if you’re thinking about using low-code for your next project, here are some features to consider before development:
- User experience: how easily can users navigate your product?
- Functionality: what features do you want to include?
- Integration: how will your product integrate with other systems?
- Reporting: what kind of data do you want to be able to track?
Considering these factors before development ensures you’re building the right product for your users and accelerating your development cycles.
To Summarize
To summarize,low-code tools are an innovative and efficient way to accelerate development cycles. Low-code platforms can reduce the complexity of developing complex applications and create intuitive user experiences quickly and cost-effectively. By utilizing a low-code platform, businesses can reduce the time and resources needed for software development, allowing them to focus on other goals.
The future of low-code development is looking very bright. More and more businesses are turning to low-code platforms to develop the needed applications, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down. If you’re considering using a low-code platform for your next software project, be sure to do your research and choose the right platform.
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