Empower Citizen

Developers with
3 Data-driven Steps
How to help teams throughout your company become citizen developers
and put data-driven digital transformation to work
Table of Contents

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Review your available data

Step 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Match your data to your business goal

Step 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Put your data to work with no-code development

Get started today. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

About Google Cloud's AppSheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Executive Summary
One of the most important drivers for digital transformation is
citizen development. An untapped resource in most companies, the
citizen, or line-of-business developer, is key to removing the barriers
that prevent automation and digitization improvements taking root
at the individual, team, or departmental level. For any company to
accelerate innovation, they need to leverage this untapped resource,
enabling those who truly understand the problems to solve them in
the form of business apps that transform how work gets done. The
rise of no-code platforms that enable citizen development is one key
component of a successful effort.

The other component, while foundational, is often underutilized:

data. Why is it so hard to put business data to use? Traditionally,
companies have relied on developers as the go-to resource for
synthesizing business data and putting it to work. Developers,
however, are a scarce resource.

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It’s time to break this paradigm. In order to scale your organization’s
digital transformation efforts, app development—and the data-driven “In order to scale your
work the apps facilitate—need to be democratized. A no-code platform
makes this possible, enabling the line-of-business workers to
organization’s digital
become developers, which in turn accelerates digital transformation. transformation efforts,
This eBook explores how to identify and leverage all the data you app development—
have as you pursue citizen developer initiatives, broken down into
three steps:
and the data-driven
work the apps
Step 1: Review your available data. The person closest to the facilitate—need to
problem is often the best person to develop a solution. Tap into
that knowledge to define your goals.
be democratized.”

Step 2: Match your data to your business goals. Critical data is often
siloed. Decide which data is most likely to be useful for transforming
your business by matching it to your goals.

Step 3: Put your data to work with no-code development. After

you’ve laid your groundwork, develop a custom business solution
that enables and scales data-driven digital transformation within
your teams and across departments and organizations.

To help you get started, we’ve provided actionable steps for citizen
developers, worksheets, examples, and plenty of other information
about the benefits and potential pitfalls you might experience
along the way. There’s even a helpful handout for you to introduce
employees to the idea of citizen development, to help them get
on board.

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Introduction
Learning how to leverage your data for data-driven citizen
development can transform your business. In every company, “With the right no-code
a huge amount of data is generated. It might take the form of
development platform,
inventory management, machine repair logs, punch lists, check
lists, and other information collected in the field or factory. In sales you can actually
and marketing, data can include customer preferences, sales reduce the burden
interactions, marketing results, employee feedback, competitor
on your organization’s
cost changes, process assessments, and much more. In many
organizations, that data sits untapped and is rarely used to its full IT team, freeing
advantage. Whether you’re at a scrappy startup, a global Fortune them up to handle
500 company, or somewhere in between, barriers exist to digital
more strategic
transformation that would allow your company to mine all its data
for actionable insights. challenges while other
departments become
Now, let’s talk data-driven citizen development and the potential it
more self-sufficient.”
has to help spur digital transformation at your organization. No-code
development offers two distinct advantages to the status quo when
it comes to making the most of your organization’s data:

1. No-code development platforms enable app creators, and by

extension app users, to tap directly into data sources allowed by
reliable governance rules.

2. This direct connection between the data and the line-of-business

workforce enables citizen developers to transform the way work
gets done, fully automating tasks and eliminating process gaps.

In sum, no-code development can help you scale processes and

insights throughout your organization. With the right no-code
development platform, you can actually reduce the burden on your
organization’s IT team, freeing them up to handle more strategic
challenges while other departments become more self-sufficient.
No-code platform capabilities like governance, available in Google
Cloud’s AppSheet, allow citizen developers to easily build apps on
their own, optimizing and automating day-to-day tasks that can
improve the entire business and lead to potential cost savings,
increased profits, or both.

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And by empowering non-technical members of your team to
become citizen developers, the people closest to the problems that
need solving can move mountains for their organization’s digital
transformation initiatives. With the right no-code development
platform, anyone can be empowered to replace outmoded processes
with solutions they build themselves.

Step 1: Review your available data

In the line of business, people who work closest to process problems
often know the best way to resolve them. Tap into the knowledge of
those line-of-business employees and gain valuable insights into:

1. Day-to-day operational practices that would benefit greatly from

digitization or automation. These practices are often smaller
scale and impact those who work directly within the space,
rather than executives or IT who are often disconnected from
daily work.

2. Other work and processes, which may apply to one individual or

span teams or departments. Having a micro view of how work
gets done today is key to understanding what needs to be
changed to become more efficient and effective tomorrow.
This bottom-up approach to digital transformation can quickly
produce incremental gains, which then spur further innovation
in the form of your team’s next big idea.

3. How to creatively problem-solve. Out-of-the-box thinking can

offer new ways to approach and solve a problem. For example,
instead of using paper forms to intake field survey information,
digitize the information via an app for real-time data collection
and reporting.

Once you’ve identified those operations that need to be improved,

it’s time to move on to understanding the data you are currently
collecting.

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Step 2: Match your data to your
business goal
Typically, unlocking data has been a role for developers but no-code
development can open up this capability to all employees. With a “By empowering non-
no-code platform, citizen developers can tackle the issues that you
technical members of
identified in the first step of this process. But how do you understand
which types of data will help you gain greater insights for more your team to become
effective problem-solving? First, consider all the data you citizen developers, the
already have.
people closest to the
You’re likely already collecting lots of data, storing it in lists, charts, problems that need
spreadsheets, and databases. Once you start digging for data, you’ll solving can move
find much more than you anticipated.
mountains for their
For example: organization’s digital
• Has someone charted all of your company’s sales—how long it transformation.”
takes to nurture each new client and when different products
tend to sell?

• Do you know the average time it takes to complete every step of

the department’s workflow for standard deliverables? Do you
even have a list of the steps?

• Do you know the uptime for your equipment, repair intervals,

worker sick time, and other factors that could impact
productivity?

In many cases, useful data like that above is available, but you’re not
aware of it. Other sources of data may be less visible, requiring more
effort to identify it as a potential resource.

You may even be collecting information that you don’t think of as

data. Perhaps you’re a manufacturer who needs to understand
equipment lifecycle, so you take photos of faulty equipment to
keep track of maintenance timelines and prioritize repairs. When
put to use, this data can help you understand how to better predict
potential downtime and assist with long-term budgeting. And
you don’t necessarily need human beings to review the images.

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For example, AppSheet’s no-code platform includes Google’s
artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities that
can help identify faulty equipment by flagging warning signs that a
human reviewer might miss.

To get started, make a list of all the data you have, and include every
data source you can find. Consider these categories as you develop
your list:

Data currently collected: Top your list with the data that’s integral
to your business functions and is already being collected (as in the
examples above), and note how you currently leverage it.

Siloed data: Next, hunt for data that’s managed by one department
but might be useful to another. Data silos often evolve naturally
within large organizations but that doesn’t mean it can’t be put to
other uses.

Non-digital data: Think about data that’s written down or collected

in other formats. Are there paper records for inventory or shipments?
What about the depth of information that lives in the minds of
employees, especially the institutional knowledge of senior staffers
or front-line workers? Take an inventory of data that might be critical
to your business, despite it not yet being digitized.

External data: Lastly, consider if external sources of data might be

useful. Competitive analysis may already be part of your business
model. But you could layer on other factors such as consumer
confidence, weather patterns, holidays, and search trends. Third-
party data can also include statistics and research in your field,
including forecasts and predictions. By looking at data beyond your
organization, you might discover interesting correlations and
insights around how external factors impact your business.

Once you’ve audited your data, you could do a gap analysis or simply
maintain a “wish list” of data that you realize you lack (but need).
Then, you can prioritize and set about collecting the missing data
that will help your team move forward.

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Step 3: Put your data to work with
no-code development
A thoughtful evaluation of data sources should create a clearer
picture of your business’s data ecosystem, which can form the “Citizen developers
foundation for business improvement. Now it’s time to put that data
are typically line-of-
to work with your team of citizen developers.
business employees
Citizen development democratizes the process of building apps, that have a unique
giving non-technical staff the power to solve process problems and
understanding of
streamline their work. Citizen developers are typically line-of-business
employees that have a unique understanding of the challenges they the challenges
face in their departments and roles; with no-code development, they they face in their
can creatively solve their problems and build solutions to help them
departments and
accomplish their goals.
roles; with no-code
A cost-effective and efficient option is to let users build their own development, they
custom apps, using a no-code development platform such as
can creatively solve
AppSheet that doesn’t require any technical ability and connects
with a variety of sources such as Google Sheets. With a platform like their problems and
AppSheet, citizen developers can build apps to automate data entry build solutions to help
and other processes, while operating within the guardrails put in
them accomplish
place by the IT team that ensures proper governance.
their goals. ”
Here are some use cases that are perfect for citizen development on
no-code platforms:

Paperless data entry: Create a data-capture app with input fields

such as text or images (essentially a digital form) to collect and
store data in a consistent format. This type of app can replace your
paper-dependent processes.

Automated reporting: Build live dashboards to automate periodic

notifications and for sending reports to key stakeholders.

Automated alerts: When creating apps, build in automated alerts

to escalate potential issues to relevant teams when a significant
change happens in the data. The triggered alerts can be delivered
via email, SMS, or push notification to ensure the real-time attention

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of the team members who need to take action. On a macro level,
alerts can also provide the first indication of abnormalities or
problems with your product, business, or industry.

Project and budget management: Using an app to track employee

productivity can help you more efficiently allocate headcount and
team resources. Tracking data about hours worked and the results
produced can also provide insights into project areas that might
need more attention, or help you identify your highest-performing
employees. Aside from a productivity tracking app, you could also
create a dashboard to track productivity levels in real time and easily
share performance reports with others.

Customer retention: Using an app, you can improve customer service

and spot any customers who might need additional attention.
Documenting customer interactions can be centralized to ensure
everyone at your company is up-to-date when they communicate
with customers. You can set alerts for canceled orders or changes
to subscriptions that may indicate negative changes, such as
customers trying out a competitor’s product or an economic
downturn among your customer base. You can also create systems
that produce updates of goods being produced and shipped, keeping
customers informed along the way for enhanced customer service.

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Get started today
How do you start making the most of your data and existing software
and systems? These steps can help you develop insights that can Working with
lead to increased productivity and profits. Here’s a checklist to set
yourself up for data success:
data handout
Before you launch your data-
 Engage stakeholders and users from the start to get them driven citizen development
invested in the process and outcomes early. program, you need to help your
colleagues understand what data
 Identify proponents who can evangelize the project to their is. We’ve created a free handout
colleagues, become early adopters to provide feedback, and you can share called “Explaining
help answer coworkers’ questions when you roll out new apps. Data.” (https://bit.ly/33F0nIZ)

 Empower employees to dig into the data, draw conclusions,

and propose ideas for their own apps that they can build and
update themselves.

 Develop a roadmap and socialize your plan with everyone who

might be impacted along the way so they know what to expect
and when.

 Approach projects with a growth mindset so you can experiment

without the fear of failure as you’ll always learn from the
experience.

Taking these steps will help you maximize your existing resources,
keep your business lean, and increase your ability to act on key
information now and in the future.

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About Google Cloud’s AppSheet
There are more than a billion people in the world who could use
custom apps to be more productive at work. However, whether in a
large corporation or in a small business, it has proven too expensive,
complicated, and time-consuming to build apps with traditional
code-based programming.

We've taken a different approach by creating an intelligent, data-

driven, no-code development platform. Our mission is to empower
all those people to build apps themselves and transform their
workplace.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this eBook, and that you’re ready to
put data-driven citizen development into practice. To start building
apps with your data for free, sign up for AppSheet today.

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