Low Code, this technology that lives up to its name very badly

Adopting a so-called “low-code” platform makes it possible to develop applications without having to write traditional lines of code. Naturally, this time saving allows low-code to keep its promises: gains in agility, reduction in “Time To Market” and lower development costs.

The application development revolution

Low-code tools reflect the possibility of achieving your goals by writing only a little code (unlike no-code which does not involve the intervention of programmers and the writing of code at all).

However, behind this name lies an approach, a state of mind and the required skills, going well beyond the relationship with the code. The title « low » usually used to describe these tools is misleading. It can indeed be perceived as reductive and pejorative and we can legitimately wonder if low-code is not misnamed and if it does not deserve a complete rebranding to earn the title of nobility that is due to it.

The low coder: degraded developer or augmented designer-programmer?

All platforms providing application design solutions using more or less intuitive interfaces still require learning their own pseudo-code. The language is supposed to be simpler, intuitive, often visual and therefore more accessible, but the fact remains that it is above all a language that must be understood and mastered.

Furthermore, a good « low-codeur » must also equip themselves with developer skills and reflexes: conceptualization, transcription of expressed and unexpressed needs into code, optimization of resource management, analytical skills, listening and dialogue with clients, are skills as much required of a low-coder as of a traditional developer, if not more.

When should you repeat an existing module? When should it be adapted? Which widget is secure enough to download from the marketplace? What function should be made modular and available to the community? Which module is legitimately monetizable? How to guarantee maintainability, security and efficiency? So many questions that contradict the idea that it is simpler to do low-code.

Going against the grain, we will expect a low code developer to be an end-to-end application designer more quickly. The choice of low-code indicates a strong expectation of developers who are more understanding and close to the functional needs. They are generally expected to take a closer approach to technology consulting with an ability to look beyond detailed functional specifications. A low-coder must have a culture of the entire value chain offered by low-code platforms and knowledge of the ecosystem, with the specificities, strengths and weaknesses of each actor.

« Low-code is for multi-talented coders.»

Low code requires developers to strongly question their knowledge and continually learn complementary skills. Gaining seniority for a low-code developer necessarily involves seeking great versatility. At a time when AI will replace developers, it will be good to be on the side of the thinkers and designers of applications – less subject to competition from algorithms – than on the side of the experts in future dead code languages.

While the watchword is “speed”, we must be able not only to develop but also to systematically evaluate the alternatives in order to decide and sometimes choose not to do so. Sometimes taking the responsibility of relying on a solution developed by others among the countless options available requires much more than knowing how to code. It’s about knowing how to design your application by knowing how to “source” from the different options. Also, low-coders must quickly gain technological maturity and demonstrate real business sensitivity in order to progress.

From low code to business digitalization platforms

The ability to code quickly is only the visible side of the iceberg democratized by the multitude of no-code tools on the market. However, in a large company, adopting a low-code approach means above all equipping yourself with an arsenal of technologies allowing you to evolve quickly and calmly.

Choosing a Low-Code Application platform (LCAP) editor means continually updating your IS service catalog by connecting it to the latest widget libraries, APIs and other microservices. It means banking on the strength of the collective to allow your organization to specialize in its field or dream of secure, tailor-made applications for internal and external use.

Adopting an approach based on low code means arming yourself with the ability to decide quickly and the power to appropriate digital innovations rather than undergoing the forced digitalization of the company. Digitalization platforms make it possible to more quickly deploy new products, new service offerings and a better experience for the nomadic and demanding digital consumers that we have become.