My Citizen Development Journey

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Introduction

As a consultant, upskilling and advancing my knowledge on new technological advances, is key. The concept of citizen development fascinates me. I am going to use this forum to document my citizen development learning journey.

How I heard about Citizen Development

At the start of last year, I attended a highly esteemed webinar. During the session, an executive discussed citizen development. I had never heard of this capability before. Being curiously minded, I made it my business to learn more about this topic.

Research

I have devoted a lot of my time into researching Citizen Development in recent months.  As stated in an article I previously wrote (ProjectManagement.com - How Citizen Development Can Deliver Transient Competitive Advantage), citizen development, enables anyone who wants to create an application to do so. You no longer have to be a software developer or an IT specialist to create an app. Any person who has the ambition to create an app can do so by leveraging citizen development.

There are multiple LCNC software vendors competing in this space (Kianda, WEM, Betty Blocks, OutSystems to name a few). Such vendors provide you with the tools required to create applications. All you need to do is select the vendor that can meet your needs. 

Realization

One gap I found while conducting research on citizen development was that, to date, there are no agnostic resources available for people to develop their knowledge or practical skills in terms of citizen development. Up until recently, there were a lack of educational resources available.

Enters the Citizen Development Space

When I heard that the Project Management Institute announced that they are creating a suite of citizen development products, I was happy. I am hoping that PMI will provide leaners with resources that will enable or enhance their knowledge or practical skills in this area. By doing this, I (along with others who have never created an app before), will be able to create applications in a secure and controlled manner.

PMI Launched the Citizen Developer Foundation Course

PMI launched the Citizen Developer Foundation course earlier this month. I had been keeping a close eye on the PMI Citizen Developer page for updates as to when this would be launched (on https://www.pmi.org/citizen-developer). When I saw the course become available, I jumped at the opportunity to take it. Signing up for the course was next on my “to-do” list.

Enrolment

I found the enrolment process very straightforward. There were very few steps involved. Here are the steps I followed:

1. Go to: https://www.pmi.org/citizen-developer
2. Scroll down and click on “Enroll Now”
3. Log in using your PMI.org email address (you can also sign in using your Facebook, Google / LinkedIn details).
4. Once you are signed in, scroll down and click “continue to course”
5. Click “Buy the course”
6. Click “Continue to Course”
7. Start the course

Conclusion

I hope this blog gave you some insight into my citizen development journey so far. In my next blog, I will be documenting my experience of the Citizen Developer Foundation Course… Stay tuned :)