Why Go for Citizen Developer Certification?

 

By Mario Trentim

Citizen development is not something that´s far out in the future. We now live in an era of hyper-agility that demands citizen development skills to innovate, and the modern workplace and digital businesses require cultivating citizen development to maximize digital dexterity.

Citizen developers are in high demand in all

professions and roles.

Figure 1 – Anyone can be a developer (Gartner, 2019)

Although, in theory, anyone can become a citizen developer (Figure 1), it is not easy to become a successful citizen developer. In a previous article, I laid out five tips to QuickStart your citizen development career. And in this article, I would like to highlight the benefits of certifications to establish your professional credibility and to guide you on best practices.

How can you stand out in the job market as

a professional citizen developer?

Professional Developer vs Citizen Developer

. Before I describe citizen development certificates and credentials, it is important to highlight the major career differences between a citizen developer and a professional developer:

-          Professional Developer: IT professionals and software developers who have the skills, knowledge, and expertise to create and maintain software created for commercial purposes.

-          Citizen Developer: non-IT professionals who are capable of building applications without coding knowledge, but usually with the support of IT.

A typical career path for a software developer may start with database, application services, software development lifecycle, coding skills, and a variety of technologies. A professional developer might become a technical leader, software architect, CIO (Chief Information Officer) or CTO (Chief Technology Officer).

Figure 2 – Software developer learning paths (LinkedIn Learning)

What about Citizen Developers?

What does a CD career path look like?

The Project Economy articulates how work has changed for individuals and organizations. According to PMI´s research, the future of work will be based more on specific projects than roles, meaning change-makers are anywhere in all industries and professions. On top of that, digital transformation is everywhere from products and services to new technologies, new business models, and new ways of work. Consequently, citizen development as a life skill applies to all of us.

Learning a visual interface drag-and-drop system to connect components in a meaningful order to create an application without writing any code is not enough. You have to acquire the skillset to see the world through new lens, understanding business needs through the hyper-agile SDLC (Doing and the Management of Doing).

Figure 3 – PMI Citizen Development framework.

To become a successful citizen developer, you must understand the citizen development framework (Figure 2), as I explained in previous articles. You can take the official course at https://www.pmi.org/citizen-developer and showcase your certificate of completion on your resume. The next step is to get certified.

Get a Certification, and Get Ahead

A certification increases your earning potential and employability. You can also access community involvement benefits by getting a certification.

Figure 4 – PMI CD product descriptions and certifications.

Our professions are rapidly evolving, citizen development will upskill your career, enabling you to create low-code applications. That means you can leverage your competencies and experience to achieve more through the use of technology. Take these examples:

-          Finance: as a citizen developer, you may solve a variety of problems by developing a reimbursement app or automated approvals based on business rules;

-          Health Care: as a citizen developer, you may identify opportunities to improve services by adopting paperless technology and real time dashboards;

-          Marketing: as a citizen developer, you may develop applications to improve customer experience, customer service, and more;

-          Project Management: as a citizen developer, you may build a variety of applications to help you updating tasks, manage information and documents, and more;

-          Logistics: as a citizen developer, you may find ways to become more productive by using artificial intelligence, big data, and machine learning;

-          Engineering: as a citizen developer, you may combine Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and more to build low-code applications and improve your organization´s competitiveness.

The common story among the examples above is that they use a proven framework to move from the project concept to a minimum viable product. Hyper-agility is the next big thing for all organizations and professionals. And, by getting certified, you get ahead. Visit https://www.pmi.org/citizen-developer and stay tuned.

Join the conversation. Let me know your thoughts on the comments below. 

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