48 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
48 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
title: "No-Code / Low-Code"
|
|
ring: assess
|
|
quadrant: methods-and-patterns
|
|
tags: [coding]
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
No-code or low-code refers to tools that allow application software to be created via graphical user interfaces and
|
|
configuration - instead of (classic) text-based programming.
|
|
Low-code platforms additionally supports certain scripting possibilities.
|
|
|
|
No-code and low-code platforms have raised a lot of funding and the ecosystem is growing fast. There are more than 400
|
|
platforms listed on software selection websites like g2.
|
|
The promise of this ecosystem sounds logical: there is a growing demand for digital products and solutions in all
|
|
sectors - and skilled teams of developers are scarce.
|
|
That's why platforms
|
|
like [bubble.io](https://bubble.io/), [airtable](https://www.airtable.com/),
|
|
[appsheet](https://about.appsheet.com/home/), [bryter](https://bryter.com/), [ninox](https://ninox.com/de)
|
|
and co promise to build digital products faster and better.
|
|
|
|
And the platforms have developed and the ecosystem is emerging. AI technics are being used to improve the creation
|
|
process and modern low-code platforms also come with built-in release and operations support. We have used some low-code
|
|
platforms for internal tools, for example to help organise events or onboarding activities.
|
|
|
|
Here are our thoughts on this:
|
|
|
|
* We see opportunities to improve communication and collaboration between developers on such platforms and non-technical
|
|
professionals (domain experts), as they can collaborate on the platform directly during the process of creating the
|
|
digital product.
|
|
|
|
* If the use case fits into the sweet spot of the platform, the results are very fast and surprising.
|
|
|
|
* There is a logical trade-off between simplicity and flexibility: platforms with a high level of abstraction and a low
|
|
learning curve can deliver good results very quickly. However, if you have requirements that do not fit into the
|
|
"standard" of the platform, it becomes difficult to customise. On the other hand, platforms that allow a lot of
|
|
configuration and scripting come with a higher learning curve. And in some respects it may end being similar to using
|
|
a programming framework.
|
|
|
|
* Operating costs can become a relevant factor - especially if you pay for high performance and higher utilisation.
|
|
|
|
* You have to realise that with complex applications there is much more to do than "just" writing code. Test
|
|
architecture, api design, integrations, careful design of the solution, proper testing, CI/CD strategy etc. So
|
|
there is still a need for skilled (development) teams to do this work.
|
|
|
|
Thinking about the different aspects, we will not consider low-code platforms as the core technology in complex software
|
|
development projects - but we think that even in larger IT projects or organisations there are valid use cases or
|
|
certain "bounded contexts" where using a low-code platform is a proper choice and helps to deliver results faster.
|