Citizen development is the new buzz word in the business world, and rightfully so. Tools like Power Platform have democratized app development, opening the doors to a new generation of developers and allowing teams to rapidly build highly tailored solutions, made by those who know the business best.
With this empowerment comes risk, however. Without proper governance measures in place at the onset, things can get out of hand pretty quickly. Citizen development without governance is akin to leaving your car doors unlocked at night. Something is going to happen, eventually. The key is in educating and empowering your team to ensure that power platform is being used responsibly, appropriately, and that sensitive data is protected at all times. Follow governance best practices, implement them early, and train often. Your business will thank you.
Here are seven pillars for governance best practices that will help your business grow:
1
Establish a Governance Committee
Establish a governance committee to oversee the use of the Power Platform and make sure that it aligns with the organization's goals and objectives. The committee should be made up of representatives from various departments, including IT, business, and compliance.
2
Define Roles & Responsibilities
Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of those who will be using the Power Platform, including who will be responsible for creating and managing applications, who will have access to the platform, and who will be responsible for ensuring compliance with organizational policies..
3
Define Standards & Guidelines
Define standards and guidelines for creating and managing applications on the Power Platform, including naming conventions, data governance, and security standards. These guidelines should be followed by all users of the platform.
4
Set up Access Controls
Set up access controls to ensure that only authorized users have access to the platform and that they only have access to the data and functionality that they need to do their job. This can be done through Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, or other authentication and authorization methods.
5
Monitor & Audit Usage
Regularly monitor and audit usage of the Power Platform to ensure that it is being used in accordance with organizational policies and guidelines. This can be done through built-in audit logs, custom audit reports, and other monitoring tools.
6
Continuously Evaluate & Improve
Continuously evaluate and improve the Power Platform governance to ensure that it stays up to date and aligned with the organization's evolving needs. This can include regular reviews of policies and guidelines, gathering feedback from users, and staying informed about new features and functionality.
7
Incubate a Winning Digital Culture
Your success is only as good as your team's skills and understanding of you vision. Enable your team with the leadership, training and support needed to help them champion your digital transformation and deliver solutions that do not put your data at risk. Good citizen development only comes after good governance and a team that has full buy-in.
As a team leader, you need to react quickly to the changing market and cannot stay dependent on developing a software solution to do that. You want the ability to build a solution to meet your business needs swiftly. By following the 7 pillars of good governance for Power Platform, and a philosophy of enablement, you will be able to leverage citizen development to rapidly grow your business.
Enablement + Governance = Growth
Productivity Increase
According to a survey by Forrester, organizations that have implemented citizen development initiatives saw an average productivity increase of 34%.
Faster Task Completion
A study by MIT found that when employees were given the ability to create their own apps, they were able to complete tasks 12% faster than before.
Companies Report Higher Employee Satisfaction
According to a survey by KPMG, 69% of companies that implemented citizen development reported an improvement in employee satisfaction.
