Installing a robust Dev Culture for the Microapp Environment

AI and ML are often cited as the next big technology trend. While there’s no doubt that developing intelligent tech is the next frontier, there’s another trend that is currently in motion, one which in my opinion is dangerously under-recognized.

International Data Corporation (IDC) published a report that shows the current number of apps in use. It is increasing exponentially. While consumer-facing apps have increased, a bigger increase is taking place within enterprises, with so-called “micro-apps” that are used to create customized solutions.

Future businesses could be digitalized with custom apps or micro-apps. A company could exist as a collection of interconnected apps via APIs and not require physical presence. Today, enterprise developers create custom micro-apps for employees to assist with daily tasks. Third-party services are used to enrich the native app experience.

Companies need to rethink their developer experience and culture in order to meet the demands of the microapp boom. Continuous release environments force developers to work in a monotonous environment, which leaves little time for creative microapp projects that can improve productivity and create better products. One of the biggest pitfalls in the industry is to use your primary product roadmap to create a list of features, rather than a strategic guideline. leaves teams feeling disempowered.

Here’s how companies can foster a culture of change within their organization that encourages micro-app creation within the larger Agile context.

Empowering Developers With the Right Building Blocks

Software developers these days are primary drivers of product security and quality. Many organizations provide tools that enable dev teams to barely get the job done. These tools are surrounded with layers of bureaucracy that hinder developers working in a pressure-packed continuous delivery environment.

Developers need access to the best tools, but also to planning tools and collaboration tools that enable them to do their jobs better. Developers should be able to develop micro-apps. This will allow them to express their creativity and increase productivity.

An app that does this well is a good example. Tabulate data in an interactive tableau published to a web link, such as the one created by DreamFactory and Tabulator. Although it is simple to use, it can save users who are not technical a lot of time. The key step in project planning and testing is to evaluate data quality.

This interactive table gives teams an opportunity to quickly check data integrity and quality. This method can improve tests and allow developers to focus on building great products. Managers will be able to see the business benefits of such apps, but they may not be willing to give developers the time and resources to create them.

Investing on low-code or non-code platforms is a great way for upper, non-technical management to join your team. Business users You can even create apps yourself using these platforms and gain insight into the developer experience. These platforms offer the greatest cultural advantage: they embed a technical mindset in your organization. 

Business and technical employees tend to get disconnected from one another, and often, business users don’t understand the underlying data behind the applications they rely on. It will help them understand the importance modeling solutions before they fire off requirements that are technically impossible.

These platforms also make it easier for developers to access information faster. Developers often need to provide backend data to business users. This can take time. Low-code platforms allow business users to handle their queries themselves and leave your developers more time to work on technical projects. This creates a collaborative environment that improves productivity and helps to bring new products to market.

With this framework in place, upper management will have fewer objections about productivity-enhancing micro-app development being put in motion. The best organizations offer their developers a variety of tools. Although it is impossible to choose tools on an individual basis, giving developers a wide range of options is a great way to increase developer morale and improve the developer experience. 

The result is innovative solutions that benefit all employees and make the organization a great place to do business.

Creating Comprehensive Product Management Roles

Product management can often get lost in the bureaucracy of enterprises. A good product management framework is crucial to ensure a great product to marketplace fit. This is achieved by understanding that every aspect of the company that goes into creating the product must be aligned.

It is crucial to include developers and other members in product management functions. Developers can become too focused on their own world and lose sight of the importance of great CX. CX is a vital product management function, even if it’s an internal app.

Third-party solutions can be used by enterprises to track shipments and analyze logistics data. It is difficult for business users to switch between an internal app or a third-party app in order to collect data. This creates friction. Developers can connect both apps via APIs to embed analytics into native apps. This reduces resistance and makes use of existing resources to increase productivity and transparency.

Many third-party solution providers recognize that micro-apps are becoming more popular and that internal apps require great CX. This is exemplified by the Finnish startup Logmore, which offers its clients an open REST API for free, so that stakeholders can track shipment conditions data collected via IoT tags in actual time in whatever context makes sense for them. 

Organizations who don’t seize these opportunities to improve their internal apps and mobilize developers run the risk of being left behind.

Intelligent product management functions are focused on balancing CX and technical skills, leadership ability, strategic skills, and strategy to deliver a robust customer experience. Many organizations put too much emphasis on the technical part of this equation, which can lead to an imbalance in all aspects. It is a positive thing to involve developers and other agile team members within product management functions.

If you want to ensure that everything goes into building a great product, it is important to prioritize balance in product management. Your developers must understand the market forces. However, your business users must also understand technical limitations. A collaborative product management culture with the right tools is the best way to get everyone on the same page.

Balance is possible by examining your current product-management functions. Many companies place them with people who are in the middle of the technical and business side. This sounds great on paper, but the result is a middle of the road team that doesn’t fully understand either party’s perspective. To overcome this issue, select representatives from existing technical andbusiness teams. You can have your product leader from the business, or a technical person, as long as they understand the need to balance.

Products of the future will have to collect data from as many sources and sources as possible. Consumers are more open to sharing data, and this is a good thing. share dataThis is why it is important to create micro-apps to take full advantage of this fact. These apps will be needed by your company to enable products to communicate with each other, creating seamless experiences across the entire product range. 

This is how companies become digital natives without needing to be physically present to attract customers’ attention.

The way forward is to empower developers to make the most of technology. To gain executive buy-in, integrate the development of these apps into your CD cycle.

Rethinking the Developer Team Experience

Many companies have a vision of what their developer teams should look like. They envision a small, agile team of rockstar coders under the leadership of a similar rockstar. These small teams can solve problems like a magician and provide the best solutions on the market. This vision is great except for talent retention planning.

Large organizations have trouble attracting highly skilled developers. They also have difficulty retaining them. Developers have more freedom to create their own products and branch out from traditional corporate roles thanks to SaaS and interconnected apps.

How can companies motivate talented developers to join their company and convince them to stay on board? The first step is to create clear career paths and make them transparent. There are many career options available today. The traditional IT career path developers were forced into is no longer relevant.

Many developers want to learn more about business functions. This is natural because software is the real driver for profits. Career paths that allow developers to move into the business side of things should be created. Large companies offer developer training and skill badges to make the experience more fun.

Pay attention to the mood of your dev team. It is important to take the pulse of your teams after each sprint. Unfortunately, this is not something that is done enough. Teams often jump from one sprint into the next without giving thought to product relevance or customer experience. This problem is made worse if the company’s product solves a problem in the cost center of their customers.

For example, expense management software isn’t very expensive. Companies expect these solutions to lower costs rather than increase profits. Companies should realize that AP and finance teams are a cost centre. It can be difficult for them to see their solutions in an inspirational light. This market reality is evident.

Most expense management software lacks international back-end capabilities and mobile presence. These solutions require users install native apps that are less powerful than their desktop counterparts. This results in a cumbersome user experience. However, companies such a Chrome River (by Emburse) have chosen to develop web apps that deliver the full suite of features to their clients.

Although it might not seem like a significant difference, it is crucial for your product’s CX. These solutions can be found by empowered developers. Your organization’s job it to encourage them to voice their opinions. Most developers in large organizations tend to keep their opinions to themselves and get on with whatever the business tells them to do because company messaging doesn’t give them the freedom to drive product decisions.

The best products are created by organizations that allow their developers to fail, experiment, and learn. Google was a young company. The company was known for releasing many products that did not succeed. 

Many people don’t remember Google Wave, Knol and Answers, Google Plus Notebook, Google Plus, Google Plus, or Dodgeball. However, there’s no doubt that the culture at Google allowed developers to experiment and They were allowed to fail.. It’s no surprise that Google has managed to remain innovative and maintains a monopoly on web search. While you don’t need to create products at a similar clip, give your developers the space to create their own unique solutions.

Empowered dev teams can help your company grow, whether it’s through the adoption of micro-apps to speed up an Agile process or a product feature.

Preparing to be a Micro-app Boom

Micro-apps may not rank as high in popularity as AI adoption or the proliferation of IIoT gadgets. Both of these technologies require the collection of data, which can be used to develop better products. This is impossible without a strong developer culture.

Micro-app development gives your organization the opportunity to rethink developer experience and make your processes more efficient. You’ll reap huge benefits that will last a lifetime if you embrace it.