A Comprehensive Guide to Low-Code Development

Low-code gives developers the flexibility to automate and streamline large portions of workflows, applications, and end-to-end processes while still allowing room for high-code development. This dual capability accelerates project timelines and enhances developer productivity. That’s why low-code development is often used as a supplement to high-code approaches; but it can also be the primary driver of development efforts.

Now, let’s dive deeper into the advantages of low-code development and see how low-code platforms revolutionize process automation. To fully understand its impact, let’s distinguish between low-code and no-code.

The buzzwords "low-code" and "no-code" are frequently hyped. Vendors often promote their platforms with these terms, and competitors pit them against each other. But what do they mean? And how do they differ?

Both low-code and no-code platforms offer improvements over traditional high-code methods, streamlining development and reducing time to market. The primary distinction lies in their target users. Low-code platforms cater to developers, providing tools that simplify complex coding tasks while allowing customization and flexibility. Plus, low-code application platforms (LCAPs) often provide enterprise-grade tools and power, and enable full-stack, end-to-end process automation. On the other hand, no-code platforms are designed for business users without coding expertise, enabling them to build applications through simple drag-and-drop interfaces. Additionally, no-code often gets applied to specific workflow tasks, typically on a much smaller scale than low-code.

According to an Appian survey, 81% of developers believe low-code increases their earning potential. Eighty-six percent of survey respondents anticipated their earnings would rise by 10–20%, further underscoring low-code’s growing importance.

Development bottlenecks have choked innovation for years. In contrast, 66% of developers believe low code helps them complete projects 10x faster—a stunning increase in innovation and efficiency. Modern low-code application platforms (LCAPs) can handle complex, mission-critical development while helping creative coders eliminate mundane portions of their work—such as routine maintenance, fixing bad code, and inefficient workflow processes.

Low-code platforms support the development of complete applications through intuitive visual interfaces. These platforms offer a model-driven or graphical programming approach that simplifies the coding process. Users can drag and drop pre-built components to design user interfaces, implement business logic, create workflows, and manage data services. This approach speeds up development and makes it accessible to more developers.

Low-code platforms streamline the application lifecycle by providing tools for simplified application testing, deployment, and management. These platforms often include integrated testing environments, automated deployment pipelines, and easy-to-use dashboards for monitoring and managing applications. This reduces the complexity and time required for these critical stages, allowing quicker iterations and more reliable deployments.

A key feature of low-code platforms is their extensive catalog support for components, connectors, and templates. These catalogs provide reusable building blocks that developers can quickly integrate into their applications. Whether it’s a user authentication module, a payment gateway, or a data visualization tool, these pre-built components save time and ensure application consistency.

Low-code platforms are designed to create exceptional front-end user experiences that go beyond traditional web user interfaces. They support the development of responsive and interactive applications that can run on multiple devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones without significant additional development. This ensures that users have a consistent and seamless experience across different platforms.

Low-code platforms excel in business process automation and management. They provide tools to design, execute, and monitor workflows, enabling organizations to automate repetitive tasks and streamline business processes. This improves efficiency, reduces the risk of errors, and ensures compliance with established procedures.

Low-code platforms support event-driven architectures, which allow applications to respond to real-time events and system changes. This helps in building applications that process data and react to complex event-processing scenarios, enhancing the responsiveness and scalability of enterprise solutions.

Modern low-code platforms incorporate AI-augmented development assistance. These AI tools provide design suggestions, generate testing data, and more. This functionality boosts developer productivity and reduces the learning curve for new users, accelerating the development of sophisticated applications.

Leading low-code platforms integrate data fabric functionality, which provides a unified data management layer. This allows seamless data integration, access, and management across diverse sources and environments. Data fabric functionality ensures data is consistently available and accessible, supporting real-time analytics and decision-making processes.

By simplifying data integration and enabling a holistic view of data, low-code platforms enhance the ability to build data-driven applications efficiently. This feature is particularly valuable in complex, data-intensive environments where quick and accurate data access is crucial for business operations.

Low-code platforms offer robust features for large-scale distributed development teams to coordinate and work together. Collaboration tools, version control systems, and role-based access controls ensure team members can work together efficiently and securely. This is essential for coordinating efforts in large organizations with multiple development teams.

A few years back, Bendigo Bank—one of the largest banks in Australia—turned its world upside down to revolutionize the customer experience. The bank tore down the walls, separating its retail banking, credit cards, lending, and institutional banking operations. Instead, it aligned everything around servicing customers, effectively partnering, and driving innovation.

The mission was clear: revolutionize the bank's technology strategy to put customers first. Bendigo chose Appian as their weapon of choice. In just 18 months, Bendigo rolled out 25 customer-focused enterprise applications using Appian’s Low-Code Process Automation Platform. They didn't stop there. An additional 12 applications were developed by 'citizen developers' through the bank’s 'In Business Programme.'

These aren't just any applications. Nearly every one was a Tier 1, critical customer-impacting process. Appian is now the backbone of ATM Management, Credit Card Management, Fraud Management, Disputes, Loans, Mortgages, Merchant Services, and more. Bendigo Bank didn't just adopt new technology; they leveraged low-code development to transform their entire operation, putting customer obsession at the heart of everything they do.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, UK-based psHealth urgently needed a robust patient management system. The influx of patients was overwhelming, and traditional development methods would take months. Time was not on their side.

The company's CIO knew they needed a rapid solution. They turned to the Appian low-code platform, banking on its promise of speed and efficiency. The objective was clear: integrate seamlessly with existing electronic health records (EHR), provide real-time updates, streamline patient intake, and maintain high standards of care.

psHealth rolled out a comprehensive patient management system in just a few weeks. The Appian Low-code Platform enabled swift integration with their EHR, ensuring real-time updates and smooth patient intake processes. This rapid development was crucial in managing the crisis effectively.

The new system didn't just meet immediate needs; it transformed psHealth's operations. It handled real-time updates, streamlined workflows, and significantly improved patient care. Low-code proved a game-changer, allowing psHealth to adapt quickly, maintain high standards, and continue delivering excellent care during a critical time.

Leroy Merlin, the world's third-largest home improvement retailer, boasts an unmatched global presence with approximately 100,000 employees across 13 countries. As the company continues to grow and expand into digital commerce and marketplaces, it faces new challenges. A surge in e-commerce and in-store orders led to a significant increase in requests for refunds and returns.

Changing market conditions escalated refunds, returns, and exchanges, posing a substantial challenge to Leroy Merlin's operations. The existing process was slow and cumbersome, unable to keep up with the rising demand and negatively impacting customer satisfaction.

After a thorough investigation, Leroy Merlin found the perfect solution in Appian’s Low-code Application Development Platform. They partnered with Xebia, a company highly skilled in Appian implementations, to address their challenges in the refunds and returns process. Refund payment transactions have been completely automated using intelligent automation and robotic process automation (RPA).

Another critical component of this solution is intelligent document processing (IDP) integration. This technology extracts the information required for initiating refunds and reads customer information to automatically fill in relevant details, significantly speeding up the entire process. The IDP solution increased efficiency and boosted customer satisfaction.

The transformation was substantial. Previously, the refund and returns process took 15 days to complete. With the adoption of Appian's low-code development capabilities, this timeline was drastically reduced to 2 days or less. Leroy Merlin's strategic use of low-code technology streamlined operations, improved customer experiences, and set a new standard for efficiency in the retail industry.

In these examples, organizations experienced significant reductions in development time and cost savings. Low-code platforms enabled rapid application development, cutting project timelines from months to weeks and reducing reliance on expensive IT resources. This speed to market is critical in today’s hypercompetitive environment. Additionally, low-code application development platforms allowed business users to contribute to the development process, alleviating the burden on IT and fostering innovation across the organization.

Low-code platforms also improved collaboration and scalability. Better coordination between IT and business units ensured that applications met real user needs and were implemented smoothly. This was evident in psHealth’s patient management system and Leroy Merlin’s refunds and returns solution.

Low-code platforms fostered innovation by allowing quick experimentation and iteration, helping organizations respond swiftly to market changes and customer demands. Low-code’s scalability and flexibility allowed organizations to adapt to change and integrate with existing infrastructure. In short, low-code development is a powerful tool for addressing IT challenges and achieving strategic business goals.