How to Build Successful Low-Code Apps: The Power of Knowledge Transfer in Development Teams

Low-code models, such as Microsoft's Power Platform, make it simple for anyone to start creating applications. The barriers to entry are relatively low, as users need only a work or school email to get started. Developers can also quickly release new applications into the wild.

But as this happens, questions arise, such as who supports these applications? And who will make the updates if there is a feature request or bug?

Many low-code applications are often created by a single developer, inherently leading to a single point of failure.

And don't let the advertised simplicity of low-code trick you into thinking anyone can edit the app, fix any issues, and add new features. Low code can still contain complexity, and complex solutions can quickly become a problem for organizations and teams that leverage dozens, if not hundreds, of other low- or non-low-code dependencies.

This doesn't mean that organizations should strictly restrict who can create these applications. Doing so would contradict the very purpose of low code. It's a model that empowers stakeholders themselves to rapidly prototype ideas and develop low-cost solutions to problems that, in traditional development, might cost millions of dollars.

In this low-code world, both organizations and developers need a plan. Developers, specifically, should have a plan to transfer knowledge of their products, whether working in a team or independently.

How to Simplify Complexity

Our relatively small team has created numerous low-code solutions, primarily leveraging Microsoft's suite of products. Some of these solutions are simple low-code canvas apps, while others contain hundreds of dependencies that are anything but low-code.

We've learned, sometimes the hard way, the importance of ensuring maintainability in our development. This means supporting the applications we build and enabling existing and new team members to support them in the future.

Initially, we found ourselves drawn to the premise of being able to create products that solve problems quickly. Before we knew it, we had our own problem: how do we support the array of these products, ensuring that not just us but new team members could do so as well?

Slow Down to Speed Up

This might sound contrary to the low-code paradigm, but taking frequent pauses to consider the long-term impacts of your decisions is critical to ensuring the tools you build today can be supported tomorrow.

This does not mean reverting back to the speeds of traditional software development, but you should not consider building low-code products as a race to the finish line.

Pair Programming

Incorporating traditional software development practices can significantly benefit the low-code movement. Even if your applications involve little to no conventional code, concepts like pair programming can be effectively applied when building low-code products.

Take, for example, the process of building a Power App. Traditionally, only one person could edit an app at a time. Although that limitation has changed—multiple people can now edit an app simultaneously—defining a collaborative process remains crucial.

Our team often employs a primary "driver" approach, where one member leads the development while another observes, providing real-time feedback and suggestions.

This method keeps everyone engaged and helps mitigate the effects of tunnel vision on the product. And this collaborative approach is especially valuable for more complex aspects of the application.

For more straightforward tasks, we often work in parallel but stay closely connected via Teams or Zoom, ready to coordinate and ensure each different component is part of a cohesive whole.

Application/Code Reviews

Low code doesn't mean no code. It is challenging to create robust applications with drag-and-drop alone. Even something like Power Apps has its own language called Power FX.

Schedule time each week to walk through or review others' applications to become familiar with their creations. Look for places where things can be improved, and be ready to accept feedback on your creations, too.

If you're using traditional code in your project, some of this can be accomplished with PRs. For purely low-code implementations, keep a document of changes and have a sign-off process to ensure other team members can access new changes.

For example, imagine adding a new screen to a Canvas app, allowing users to update personal settings. That change should be documented as unreviewed until at least one other team member has reviewed and signed off on this new feature.

Get Other Team Members Involved

If you're on a team, each product should involve at least two people to avoid single points of failure. Ensure each product has a primary and secondary developer or product owner. For larger teams, allow that secondary role to rotate, ensuring each member is more intimately involved with the team's products.

One way to get others involved and up to speed is to have other team members add new features or fix bugs in existing products under the guidance of the primary or lead developer. This knowledge transfer will help cultivate ownership in the various products your team supports, leading to higher engagement and motivation.

Additionally, as the workload is distributed more evenly across the team, bottlenecks are reduced, allowing for more expeditious handling of fixing bugs and enhancing products.

When a Hands-On-Approach isn't Possible...

Much of what I describe above is an attempt to get others involved with projects. The more we touch these things, the better we will understand them.

Inevitably, however, when this hands-on experience isn't possible, it is essential to have practices that can mitigate the effects of isolated development—that is, a development done by one or just a few people.

The two most important things we can do are create and maintain comprehensive documentation about our products and use standard practices as much as possible. We'll talk about documentation first.

Document, Document, Document

As you've probably experienced, the low-code movement allows applications to be created quickly. The more applications exist, the fewer touchpoints we have with older ones. While those touchpoints are critical to the knowledge transfer process, relying on them alone isn't enough.

Whether you're on a team or a solo developer, creating documentation that describes each aspect of your products is critical. For small projects, this may be a simple text document. For larger projects, you could utilize a SharePoint site. Of course, as products become even more complex, the various dependencies will likely have their own documentation (for example, Git repositories).

Here is an example of how you might document a product you are building:

Let's say you have an application that allows users to reserve a conference room for meetings. That application consists of a user interface (such as a Canvas app) and custom code that creates a follow-up reminder for the person who reserved the meeting a day before. This reminder could send an email to remind the user about the meeting, and if the meeting is no longer occurring, encourage them to cancel the reservation. Finally, this product could also have a reporting element, where administrators can see conference room utilization over time to better understand demand.

Here is how you might document this project:

1. Establish a single source of truth about this project, such as a SharePoint page.

2. This page briefly describes the project, the product owners, and the lead developers.

3. The page would also briefly describe this project's components (Canvas app, custom code, and reporting dashboard).

4. Finally, you would include documentation on any easy-to-overlook aspects or non-standard project implementations (more on standardization later).

The SharePoint page handles the high-level overview of the project and gets you pointed in the right direction. Regarding the individual components, the Canvas app will include comments and notes in the version history, and your custom code will leverage Git and often include a detailed readme.

Documentation can be challenging, but it is critical. While documentation should be comprehensive, it should complement the hands-on knowledge transfer techniques described above.

Standardize as Much as Possible

Whether it is low-code or traditional development, it is important to have standard practices. This is even more important when talking about low code because of the speed at which things can be developed and potentially get out of control.

From project planning, design, development, and testing to cross training team members, make time to create standard practices for each phase.

Standardization shouldn't be considered a way to eliminate the need for cross-training and documentation but rather a way to complement those stages and reduce the time needed in those areas.

If you can approach a problem the same way every time, you can spend time discussing those non-standard and easy-to-forget parts of what you're building.

Here are some questions to get you started:

1. What big-picture steps will each application require? Who will be involved in those steps?

2. What tools will you use? (for example, Power Apps, Appian, Pega)

3. Can you support traditional development? If so, how will that look?

4. What is your philosophical approach to development? For example, should you design the user interface or business logic first? What database will you use? (for example, SharePoint or Dataverse)

5. What conventions will you use in your code? (for example, naming conventions for screens and variables)

6. What does this knowledge transfer or cross-training process look like? Do you have dedicated times each week to review each other's work?

Of course, this list goes on. The more you learn, the more you'll realize what needs to be discussed. Get started by creating a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), and be prepared to edit it early and often.

What if I am a Solo Developer?

If you're a solo developer, it may be easy to think that the recommendations above don't apply. But this couldn't be further from the truth. Creating and maintaining a knowledge-transfer framework is even more critical as a solo developer. While co-developing and pair programming are not directly applicable, the concepts still apply.

For example, take time to meet other developers and ask for feedback. At a minimum, it will be an excellent way to meet other people doing the same thing. And, of course, with AI taking a front row in programming, you can always leverage AI to help you learn new techniques and optimize the things you are building.

Finally, documentation and standard practices are just as necessary for the individual developer. First, if you ever work with others, you'll have a reference for your work. Second, these things will act as an external reminder of how you intend to solve development-related problems in the future.

Conclusion

While low-code platforms offer incredible speed and flexibility, they can also introduce challenges when it comes to maintenance. Rapid development, if not managed carefully, can lead to issues that undermine the long-term success of your applications.

But by intentionally slowing down and establishing a clear plan for knowledge transfer, you can safeguard the future of your critical products. This approach ensures that applications remain supported and sustainable, both now and for years to come.

If you'd like more content by me, head over to the @ScriptedBytes YouTube Channel.

Stay curious.