For years, there has been speculation about the so-called "citizen developer" and how much they could really build for themselves, and the actual productivity of their work. After all, it's often left to IT department staff to clean up the messes. 

The time could be ripe for a blurring of the lines between developers and end-users, a recent report out of Deloitte suggests. It makes more business sense to focus on bringing in citizen developers for ground-level programming, versus seeking superstar software engineers, the report's authors argue, or -- as they put it -- "instead of transforming from a 1x to a 10x engineer, employees outside the tech division could be going from zero to one."

Also: How AI-assisted code development can make your IT job more complicated

Future applications are likely to be built on English or natural-language commands, versus Python or Java, they predict. 

Adding to the growth of citizen developers is the likelihood that all employees will soon be technology employees. AI -- and related advanced analytics -- represent the future economy and its opportunities. Ninety-eight percent of executives believe that within the next 10 years, every job will be a tech job and tech skills will be crucial in every work sector, according to a recent survey of 650 C-suite executives, 100 hiring managers, and 1,500 office workers by Per Scholas, a nonprofit tech educational provider.    

Employees recognize what the future holds and are building their tech skills, the Per Scholas survey shows. These skills are the most pursued upskill with 43% of workers currently learning software, apps, AI, or coding and data science.

Depending on the pace of automation, "more employees should carry out basic technology tasks in the years to come or simply oversee automated digital processes," says Deloitte. As these more basic workloads are shifted to non-core or non-IT employees. "experienced engineers can focus on the highly complex tasks and novel builds on which they're excited to work."

Companies often hope "to hire 10x engineers, those who are 10 times as productive as the average developer," the Deloitte authors point out. "But searching for unicorns in the talent market is rarely a winning strategy."

Also: looks back on tech in 2023, and looks ahead to 2024

Automated platforms and generative AI -- leveraged within an open and supportive corporate culture -- may amplify many human skills, they continue. "10x engineers could become much less rare. Especially as generative AI continues to bolster developer productivity and opens up a future of increased workplace automation, many of today's hindrances may not be relevant in the next five to 10 years."  

It's all about fostering a superior "developer experience," not just within IT shops, but across the enterprise as well. "As technology itself continues to become more and more central to the business, technology tasks and required talent will likely become central as well. Standardized tools and platforms -- as well as advanced low- or no-code tech -- may one day enable all employees of a business to become low-level engineers."

Artificial Intelligence

AI in 2023: A year of breakthroughs that left no human thing unchanged

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AI at the edge: 5G and the Internet of Things see fast times ahead

Almost half of tech executives say their organizations aren't ready for AI or other advanced initiatives

• AI in 2023: A year of breakthroughs that left no human thing unchanged
• These are the jobs most likely to be taken over by AI
• AI at the edge: 5G and the Internet of Things see fast times ahead
• Almost half of tech executives say their organizations aren't ready for AI or other advanced initiatives