About the manifesto
This manifesto was jointly elaborated by members and friends of the Low-Code Association e.V. in Berlin at the turn of the year 2022/2023. It is intended to create a common understanding of the role and importance of Low-Code and No-Code.
Now, more than eight years after John Rymer of Forrester Research® invented the term »Low-Code« and several years
after the associated paradigm shift started to roll, the founders of the Low-Code Association have decided to draw up this manifesto.
Copyright:
Low-Code Association e.V., 2023
Publication, including excerpts, is only permitted with reference to the original source.
We are convinced: Low-Code revolutionizes the design, development and long-term maintenance of software. Tailor-made software is increasingly being assembled using interactive, visual and declarative methods from prefabricated programme functions.
We understand No-Code as a specific manifestation of Low-Code, completely without programming.
Low-Code enables companies and organisations to use tailor-made, and thus better-fitting software solutions of high acceptance for many of their business processes, cost-effectively and quickly.
Low-Code is not just another method or technology, but also a completely new way of thinking. Low-Code stands for rethinking and organising all IT-supported processes.
Low-Code addresses both citizen developers and business developers as well as professional Low-Code developers and other groups of people. This also shifts the classic division of labour, among other things towards a more active role for the technical experts.
There are different Low-Code technologies and solution approaches for different tasks and requirements. Therefore, it is not primarily a matter of deciding on a specific Low-Code technology or platform, but of initiating a rethinking in the entire organisation.
The Low-Code approach addresses a wide range of professional and technical topics
such as process and data-oriented web and app development, but also artificial intelligence,
interface and output generation, process control and automation, decision automation,
data analysis, geodata processing and much more.
Low-Code creates a new qualification and a new professional field of activity: that of Low-Code
developers, i.e. non-programming software developers. They are able to implement even complex development projects with Low-Code, using different platforms for different purposes. Ideal Low-Code developers are therefore project managers, requirements engineers, software architects, frontend and backend, UUX and quality assurance experts in one person.
Low-Code is also an answer to the skills shortage: both through much higher efficiency
and through a much broader group of people involved in the development.
Low-Code tools and platforms should support software development holistically, including specification, integration, testing, documentation, deployment, operation and maintenance.
Low-Code reduces the complexity of application development, is suitable for all process models and even enables new, simpler procedures and methods.
Low-Code sets itself the target: factor 10 in terms of speed, flexibility and quality.
Low-Code has long been reality, mature and state-of-the-art.
In the future, Low-Code must become part of the strategy of every organization.
About the Authors
Karsten Noack, Scopeland Technology GmbH
has been dealing with the question of whether and with which methods it is possible to set up sophisticated software solutions with almost no manual programming for more than 30 years. With his team, he developed what is probably the world’s first fully comprehensive Low-Code platform, which has been in use in large companies and administrations throughout Germany since 1998 as SCOPELAND®, now in version 7. As founder and CEO of Scopeland Technology GmbH, on the main board of BITKOM and as a board member of the Low-Code Association, he is committed to opening up broader application possibilities for this new technology.
Markus Bernhart, Necara GmbH
is Chief Digital Officer of NecaraGmbH and is responsible for marketing, for partners and customer projects of the No-Code platform saas.do. The software specialist has been accompanying and supporting companies on their way to transformation and holistic digitalisation for more than 25 years. He develops and implements disruptive strategies for medium-sized companies and corporations in markets with different levels of digital maturity such as travel & aviation, banking & financial services as well as insurance, e-commerce and self-service. He has acquired his expertise in software development and process automation in the corporate environment both in Germany and internationally.
Ines Peters, DResearch Digital Media Systems GmbH
is a graduate computer scientist and senior project manager. She heads DResearch Digital Media Systems GmbH. The Berlin-based company designs, develops and manages challenging projects for customers from industry and administration. She is a member of the Association of German Women Entrepreneurs. Ines Peters co-founded the Low-Code Association and is committed to its interests as a board member. As managing director of an innovative medium-sized company, she is convinced that anyone who wants to bring software quickly to the customer today cannot ignore the Low-Code approach.
Jan Gottschick, Fraunhofer FOKUS
has been working on innovative, efficient software development methods for 30 years. As a scientist, he has specialised in developing model-driven solutions with code generators to create and deploy software in a largely automated way. His vision is an »Mechanical IT Engineering« and integrated »App Fabs«, away from the classic software craftsmanship in software manufactories towards customer-centred and largely automated development of applications: Software developers are to provide »programmable machines« that experts from different domains can then independently adapt to their specific needs. As part of his research work at FraunhoferFOKUS, he is involved in software projects for public administration.
Stefan Ehrlich, SQL Projekt AG
is a graduate engineer for technical computer science and has been on the board of SQL Projekt AG since 2017, with
TRANSCONNECT® a pioneer among the Low-Code integration platforms. For 20 years he and his teams have been committed to the sustainable digitalisation of business processes in order to develop digital solutions for industry and administration. Under his leadership, SQL Projekt AG was awarded the Ludwig Erhard Prize for holistic management of the company in 2021.
Axel Ensinger, JobRouter AG
is Co-CEO and Chief Product Officer at JobRouterAG in Mannheim. He laid the foundation for JobRouter® technology back in 2002 and has been significantly developing it ever since. Today, he is responsible for product & technology as well marketing. In addition, Axel Ensinger is Chairman of the Digital Business Processes Working Group at Bitkom e.V., the industry association of the German information and telecommunications sector.
Erik Hufeld, Simplifier AG
has a degree in business informatics (FH) with a focus on e-commerce and has more than 16 years of experience in online and performance marketing consulting. Responsible for marketing at Simplifier AG – a Low-Code provider from Würzburg – since 2016, Erik Hufeld has been working intensively on the topics of Low-Code platforms and digital solutions. In addition to team leadership and the strategic and operational multi-channel orientation of the Low-Code provider, he is particularly dedicated to the activities for marketing customer and partner success with Low-Code.
Christof Langer, Allisa Software GmbH
is a graduate engineer, owner and CEO of Allisa Software GmbH and lecturer at the Euro-FH for Digital Business Engineering. Since 1997, he has been involved in the optimisation, digitalisation and automation of processes and rules using his own internationally patented Low-Code / No-Code technology (SONAL®) on the Allisa platform. Since 2008, it has been used primarily by SMEs and in administrations for OZG 2.0 scenarios and in the Industry 4.0 environment (I4.0), among others. His motto is: »The future lies in super agile software development in hourly cycles!«
Tim Neugebauer, DMK E-Business GmbH
is co-founder and managing director of DMK E-BUSINESS GmbH. In the management board, the business graduate is responsible for the areas of strategy, consulting and marketing/sales. As a senior digital business consultant, he has been actively involved in digital management and strategy consulting for corporate groups, public institutions and SMEs since the company was founded. Thematic focuses are: Digital transformation, agility, user-centricity and issues of modern software development using Low-Code technologies.