The pandemic is showing no signs of stopping. The onset of one or the other variant keeps the healthcare sector busy and the hoi polloi on their heels. And, as we know, not just the healthcare sector, the pandemic has upturned every other industry we could think of, not to mention the app development sector. Like every other industry, this sector would have to deal with several challenges and changes, starting with heavy usage of low-code/no-code tools, automated coding, and remote working, among many others.
Wondering why businesses would be leveraging no code/low code tools and remote working and won’t pursue in-house development? Read further to find answers to these questions and learn about other trends too that would dominate the app development sector in 2022.
#1. Low-code/no-code tools and AI Coding will be Leveraged in a Massive Way
With the U.S facing massive employability issues, never mind the shortage of skilled app developers worldwide, there’s a high probability that enterprises will be leveraging low-code/no-code tools for coding apps more often. Tech-savvy business people can quickly train themselves to use this code.
Also, code could be written by an AI in the new year. Earlier, Github Copilot used to write cleaner codes, but now they can write complete codes for you. The developer needs to explain the logic, and Copilot will assemble the code for you.
Another essential thing to note is that IDEs or integrated development environments move to the cloud, making the apps more integrated, automated, and productive. For the unversed, IDE is a software suite to build apps that join standard developer tools with a single graphical user interface (GUI)
#2. Agile Practices will be the Norm
Agile mobile app development methodology brings to the table iterative, step-by-step development processes, namely design and planning, development, and testing. The method ensures early and frequent delivery of valuable software by embracing constant iterations, not to mention collaboration between stakeholders, customers, and developers to ensure that everyone is on the same page as the developer and no unexpected developments occur.
A collaborative environment is incentivized in an agile environment, but it doesn’t happen at the cost of developer autonomy. Micromanagement is frowned upon, and developer autonomy and motivation are top priorities. And if these weren’t enough, simplicity is prioritized. This means there’s no room for unwarranted, bloated processes; repetitive, time-consuming tasks are automated. More importantly, pre-existing assets of past projects are used to prevent re-inventing the wheel.
#3. Developers would be Negotiating for Better Packages
Thanks to pandemic-inspired-great-resignation, employers globally are forced to place themselves in employees’ shoes and think about their needs.
As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 706,000 resignations took place in August 2021 alone in various sectors. The tech industry is not immune to this issue as the employees desire more satisfying jobs, and a flexible working environment is becoming more prominent. More than anything, the idea of five days’ work is totally frowned upon. Believe it or not, the employees are calling the shots these days, and they even want to choose the kind of jobs they want. And if these weren’t enough. The sector is expected to witness an increase in starting salaries and sign-up bonuses when hiring and retaining skilled developers, specifically in competitive markets.
Generally speaking, the IT sector struggled from a lack of skilled professionals even before the pandemic. And the ongoing pandemic only exacerbated the situation as employees globally are ruminating over the precarious nature of their job that offers little or no job security and lack of work-life balance, eventually resulting in a phenomenon called “ The Great Resignation.”
#4. The Rise of Platform Engineers
Platform teams are on the rise. For the uninitiated, platform teams collaborate with other groups such as developers or product teams to build applications by making the best use of technology. The main job of the platform team is to bridge the gap between software and hardware. Simply put, the platform engineers help application developers to develop and deploy applications in an effortless manner. They do this by standardizing an organization’s Kubernetes deployments, making infrastructure more auditable, coming up with written documentation for application developers, and automating deployment processes. The platform team might have to deal with one significant change: the hybrid workforce. And it’s being said that platform engineers will be reviewing the work of the hybrid developers with a highly critical eye.
#5. Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Agenda will have a Knock-off Effect on Development
Environmental changes are no more the province of activists. Businesses worldwide are equally concerned, and one could sense that by the rising investment and product development taking place around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria.
For the unversed, the IT sector is responsible for 6% of worldwide energy consumption and is responsible for a considerable portion of carbon emissions. This means that the industry is negatively impacting the planet, so something needs to address the problem.
Speaking to commuter weekly Brian Kropp, head of research at Gartner’s HR practice, notes that IT should implement new technologies that facilitate remote work to cut carbon emissions.
In the future, businesses might make product purchases by evaluating the entire lifecycle of the product in environmental terms. Currently, organizations base their IT equipment purchases on price and technical specifications and not on the raw materials that make them. No more! Presently questions are being raised over the variety of raw materials used in the product’s manufacture and whether or not it’s recyclable.
Rounding Off App Development Trends for 2022
There you go! 5 pandemic-inspired app development trends that will dominate the app arena in 2022. Though remote working and hybrid working models were always on the cards, with the U.S. economy reeling under the “Great resignation” pressure, now low code/no-code applications tools and AI coding would be on the radar of several organizations. In addition, platform engineers will be making their presence felt along with the devops team, and for that matter even ESG will be on the top of the mind of several organizations.