Roundup – No Code: No Idea?
To kick off the No Code Lab’s work, we had our very first event on Thursday the 3rd of September!
Hosted through Zoom, our founder and chief geek Zandra Moore took lead and sparked the conversation between some of the brightest minds in the movement. These included; Ed Thewlis - CTO of The Data Shed, Charlotte Bailey - COO of Panintelligence, Tracie Binks – Head of Operations and Development at xTEN, and Mel Sheppard – COO of Squirrel 365.
Check out the full video here:
No Code’s Pandemic Solutions
With our star line up in place, we kicked off the discussion with an introduction to no code. Zandra gave us a rousing taster of her extensive knowledge by linking no code with key facets of current society, she explained how, with the rapidly the changing business environment brought on by the pandemic, no business is immune to change and no code is the tool that allows firms to pivot under increasing pressure. We saw examples of no code offering solutions in days rather than months, with businesses having to adapt and create solutions to stay open and operate differently, such as the track and trace apps and booking apps that were developed to solve a problem that didn’t exist last month. Zandra explained how no code can also breathe diversity and innovation into organisations that are currently stuck with the same team fixing every problem and how to open up the floor to your entire organisation and create citizen developers. Let the creativity flow.
Why Use No Code?
In the next discussion, Ed shared some interesting points on how development teams, from his experience, don’t code from scratch. They build and evolve ideas to create solutions. Proving that no code suits their way of working down to the ground. Zandra expanded on this by explaining that no code is about being hyper responsive to situations and having the ability to work on a solution instantly rather than coding drafts that take months to refine. Ed countered this by asking, in the real world, why anyone would spend months on a first draft to throw it out once you find the flaws. No code allows founders to find flaws and correct them, rather than coding a solution from scratch again.
Who does it Suit?
With these points fresh in our minds, Mel reminded us how no code breeds efficiency and self-sufficiency. It takes an entire organisation and turns them into problem solvers, destroying the limitations that hold back development of solutions. She went on to explain how no code isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ way of working, that suits every founder under the sun. It’s a starter kit and a way to prove your idea works, without spending a small fortune on development teams and coding a solution. Once this is in place, and investment has been acquired then naturally, organisations would migrate over to a more scalable, coded solution.
It also depends on the use case, if you’re building the next Uber or Airbnb, you’d need a coded solution, but if you’re solving an internal problem, or creating an app for your clients to use then no code is the one for you. Other notable uses for no code include - When you’re reactive, rapid prototyping, single use cases, or when solutions only have short lifespans.
Learn the Lingo
In the final part of the event, Zandra opened up the conversation on the definition of coding. A topic that piqued the interest of all our panellists. Tracie was the first to give her views, where she explained simply, any developers that are worried about no code replacing them, should consider why they’re valuable to the organisation in the first place. Talent. If you’re good enough then no amount of simplification could replace you. No code is a tool to allow the development team to improve their service. Think of it as a language, and what good is a coder that only knows one language? Expand your repertoire.
Final Thoughts
To sign off our first event, our panellists gave us their lasting thoughts. These included;
Get involved! Use your initiative and find a solution that fits your problem.
No code can give everyone a platform. It can bridge the gap between your development team and the rest of your business.
‘Let’s Just do it!’. No code can help you knock up a solution straight away, no more wasting time.
Thank you to our amazing panellists and thank you for watching.
Join us and bring the community together to fix the next big problem with no code. Get in touch if you’re interested in collaborating on content or on the next event, or to just discuss the future of no code!