Citizen Development and Automation

This unit explores the historical and social evolution of programming and citizen-driven technology, the maker movement, and the contemporary landscape of no-code/low-code and generative AI tools. Students will examine governance models, collaboration strategies, and practical fundamentals for launching citizen automation projects, building on prior technical foundations and preparing learners to implement and govern real-world solutions in the next unit.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the evolution of programming languages, third-party ecosystems, and the maker movement to explain the rise of citizen development and its implications for digital communications
• Evaluate governance and organizational models (centralized, federated, and decentralized) by comparing at least three trade-offs and recommending an appropriate governance approach for a given citizen automation scenario
• Apply fundamentals of successful citizen automation by designing a documented 5-step pilot plan that specifies tools/platforms, roles (citizen/professional), collaboration structures, and basic risk-mitigation measures
• Demonstrate the capability to prototype a simple automation using a generative AI or no-code tool, and justify candidate criteria for ‘citizen automators’ while identifying social, ethical, and scientific (citizen science) considerations