Low-code and No-code Technologies Adoption: A Gray Literature Review

doi:10.1145/3592813.3592929

Paper

Low-code and No-code Technologies Adoption: A Gray Literature Review

Published May 29, 2023 · Juciê Xavier Silva, Mikael Lopes, G. Avelino

Proceedings of the XIX Brazilian Symposium on Information Systems

UNKNOWN SJR score

4

Citations

0

Influential Citations

Full textSemantic Scholar

Abstract

Context: In the last years, the software demand has been growing fast. With the Covid-19 pandemic, companies were forced to adapt to remote work, accelerating the digitalization process. According to Gartner, the demand for software will increase five times faster than the capacity to supply them by the industry, as result of the shortage of developers. Seeking to reduce this problem, tools that abstract the programming complexity have emerged. These tools promote software development via graphical user interfaces and allow people without programming knowledge, or with little knowledge, to develop their own applications. Such tools are known as low-code and no-code tools. Problem: Although low-code and no-code tools have been gaining popularity, their benefits and limitations have not been adequately evaluated, including their impacts in terms of evolution, maintenance, and quality of the generated code. The absence of scientific works that investigate and evaluate the development and use of low-code and no-code tools is a gap that should be explored to improve such techniques. Solution: This paper presents a review of the gray literature of low-code and no-code development tools, investigating publications that discuss the topic aiming to better comprehend the challenges related to the use and development of these tools. IS Theory: The work was developed based on the Expectation Confirmation Theory. Especially, in the evaluation of expectations based on perceived performance, given the great expectation of significant productivity gains with the adoption of low-code and no-code technologies. Method: We conducted a systematic review of the gray literature through the selection and analysis of online posts on the subject, given the lack of scientific works on this topic. Results: The results demonstrate the existence of several low-code and no-code tools, covering different markets and purposes, such as web, mobile, and desktop development. The ease of use, resource savings, and fast prototyping were identified as the main benefits of these tools. On the other hand, platform dependency, limited functionality, and data security were mentioned as the main challenges. Contributions: The main contribution of this work is, through a gray literature review, to present a study of the state of the art of development and use of no-code and low-code tools, particularly their benefits and limitations.

Systematic Review

Study Snapshot

Low-code and no-code tools offer ease of use, resource savings, and fast prototyping, but face challenges like platform dependency, limited functionality, and data security.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

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Low-code and No-code Technologies Adoption: A Gray Literature Review

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References

An Empirical Study of Developer Discussions on Low-Code Software Development Challenges

Low-code software development challenges mainly involve customization and automated testing, with customization being the most popular and difficult topic on Stack Overflow.

Guidelines for including the grey literature and conducting multivocal literature reviews in software engineering

This paper presents guidelines for conducting multivocal literature reviews in software engineering, adapting existing SLR guidelines and incorporating experience-based recommendations from other fields.

Systematic Mapping Studies in Software Engineering

Systematic maps and reviews complement each other in software engineering, with different goals, breadth, validity issues, and implications, requiring different methods for analysis.

Citations

Model Transformations Used in IT Project Initial Phases: Systematic Literature Review

Model transformations in early IT project development can minimize implementation errors and streamline the project inception and elaboration process.

Systematic Literature Review of Low-Code and Its Future Trends

Low-code development platforms offer rapid development, cost reduction, and strong integration, but face challenges like customization and scalability.

Enhancing Business Efficiency through Low-Code/No-Code Technology Adoption: Insights from an Extended UTAUT Model

Low-code/no-code technology adoption is influenced by performance expectation, effort expectation, social influence, perceived risk, and perceived cost, enhancing business efficiency and application development processes.