Appian is Adding an Important New Feature

Appian acquired process mining start-up Lana Labs recently, in order to add an important new component to their low-code platform. "Process mining" looks at the work people are doing in an organization and tries to find repeatable processes in that work, processes that can be automated to improve efficiency and accuracy. By adding Lana Labs to their system, Appian offers the ability to determine processes that can be automated and provide the low-code tools to create those automations. 

For anyone looking to provide business automation services Appian is now one possible platform that you can use to identify and build those processes in an integrated environment. The pandemic spurred the move to "digital transformation" of business workflows and systems like Appian's offer an inexpensive and efficient way to help businesses join that movement.

The Ultimate No-Code Platform

Recently I wrote a post about OpenAI's "Codex", which translates natural English language into ready-to-use program code in any number of different programming languages. Codex is currently in beta release and is still in its infant stages, but eventually OpenAI hopes that it can be used to interact with existing program code simply by issuing spoken instructions. That would open up a lot of possibilities - including one that caught my attention over the weekend.

There are still millions of lines of COBOL code out there in the business world, running thousands of major software systems. Converting all those programs to a more modern platform would be a huge task. However, I came across a video this past Saturday about using Codex to automatically translate between Python and COBOL ("Codex translates COBOL to Python", by Mark Ryan, Oct. 3, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTIk2fifO50). As somebody who has done considerable programming in COBOL over the years, I was really interested in whether Codex could manage to actually translate COBOL code into Python program code (and vice versa).

To test the ability to convert back and forth between the two languages, Mark went to the Codex "playground", entered a very basic "hello world" program in Python and had Codex generate the equivalent code in COBOL. Running Codex's generated code in OpenCOBOL's IDE showed that Codex can indeed handle very simple COBOL programs. However, Codex failed to convert a slightly more complex Python program into valid COBOL code - but it did manage to successfully convert the COBOL version of that program into a valid Python program.

That's a really intriguing result, considering the level of interest in translating a lot of COBOL legacy code into Python or some other language that's in common use today. It's probably still a way off into the future, but Codex could eventually turn out to be the answer to modernizing a lot of those COBOL programs that are still running some of our most important business systems.

Making Money with No-Code

 For most of us the question comes up at some point: how can I make some money working with no-code? The answer is there are quite a few ways to monetize your interest in no-code - some with more earnings potential than others, but they can all bring in some extra dollars. Here's a short list of possibilities:

• Create a business-oriented web app and market it to local businesses.
• Create a mobile app focused on social networking and market it to local organizations.
• Create a website for a local business.
• Create an online course on websites like Udemy, Udacity, or Skillshare.
• Offer your services as a tutor for others trying to learn how to use a no-code platform.
• Create a YouTube channel to discuss all things no-code.
• Start a blog about no-code.
• Offer to provide guest posts about no-code programming on other people's blogs.
• Write an e-book about visual programming and no-code platforms.
• Volunteer to help a non-profit develop a no-code app or website to build your portfolio and attract paid jobs.
• Provide assistance to other developers on how to make an app that they can market successfully (including App Store Optimization tips for mobile apps).
• Create an account on Fiverr and market your services, explaining how you as a no-code specialist can create an app much faster and cheaper than a traditional programmer.
• Offer to help local businesses automate their business processes to cut down on duplication of effort and reduce errors.

Have an Idea for an App but Want to Make Sure it Looks "Professional"?

Maybe you have a great idea for a no-code app but you're not sure you can make it look "professional" enough. One answer is to try starting from an app template. Most no-code platforms offer at least some customizable templates that provide well-designed page layouts and a slick-looking user interface. Bubble for example has dozens of templates available and you can additional samples on Zero Quode (www.zeroquode.com).

Keep in mind, you don't have to find an exact match with the application you're planning. One of my favorite examples is Caspio's "patient portal" template (https://www.caspio.com/apps/patient-portal/).  It's designed as a communications center for doctors and their patients and includes:

• A new patient registration form
• Patient and medical personnel login pages
• A patient profile page
• A patient information page (showing the patient's prior visits along with any doctor's notes and recommendations)
• Message center for exchanging messages between doctors and patients
• A doctor's dashboard showing data such as visits and messages by patient and a chart of patients by medical status
• A patient list page where each doctor can see view details on the status of each of their patients

That same design can be used for other applications though. For instance if you wanted to build an app for a fitness center that offers guided fitness plans for members. You could use the same basic layout except that:

• The new patient form becomes a new member form
• The login pages are for members and fitness center staff members
• The message center allows a member to exchange messages with the personal trainer assigned to them
• The patient (or "member") information page shows each visit to the center by that member and what they did on that visit (what exercises, number of reps, dietary notes, etc.)
• And the doctor's pages become the pages for the center's personal trainers or "fitness counselors".

You can use a similar approach to almost any app, you just need to find a template that covers the same basic functions as the application you want to build. Some of the templates available for no-code projects are free, others may cost a few dollars or a few hundred dollars. In the long run even an expensive template may be worth the investment if it saves you considerable time and effort and provides the professional look you want for your application. Check out a few of the ready-made templates available online and see if one of them can work for your project.

A Quick List of No-Code Pros and Cons

OK, you're debating about whether or not to develop a new app using a "no-code" platform - is it a viable option or not? Well, here are a few "pros and cons" to consider:

• Pro - In almost every case no-code platforms offer a much less expensive way to create a usable application than paying a software firm to build the app. The initial cost involved in hiring traditional programmers can be dozens of times more expensive than with no-code or "visual programming" and there's a tendency in any software project for costs to creeping upward as changes and additions become necessary.
• Pro - If you have someone in your organization build the app (or if you have an independent developer build it and teach one of your people how to do it) you retain complete control over the application. If changes need to be made you can do it yourself.
• Pro - Since a modification to the application is usually as simple as plugging in a different "block" of code, feedback from end users can be almost immediate, reducing the time it takes to complete the app (although the time spent in planning and designing the app is probably about the same whether you're using no-code or traditional programming).
• Con - The app is tied to the platform it was built on. No-code programs aren't transferrable from one platform to another (although the documentation covering the app's design and logic are transferrable). 
• Pro - Apps can be created and tested much faster with no-code because you're simply connecting pre-built "blocks" of code rather than coding the program from scratch. 
• Pro - You're not alone in trying to put your project together. Many no-code platforms have a large and enthusiastic community of users who can provide assistance if needed.
• Con - Since apps are tied to the platform on which they're created, that means (in almost every case) that you're going to have to pay a monthly or annual fee to continue to run your app on that platform. However, there's a considerable range in how much you're going to have to pay - the fee may be $30 a month or $3,000 a month.
• Pro - Most no-code platforms offer "plug-ins" and API connectors that let you extend the capabilities of the platform by "plugging in" chunks of custom code or connecting to outside services like Stripe or Google Maps. 
  
• Pro/Con - Security can be a cause for concern with no-code apps (the same as it is with traditional programming). The fact that the actual program code is hidden makes it difficult to judge how secure the code really is (although there are some software products you can use to scan even a no-code app for vulnerabilities. Plus, creating app on a no-code platform is definitely more secure than having employees creating scripts and macros in an Excel spreadsheet to work with that same data.

OK, there are a few things to consider for anyone contemplating using a no-code app development platform. One last thing to consider though - the number of individuals and organizations using no-code has grown enormously in the last few years and is continuing to grow every day.

An Additional Note on Data Visualization

 I came across a really good blog post on data visualization that I wanted to share with you. It's on the Data Pine blog at: https://www.datapine.com/blog/how-to-choose-the-right-data-visualization-types/. The title is "Designing Charts and Graphs: How to Choose the Right Data Visualization Types", by Sandra Durcevic, posted on May 2nd, 2019. 

Data Visualization with Bubble

One of the common "buzz" terms in the digital world these days is "data visualization". What exactly does that mean? The standard definition is "the graphical representation of data and information". Basically, data visualization is an extension of the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words". We tend to be visual learners and to see trends and patterns much more easily when the data is presented visually in charts and graphs.

So how do you, as a no-code developer, handle data visualization on your favorite platform? Bubble's chart and graph elements offer a good example of how to present data visually in a no-code app. There are all kinds of charts and graphs that can be used to display data including: bar charts, area charts, stacked bar graphs, line graphs, scatter diagrams, pie charts, and Gantt charts and Bubble has "plug-ins" to let you make use of almost all of these. 

As an example of how to use Bubble's "Chart Element" plug-in, here's an excerpt from one of my books that involved a "To-Do" app where tasks could be assigned to different users:

• One of the changes we want to make to the To-Do app is to add a new page with both a list view of the current tasks and a chart view. To get started, click on the “Plugins” tab, search for Bubble's “Chart Element” plugin and install it, then add a new page and name it "chart-view".

• Drag a repeating group onto the page and position it on the left half of the page, then add a chart element and position it on the right half of the page.

• Double-click the repeating group to open its property editor and set it to 4 rows of data. Then Build the expression “Search for Todos:grouped by”  in the “Data source” field. 

• At this point a “Group By” box will display. Click “+ Add a new grouping”, set “Field 1 to group by” to “Assigned To” and click on “+ Add a new aggregation”. Set the “Aggregation 1” function to “Sum” and set the “Field to calculate on” to “Assigned To”. Now the property inspector for the repeating group should look like this:

• Next, double-click the chart element to display its property editor and set its “Chart type” to “Bar”. The rest of the setup for the chart element is almost the same as for the repeating group. The property editor for the chart element looks like this:

 

• Note: The “Group By” function is an important one when you're building different views of the data in the database. As stated in the Bubble documentation, this function “Groups the list into chunks of related entries, and computes summaries of each group.”. In this case, we grouped the Todo's by user and calculated the sum of the hours to-date for each user.

Once these two elements are set up, the chart-view page looks like this in preview:

 

The listing on the left and the chart view on the right both tell you how the tasks are divided among the three users, but the chart view is definitely quicker and easier to absorb at a glance. That's the advantage of "data visualization" in your app - and this example shows how easily you can include this type of view in your application.