Introduction
End User Development (EUD), also referred to End-User Programming (EUP) is the development of activities and tools which aid the end users who have minimal knowledge on software development knowledge to engage in programming activities. In this regard, EUD is designed to help end users who are professional developers to participate in the creation and modification of software artifacts (Barricelli &Valtolina 2015). This is usually made possible by the use of sophisticated, user-friendly software tools that enables the end users to have direct control over their computing. In this regard, the importance of EUD has been evident through several ways in which enhances the satisfaction it gives to end users and all individuals working the IT departments within an organization.
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Nowadays, EUD has been one of the most essential components that enhance the effectiveness of IT systems in organizations. Notably, EUD usually provides a range of benefits to end users, IT department, and organization as a whole. Currently, there are millions of end users developers especially in developed countries like the U.S (Corno, De Russis & Roffarello 2017). Additionally, most organizations and individuals use varying EUD approaches such as natural language programming, spreadsheets, and scripting languages depending on the activities they perform (Paternò 2013). Subsequently, the concept of EUD has grown to become one of the most beneficial as far as end users with little programming knowledge are concerned.
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Advantages of End User Development
The application of end-user development by individuals and organizations has proven to have several advantages. Some of the benefits of EUD include:
- Helps in the decision making processes of end users. One of the benefits of EUD is that it provides end users with a platform which helps them make decisions related to programming. Notably, according to Swartz and Krull (2018), employees who adopt the right EUD approaches have a likelihood of improving their performance and increase their productivity. In this sense, EUD is not only beneficial to them but also the organization. As a result, the use of EUD has been an effective concept which helps in making effective IT related decisions.
- Easy implementation. One of the challenges of traditional development approaches is that they do not involve end-users. In most cases, conventional development approaches were only effective for individuals with programming knowledge thus limiting the number of end users (Weaver et al. 2017). Notably, systems in the traditional development approaches might not be what the end user expected and in some cases can be unsatisfactory. However, EUD is more effective as it convenient for both end users with or without knowledge on programming related functions. More so, EUD tools are better and more efficient as there is a likelihood that the final system will be exactly in line in with the expectations of the end users.
- Increased Individual Performance. One of the most essential benefits of EUD is improved individual performance both in efficiency and effectiveness. It increases the capabilities of end users in organizations to engage in various programming activities. With the use of EUD, users are aware of want they want thus, their self-developed results are likely to achieve the desirable and intended results. In this regard, the end user development is essential in that it increases individual performance in the organization.
- Faster Development cycles and reduced IT workload. Another benefit is that the end users do not have to wait for approval from an IT governance body. In this regard, EUD is effective because it prevents time wastage in communication through emails, instant messages, and phone calls between end users and developers. More so, EUD helps in reducing IT workloads as the department will not need a budget or plan to enhance a pure EUD project (Fischer 2012). Therefore, this is beneficial to organizations as they can focus on funds, efforts, and resources to more strategically essential activities. Subsequently, the concept of EUD is advantageous in that it enhances faster development cycles as well as promotes reduced workloads in the IT departments.
- Encourages innovative and creative solutions. The concept of EUD is also beneficial as it promotes innovation and also encourages the end users to be creative in their day to day IT related functions. As a result, most modern organizations have adopted the use of EUD in their IT departments with the aim of promoting innovation in their employees (Ardito, Buono, Desolda & Matera 2018).
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Conclusion
End User Development (EUD) is a concept in the IT department that has become popular among most end users. It refers to the development of activities and tools which aid the end users who have little or no knowledge of software development knowledge to engage in programming activities. EUD is designed to help end users who are professional developers to participate in the creation and modification of software artifacts. Over the years, most end users have learnt to engage in programming related activities with the help of EUD. The effectiveness of end user development is usually made possible by the use of sophisticated, user-friendly software tools that enables the end users to have direct control over their computing. Some of the advantages of end user development include: enables in the decision making processes of end users, easy implementation, increased individual performance, and faster development cycles and reduced IT workload, among others. Therefore, EUD is one of the concepts that play a significant role in the activities of both the end users and organizations.
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