With the introduction and proliferation of visual programming, the problem-solving capacity of custom-built software is now well within anyone’s reach.
No-code application builders have made it so that anyone can develop custom software to manage every kind of workflow, tasks, and conversation—instead of subscribing to expensive, single-duty enterprise apps which can easily cause two headaches for every one cured.
The key to success with no-code application builders is asking questions and experimenting with the tools available to see what solutions will work best for your team. In this article, we’re going to look at seven specific ways that no-code app builders can empower you to make your workflows more efficient and consistent. With a little bit of creative problem-solving, you can easily create and identify opportunities to improve work for yourself and your colleagues, without having to give software dev teams so much as a needy glance.
No-code app builders are perfect for business owners and administrators, department managers, and employees who want to take initiative and simply make their team’s lives easier. If you count yourself among any of those groups, then this is for you.
The Magnificent Seven: 7 Ways To Improve Workflows With No-Code App Builders
1. Discover and Break Bottlenecks in Your Workflow
Every workflow pipeline has a bottleneck somewhere in it, and no-code app builder options are incredibly effective for identifying and eliminating inefficiencies in just about any system.
When you work with no-code app builders, any time you find your workflows getting jammed up, it’s easy to crack open your software’s backend and directly modify any parameters you need. For instance, If people aren’t filling out a crucial bit of info in a form, you can make it a required field (without ever talking to IT). If you need to remove a superfluous step in your process, it’s no problem to tinker with your workflow until it’s just right.
When you’re empowered to take the software into your own hands, problems that once took days or weeks to identify and fix now take a matter of minutes.
READ ALSO: How one company turned a 3-day process issue into a 3-minute one with Kintone
2. Consolidate Your Software Onto One Platform
Apps built in a no-code environment are perfectly capable of replacing many expensive third-party, single-duty applications. CRM, messaging apps and email, HR functions, scheduling, and many more enterprise-grade apps can all be consolidated into one system for a seamless workflow experience.
Think of your business like building blocks. Using a bunch of different software to handle your tasks and data is like trying to build using Lego, Lincoln Logs, Mega Bloks, and an Erector set all at once. You may be able to jury-rig things together, but your work will flow much better if you just build the whole thing in one system. So it goes with software.
No-code app builders are more like 3D printing your own blocks that take any shape you want and fit together perfectly. Once you start building your own custom apps to replace the majority of expensive single-duty software solutions, it’s a natural process to identify and eliminate inefficiencies, combine department functions and trim out redundant software. It’s not necessarily something that happens overnight, but with a bit of buy-in from your team, the benefits will quickly become apparent, and it won’t be long before you’re whipping up apps with ease and canceling your software subscriptions.
3. Keep Your Communications in One Place
Between emails, texts, Slack messages, comment threads, and record notes, most teams have fragmented conversations about the work they’re doing. Add in scheduling apps, meeting reminders, and note taking—you have a recipe for frustration.
When so much contextual information is scattered across so many channels, it effectively becomes lost. Think about an operations manager having to task someone with searching through the vast email archive of a prior employee from four years ago to find a conversation thread about specific decisions regarding a crucial process which, at the time, was covered by a different department, and went by another name.
That’s probably not going to happen anytime soon.
Some of the most effective and simple apps to build are ones that automate and centralize communication, and a good process-oriented no-code app builder offers that to eliminate the need for separate email or chat threads. With collaboration-oriented no-code app builders, you can already claim a huge victory in the fight against information entropy. Discussion threads and channels can be created and arranged in whichever way is most efficient for your team, and any contextual information about tasks are held right in the records themselves.
Four years from now, that same ops manager can just find that same information for themselves, in just a few seconds.
READ ALSO: Why Projects Fail: Why Weak Communication Kills Projects & How to Solve It
4. Improve Data Security and Record Accuracy
Data loss is a familiar problem for any business. Keeping your data spread across multiple platforms and copy-pasted repeatedly creates room for errors, corruption, and outright data loss. It also just sucks time out of your day having to ferry information around to different colleagues (or third-party vendors) in various forms. When you work in a centralized system, you don’t need to constantly copy-paste information across apps, emails, CRM records, and spreadsheets. Information loss is demonstrably reduced and searching archived information becomes a trivial task.
By keeping data centralized, it’s also safer. Data breaches and cyber attacks are always on the rise, and when your sensitive company records are all contained in one place, it’s less likely that there will be any leaks or successful attacks on you and your customers most sensitive information.
READ ALSO: The Hidden Risks of Using Excel To Manage Your Projects or Data
5. Get a Better Handle on Metrics and Reporting
Process improvements and better record-keeping allow you to generate more thorough and accurate reports on your data. When you have the power to adjust your own software to collect any data you want, getting metrics on any corner of the operation doesn’t seem so daunting.
You’re also able to look at all your data in context. Because your data isn’t fragmented across multiple platforms, you can see what it’s telling you alongside other data. Maybe your sales data shows you’re killing it with quotas, but reports from customer service show a 30% turnover rate after three months. If you’re seeing this information together alongside each other in one platform, you may be able to spot patterns or bottlenecks you might not otherwise catch. Many folks who make the leap to no-code app development report discovering entirely new data points of interest which they’re able to easily track and convey.
6. Increase Peripheral Efficiency for Other Departments
Imagine working in HR and folks being able to answer their own questions and requests. Or what if you were in the communications department, and everyone could function as their own editor. Obviously no-code app builders can’t turn your accountants into Hemingway, but what they can do is free up bandwidth for your colleagues.
As far as actual no-code development goes, the benefits are most immediately apparent for an overworked software dev or IT team that doesn’t have to accommodate your software requests anymore. But, by increasing your own bandwidth, you increase that of your colleagues in every department. After all, with more time and energy, and especially by sharing no-code app builders tools across teams, you can more easily contribute to each other’s success.
And you know what that means—fewer meetings. 🙌
7. Give Your Team Their Time Back
Once you have all your data, communication, and workflows neatly organized, you and your team will probably start to find yourselves with more time and mental/emotional energy to spend on higher tier concerns. Less time will be given to just managing your data and conversations and instead turned towards discussing what your data means for your business.
It can feel almost counterintuitive, but by giving you greater control over the nitty-gritty details of your workflows, tasks, and communication, no-code app builders platforms give you back time in your day. Meaning there’s more room for tasks you’ve had on hold, or just the chance to finally log off and have dinner with the family before it gets dark.
Conclusion
This is just an overview of the most common, straightforward benefits to using a no-code application builder. These powerful tools offer teams the chance to redesign their workflows just the way they want using their own expertise and knowledge. Think of it like democratic self-representation. What you want, you make. The software world is yours for the taking.
About the Author
Mark is an avid writer with a ton of experience in journalism, experience design, performance, and event production. He also has impeccable taste in music. He currently lives and works as a writer/editor in the SF Bay Area. When he's not working, he's probably either spinning records or scoring goals on a bike polo court near you.
