Modelling in low-code development: a multi-vocal systematic review

Abstract

In 2014, a new software development approach started to get a foothold: low-code development. Already from its early days, practitioners in software engineering have been showing a rapidly growing interest in low-code development. In 2021 only, the revenue of low-code development technologies reached 13.8 billion USD. Moreover, the business success of low-code development has been sided by a growing interest from the software engineering research community. The model-driven engineering community has shown a particular interest in low-code development due to certain similarities between the two. In this article, we report on the planning, execution, and results of a multi-vocal systematic review on low-code development, with special focus to its relation to model-driven engineering. The review is intended to provide a structured and comprehensive snapshot of low-code development in its peak of inflated expectations technology adoption phase. From an initial set of potentially relevant 720 peer-reviewed publications and 199 grey literature sources, we selected 58 primary studies, which we analysed according to a meticulous data extraction, analysis, and synthesis process. Based on our results, we tend to frame low-code development as a set of methods and/or tools in the context of a broader methodology, often being identified as model-driven engineering.

Exploring Low-Code Development: A Comprehensive Literature Review

“…Similar definitions appear in other peer-reviewed papers as well - [1], [6], [7], [12]- [22]. Consequently, to capture the multifaceted nature of low-code development and to ensure comprehensiveness, the following definition is proposed and used in this article: Low-code software development is a development approach that enhances rapid, flexible, and iterative software development by enabling quick business requirements translation through visual programming with a graphical interface, visual abstraction, and minimal hand-coding; and involving practitioners with various backgrounds and software development experience.…”

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

“…It is critical for businesses and people to use LCNC technology to enhance job productivity, the efficiency of software and application development [1,6,10], and to remain competitive. However, there is a lack of research focusing on factors influencing adoption decisions [11,12] based on theoretical frameworks. The lack of emphasis on theoretical frameworks in adoption decisions hinders our understanding of the complex interaction between many factors that affect the decision-making process.…”

“…LCNC software development is compatible with Agile methodology since they both emphasize an iterative and frequent delivery strategy with ongoing stakeholder interaction [16,17]. In businesses, it aids in addressing the issue of insufficient developers by allowing businesses to create and develop apps independently or with minimal assistance from IT experts [11,18]. The common issue of misinterpretation of requirements may also be minimized since the business requirements can be specified accurately and completely [16,19].…”

Interdisciplinary Learning of Low-Code Development Platform Programming with Dual Coding Theory-A Case Study of Agilepoint NX

“…The LCDP in recent years can be traced back to Model-driven Engineering (MDE) [15]. Research con􀅫irms that LCD and MDE share several core principles, such as abstraction, automation, visual symbols, and agility [16,17]. The remarkable growth of LCDPs is gaining traction in the market and attracting interest from academia.…”