When embarking on a low-code, citizens developer program, how do you handle reuse across applications? You do this through a shared reuse layer. A shared reuse layer is an application on which your low-code applications will be built. This application stores best practices, reusable components, shared integrations, and other tools. Your practice managers and other members of the practice committee are in charge of managing the shared layer. For example, Sample Inc. wants to use an identity management system to validate users that log in to the system. Instead of building the integration in each of the applications, the practice managers build this in the shared layer, which allows all low-code applications to inherit the functionality. This helps ensure that each application is not solving the same problem in unique ways. It also ensures that all reusable assets are managed in a centralized location.

Create a toolbox

There are several types of reusable assets that you can create in the shared reuse layer. It is important to create a robust toolbox for your App makers to use in order to build quality applications. For example, Sample Inc. wants all emails sent from the many low-code applications to have a shared look and feel. Email templates can be created in the shared layer. App makers can use the email templates in their individual applications with their own unique content, but the look and feel of the emails are shared across applications.

The following list details examples of reusable assets that you can create in your shared layer.

• Email templates
• Common integrations
• Common data types
• Common cases
• Section templates
• SLAs
• Reports
• Security artifacts

Multiple solutions to the same problem can cause maintenance nightmares and make it impossible to enforce a single standard. A robust toolbox of reusable assets in your shared layer eliminates this issue. If you are solving the same problem multiple times in different applications, consider adding this asset to your toolbox.