Training course · Vibe Coding · Citizen Developers & Low-Code

Vibe Coding for Citizen Developers

Build software in natural language: from prompt to app, rapid iteration, quality and security checks, and turning prototypes into production.

Duration
2 days (14 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

“Vibe Coding for Citizen Developers” is designed for roles such as Business users with automation ideas in administration, sales, procurement or HR, Power users of Excel, Power Platform or similar low-code tools and Process owners and business analysts and shows step by step how to use Vibe Coding productively, safely and transparently in Citizen Developers & Low-Code – from the fundamentals to advanced workflows.

Vibe coding is a new style of software development: you describe in natural language what an application should do, and AI tools generate the code for it. Instead of writing every line yourself, you steer through descriptions, examples and feedback, test the result and refine it in short loops. This dramatically speeds up prototypes, internal tools and experiments. This vendor-neutral course shows you how to use vibe coding productively with tools such as Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot or browser-based app builders.

Knowing the limits matters just as much as speed. Uncontrolled generated code can be unmaintainable, insecure or simply wrong. You will therefore learn to state requirements precisely, safeguard results with tests and reviews, spot typical security flaws and steer the architecture deliberately. Finally, you will map out a clear path from quick prototype to production-ready application, covering version control, deployment, documentation and a clean handover to the team that will run and maintain the solution over the long term.

Citizen developers are business users who build their own applications and automations without being professional software engineers. Until recently, low-code platforms quickly hit their limits whenever custom logic, integrations or data transformations were needed. AI coding tools push that boundary much further: a plain-language description becomes forms, workflows, scripts and small web apps, and AI explains error messages, formulas and expressions in understandable terms. Responsibility grows at the same time, because home-built solutions also process company data and need maintenance. In this course you learn to use vibe coding and AI agents to build useful solutions for your department, combine them sensibly with low-code platforms and stay within your IT governance rules.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • Business users with automation ideas in administration, sales, procurement or HR
  • Power users of Excel, Power Platform or similar low-code tools
  • Process owners and business analysts
  • Members of digitalisation and innovation teams
  • IT leads setting up a citizen development programme

Typical challenges we address

  • Recurring manual tasks that IT has no capacity to automate
  • Low-code platforms hit limits with custom logic, integrations or data preparation
  • Little know-how on testing, documenting and running solutions safely
  • Risk of shadow IT without alignment with data protection and IT security

What you will be able to do

  • You build working applications in natural language with a suitable AI tool.
  • You phrase requirements and constraints so that generated results meet your expectations.
  • You iterate purposefully, fix errors efficiently and stay in control of the project state.
  • You safeguard generated code with tests, reviews and security checks.
  • Build your own automations, forms and small applications for your department with AI support.
  • Combine low-code platforms with generated code for logic, data preparation and integrations.
  • Document, test and run your solutions in line with your IT governance rules.

Course outline

Day 1

Module 1 Vibe coding fundamentals
  • What vibe coding is and how it differs from traditional and agentic development
  • The tool landscape: AI editors, coding agents and browser-based app builders
  • Good use cases: prototypes, internal tools, experiments, learning projects
  • Roles: you as product owner, the AI as the one doing the typing
Module 2 From prompt to app
  • Describing requirements as a short spec covering users, features and boundaries
  • Choosing the tech stack and project structure deliberately rather than leaving it to the AI
  • Generating user interfaces from descriptions, sketches and reference examples
  • Adding data, APIs and persistence step by step
Module 3 Iterating and fixing problems
  • Working in small, verifiable steps and committing regularly
  • Feeding error messages, logs and screenshots back to the AI
  • Recognising stuck sessions, rolling back and restarting with fresh context
  • Creating project rules and context files to avoid repeating yourself
Module 4 Securing quality and safety
  • Having the AI generate tests and critically assessing what they actually prove
  • Reviewing generated changes for readability, duplication and needless complexity
  • Spotting typical security flaws: secrets in code, missing validation, exposed endpoints
  • Assessing dependencies, licences and data protection in generated solutions

Day 2

Module 5 From prototype to production
  • Setting criteria for evolving a prototype versus rebuilding it
  • Refactoring, cleaning up architecture and documenting with AI support
  • Setting up version control, CI and deployment for generated applications
  • Planning operations, monitoring and handover to a team or IT
Module 6 Practice lab: Citizen Developers & Low-Code
  • Automating workflows
  • Building forms and small apps
  • Explaining formulas and expressions
  • Cleaning and transforming data
  • Connecting to interfaces
  • Documenting and testing solutions
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • Home-built solutions also process company and employee data: you learn to respect GDPR requirements, IT approval processes, secure handling of credentials and the licence terms of platforms and generated code, so that no shadow IT emerges.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Automating workflows

Describe approval processes, notifications and data transfers between email, spreadsheets, forms and business applications on low-code platforms, and have AI build the matching flows, expressions and conditions.

Building forms and small apps

Generate data entry forms, checklists or booking apps from a description, complete with validation, mandatory fields and simple data storage, and refine them step by step based on colleagues’ feedback.

Explaining formulas and expressions

Have complex Excel formulas, Power Fx or flow expressions explained in plain terms, track down errors and reliably write new calculations from a business description.

Cleaning and transforming data

Merge exports from different systems, remove duplicates, standardise formats and generate Python scripts or Power Query steps that make the preparation repeatable. Monthly preparation then takes minutes, not hours.

Connecting to interfaces

Use AI to understand how a REST interface works, configure connectors and set up simple API calls that bring data from business systems into your own solutions.

Documenting and testing solutions

Produce user guides, short technical documentation and test cases for home-built applications so colleagues and IT can understand, take over and keep running the solution.

Possible hands-on projects

Leave and cover planner

A small web app where team members enter absences, assign cover and give the team lead a monthly overview. Overlaps are flagged automatically.

Incoming invoice checker

A script that reads incoming PDF invoices, checks mandatory details and transfers the data into a structured spreadsheet for approval.

Request tracker

A simple ticketing tool for internal requests with a form, status history, assignments and automatic email notifications. Everyone keeps track of open and completed requests.

Prerequisites

Basic programming knowledge and some Git experience are helpful; you should be able to read simple code and make sense of error messages. You are confident with office applications and spreadsheets; no programming skills are required, though experience with a low-code platform helps.

Technical requirements

Your own laptop with an up-to-date browser, Git and an AI coding tool of your choice, such as an AI editor or coding agent with an active account.

Data protection & compliance

Home-built solutions also process company and employee data: you learn to respect GDPR requirements, IT approval processes, secure handling of credentials and the licence terms of platforms and generated code, so that no shadow IT emerges.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Wed, 25 November 2026 – Thu, 26 November 2026 Online Request
  • Mon, 7 December 2026 – Tue, 8 December 2026 Bremen Request
  • Tue, 19 January 2027 – Wed, 20 January 2027 Online Request
  • Thu, 4 February 2027 – Fri, 5 February 2027 Salzburg Request
  • Tue, 9 February 2027 – Wed, 10 February 2027 Online Request
  • Mon, 15 February 2027 – Tue, 16 February 2027 Kaiserslautern Request

Frequently asked questions

Is vibe coding only suitable for quick prototypes?

Vibe coding shines with prototypes, internal tools and experiments. With the right practices, namely clear specifications, tests, reviews and sound version control, results can also be turned into production-ready applications. The course teaches you to manage that transition deliberately and to recognise early on when rebuilding is the wiser option.

Which tools are used in the course?

The course is vendor-neutral. We work with the main tool categories: AI editors such as Cursor or Windsurf, coding agents such as Claude Code or Codex, and browser-based app builders. You are welcome to use your preferred tool, as the principles of specification, iteration, quality and security apply to all of them.

How should I deal with security risks in generated code?

Generated code often contains typical weaknesses such as hard-coded credentials, missing input validation or overly open interfaces. You learn to check specifically for these patterns, build security requirements into the specification from the start, use automated scanning and require a deliberate human sign-off before every deployment.

Do I need programming skills to work with AI as a citizen developer?

No. You describe what your solution should do and the AI generates forms, flows, formulas or scripts. What matters is stating your requirements clearly and checking results systematically. In the course you learn the essential concepts such as data, logic, interfaces and testing so you can steer precisely and narrow down errors yourself.

How do we avoid shadow IT?

With clear rules rather than bans: approved platforms and tools, defined data classes, a simple register of home-built solutions and a route for handing over to IT once an application becomes business-critical. In the course you learn to apply such rules, and IT leads gain ideas for setting up a citizen development programme.

How much does “Vibe Coding for Citizen Developers” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 2 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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