Training course · Windsurf · Citizen Developers & Low-Code

Windsurf for Citizen Developers

Develop with the Windsurf AI IDE and its Cascade agent: flows, memories, rules, workflows and safe use across the team.

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

“Windsurf 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 Windsurf productively, safely and transparently in Citizen Developers & Low-Code – from the fundamentals to advanced workflows.

Windsurf is an AI-powered development environment built around its agent, Cascade. Cascade understands the structure of your project, follows your actions in the editor and terminal, and works with you according to the flow principle: you and the agent take turns on the same task without having to re-explain context over and over. In this two-day course you will learn how to use Cascade effectively for features, debugging and refactoring, and how to make the most of intelligent completion in your daily development work.

To keep results consistent across a team, you steer Cascade with global and workspace rules, rely on memories for lasting project knowledge and automate recurring procedures with workflows that run from a slash command. You will connect external tools through MCP, control how terminal commands are executed and decide which data Cascade is allowed to see. Finally, you will define rules for code review, security and data protection so that Windsurf can be used responsibly within your organisation and its existing processes.

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 use Cascade productively in flow for features, debugging and refactoring.
  • You steer Windsurf’s context precisely and keep sensitive content protected.
  • You maintain memories and rules that reliably enforce your project conventions.
  • You automate recurring procedures with workflows and connect external tools via MCP.
  • 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 Getting to know Windsurf and Cascade
  • Installation, importing existing editor settings and basic configuration
  • Cascade in code and chat mode: when the agent edits and when it only advises
  • The flow principle: how Cascade takes your editor and terminal actions into account
  • Intelligent completion and inline commands in everyday development
Module 2 Steering context
  • Understanding codebase indexing and referencing relevant files or directories
  • Bringing documentation, web sources and terminal output into context
  • Excluding sensitive content from context with ignore files
  • Structuring sessions and starting afresh when the topic changes
Module 3 Memories and rules for consistent results
  • Reviewing and maintaining auto-generated and manually created memories
  • Creating and versioning global and workspace rules
  • Expressing architecture, style and testing guidelines as effective rules
  • Activating rules selectively by file pattern or occasion
Module 4 Workflows and automation
  • Defining recurring procedures as workflows and launching them via slash command
  • Building workflows for release preparation, testing or code maintenance
  • Connecting MCP servers for issue trackers, databases or internal services
  • Controlling terminal command execution with allow and deny lists

Day 2

Module 5 Quality, review and governance
  • Tracing Cascade’s changes, accepting them partially or reverting them
  • Using a test-driven approach and preview features for verification
  • Team settings, data protection options and handling of secrets
  • Defining review processes and accountability for AI-generated code
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

You program regularly in at least one language and are familiar with Git and a modern IDE. 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 the Windsurf editor, Git and your usual toolchain installed; a Windsurf account with access to Cascade is required.

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.

  • Tue, 24 November 2026 – Wed, 25 November 2026 Online Request
  • Tue, 1 December 2026 – Wed, 2 December 2026 Hanover Request
  • Wed, 16 December 2026 – Thu, 17 December 2026 Online Request
  • Mon, 11 January 2027 – Tue, 12 January 2027 Online Request
  • Mon, 18 January 2027 – Tue, 19 January 2027 Stuttgart Request
  • Tue, 2 February 2027 – Wed, 3 February 2027 Online Request

Frequently asked questions

What does Windsurf mean by flows?

Flows describe the close collaboration between you and Cascade. The agent observes what you do in the editor and terminal and takes those actions into account in its next steps. As a result you do not have to keep explaining where you are, and you can move smoothly between doing the work yourself and delegating it to the agent.

How do memories, rules and workflows differ?

Memories store knowledge that Cascade has gathered while working or that you have explicitly recorded. Rules are guidelines you write that shape the agent’s behaviour permanently. Workflows are reusable sequences of steps for recurring tasks, launched with a slash command. Together they keep results consistent across the whole team.

Can I use Windsurf with my existing projects and languages?

Yes. Windsurf is language-agnostic and works with your existing toolchain, including build tools, package managers and test frameworks. Whether you work on back end, front end, data processing or infrastructure code, what matters is giving Cascade good rules and clear context. Each course variant adds the specific focus for your field.

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 “Windsurf 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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