Ida Meier

Background

Organizations are experiencing a new wave of democratized software development. Low-code/no-code development platforms (LCDPs) and citizen development have already enabled faster prototyping, workflow automation, and self-service in business units. Recent advances in GenAI (e.g., copilots, prompt-to-app, code generation) and agentic AI (semi-autonomous task execution across tools and systems, orchestration, monitoring) are accelerating this shift even further. In parallel, practices often described as vibe coding move parts of software development from traditional engineering routines toward natural-language specification and AI-mediated implementation. Low-code/no-code, vibe coding, and agentic AI can be understood as manifestations of a broader shift toward agentic automation, characterized by intent-based specification and increasingly autonomous, AI-driven software development, including automated code migration.

At the same time, democratized software development raises persistent organizational challenges. While speed and experimentation increase, organizations must maintain quality, security, compliance, and long-term maintainability. Governance approaches that worked for “classic” shadow IT may be insufficient when business users build not only applications and workflows but also agents that can operate within enterprise systems. This creates new risks, such as unmanaged “shadow agents,” unclear accountability, and limited auditability.

This thesis examines how low-code/no-code, vibe coding, and agentic AI reshape software development work in organizations, and what governance mechanisms enable organizations to capture productivity and innovation benefits while controlling risks. There are two potential tracks for investigating this topic.

Thesis Track 1: Delphi Study (Future Trajectories and Capabilities)

Research goal

The goal of this thesis track is to anticipate how democratized software development practices will evolve over the next 3-5 years and which organizational capabilities and governance mechanisms will be required to scale these practices responsibly.

Possible research questions

• Which software development activities are most likely to shift from IT to business users through low-code and agentic automation (including vibe coding and AI-driven code generation), and which activities remain centralized due to quality, integration, and compliance constraints?
• Which governance mechanisms (e.g., guardrails, review gates, identity and access controls, audit trails, platform team models) are viewed by experts as most critical to prevent unmanaged shadow IT and shadow agents?
• What capability requirements (skills, roles, platform features, operating models) will organizations need to sustain benefits while maintaining reliability and maintainability?

Method and expected outputs

You will conduct a multi-round Delphi study with industry experts (e.g., IT governance leaders, platform owners, security/compliance professionals, and citizen development leads). The thesis will develop a structured framework (e.g., software development lifecycle phases × actor responsibilities × tooling modality) and provide practitioner guidance (e.g., a prioritized capability roadmap) to support democratized software development and agentic automation.

Thesis Track 2: Case Study (Organizational Practice and Governance in Action)

Research goal

The goal of this thesis track is to conduct an in-depth case study of democratized software development work in a real organizational setting, focusing on how low-code/no-code, GenAI, and agentic automation reshape development practices, roles, and governance.

Possible research questions

• How does democratized development reconfigure software development work and boundary work between business units and IT (e.g., responsibilities for requirements, implementation, testing, deployment, and operations)?
• What governance mechanisms emerge over time (e.g., platform guardrails, Centers of Excellence, mandatory reviews, security controls, monitoring, and auditability), and what trade-offs do they produce (speed vs. quality, innovation vs. risk)?
• How do organizations mitigate risks such as shadow IT and shadow agents as AI-enabled development becomes more capable and widely accessible?

Method and expected outputs

You will collect and analyze qualitative data from the case organization (e.g., interviews, internal documents, process artifacts, and – where possible – observations of development and governance routines). The thesis will develop an empirically grounded process model and/or a governance framework that explains how organizations scale democratized software development practices responsibly. In addition, the case study is expected to produce a descriptive artifact that situates low-code/no-code, vibe coding, and agentic automation practices in their organizational context. This includes an empirically grounded classification of when different approaches are appropriate and how they are concretely enacted in practice.

Your profile

• Interest in low-code/no-code, vibe coding, agentic automation, and modern AI-assisted development practices
• Motivation to work on an emerging real-world problem in a self-organized, goal-oriented manner
• Openness to engaging with professionals (e.g., interviews, case study collaboration)
• Very good English skills (the thesis will be written in English)

We offer an exciting research topic with strong relevance to both academia and practice, close supervision, and the opportunity to develop theoretical, methodological, and practical skills. If you are interested, please send a current transcript of records, a short CV, and a brief motivation (2–3 sentences) to Ida Meier (ida.meier∂kit.edu).