In this episode of Appian Rocks, host Stefan welcomes special guest Matt, a seasoned IT professional with nearly 20 years of experience, including a decade working with Appian. The two met at the last Appian conference in Washington, where they decided to have a more in-depth discussion about Matt’s career, his experiences with Appian, and his thoughts on the platform.

Matt introduces himself as a freelance consultant from Montreal, Canada, with a background in information technology. He shares his journey from working with PeopleSoft and Java web development to becoming a solution architect at a Crown corporation in Montreal. This role marked his first significant encounter with Appian, which the organization chose for a major modernization project. Matt describes the challenges of maintaining a complex technology stack and how Appian helped simplify operations, allowing the IT team to focus on modernization rather than just maintenance.

The conversation shifts to Matt’s appreciation for Appian’s low-code platform, which he found to be a game-changer compared to traditional open-source development. He praises Appian for its ability to streamline business processes and reduce the time spent on technical issues. Matt also highlights the intelligence and professionalism of Appian’s support staff and the company’s intentional, purposeful approach to product development, drawing a parallel to Apple’s focus on cohesive, well-thought-out solutions.

Stefan and Matt discuss the potential of AI in software development, particularly in the context of low-code platforms like Appian. While Matt sees value in AI as a co-pilot for developers, helping with tasks like refactoring and code optimization, he emphasizes that AI is only as effective as the instructions it receives. He believes that the true power of AI lies in its ability to assist developers who already have a clear understanding of their goals.

The conversation also touches on Appian’s new Process HQ feature, which leverages record events for process mining and transparency. Matt expresses some reservations about the need to intentionally record events, as opposed to having an automatic observability feature. He shares his current approach of recording various events to see what insights can be gained, but acknowledges that more experimentation is needed to fully understand the feature’s potential.

Matt shares two success stories from his career. The first is the modernization project at the Crown corporation, which has been running successfully for nearly a decade. The second is a current project involving a modular design approach, allowing for parallel development and easier maintenance. This project, though not yet complete, shows promise in terms of scalability and efficiency.

In terms of challenges, Matt recalls moments of frustration when seemingly simple tasks took longer than expected, highlighting the importance of perseverance and problem-solving in software development.

The episode concludes with Stefan and Matt expressing their enthusiasm for future conversations and collaborations, both within the Appian community and beyond. They look forward to continuing their discussions on various platforms and exploring new developments in the world of low-code and AI.

Overall, this episode provides valuable insights into the practical applications of Appian, the benefits of low-code development, and the evolving role of AI in the industry. Matt’s experiences and perspectives offer a compelling look at the challenges and rewards of working with Appian, making this a must-listen for professionals in the field.