  The rapid technological leaps of Industry 4.0 increase the pressure and
demands on humans working in automation, which is one of the main motivators of
Industry 5.0. In particular, automation software development for mechatronic
systems becomes increasingly challenging, as both domain knowledge and
programming skills are required for high-quality, maintainable software.
Especially for small companies from automation and robotics without dedicated
software engineering departments, domain-specific low-code platforms become
indispensable that enable domain experts to develop code intuitively using
visual programming languages, e.g., for tasks such as retrofitting mobile
machines. However, for extensive functionalities, visual programs may become
overwhelming due to the scaling-up problem. In addition, the ever-shortening
time-to-market increases the time pressure on programmers. Thus, an assistance
system concept is introduced that can be implemented by low-code platform
suppliers based on combining data mining and static code analysis. Domain
experts are supported in developing low-code by targeted recommendations,
metric-based complexity measurement, and reducing complexity by encapsulating
functionalities. The concept is implemented for the industrial low-code
platform HAWE eDesign to program hydraulic components in mobile machines, and
its benefits are confirmed in a user study and an industrial expert workshop.
