Friday, November 01, 2024

Product Engineering in the AI Era

When developing a product, we must ask ourselves what value we contribute if the roles of Engineering or Development are merely seen as implementers. What is the extent of this value contribution? Furthermore, how will this contribution change now that AI will assist us with a significant portion of this work?

Let's refer to the insightful diagram created by John Cutler, which classifies the different types of teams from Waterfall to Product teams.



It's straightforward to discuss the value each type of team contributes to the business. From a business perspective, Waterfall teams or "Agile teams capable of releasing" add limited value and are primarily optimized for software creation (not necessarily for creating impact). 

In contrast, Product Teams are designed for end-to-end impact and maximizing business value.

Considering that AI will automate a considerable amount of the more routine and specialized tasks, it's clear to see the potential impact on these teams.

Teams focused on creating impact, which view software as a means to an end, will be significantly accelerated by AI, while those that are merely "implementers" may find themselves replaced. 

In this context, the importance of product teams and product engineers becomes increasingly evident.

Why should we focus solely on technology and software, when we could instead concentrate on solving business and user problems?

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