If we only had a brain

AI is having a major impact in how well we work together and how we develop software. But is it a positive impact?

In this talk I review how there's been little improvement in outcomes of software development project over time, and how the way most are using generative AI will only continue that trend and have no positive impact whatsoever.

The talk ends with some explicit advice on how to use LLMs to enable the human and enhance communication.

Transcript

1. wouter@lagerweij.com Escaping Legacy If we only had a brain
2. wouter@lagerweij.com Me Wouter Lagerweij @wouterla@mastodon.social 2
3. wouter@lagerweij.com Me Wouter Lagerweij @wouterla@mastodon.social 3
4. wouter@lagerweij.com “We build systems like the Wright brothers built airplanes — build the whole thing, push it off the cliff, let it crash, and start over again.”
5. wouter@lagerweij.com Software development… … is not doing well.
6. wouter@lagerweij.com “Production of large software has become a scare item for management. By reputation it is often an unprofitable morass, costly and unending. This reputation is perhaps deserved.”
7. wouter@lagerweij.com Software development… • Successful Projects: 35% • Challenged Projects: 45% • Failed Projects: 20% Source: 2024 Standish Report
8. wouter@lagerweij.com Software development… … is still not doing well.
9. wouter@lagerweij.com “The most deadly thing in software is the concept, which almost universally seems to be followed, that you are going to specify what you are going to do, and then do it. And that is where most of our troubles come from.”
10. wouter@lagerweij.com Success comes from • Strong executive sponsorship • Clear, well-defined requirements • Agile and adaptive project management practices • Robust communication channels • Effective risk and change management processes
11. wouter@lagerweij.com “Users are interested in systems requirements and buy systems in that way. But that implies that they are able to say what they want. Most of the users aren’t able to.”
12. wouter@lagerweij.com “We should have feedback from users early in the design process.”
13. wouter@lagerweij.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_Software_Engineering_Conferences
14. wouter@lagerweij.com https://news.mit.edu/2025/mit-researchers-propose-new-model-for-legible-modular-software-1106 Old Is the New New • Kevlin Henney • GOTO 2018 “Their new approach breaks systems into “concepts,” separate pieces of a system, each designed to do one job well, and “synchronizations,” explicit rules that describe exactly how those pieces fit together.”
15. wouter@lagerweij.com “The distinction between design and production is essentially a practical one, imposed by the need for a division of the labor. In fact, there is no essential difference between design and production”
16. wouter@lagerweij.com
17. wouter@lagerweij.com 20 days 32 days 21 days 3 days 7 days 1 day 2 days 2 days 3 days 0,5 day =
18. wouter@lagerweij.com 20 days 32 days 21 days 3 days 7 days 1 day 2 days 2 days 3 days 0,5 day 81 days 8,5 days = 10%
19. wouter@lagerweij.com 20 days 32 days 21 days 3 days 7 days 1 day 2 days 2 days 3 days 0,5 day 81 days 8,5 days = 10%
20. wouter@lagerweij.com “It’s like giving scissors to a toddler” - Ron Jeffries
21. wouter@lagerweij.com “Don’t automate what you should not be doing in the first place” - Me
22. wouter@lagerweij.com Despite $30–40 billion in enterprise investment into GenAI, this report uncovers a surprising result in that 95% of organizations are getting zero return Tools like ChatGPT and Copilot are widely adopted. Over 80 percent of organizations have explored or piloted them, and nearly 40 percent report deployment. But these tools primarily enhance individual productivity, not P&L performance. Meanwhile, enterprise-grade systems, custom or vendor-sold, are being quietly rejected. Sixty percent of organizations evaluated such tools, but only 20 percent reached pilot stage and just 5 percent reached production. Most fail due to brittle workflows, lack of contextual learning, and misalignment with day-to-day operations
23. wouter@lagerweij.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY_Ywqd3mzA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_5jTOFX5Wc
24. wouter@lagerweij.com Despite a surge in generative AI use across workplaces, most companies are seeing little measurable ROI. One possible reason is because AI tools are being used to produce “workslop”—content that appears polished but lacks real substance, offloading cognitive labor onto coworkers. https://hbr.org/2025/09/ai-generated-workslop-is-destroying-productivity
25. wouter@lagerweij.com Enough, already!
26. wouter@lagerweij.com What can you do?
27. wouter@lagerweij.com 1. Be in the loop
28. wouter@lagerweij.com Example: The Dev Loop • Optimize tooling for humans • eXtreme Vibe Programming • Glamorous Toolkit / Moldable Development Be in the loop
29. wouter@lagerweij.com Example: Learning over generation • Gather options and ideas • Validate • Communicate Don’t send your colleagues generated text. More is not better! Be in the loop
30. wouter@lagerweij.com 2. Optimize for fast feedback
31. wouter@lagerweij.com Example: Prototyping • Build twice, release the next one • Or maybe the next Optimize for fast feedback
32. wouter@lagerweij.com • Make use of shorter cycles, include the business • Maybe that team can be smaller? Example: Come together Optimize for fast feedback
33. wouter@lagerweij.com 3. Optimize for communication
34. wouter@lagerweij.com Example: Standardization • An old idea is not a bad idea… • Publish into to model Optimize for communication
35. wouter@lagerweij.com Example: Spec together • Fast generation of examples and scenarios • Fast feedback, common understanding • Straight into spec-driven programming Optimize for communication
36. wouter@lagerweij.com 4. Consider the system
37. wouter@lagerweij.com Example: Empathy • Are you offloading your understanding on others? • Is the message clearer, or just longer? Consider the system
38. wouter@lagerweij.com Example: Systems Thinking • Don’t optimize what should not be done at all Consider the system
39. wouter@lagerweij.com Thank you! 39 Buy the book! escapinglegacy.com Coming soon:
40. wouter@lagerweij.com 40