The Evolution of Software Development

A lot of software boils down to data in, data out. We find ways of capturing data from users or services and then we expose it in reports or visualisations. I've noticed a few shifts in the developer's role in this.

Dev makes thing

In the past, if we wanted a new web based form to capture user data, on behalf of a client, the developer would build a HTML form, based on a design spec from a product manager.

Dev makes tool

The first shift was that the developer no longer builds a form but implements a way for less technical colleagues to create their own forms without code. From the client and product management points of view, things can now move much faster as changes can be made without developers, as long as what is required is supported. So, developers don't build the thing but the tooling for others to build the thing. If more work is done by less skilled staff it saves money.

User makes thing

The second shift was that the developer still builds the tooling but now it is given directly to the client. The product people no longer make the changes, the client does it, which is even faster. The role of product management has changed so that they now support the client and manage the evolution of the tooling.

AI makes thing

Is the next shift to create tooling where the client can just use a prompt to generate the thing they need without spending the time on it?