Code Leaders ’25 Session 2

GenAI is transforming the way we build software, but code generation tools like Copilot are just the tip of the iceberg. Software delivery is much more than writing code—it encompasses planning, design, testing, deployment, and continuous improvement. The real opportunity lies in applying AI across the entire software delivery lifecycle to unlock greater efficiency, enhance collaboration, and drive innovation. At Thoughtworks, we’ve spent the past year exploring how to take an AI-first approach to software delivery. Through hands-on experiments, we’ve discovered if the bold claims are fact or fiction, uncovered what works (& what doesn’t), and identified where untapped potential lies. In this session, we’ll share up-to-date real-world insights, practical strategies, and our vision for a future where AI is seamlessly integrated into every stage of delivery—not just for developers, but for product teams, designers, and operations. You’ll leave with a clear-eyed view of what’s real and what’s hype in AI for software delivery—plus practical, actionable strategies to move beyond code generation and start using AI to innovate faster, smarter, and across your entire SDLC.

Software development has enjoyed a remarkably consistent foundation for over 40 years—but that era is ending. Just as we once leapt from assembly to high-level languages, we’re now entering a new phase: programming with large language models. This shift isn’t incremental

it’s a new layer of abstraction. For engineering leaders, the challenge isn’t just adopting new tools—it’s guiding teams through a fundamental change in how we build software. In this talk, Geoff Huntleys explore why now is the moment to reassess your carefully crafted roadmaps, identify which assumptions no longer hold, and prepare your people for a different kind of work. We’ll talk about accelerating your team’s “oh-fuck” moment—the realization that things are changing faster than expected—and how to support them through the emotional and professional turbulence that follows. This is a call to action for technical leaders: to steer teams beyond fear and into growth, to reframe up-skilling as a strategic imperative, and to embrace the messy, necessary reinvention of what it means to be a software engineer.