Measuring the impact of AI on software engineering – with Laura Tacho

In this episode of The Pragmatic Engineer Podcast, Gergely Orosz interviews Laura Tacho, CTO at DX, about the impact of AI tools on software engineering. They discuss the overhyped nature of AI in mainstream media, the paradox of AI tools potentially making developers less satisfied, and the importance of data-driven measurements for assessing AI's impact, including utilization, impact, and costs. Tacho shares insights from case studies with companies like Booking.com and WorkHuman, emphasizing the significance of adoption, enablement, and structured rollouts. They also explore how AI can improve developer experience, reduce time to market, and the need for architectural and documentation changes to better integrate AI, while also cautioning against focusing solely on code generation metrics and the potential for increased complexity and instability.