The ongoing 'shift left' movement in software development - where testing and quality control measures are moved earlier in the application lifecycle - is pushing developers into less familiar areas such as security.
While intended to deliver more stable and secure applications, this evolution in responsibilities is causing developer burnout and high turnover.
At the same time, we also see that some organizations are already benefiting from the use of Generative AI to supplement human skills and even take over some tasks.
Throughout 2024, we're going to see profound transformation within software programming as the realities of new tools, approaches, and technologies come together.
Liz Centoni, Cisco Chief Strategy Officer and GM of Applications, notes this in her predictions of tech trends for the coming year, saying developers will use modern AI-assisted converged platforms and collaboration to become more efficient.
A 2023 study by McKinsey shows that GenAI-powered tools dramatically boost efficiency when it comes to routine developer tasks, such as writing documentation on code functionality, generating new code, and improving existing code.
GenAI-powered tools were shown to halve the time it takes a developer to document code functionality, enable them to write new code at nearly twice the speed, and allow them to accomplish code refactoring in roughly two-thirds of the time.
They also relieve some of the intense pressure on developers to serve as experts across multiple domains.
With the help of GenAI, vital but tedious tasks such as comparing lines of code, searching for library functions, or troubleshooting syntax errors will occupy a fraction of the time when compared to the past, freeing developers to focus on problem-solving and innovation that moves organizational business objectives forward.
Tool sprawl has resulted in greater complexity, and we see 2024 as the year in which a platform approach - into which AI capabilities are often already embedded - gains real and lasting traction to reduce the complexity of tool proliferation.
CNAPP, CSPM, and CWPP are among the tools that will prove most effective in helping developers and operational teams to streamline workflows and untangle themselves from managing disconnected tools.
For organizations unable to quickly move beyond siloed vendor tools and towards cross-domain platform solutions, security gaps and supply chain management issues will continue to present serious challenges.
Automating operational tasks, especially those that are repetitive and have a predictable number of inputs, is a job that is tailor-made for AI solutions which can speed up testing and help identify and resolve errors.
Ultimately, streamlined operations will boost delivery timeframes even if developers are still managing multiple tools.
It will become increasingly clear in the year ahead that breaking down silos between teams responsible for developing, securing, and managing applications is vital to deliver flawless digital experiences.
Collaboration tools will be indispensable, and developers will look to AI assistants for support with security, observability, and infrastructure components, protocols and tools.
The McKinsey study demonstrates that time savings achieved by using AI significantly decreases for developers as tasks become more complex.
Both code quality and time savings can be achieved when developers work with AI tools and solutions to achieve quality output because initial AI-directed results may not be accurate or adhere to best practices.
As we look to the year ahead, we will see AI play a growing role in assisting software developers in their daily work, allowing them to redefine tasks and automate routine processes.
The democratization of their work gained with GenAI will not only help developers focus on higher-level functions but also require human critical thinking and agency.
This Cyber News was published on feedpress.me. Publication date: Fri, 26 Jan 2024 22:43:04 +0000