For years, the software development process served as the primary constraint for IT businesses. The scarcity of skilled engineers dictated product roadmaps, planning cycles, and the overall influence of development teams within organizations. This bottleneck forced companies to prioritize tasks based on limited human resources and budget availability.
According to JetBrains, as of spring 2026, code generation has become significantly cheaper. This shift means that writing code is no longer the main bottleneck in the product lifecycle. While complex systems, legacy code, and production stability remain challenging, the speed of actual code production has increased.
The focus of IT teams is now shifting toward product alignment and system economics. The primary challenge is no longer just producing code, but ensuring that the final output matches the original vision and evaluating the total cost of the system. This transition is altering the value and influence of various roles within development teams.
