Introduction

Recently, the number of teams using AI in software development has been gradually increasing. This article clearly summarizes how AI can help with the work and what you should be careful about when using it.

Reasons for Starting to Use AI

The amount of software development work is increasing year by year, but there is often a shortage of people to do it. In addition, maintaining aging systems that have been used for many years requires a great deal of time and human effort.

In this situation, we began using AI as a way to move work forward efficiently without compromising quality. The important point is that AI does not replace people; it helps people do their work.

What AI Can Do Throughout the Workflow

AI can be used not only when writing code, but in various stages of development.

That last point in particular has made it easier to understand even systems with little documentation.

In this way, because the AI creates a first draft, and a person checks and corrects it, the work takes less time than writing everything from scratch yourself.

In one experiment using GitHub Copilot, those who used AI reportedly completed a task involving the creation of an HTTP server in JavaScript approximately 55.8% faster than those who did not use AI. However, results vary depending on the type of work and the user's experience, so care is needed.

Reasons why costs become lower

AI lowers costs not because it reduces the number of people employed.It is because it reduces pointless work.

1. There is less rework
   Mistakes can be found at an early stage of development, reducing the time and costs required to fix them after the product has been completed.
2. You can spend more time on important work
   Because repetitive work is reduced, engineers can focus on work such as design, quality, and considering what customers truly need.
3. New employees can get up to speed more quickly
   AI assistance makes it easier to understand existing code and systems, shortening the time needed to learn the job.

On the other hand, you also need money for AI tools, time to learn how to use them, and time to establish team rules. It would be good to consider this in advance as well.

Things to watch out for when using it

AI's answers are not always correct. Therefore, it is important that everyone on the team fully understands that people are responsible for the final check and for the outcome.

By using it carefully in this way, you should be able to earn your customers' trust while making the most of AI's benefits over the long term.

How to start using it

You do not need to incorporate all of AI into your work at once. I think the best approach is to try it in small steps and refine it into a better form.

1. Start with small tasks
   Try starting with tasks such as writing test code or creating a draft of documentation.
2. Measure the impact and reflect on it
   Compare the time spent and the number of mistakes before and after using AI, and reflect on the results as a team.
3. Share with the team
   Sharing the approaches that worked well and the things you’ve noticed within the team will strengthen the team as a whole.
4. Expand it gradually
   After confirming that it has produced good results, we recommend gradually expanding it to other tasks and projects.

Summary

AI is a useful tool that can make software development faster and cheaper. However, whether you can fully benefit from it depends less on the tool itself than on the person using it and how the work is carried out.

• Using AI as an assistant to help with your work
• The final check should be done by a person
• Start with small tasks, little by little

By making these three things a priority, I believe you can make your work better while maintaining quality. I hope this article will be even a little useful as a reference for those considering trying AI. Thank you for reading all the way to the end.

References

• The Impact of AI on Developer Productivity: Evidence from GitHub Copilot (Peng et al., 2023)