Extensive qualitative analysis of enterprise software engineers reveals that AI’s impact on the SDLC is not a simple linear improvement. Instead, it presents a series of profound tradeoffs. While AI successfully accelerates initial code generation and reduces the friction of starting new tasks, the time saved in creation is frequently re-allocated to auditing and verification. This tension may explain some of our own findings: higher AI adoption is associated with an increase in both software delivery throughput and software delivery instability.
Balancing AI tensions: Moving from AI adoption to effective SDLC use · Jessica Baolin and Nathen Harvey · 10 March 2026