Software factories have been the goal of systems design for 55+ years. A system is a product that can be designed and manufactured just like any other product.

Software factories have been the goal of systems design for 55+ years. A system is a product that can be designed and manufactured just like any other product. In the ideal case (a PRIDE shop), the programmer's role is minimized to just translating requirements into machine-executable code. With LLMs as good as they are today, the need for a person in that role disappears. I think you're going to see drastic shrinkage of SWE departments over 2026 and 2027.