Our latest empirical research finds generative AI–based tools1 delivering impressive speed gains for many common developer tasks (see sidebar, “About the research”). Documenting code functionality for maintainability (which considers how easily code can be improved) can be completed in half the time, writing new code in nearly half the time, and optimizing existing code (called code refactoring) in nearly two-thirds the time (Exhibit 1). With the right upskilling and enterprise enablers, these speed gains can be translated into an increase in productivity that outperforms past advances in engineering productivity, driven by both new tooling and processes.
