Software development has never been tidy, but the current landscape feels more chaotic than ever. Shannon Mason, chief strategy officer for Tempo, dives into why software engineering workflows remain chaotic and what teams should be doing to try and restore application development order.

Developers today face a relentless push to innovate while keeping complex codebases running securely and efficiently. AI has been billed as the great productivity booster, but early research paints a more nuanced picture. Cornell studies and MIT reports show that while AI tools can accelerate work for junior engineers or greenfield projects, they often slow down experienced developers working with mature, complex systems. The result? More debugging, more oversight, and sometimes more frustration than gains.

Shannon draws a useful analogy: think of AI as “the world’s smartest intern.” It’s promising, but it still needs guardrails, guidance, and plenty of supervision. Left unchecked, AI-generated code can be verbose, insecure, or just plain wrong—adding to the workload rather than reducing it. Layer in the explosion of low-code and no-code tools, plus the rise of citizen developers, and the volume of software entering pipelines is set to grow dramatically. That democratization is exciting, but it also raises hard questions about scale, security, and quality.

At the human level, the pace of change and the constant context-switching are pushing teams to their limits. Shannon highlights practical remedies: make work visible, avoid overloading teams, plan realistically (80% capacity, not 120%), and carve out focus time. Even simple steps like instituting a weekly no-meeting day can improve flow and reduce burnout.

The takeaway is clear: AI won’t magically fix software development chaos, but with smart practices, cultural shifts, and realistic planning, teams can navigate the turbulence—and maybe even rediscover some joy in building great software.