DEVOPSdigest

AI has potential to significantly reduce developer burnout and improve productivity, while also addressing the challenges organizations face in securely and effectively managing AI-generated code, according to State of Software Delivery Report: Beyond CodeGen – The Role of AI in the SDLC from Harness.
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The survey of 500 engineering leaders and developers exposes a stark reality: on average, organizations face $8 million in lost productivity per 250 developers annually, with 78% of developers spending at least 30% of their time on manual, repetitive tasks instead of delivering innovation.

Key findings from the report include:

AI holds promise but introduces new risks

■ 95% of engineering leaders and 98% of developers believe AI tools could greatly reduce burnout.

■ However, 92% of developers report that AI increases the "blast radius" from bad code reaching production.

■ 67% of developers said they spend more time debugging AI-generated code, and 68% spend more time resolving AI-related security vulnerabilities.

■ 59% of developers experience deployment errors at least half of the time when using AI tools.

Shadow AI raises governance and compliance alarms

■ Only 48% of developers use IT-approved AI tools, raising significant compliance and intellectual property concerns.

■ 60% of organizations lack formal processes for assessing AI-generated code vulnerabilities or errors.

■ 58% of companies do not provide clear guidance on which use cases are low-risk for AI adoption.

■ 60% of engineering leaders and developers stated they do not currently evaluate the effectiveness of their AI coding tools, making productivity gains unclear.

The potential of AI extends far beyond code generation

While AI in code generation dominates current investment priorities, the report reveals an increasing focus on AI applications across the broader software development lifecycle (SDLC):

■ 50% of engineering leaders plan to invest in AI for Continuous Integration and Delivery (CI/CD).

■ 48% of engineering leaders plan to prioritize AI for performance optimization, and 42% of engineering leaders will focus on using AI to enable security and compliance.

"Developers today are under immense pressure to deliver faster, maintain security, ensure performance, and uphold quality — all while balancing an increasing cognitive load," said Jyoti Bansal, co-founder and CEO at Harness. "AI tools have the potential to dramatically reduce this burden by automating repetitive tasks, streamlining workflows, and freeing developers to focus on creative problem-solving and innovation. But let's be clear: AI is not a silver bullet. Without proper governance, security validation, and clear organizational policies, these tools can inadvertently add to developer stress rather than alleviate it. Striking this balance is essential — not only for productivity and quality but also for addressing the burnout crisis that continues to plague our industry."

The Future of AI in Software Delivery

While 88% of engineering leaders and 90% of developers express concerns about AI replacing developers, the report suggests otherwise. AI integration throughout the entire SDLC will create new roles and challenges for developers, whose critical decision-making and contextual understanding are essential for software development and delivery.