Software Leadership Peer Roundtable March Meeting

Description

Quick reminder of what we're exploring as senior technical leaders in our respective organizations:

Last month we dove into achieving 10x with AI, hiring challenges caused by AI, and the carpenter with no tech background who built a fully feature-complete ERP for his workplace. We also discussed some powerful MD-file-based workflow techniques that teams are using.

The core question we're tackling: When AI can do our jobs, how do we add value?

What to bring:

• Your AI workflow wins (or struggles) from the past few weeks

• Any techniques you've tried from last meeting (.md files, MCP, etc.)

• Your honest thoughts on where developers create unique value now

Format:

• Welcome & quick intros

• Share stories (what's working, what isn't)

• Open discussion on the value question

• Peer-led conversation, minimal structure

See you on the 11th!

Recap of Our First Roundtable Meeting

Our inaugural Software Leadership Peer Roundtable brought together 15 senior technical leaders for a candid and highly engaged discussion. The conversation quickly moved beyond theory into real-world experimentation. Participants shared examples of achieving significant productivity gains with AI-assisted workflows, debated the emerging hiring challenges created by AI-augmented development, and reflected on a striking case of a non-technical professional building a functional ERP system largely through prompting.

We explored whether code is becoming a disposable artifact rather than the primary output of engineering, and what that means for quality, oversight, architecture, and leadership. Practical techniques were exchanged — including structured .md-driven workflows and approaches to managing AI-generated output — alongside deeper questions about where engineering judgment, system design, and governance become even more critical.

The energy in the room made it clear: this group is not simply reacting to AI-driven change — it is actively shaping how technical leadership evolves in response.

For more information on joining VIATEC Peer Roundtables, please contact Rob Bennett by e-mail at rbennett@viatec.ca describing how you meet the eligibility criteria for this roundtable.