Software Leadership Peer Roundtable Restart (February 11, 2026)

Description

This roundtable brings together senior technical leaders -- CTOs, architects, and experienced developers -- who guide teams, shape technology strategy, and influence how software evolves within their organizations. Our intent is to foster a sustained, high-value conversation among peers navigating similar challenges.

Over the next year, our monthly meetings will explore a central theme that is rapidly redefining our field:

What is the role of software developers and engineering leadership when AI agents can generate the majority of the code?

In the last few years, we have all witnessed dramatic advances in AI-assisted development. A few of us have even experimented with building functional applications or workflows largely through natural-language prompting. As AI-generated code becomes more capable, abundant, and disposable, the nature of our work is shifting. This raises strategic questions that will define the future of our discipline:

• Can code become something we rarely need to read or write -- and if so, what does quality, correctness, reliability, and maintainability look like in that world?
• What oversight mechanisms and engineering principles must evolve to prevent errors, align systems with business intent, and manage risk in an AI-generated codebase?
• How do we architect large systems -- such as ERPs, CRMs, and other enterprise-scale platforms -- when AI agents often produce more errors as context windows expand? What design patterns, modular structures, or corrective mechanisms will be required to offset the high risk of compounding mistakes and the inherent limitations of agent-driven development?
• And what new skills and artifacts -- such as structured prompts, domain specifications, or constraints -- become essential for engineering teams?

Throughout the year, we will examine these questions from technical, organizational, ethical, and operational perspectives. Our goal is not only to understand where software development is heading, but also to shape how we lead our teams through this transition.

This series will help us collectively consider how to architect, validate, and govern systems in a future where the code itself is no longer an important output of the task of creating software. It is an opportunity to define what software engineering becomes when the artefacts we produce—and the practices we rely on—must adapt to an AI-first development environment.

We look forward to your insights and your leadership as we explore this evolving landscape together.

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.