Vibe Coding Is Here – And why the Software Development is already obsolete
“The best way to predict the future is to build it.” – Alan Kay
In 2025, it’s more like: “The fastest way to build it is to let GenAI do it.”
👉 For a deeper dive into how AI is disrupting every phase of the SDLC — and what this means for enterprise IT — check out my follow-up article: Why Vibe Coding Could Kill the SDLC — And What That Means for Enterprise IT.
We’ve crossed the line – and there’s no going back
We are seeing something that changes the way we think about software.
Two weeks ago, a UX agency demonstrated to the customer how a potential user journey could look using a mockup. In the demo, a user logs in, creates a picture book, selects a set of images, and the solution automatically generates the pages. It adds the images, understands their content, and writes a story for each group of related images — based on both the image content and its metadata.
To show the customer how this would really feel within their Corporate Identity and using their selected images, I decided to give the recording of the demo (video files) to the AI — and what happened blew everyone’s mind:
This wasn’t a hackathon trick.
- The AI transcribed the video and understood what was presented — including the intent and the customer journey
- It then wrote a technical definition of what needed to be done so that an AI coding assistant could develop it
- Next, the AI created the full code and UI
- The containers were automatically created and started
- In the browser, we could simply log in, upload the images, and everything worked
From demo recording to a working test environment — just 3 hours
This isn’t about productivity anymore.
It’s a different way of building software entirely.
From DevOps to VibeOps
For years, we’ve optimized software development by adding structure.
Waterfall became Agile. Agile added sprints. DevOps brought automation.
Now? Vibe Coding brings something entirely new: speed without structure.
You describe the outcome.
AI builds the logic, tests the code, deploys the app.
No task board. No 3-week sprint. No daily stand-up.
This isn’t reckless. It’s real. And startups are already moving at this pace.
Why the SDLC is starting to crack
The Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) was designed for a different era:
– When code was expensive
– When testing was manual
– When stability was more important than speed
But those assumptions no longer hold.
Today, AI generates working prototypes in minutes.
Testing, documentation, deployment – all automated.
And many apps don’t need to last years. They need to work this week.
Internal dashboards, automation scripts, MVPs –
Why run them through a full SDLC when AI can deliver in a day?
AI is no longer just a co-pilot — it’s the entire crew
Tools like Claude Code CLI, GitHub Copilot Spark, Amazon KIRO, Gemini Code CLI, OpenAI Codex CLI, QWEN3 Code aren’t just helpers. They are builders.
They write code, build architecture, refactor logic, and test their own output.
And when something breaks?
Agents instantly pick it up, read the error, revise the API call, and fix it — all without human intervention.
With something like the Claude Code SDK wired into your CI/CD pipelines, the moment a bug is reported, the AI goes to work:
- Reads the bug
- Analyzes the code
- Applies the fix
- Documents every change
- Deploys the updated solution — live
No delays. No manual handoffs.
This isn’t the era of smart suggestions anymore.
We are entering the age of autonomous build loops — where software builds, tests, fixes, and ships itself.
The Experience Paradox
Not everyone benefits equally.
Studies show: junior and mid-level developers experience massive productivity boosts.
But senior engineers often slow down – why?
Because their expertise clashes with the AI’s “good enough” suggestions.
Because they see edge cases the AI doesn’t.
Because they care about architecture, long-term maintainability, and code quality.
Because if they’ve built and maintained a solution for years, they already know exactly where the problem is — and can fix it faster than any AI.
We call this the Experience Paradox:
AI helps where experience is lacking – but it also needs experience to be guided properly.
Vibe Coding is not a shortcut. It’s a shift.
Let’s be clear: Vibe Coding is not about “shipping faster by skipping steps.”
It’s about rethinking which steps are still necessary – and when.
If your agent can build, test, and deploy a microservice in an afternoon –
What’s the role of the product manager? Of QA? Of DevSecOps?
These roles don’t vanish. But they transform.
From doers to orchestrators. From task executors to context curators.
And with that transformation comes new responsibility.
Who owns the bug?
If AI writes the code, tests the code, and pushes to prod –
Who gets paged when it breaks?
If developers are accountable for their commits,
should vibe coders be on call too?
AI doesn’t replace accountability.
It amplifies the need for governance.
Teams need new rituals:
– Prompt hygiene
– Agent reviews
– Testable outputs
– Guardrails, not gatekeepers
Leadership in the age of agents
This is not just a developer story. It’s a leadership story.
Leaders must:
– Create space for experimentation
– Remove friction, not impose control
– Enable speed while preserving responsibility
– Redefine what “good” looks like in AI-augmented workflows
– Support mindset change and guide teams through transformation
– Foster the courage to act, try, and learn
If you’re still managing by tickets and sprint velocity,
you’re missing the bigger shift: from output to outcome.
From control to trust.
What about structure, security, and scale?
They still matter. But they’re no longer the bottlenecks.
Security tools run pre-commit checks.
CI agents simulate deployments before you do.
Architecture prompts guide model-generated design.
Yes, you still need structure.
But it doesn’t have to come first.
So what now?
The companies that win won’t be the ones with the best tools.
They’ll be the ones that rethink their delivery culture.
The old SDLC won’t disappear. But in many domains, it will be bypassed.
Not recklessly, intentionally.
Speed becomes strategy. Conversation becomes the interface. Outcomes replace process
Final thought
You don’t need to turn your entire org into vibe coders overnight.
But you do need to ask:
What are we still doing out of habit – not because it adds value?
Where could AI reduce complexity – or eliminate it entirely?
What’s slowing us down – and who benefits from that friction?
If you want to explore how to bring VibeOps and AI Shoring into your development stack – without losing quality, governance, or control:
Let’s talk.
I help teams move from structure to speed – with purpose.
