AI is now a commonplace addition to the modern workplace, following in the footsteps of other technologically influenced trends such as remote work. Software companies in Sri Lanka, as a result, have been at the forefront of this trend too, just like the others – and have now geared themselves up to deliver intelligent solutions to their clientele, in order help them meet their goals faster, easier, and with more scalability and cost-efficiency than ever before.
While AI has attracted much attention when it comes to business use cases, what challenges does it present for the very same? More importantly, does it have the potential to completely replace your software outsourcing team? In this article, we address this question, and explain why AI alone may not suffice when it comes to software development.
Additionally, we also cover how organisations can determine which AI tools to implement (if at all), in order to improve the quality and quantity of deliverables. Read on to know more!
At EFutures, we are committed to building high-quality software, irrespective of AI. Our team of experts focus on tools that will help elevate your enterprise software or application, and in turn achieve the goals you aim for. Talk to us today to assess the scope of your project, and learn more about how you can build software that truly meets the needs of your customers – and your eventual bottom line.
With the explosive proliferation of AI (especially through the widespread recognition of ChatGPT), arguments have likewise arisen across both ends of the spectrum. AI has both pros and cons, without a doubt – and focusing on just one side of the spectrum isn’t going to deliver a balanced perspective. As a result, here we focus on both sides of the argument, in the context of software development.
Albeit being as highly advanced as it is today, AI is best adopted to supplement and leverage existing team efforts. This is because it can reduce bottlenecks across overburdened teams, and improve the quality of their day-to-day deliverables. In other words, if a competent software development team is provided with the right set of intelligent tools to elevate what they’re currently doing, it can be a gamechanger – for both the team as well as their clientele.
AI has significantly advanced to the point where generative AI companies are able to sell their proprietary technologies on a SaaS basis. However, in spite of so much advancement, adopting an AI, ML or NLP-powered tool on a ‘set it and forget it’ basis may end up doing your team and your project more harm than good. Errors are bound to happen, and human intervention is therefore a must in order to moderate, so that accuracy levels are maintained.
Again, in spite of numerous apps and tools now available for writing and design use, AI lacks the ability to resonate to audiences with human sentiments such as empathy, consideration, and perceptiveness – at least as of yet. While these tools absolutely can be utilised, using them as a supplement with adequate manual supervision is recommended once again, so team members can ensure generated outcomes are in accordance to expectations.
Similar to the adage ‘hardware is useless without software’, an AI tool (no matter how sophisticated it may be) isn’t going to deliver the calibre of results one expects if prompts provided aren’t clear and specific. On top of that, prompts may also need to be broken down into several smaller prompts in order to make them easier to digest, thereby requiring the need for a workflow or process of some sort to be in place.
What’s more, prompts will involve trial and error, which can contribute to overall longer turnaround times, especially during the initial stages of implementation. In spite of all this groundwork, a ‘set it and forget it’ option may still not be a possibility, as edge cases may always present themselves within your business data, to once again require a tuning/tweaking of existing prompts.
All these processes require human intervention, as a result. In fact, such a need for prompt tuning has led to the creation of a brand new job opportunity of ‘prompt engineer’, which entails researching, creating, moderating and fine-tuning prompts for a specific business unit, or across the entire organisation.
Whether or not your software development team should use AI primarily depends on three main factors:
If at least two of the above questions are answered in the affirmative, there is a possibility for an AI-powered tool to offer value to your existing software development project. From this point onwards, conducting an assessment to further drill down KPIs prior to considering relevant options shall assist your team in selecting and implementing an AI-based solution that is truly beneficial.
Additionally, considering previous experience working with AI-powered tools and technologies has now become popular by software outsourcing companies that are looking to hire developers for startup and enterprise clientele alike. As a result, the above-mentioned questions can also be repurposed to interview and assess candidates, to help determine which candidate would be the best fit.
Using AI in the software outsourcing industry is a topic that has garnered much buzz, both positive and negative. While AI cannot be relied on for every single task, it can serve as an assistant to help teams reduce workloads and overall costs, while improving productivity and turnaround times.
However, keeping AI’s many challenges and limitations in mind is imperative, in order to make sure any tool or app implementations are successful as well as viable for the long-term. This includes supervising all generated outcomes made by AI tools, continuously fine-tuning prompts, as well as determining which areas can benefit from AI – while leaving the rest for humans to fully manage.
Trial and error is also another key aspect of AI tools, especially where prompts are concerned. At EFutures, we are always experimenting with new tools and technologies as a result (AI or not) in order to determine which functionalities shall serve each of our clients the best.
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