The Cost of Saying Yes in Software Development Has Changed
Small feature requests now carry more debate cost than coding cost.
1The Cost of Coding Has Changed
The most expensive part of small feature requests used to be writing the code. Now, it's often the meeting to decide whether to write the code. This shift quietly breaks many engineering instincts.
2The Cost of Debate
A team can spend forty minutes debating a small change request. This process made sense when trying was expensive. But with AI-assisted code generation, the first attempt is now much cheaper.
3The First Patch is a Probe
Treating the generated patch as the final product is a mistake. This patch turns an abstract scope discussion into a concrete artifact, allowing better questions. For example, does it touch the expected files or sprawl across five packages?
4Production Cost ≠ Ownership Cost
A change is not cheap just because the code was cheap to generate. It's only cheap if a human can confidently review and own it. A technically passing change that no one wants to own is a deferred cost.
5Scope Discipline Moves Closer to Evidence
Traditionally, scope discipline happened before implementation because implementation was expensive to protect. Now, some of that discipline can shift to review. This doesn't mean skipping planning but being precise about which planning pays off.
6The Skill of Pricing Uncertainty
In an AI-assisted world, the best engineers won't be those who say yes to everything or reflexively say no. They'll be those who can price uncertainty quickly. This means less guessing and more supervising.
Original article: The GitHub Blog — Yazılım Geliştirmede 'Evet' Demenin Maliyeti Değişti