Shifting Roles And Emerging Competencies in Ai-Assisted Software Development : A Qualitative Study of Professional Developers

Sammanfattning

Background: Artificial intelligence is increasingly used in software development for tasks such as code generation, debugging, testing, and documentation. While these tools can improve productivity, they also raise questions about how developer roles and required competencies may change. Objectives: This study explored how professional software developers use AI, how they expect their roles to change over the next five years, which competencies they consider important, and how they prepare for increased AI adoption. Methods: The study used semi-structured interviews with eight professional software developers from consulting, telecom, and fintech contexts. The interview data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase approach. Results: The findings show that AI was already part of developers’ daily work, although use varied by organizational context, experience, and tool access. Participants described a shift from direct code production toward prompting, reviewing, and validating AI-supported output. They also emphasized that accountability for software quality, correctness, and security remained with the human developer. Key future competencies included prompt formulation, code review, communication, adaptability, and system understanding, while concerns included over reliance, reduced learning, and organizational restrictions. Conclusions: The study suggests that AI is not removing the need for software developers, but reshaping the role toward greater emphasis on oversight, validation, system thinking, and human judgment. These changes appear uneven and context-dependent, shaped by both AI tool capabilities and organizational conditions.