Future Of Software Development

In Februrary 2026, Thoughtworks hosted a workshop called “The Future of Software Development” in Deer Valley Utah. While it was held in the mountains of Utah as a nod to the 25th anniversary of the writing of Manifesto for Agile Software Development, it was a forward-looking event, focusing on how the rise of AI and LLMs would affect our profession.

About 50 or so people were invited, a mixture of Thoughtworkers, software pundits, and clients - all picked for being active in the LLM-fuelled changes. We met for a day and a half of Open Space conference. It was an intense, and enjoyable event.

I haven't attempted to make a coherent narrative of what we discussed and learned there. I have instead posted various insights into my fragments posts:

The retreat was held under the Chatham House Rule, so most comments aren't attributed, unless I received specific permission.