Nobody Has Actually Built a Software Factory
Despite the buzz around 'software factories,' a review of 21 programs from Uber, Stripe, Meta, and others reveals that none have truly automated software development. Instead, agents are bolted onto existing processes, with humans still reviewing every change. The key insight: real automation only happens where correctness is measurable, like in kernel or compiler code, not in application code where review remains subjective.
The agent that writes the code also writes the test that says the code works.
- sarreph
I really like the premise of this article because I am intensely interested in learning about software factories. As much as "software factory" is a buzzword, it's still SOTA and it's absolutely going to happen / keep happening in the tech industry over the next few years.
However, I can't read this, not because I refuse to -- I want to -- but because my the cogs in my mind just stop whirring at all of the LLM-isms, my eyes glaze over, and I stop being able to follow what the article is trying to communicate to me. I would love for the OP to call me out and correct me (that they haven't used LLMs to write this).
- mccoyb
I don’t think it’s possible to build a software factory unless you truly do not care about what you’re putting out.
Agent swarms, self learning, Ralph loops, execution DAGs, spending hours trying to convey my preferences into skills, yada yada — the reality is that no matter how long I spend trying to close the amortization gap between my expertise and (insert autonomous agent loop) … I always come back to see shit that I have opinions about and need to polish.
If you’re keeping on top of your craft, I just don’t think general purpose pretraining / RL is going to give you something which perfectly copies you. It can get closer and closer! But I’ve never seen agent work where I didn’t immediately start thinking of refinements …
I guess many things are okay if you’re okay with averages
- ape4
Well there's the Factory Method Pattern https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_method_pattern
- xnx
"Software factory" in overused and inaccurate term. Factories have an expensive tooling process and then create the same widget thousands/millions of times. Software can be copied effortlessly once made.
What people are describing is more like a "software kitchen" or "software machine shop".
- bob1029
Software is the factory. The utility is built right in. You can create lossless copies of the product nearly instantly and for free. It's a logistical miracle.