Joe

In many cases, yes. A difference now will be the long-term size and composition of the teams (smaller & more generalists, with PMs, POs & Architects just as likely to contribute code as engineers)

2 pizza teams can become 1 pizza teams who can manage an entire product/component, or more. And those 3+ pizza teams can strip the fat or split into more productive teams.

I think we’ll also see increased demand for platform/deployment standardization and concentrated/novel support structures, as teams start biting off more than they can chew, along the the desire for out-of-the-box guardrails around AI code & tools.

Given that AI is particularly useful at increasing alignment (when applied smartly), and that this is often a role delegated to middle managers, it is quite likely that flatter orgs will happen.

The need for top-tier technical, product, and business judgement and problem engagement will increase, while the need for muddle-through managers and similar roles will decrease.

We’ll see more initiatives organized end-to-end by small groups of smart people, with virtual teams/coalitions forming to bypass “archaic” processes and deliver meaningful results. We’ll see a lot of sloppy failures along the way too, but the overall trend seems clear.