Aug 29, 2026 • 1 min read
Software Factories
\"AI coding agent\" will eventually feel like a transitional term. The next important abstraction above coding agents is not a better coding agent — it is the factory that coordinates them.
Part 3 of 7 — AI, Software Factories, and the Future of Work
Software Factories
I think "AI coding agent" will eventually feel like a transitional term.
The destination is the software factory.
A factory doesn't ask you to personally operate every machine.
You specify what needs to be produced, define constraints and quality standards, and the system coordinates the production process.
Software development is slowly moving in that direction.
Today we prompt an agent:
"Implement this API."
Tomorrow we give the system:
"Build this feature."
Eventually:
"Here is the business problem. Figure out what needs to change and ship it."
That requires much more than code generation.
Requirements need to be understood.
The existing architecture needs to be analyzed.
Work needs to be decomposed.
Implementations need to be reviewed.
Applications need to actually run.
Edge cases need to be tested.
Failures need to feed back into another iteration.
Documentation needs to stay synchronized.
That's why I think the next important abstraction above coding agents is not another better coding agent.
It's the factory that coordinates them.