The pendulum is swinging back. Architecture matters again

Agile and Scrum had their moment.

But let’s be honest: “fast and iterative” doesn’t guarantee quality. Too often, sprint reviews are empty, customers don’t want to iterate, and the result is velocity without vision.

The pendulum is swinging back. Architecture matters again. Design matters again. AI can generate code in seconds, but it can’t decide what to build or why it should scale. That’s human territory—where experience, foresight, and judgment still rule.

The future isn’t “Scrum vs. Waterfall” or “AI vs. developers.” It’s about outcome-driven delivery—where architects provide the runway, AI accelerates the build, and teams deliver resilient, valuable systems customers actually want.

To my fellow developers, architects, and leaders:

• Don’t confuse speed with strategy.

• Don’t abandon design for the illusion of agility.

• Don’t outsource thinking to AI.

The next wave of winners will be those who combine architectural discipline, human creativity, and AI-driven efficiency.

We’re not going back. We’re moving forward—with architecture at the center again.