Thoughtworks Technology Podcast

If AI agents really are the future of how work will be done — in software engineering and beyond — the platforms on which they are built, run and maintained will be crucial. This is a topic two Thoughtworkers, Ben O'Mahony and Fabian Nonnenmacher, are currently writing about.

Although not due to be published until early 2027, the first two chapters of Building AI Agent Platforms are now available as part of O'Reilly's Early Release scheme. Its goal is to provide readers with a complete roadmap for developing AI agent platforms, from agent development to architectural principles to observability and governance.

In this episode of the Technology Podcast, the authors speak to regular host Ken Mugrage about the book, why agent platforms are a critical part of any AI strategy and some of the challenges of developing and maintaining them. Listen for an early look at what looks set to be a valuable book in the world of AI development and to gain a clearer perspective on what agentic AI really means at the start of 2026.

Learn more about Building AI Agent Platforms: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/building-ai-agent/0642572243906/

You can grasp the basics of software architecture by learning design patterns, but you probably won't master it — to do that you have to get to grips with antipatterns too. Often these lessons are hard-won through experience, derived from seeing what happens when architectural decisions (or the lack of them) collide with the messy reality of the real world.

While there's obviously no replacement for practical experience, Neal Ford, Mark Richards and Raju Gandhi want to share theirs to give architects the opportunity to avoid common antipatterns and pitfalls and make smarter decisions. That's what they're doing with their forthcoming book (due September 2026) Architecture Patterns, Antipatterns and Pitfalls.

On this episode of the Technology Podcast, host Neal is joined by his co-authors and their editor from O'Reilly, Sarah Grey, to discuss the book and to explore why getting to know on antipatterns and pitfalls matters as much as learning design patterns.

Learn more about Software Architecture Patterns, Antipatterns and Pitfalls: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/software-architecture-patterns/0642572221119/

Listen to Neal and Mark discuss the various intersections of software architecture on an episode of the Technology Podcast from 2025: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/podcasts/technology-podcasts/exploring-intersections-software-architecture

The 'age of intent' is a phrase that's been around for a number of years. However, with the rise of AI agents in 2025 it has the potential to become a key trend for 2026. It describes a new way of thinking about digital interaction in which the gap between human intention and output are reduced even further through AI assistance.

Thoughtworks' APAC CTO Sarah Taraporewalla has been exploring the age of intent in recent months; she's written a series of blog posts that tackle what this new phase of digital interaction means for businesses and how they can prepare themselves.

On the latest episode of the Technology Podcast, Sarah joins host Lilly Ryan to discuss the concept the age of intent and its implications for the future of digital experiences.

Read Sara Taraporewalla's series on the age of intent:

The interface is dead. Time for the age of intent: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/generative-ai/the-interface-is-dead-time-for-the-age-of-intent

From prototype to transformation: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/generative-ai/the-age-of-intent-from-prototype-to-transformation

What it takes to become an intent-ready organization: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/generative-ai/the-age-of-intent-from-prototype-to-transformation

Rethinking value in the AI economy: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/generative-ai/the-age-of-intent-rethinking-value-in-AI-economy

This year's DORA report focuses on AI-assisted software development. While one of the key themes is just how ubiquitous AI is today in software engineering, that's only part of the picture. In fact, the report outlines many of the challenges the adoption of these technologies are posing and explores the barriers and obstacles that need to be addressed to ensure AI-assistance leads to long-term success.

In this episode of the Technology Podcast, host Ken Mugrage is joined by Chris Westerhold — Global Practice Director for Engineering Excellence at Thoughtworks — to discuss this year's DORA report (for which Thoughtworks is a Platinum sponsor). They dive into some of the reports findings, and explore the risks of increasing throughput, the changing demands on software developers, the importance of developer experience and how organizations can go about successfully measuring AI impact.

You can find the 2025 DORA report here: https://cloud.google.com/resources/content/2025-dora-ai-assisted-software-development-report

Read Chris Westerhold's article on this year's findings: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/articles/the-dora-report-2025--a-thoughtworks-perspective

Vibe coding was, remarkably, named word of the year by the Collins English Dictionary at the start of November 2025 — pretty good going for a term that was only coined in February. We first discussed it on the Technology Podcast back in April, and, given its prominence in the collective lexicon this year, thought we should revisit and reflect on the topic as 2025 draws to a close.

Lots has happened in the intervening months: MCP adoption, the evolution of agentic coding tools and practices like context engineering have had a significant impact on the way the world is thinking about and using AI.

To talk about it all and reflect on the implications, Thoughtworkers and regular podcast hosts Prem Chandrasekaran, Lilly Ryan and Neal Ford reconvened for a follow up to our April conversation. Taking in everything from the term's semantic slipperiness, its security risks and the challenges of maintaining AI-generated code, this is a discussion that, despite going deep into vibe coding, also touches on a huge range of issues in the technology industry today.

Before we enter 2026, looking back on the good, the bad and the ugly of the last 12 months of experimentation is essential if we're to build better software for the world in the future. This episode aims to be a guide through that process.

Listen to our April episode on vibe coding: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/podcasts/technology-podcasts/vibe-coding

Read Ken Mugrage's blog post exploring the shift from vibe coding to context engineering in 2025: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/machine-learning-and-ai/vibe-coding-context-engineering-2025-software-development

One of the biggest stories in software engineering in 2025 is the impact of generative AI on the software development lifecycle. From advances in coding assistance to the emergence of so-called agentic coding, there's undoubtedly a lot for software developers to process, learn and experiment with — not to mention rapid change to contend with.

On this episode of the Technology Podcast, host Ken Mugrage is joined by Brandon Cook to discuss not only how AI has been shaping the way software developers work but how developers can play an active role in ensuring the technology is leveraged safely and successfully. Taking in everything from sensible defaults and best practices to evaluating how much autonomy you should give up to an agent in any given problem, this episode offers both a snapshot of where we are today and the role we all have to play in deciding what the future will look like.

Explore the Thoughtworks Technology Radar: thoughtworks.com/radar

Listen to Brandon's last appearance on the Technology Podcast from July 2024: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/podcasts/technology-podcasts/sensible-defaults-way-think-technology-practices

In every Thoughtworks Technology Radar we feature three to five themes that represent the core issues and topics that emerged from the conversations we had when putting the publication together. This time (Fall 2025) they're all united by AI. They are: infrastructure automation arriving for AI, the rise of agents elevated by MCP, AI coding workflows and emerging AI antipatterns.

On this episode of the Technology Podcast, Bryan Oliver joins Neal Ford and Ken Mugrage to discuss all four of volume 33's themes. They dive into what they mean, how the team arrived at them and what they tell us about the state of software engineering and AI in 2025.

Read the latest Thoughtworks Technology Radar: thoughtworks.com/radar

Volume 33 will be published November 5, 2025.

Everyone knows an AI strategy is important — but how do you build one with humans at the center? That's a question Tiankai Feng, Thoughtworks Global Director for Data and AI Strategy, has been pondering ever since the publication of his 2024 book Humanizing Data Strategy. Now, just over a year later, he's outlined his thinking in a follow-up, Humanizing AI Strategy. With the subtitle "leading AI with sense and soul," it's a practical and thoughtful guide aimed at helping the industry rethink the way AI is embedded and leveraged across organizations.

In this episode of the Technology Podcast, Tiankai joins host Prem Chandrasekaran to discuss his new book. He explains why he wrote it, how it compares to his first book and discusses the framework it puts forward. Listen for a fresh perspective on AI in business and some practical strategies for leaders to bring purpose and conscience to AI initiatives.

Learn more about Humanizing AI Strategy: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/books/humanizing-ai-strategy

Read a Q&A with Tiankai: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/data-strategy/how-put-human-center-ai

Everyone seems to be talking about context engineering. That was certainly the case in our recent discussions for the upcoming edition of the Technology Radar (volume 33, due early November 2025). And although we ran into the term on the Technology Podcast just a few weeks ago, we thought it would be useful to try and tackle exactly what people are talking about when they talk about context engineering. We know context is important when it comes to AI, but what does it mean to engineer it?

On this episode of the Technology Podcast, host and Thoughtworks CTO Rachel Laycock is joined by Thoughtworkers Alessio Ferri (Lead Software Engineer) and Bharani Subramaniam (CTO for India and the Middle East) to discuss what context engineering is, how it's being done and what it tells us about the evolution of AI. This certainly won't be the last word — ours or anyone else's — on context engineering, but it might help clarify and cement your understanding as the term comes to dominate technology conversations.

Although the concept of the 'citizen developer' isn't new, with the rise of AI the relationship between those building software without much technical experience and seasoned software developers is becoming more significant. That's not to say there's conflict exactly, but there are often competing interests and demands — which can lead to tension, organizational friction and governance challenges.

On this episode of the Technology Podcast, host Ken Mugrage facilitates a debate (of sorts) between Christopher Hastings, Global Tech Product Lead at Thoughtworks (and citizen developer) and Scott Davies, Head of Technology for Thoughtworks Europe (very much in the developer camp). They discuss the needs and interests of both sides, how to avoid regressing to the dark ages of shadow IT and how citizen developers can be properly empowered by engineering teams.