Why your developers build AI solutions that don’t matter
How often, as a decision-maker, do you hear promises that AI will increase your revenue and reduce costs? And why, despite all those promises, have you yet to see a single AI initiative truly make a difference in your organization?
Your LinkedIn feed is probably full of posts about the next “game-changing” AI solution that will transform your workflows. Maybe you even have developers in your organization already working on these big promises. Yet in practice, the results often fall short. That’s no coincidence. The problem isn’t what the technology is capable of. The real issue lies in how its adoption shifts the focus of developers.
The wrong focus
With the help of AI, many development teams can now build faster and produce more than ever before. Developers are creating things that previously simply weren’t worth the effort. They can also explore areas that used to lie outside their expertise or skill set. It feels like rapid progress. In reality, it’s often just uncontrolled expansion in every direction.
The result is a growing list of promising ideas that never deliver meaningful impact within your organization. And so the promised cost reductions never materialize. Why? Because nearly all the focus goes into building solutions. Teams start building before validating whether those solutions actually address real user needs.
Wasting money
All that building isn’t free. Take Pete, the developer we met in our previous blog. Recently, he attended a major AI conference. The latest breakthroughs were showcased and Pete returned full of inspiration. Driven by excitement, and by stakeholders eager to “do something with AI”, Pete focuses on the solution rather than the problem. And that costs time. Time spent trying to bridge the gap between what has been built and the value it actually delivers.
That time produces nothing new. It only adds cost. Yes, time was spent developing a product. But the real waste lies in building without validating the need with real users. After weeks of development, it turns out that Pete’s AI solution doesn’t deliver on its promise. Not because he lacked skill, but because his focus was misplaced.
When promises don’t materialize
As long as no one oversees where developers direct their attention, promises of an AI revolution within your organization will remain just that: promises. Not only in terms of value and alignment, but also in leadership and trust. The business begins to see IT as unreliable. Meanwhile, IT realizes it cannot deliver on the expectations placed upon it.
In that situation, working harder doesn’t solve the problem. Doubling down on technological possibilities only accelerates uncontrolled expansion. And with it, the waste.
Restoring focus
New technologies like AI only create value when developers are skilled at identifying the right questions. That means working in a way where the problem is clearly defined before the solution is built. You achieve this by giving developers the right frameworks and capabilities to put real user needs back at the center.
Through Squad Apps, I help organizations do exactly that: diagnosing where focus is currently misaligned and equipping development teams with the tools and practices that ensure building leads to measurable value. So that you, as a decision-maker, can once again invest in AI initiatives with confidence. Knowing they will actually make a difference.
We don’t help you build faster. We make sure building actually works again.
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