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The 5 Levels of Agentic Software Product Development: Where Does Your Team Actually Stand?

The software industry is undergoing a shift more profound than the move from waterfall to agile. Many of our clients are attempting to accelerate their transition to AI assisted…

Dave Berardi

· 5 min read

6 steps to align teams on highly available distributed architectures

AKF was brought in for an architectural assessment for a critical new capability for one of our larger clients. This client is expanding core capabilities from on-premise mainframes…

Phillip Seawright

· 4 min read

The AKF Scale Cube and Autonomous Software Product: 10 Strategic Rules for Agentic AI

As the leader of a technology-driven organization in 2026, you are no longer just selling software; you are selling outcome-driven intelligence. Agentic AI—autonomous systems…

Dave Berardi

· 3 min read

Technology Leadership and AI: Why the Human Element Remains the Ultimate Scale Factor

In a recent episode of the podcast Career Journeys Revealed, hosted by former AKF Partner Han Yuan and Hitesh Chudasama, AKF co-founder Marty Abbott shared profound insights into…

Dave Berardi

· 3 min read

Inside a High-Performing Center of Excellence: 5 Principles for Success

This post explains that high-performing Centers of Excellence succeed by being hands-on, embedded partners that lead by doing—actively building, rotating talent, serving teams, collaborating openly, and staying grounded in real delivery work. Rather than acting as gatekeepers or policy bodies, effective CoEs prove their value through measurable impact, continuous learning, and enabling excellence across the organization.

Heather Abbott

· 5 min read

AI at the Helm - Why Humans Still Matter in Project and Product Management

Have you ever wondered if AI is going to replace the role of Project and Product Managers? Before I became a Principal Consultant at AKF, I started my career as a Technology Project…

StephRene Forbes

· 7 min read

Three Active Regions to Mitigate a Regional Failure - and save Money

The following is an excerpt from the Art of Scalability as a design approach to mitigate the effects of a Data Center or Regional failure such as the AWS-East-1 outage…

Phillip Seawright

· 6 min read

Cloud Induced Paralysis - How Hidden Dependencies Turn Resilience into Risk

When the cloud fails, so does control. The AWS outage exposed how deeply modern companies depend on invisible third-party services. This post explores how hidden dependencies turn resilience into risk and what leaders can do to regain autonomy before the next outage.

David Blatherwick

· 2 min read

CTO vs. CIO: What's the Difference Between These Two Critical Tech Leadership Roles?

CTO vs. CIO: What's the Difference Between These Two Critical Tech Leadership Roles? In today’s technology-driven organizations, the roles of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and…

Heather Abbott

· 10 min read

Engineering Team Sizes Are Evolving Rapidly With Agentic AI Platforms - The Limits, Challenges and Principles We Must Consider

Agentic AI tools are transforming software development by enabling smaller, leaner two-pizza teams, potentially as small as 2-3 humans, while maintaining cross-functional capabilities. AI agents can handle tasks like coding, testing, and project management, allowing these small teams to deliver products efficiently, especially for focused projects like MVPs. However, challenges such as complex projects, legacy code, and the need for human creativity and oversight suggest that slightly larger teams (4-6 humans) may be optimal for most scenarios. The blog emphasizes maintaining AKF’s principles of autonomy and end-to-end ownership, with humans guiding AI through effective prompts to ensure quality and alignment with business goals.

Dave Berardi

· 5 min read

Composable Agentic Patterns: The Building Blocks of Intelligent Interaction

Agentic interfaces are changing how software works, but most teams still lack a clear way to describe what agents actually do. This post introduces six composable patterns - like Ask + Confirm and Watch + Wait - that define core agent behaviors. These patterns help product, design, and engineering teams work faster, align better, and build more usable AI features. We also outline key design principles like scalability, persona-awareness, and governability. Up next: how to use these patterns in real-world product stories, plus full pattern definitions for reference.

David Blatherwick

· 2 min read

Agentic Pattern: Multi-Intent Fork

Multi-Intent Fork helps agents guide interactions when user input could mean several things. It clarifies ambiguity, presents clear next steps, and keeps users in control - ideal for fast triage and frictionless experiences.

David Blatherwick

· 2 min read

Agentic Pattern: Collect + Summarize

Collect + Summarize helps agents turn fragmented data into concise overviews. Ideal for busy workflows and async environments, this pattern reduces noise and supports faster, more confident decisions across roles.

David Blatherwick

· 2 min read

Agentic Pattern: Handoff + Resume

Handoff + Resume ensures the agent captures context and picks up workflows right where the user left off. It supports multi-session, multi-device, and multi-user journeys - reducing drop-off and boosting flow continuity.

David Blatherwick

· 2 min read
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