Insights & Technology for Complex Business Challenges

On a sunny summer Thursday, Spiria held its first hackathon entirely dedicated to agentic development. In concrete terms, the goal was to build a solution using agentic development (also known as agentic AI), a technology capable of designing AI systems that can execute end-to-end tasks autonomously (analyzing, deciding, acting, and iterating) without constant human intervention.

Everyone at Spiria participated. Whether their expertise was in software development, finance, or UX/UI design, the event brought together our entire team across Canada. Whether from one of our offices or remotely, each person chose to build one of 11 proposed tools, all designed to address real needs tied to Spiria's operations.

Participants paired up with a tool such as Codex, Claude Code, or GitHub Copilot, and had the support of a team of internal coaches, people who had already developed an expertise in agentic AI.

This experience confirmed one thing: agentic development is already transforming the way software is designed and built.

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Why do this?

Believe it or not, being the CEO of a software development company in the age of AI, especially with the rise of agentic AI, shakes things up. But being passionate about programming and having built a career from it is, for many other passionate people like me, even more confronting.

I still do a lot of development for fun and for internal projects at Spiria, but I obviously don't know every software technology out there. As agentic AI became more sophisticated, I knew I had to try it myself, using technologies I'm less familiar with.

I first tested Codex to build an internal tool for my colleagues in the Culture and Talent department, and within a few hours, in a technology I don't master at all, I created a working prototype. I immediately understood that it was time for me to change the way I code. I can no longer limit myself to only doing what brought me so much intellectual pleasure; it's now up to me to find other sources of stimulation.

The reality is that the last four decades have been filled with revolutions that simplified my life as a developer. Here, agentic AI is changing my day-to-day completely. I knew the whole team needed to experience it for themselves in order to understand it, and to learn it.

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Beyond code generation

AI tools have long been seen as assistants, capable of writing a few lines of code, completing a function, or recalling the syntax of a programming language.

Today's agents go much further.

They can analyze a codebase, modify multiple files, run tests, spot errors, suggest an architecture, generate documentation, and take part in complete development cycles.

This doesn't mean human expertise becomes less important. On the contrary, its role changes and becomes even more decisive.

An agent can produce code quickly. On its own, however, it doesn't understand an organization's priorities, industry-specific constraints, operational risks, security requirements, or the long-term consequences of a technology decision.

This is precisely where the expertise of an experienced team proves its worth.

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Our clients aren't simply chasing novelty

Most of our clients don't ask us to use a technology simply because it's new or trendy.

Above all, they want their solution to work.

• They want it to be secure.

• They want it to be maintainable.

• They want to be able to evolve it.

• They want to avoid depending on a fragile prototype, a single vendor, or a technology choice that will quickly become a liability.

Agentic development doesn't change these fundamental expectations. Instead, it increases our ability to meet them faster.

Used correctly, agents can reduce time spent on repetitive tasks, speed up the production of first versions, make it easier to explore multiple technical approaches, and improve certain validation processes.

They also allow our teams to spend more time on the aspects that require the most judgment: understanding the problem, defining the right architecture, protecting data, managing trade-offs, ensuring quality, and preparing for the future.

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Speed isn't enough

It would be easy to reduce agentic development to a promise of productivity.

Producing faster is useful, but it isn't enough.

Software that's delivered quickly but is hard to maintain, poorly secured, or poorly suited to real needs remains a bad investment.

The value of agentic development therefore depends on how it's governed.

Agents' responsibilities need to be clearly defined, the tools and data they can access need to be controlled, their decisions need to be validated, rigorous development standards need to be maintained, and their use needs to be integrated into existing quality assurance and cybersecurity practices.

It's also important not to confuse generation speed with delivery speed.

Code is only part of the work. There's still a need to understand requirements, manage dependencies, test critical scenarios, prepare deployment, document decisions, and ensure the solution's continuity.

Agentic development becomes truly compelling when it's integrated into this entire value chain.

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A new way of mobilizing our expertise

Every technological advance has allowed us to focus on more complex problems.

High-level languages, software libraries, development frameworks, cloud services, and automation tools have gradually eliminated a great deal of manual work.

Agentic development is part of this continuity, but its impact could be even greater.

As agents take on a larger share of technical production, value will shift toward the ability to guide them well, evaluate their output, and integrate their work into coherent systems.

There will always be a need to define the right requirements, choose the right paradigms, establish the right constraints, and ensure the different components work together.

There will always be a need to understand users, operations, risks, and business objectives.

That's where Spiria's expertise lies.

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What Spiria brings to agentic development?

Our role isn't simply to plug an AI tool into a project and hope it produces a satisfactory result.

We help our clients determine where agentic AI can genuinely create value.

We can use it to speed up prototype design, modernize an existing application, automate certain tasks, support development teams, improve testing, or explore different solutions more quickly.

But we do it with the same rigor we apply to all our projects.

This means paying particular attention to architecture, security, privacy, code quality, maintainability, observability, and the long-term viability of solutions.

It also means choosing the right level of autonomy.

In some contexts, an agent can carry out tasks very autonomously. In others, it must propose actions that are then reviewed and approved by a person.

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Turning experimentation into lasting value

Our hackathon allowed us to experiment quickly, test our assumptions, and better understand the real capabilities of today's tools.

It also reminded us that an impressive demo is only the starting point.

The real work is turning that capability into reliable, secure, and durable solutions.

That's exactly what our clients expect from us.

Agentic development is opening the door to new ways of building software. It can help us move faster, explore more, and spend more energy on the decisions that truly matter.

But its value doesn't rest on technology alone.

It rests on the expertise of the people who know how to use it, how to govern it, and how to integrate it into a long-term vision.

This is how Spiria intends to approach agentic development: with curiosity, with pragmatism, and with the determination to build solutions that work today and will keep working tomorrow.

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- Stéphane Rouleau, CEO and co-founder of Spiria

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As enterprise technology investments have grown by an average of 8% per year since 2022 (McKinsey, 2025), one reality remains: not every digital transformation project delivers a return on investment (ROI). A Boston Consulting Group study reveals that 70% of digital transformation projects fail to meet their objectives, often with serious consequences. That same study, however, underscores just how valuable these investments can be when done right.

So where do things go wrong?

Rarely at the product, artificial intelligence (AI), or software development level itself. The success of a digital transformation is determined well before the first line of code. It's mainly based on the strategic planning of the project.

Our thesis? A custom software development project is, above all, a business project. So yes — strategic planning is critical.

To reduce risk and ensure your next digital transformation project becomes a growth driver, take a moment to debunk 5 myths that could potentially derail your next IT project.

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1. "Success depends mostly on making the right technology choices"

Technology choices do matter. But the greatest risk in a project is rarely technical. It's organizational. Unclear objectives, misalignment, and low team buy-in cause more failures than the choice of language or infrastructure ever could. Technology is the tool used to address a business challenge, not the answer in itself. Confusing the two means building a solution that works technically but solves nothing concrete.

The reality: A software project is, first and foremost, a business project. Enterprise software isn't successful because it works on a technical level. It's successful because it simplifies work, creates tangible value for your business, and is actually adopted by your users.

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2. "We can start coding and adjust later… analysis is just a waste of time"

What's deceptive about application development is that changes can always be made. But every change comes at a cost… And the later in the process it occurs, the higher that cost tends to be. Jumping into development without a defined foundation is a straight path to scope creep and cost overruns. Yes, projects evolve, but every structural change midcourse has significant downstream impacts on budget and timeline. The analysis allows you to anticipate critical constraints, identify real user needs, and validate key assumptions.

The reality: Identifying core requirements and critical dependencies during the analysis (also called the Discovery phase) reduces project risk. Starting development without this ground work is like building a house without blueprints. You can always knock down a wall, but it costs a lot more than erasing a line on a plan.

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3. "Artificial intelligence will make planning obsolete"

The risk, here, doesn't lie in your software architecture. It comes from your decisions, from the very first version to a final product. Artificial intelligence can generate features at record speed, but it cannot define your business strategy. The more production capacity increases, the more precisely your roadmap needs to be defined

The reality: AI cannot anticipate the critical dependencies between your various systems, nor ensure that the tool will actually address the real pain points of your teams on in your factories, on the field or in your office.

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4. "We'd rather payfor off-the-shelf software. It's cheaper than custom"

If an off-the-shelf solution perfectly meets your needs, it's probably the smarter choice… And we'll be the first to say so. But when the solution touches the core of your operations, what sets you apart from your competitors, your secret sauce — the math changes entirely. A well-built custom software solution, approached as a business project, becomes an investment. Especially if it centralizes your processes, replaces several existing tools, and saves you time and money in the long run. In many industries, there are also hybrid approaches to software that combine existing solutions with custom development via APIs, targeting only what creates unique value for you.

The reality: It's not a question of custom versus off-the-shelf. It's a question of alignment with your business objectives. Ask yourself whether the solution addresses a challenge that sets you apart, whether it integrates into your environment, and whether it saves costs, time, or enables something your competitors can't do. That will give you your answer.

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5. "Delivery marks the end of the project"

Software is a living asset. And its deployment is not a finish line. It's the moment when users take ownership of the solution, when new learning begins and new ideas emerge. This is especially true knowing we rarely aim for the perfect solution right out of the gate: you ship a first version addressing core needs. Like a house, once built, it needs ongoing maintenance and improvements to preserve its usefulness and value. Underestimating adoption, support, and evolution costs in the initial business case can be a major mistake.

The reality: Plan for an annual software maintenance and enhancement budget based on the level of risk you're willing to carry. Once the solution is in place, it needs to be maintained to preserve its value and relevance.

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These 5 myths share a common thread: they shift attention toward where risk is lowest, and away from where it's highest. You invest in technology, pick the right tools, kick off development… All to discover along the way that objectives were vague, that users were never consulted, or that the solution is solving the wrong problem.

Worth repeating: 70% of digital transformation projects fail to meet their objectives (BCG, 2020). Not because the technology fell short. Because strategic planning wasn't taken seriously.

A software project is, above all, a business project. And even your sharpest colleagues and managers could fall for these misconceptions.

Why not share this article with them so your next project lands in the 30% that succeed?

Artificial intelligence (AI) promises a lot, but it's true potential often remains untapped.
Why? Well, not because technology lacks maturity, but because we forget that real-world use by people remains the real driving force behind any digital transformation.

And yes, no one understands humans better than humans.
This is where the “human-first” approach comes in, a simple philosophy that places people at the heart of technological changes, and thus designing tools and systems that genuinely work for the individuals who use them.

The goal isn’t to strengthen the technology itself. It’s to strengthen our understanding of the work your teams do before adding a layer of artificial intelligence on top of it. You can have the most advanced systems in the world, but if your teams aren’t ready, nothing will move forward.

At Spiria, we see it every day. Successful organizations don’t just modernize their infrastructure. They modernize how their teams interact with their tools, their data, and their workflows. They lay the groundwork for AI to become useful, understandable, and sustainable.

This article explores how human-centred software modernization naturally prepares organizations to welcome AI that integrates itself smoothly, supports people, and enhances their work for long-term AI success.

Modernizing for AI starts with modernizing for humans

Modernizing first, then wondering how to drive AI adoption internally.
How many organizations have made this mistake?

The desire to integrate AI is natural. It represents progress, innovation, and efficiency. But in reality, it often struggles to fit into environments that were never designed to support how teams actually interact with them.

The result? These systems that seem modern on paper remain underused. The teams using them are frustrated, and bypass these new tools to return to old habits. It’s a disappointing ROI that leads leadership to question AI itself.

In our previous article, “Why Legacy Systems Break Under AI Pressure”, we explored the technical obstacles of fragmented data, rigid architectures, and technical debt. But these technical obstacles are only part of the problem. The other part, the one we overlook far too often, lies in human and organizational silos.

That’s why a people-centered approach is essential. Modernization must be guided, not only by technical requirements, but by the people who depend on these systems every day. It’s about clarifying, simplifying, and streamlining the experience, so tools become coherent, easy to use, and aligned with day-to-day work.

AI only creates value when it enters an environment teams already understand. Modernizing for AI therefore means modernizing for humans first.

The three foundations of human-readiness: clarity, trust, collaboration

Before diving any further, let's remember one key thing, “human-first” is the approach, while “human-ready” is the outcome. In other words, an organization reaches this state when modernization is intentionally designed for people and put into practice.  

These pillars are the foundation for this:

1. Clarity

Clarity translates to making systems readable, workflows understandable, and tools intuitive.
It is about operational transparency, not technical transparency. What data does AI use? Why does it recommend one action over another? What are its limits?

Teams need to understand what a system does, how it does it, and why it does it.
Clarity reduces uncertainty and opens the door to natural, confident use of AI.

It helps users know when to trust the algorithm and when their own judgment should take the lead.

2. Trust

Trust is the invisible core of any technological adoption.
It grows gradually, but it starts with evidence.

Building trust in AI requires reliable systems, consistent results, and tangible improvements in day-to-day work. People need to see that AI simplifies their work rather than complicates it, and that it respects operational realities instead of ignoring them.

Ongoing training is crucial. Not only at the beginning of a project, but over time, giving teams the space to explore, ask questions, and build technological intuition.

When trust settles in, AI becomes genuinely useful.

3. Collaboration

Collaboration is what brings everything else to life.
AI projects rarely fail because of algorithms. They failed because people weren’t involved early enough.

Preparing teams to collaborate with AI means understanding their real pain points, their critical decisions, and their operational constraints. This knowledge is what allows AI to find its appropriate role in the workflow.

AI can optimize a process, but only humans can understand nuance, context, and intent. This complementarity is where its true value lies.

From AI-ready to human-ready: two concepts often confused

Many organizations aim to become “AI-ready" with upgraded infrastructure, centralized data, and new intelligent tools. But none of these matter if people aren’t ready to use them.

Being “human-ready” is different. It is the outcome of a “human-first” approach. It means having simple systems, clarified processes, and tools that match real-world usage. It means creating an environment where teams understand the technology, trust it, and can apply it with discernment. And this people preparation must come first.

Too many organizations treat modernization as an isolated IT initiative. They invest millions in new infrastructures without ever questioning user experience. But what is the point of a high-performance system if no one wants to use it?

Organizations that succeed with AI don’t just deploy new tools. They prepare their teams to integrate them into daily practices, even before the first deployment.

They adjust processes early. They clarify roles and responsibilities before AI arrives. They build trust during the design phase, and do not wait for the first setbacks.

They invest in sustainable organizational transformation, where humans remain at the centre of decision-making from day one.

What if the key to AI success was simply people?

“Human-first” modernization isn’t a trend.
It’s a working philosophy based on a simple truth: long-term performance is built on strong human foundations, not solely on advanced algorithms.

Modernizing means creating systems that are clearer, more reliable, and more people-centered, systems capable of evolving at the pace of the people and organizations they support.

At Spiria, this belief guides our approach to modernization and AI integration projects. We enable organizations to build custom solutions that empower people, so AI can truly deliver on its promises.

Because the foundation of AI success lies in an approach that makes artificial intelligence useful, sustainable, and deeply human.

What if the best way to succeed with AI was simply to put people back at the heart of modernization?