Something really obvious for the client is missing in production. An extra filter. No error handling when the connection drops mid-install. A timezone nobody thought about. And the engineer says: “Well, the BRD didn’t mention it.”
The time is spent, but the feature is incomplete. Or worse, you have an angry client who can’t use the functionality they were waiting for. Now we roll it back, create a new ticket, refine it again, build it again. And honestly, this costs everyone time and energy.
Now replace the engineer with AI. You write a vague prompt, get exactly what you asked for, and then complain it “just can’t produce a normal output.” Same loop, only faster. Either way, someone skipped the thinking.
Your value is in combining your experience and asking the right people the right questions. Thinking about the gap between what’s written and what’s actually needed. The corner cases nobody listed. Sounds simple. I bet it isn’t.
Challenge the requirements. Think outside the spec. Own the output.
The same goes for AI. Describe exactly how the work should be done, corner cases included. “Just make it work” gets you the BRD problem all over again.
High autonomy means handing off execution and keeping judgment. Never vice versa.