AI can now write significant amounts of software code, including increasingly large and complex systems. This is rapidly changing software development. But does AI make software engineering less important? The answer lies in distinguishing coding from software engineering. Software development involves understanding requirements, design, coding, verification, and support. Coding is only one part.

This article focuses on software design and how AI coding tools are changing its role. AI makes code generation easier, but this makes software design more important, not less. For large software systems, the effectiveness of AI in coding and support will depend significantly on the quality of the design. As teams depend more on AI coding tools, they must pay greater attention to how their software is designed.

We will briefly discuss the fundamentals of both software and design. We will use a stakeholder-centric approach and see how AI itself can become a stakeholder in software design. The fundamental goals of software design remain the same, but their importance increases as AI takes on a larger role.

Software is a special type of machine. Its inputs and outputs can change frequently. Software itself is continuously modified while it remains in operation. Over time, a software system can undergo so many modifications that it may bear little resemblance to its initial state. Software is one of the most complex systems created by humans. The real challenge lies not only in its complexity, but in its elastic nature: it undergoes frequent modification throughout its life, often while continuing to serve its users.