Bot-Driven Development: From Simple Automation to Autonomous Software Development Bots

TL;DR

This paper explores how autonomous bots are transforming software development by actively managing tasks, making decisions, and redefining roles, with empirical studies and prototypes guiding best practices.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of bot-driven development, highlighting its impact on workflows, roles, and proposing a research agenda for integration and governance.

Findings

Bots can autonomously manage code quality and dependencies.

Redefines developer roles and collaboration dynamics.

Identifies challenges and best practices for human-bot integration.

Abstract

As software development increasingly adopts automation, bot-driven development (BotDD) represents a transformative shift where bots assume proactive roles in coding, testing, and project management. In bot-driven development, bots go beyond support tasks, actively driving development workflows by making autonomous decisions, performing independent assessments, and managing code quality and dependencies. This paper explores how bot-driven development impacts traditional development roles, particularly in redefining driver-navigator dynamics, and aligns with DevOps goals for faster feedback, continuous learning, and efficiency. We propose a research agenda addressing challenges in bot-driven development, including skill development for developers, human-bot trust dynamics, optimal interruption frequency, and ethical considerations. Through empirical studies and prototype systems, our aim is to define best practices and governance structures for integrating bot-driven development into modern software engineering.