Theory of constraints, AI, and code review

This article discusses the theory of constraints in the context of AI-assisted software development. It argues that despite AI tools enabling faster code writing, overall shipping speed remains limited by bottlenecks like code review. The author cites studies showing marginal AI productivity gains at the company level, contrasting with individual productivity improvements. Using the theory of constraints (analogous to Amdahl's law), the article explains how modern DevOps and continuous integration have shifted bottlenecks from releases to code review. It suggests that without addressing these systemic constraints, producing more code with AI does not translate to faster delivery.