How Agentic SDLC Turned a 5-month Project Into 5 Days with Brian Elliott, CEO at Blitzy and Tom Jackson, CTO at RSM US LLP - Modern CTO Recap

Podcast: Modern CTO

Published: 2026-01-12

Duration: 33 min

Summary

In this episode, Brian Elliott and Tom Jackson discuss how Blitzy's autonomous software development platform can dramatically reduce project timelines from months to days. They explore the challenges of adopting such innovative technology within organizations and the transformative potential it holds for software development.

What Happened

The conversation kicks off with Brian Elliott, CEO of Blitzy, explaining the capabilities of Blitzy's autonomous enterprise software development platform. This technology can ingest and comprehend large-scale codebases, allowing it to execute extensive development tasks that would traditionally take weeks or months in just a few days. Tom Jackson, CTO at RSM US LLP, shares his firsthand experience as a customer, noting that a project that initially required five months was completed in only five to six days with Blitzy's help. This remarkable shift highlights the potential of generative AI in the software development lifecycle (SDLC).

Tom elaborates on how Blitzy has influenced RSM's engineering velocity, noting that they have seen significant improvements in speed across several teams. However, he emphasizes that the adoption of this technology is not without its challenges. There's a need for organizations to adapt their business processes and team structures to fully leverage the benefits of such advanced tools. Both Brian and Tom agree that the transition involves a careful strategy of phased implementation, focusing on a few teams at first to understand and refine the integration of this technology into existing workflows.

Key Insights

• Blitzy can reduce project timelines from months to days, significantly enhancing engineering velocity.
• Adopting new technology like Blitzy requires organizational changes and adaptations in team processes.
• The integration of generative AI in SDLC represents a major shift in how software is developed, necessitating careful management.
• Successful implementation of Blitzy involves a deliberate crawl, walk, run methodology to ensure effective adoption.

Key Questions Answered

What is Blitzy and how does it work?

Blitzy is an autonomous enterprise software development platform that can understand large-scale codebases and perform extensive development tasks autonomously. Brian Elliott describes it as capable of doing weeks or months of work in just a few days of intensive computing, effectively speeding up the software development process. The platform can autonomously handle about 80% of a project's workload, allowing human developers to focus on the remaining 20% with clear guidance.

How has RSM US LLP benefited from using Blitzy?

RSM US LLP has seen significant improvements in project timelines and developer velocity since implementing Blitzy. Tom Jackson mentions that a project that previously took five months was completed in just five to six days with the help of Blitzy. This reduction not only enhances productivity but also allows the teams to reconsider their workflow and processes to optimize the integration of such powerful technology.

What challenges come with adopting Blitzy's technology?

One of the primary challenges of adopting Blitzy is adapting existing business processes and team structures to leverage its capabilities effectively. Tom notes that with the introduction of such technology, there needs to be a shift in how teams approach project initiation to fully capitalize on the speed improvements. This involves deliberate planning and potential restructuring of workflows to overcome previous bottlenecks.

What is the crawl, walk, run methodology in tech adoption?

The crawl, walk, run methodology refers to a phased approach to implementing new technology, as explained by Brian Elliott. This strategy involves starting with a few core teams to gain insights into how the technology can be integrated effectively. By initially focusing on smaller groups and gradually scaling up, organizations can better understand the changes required in their software development lifecycle and make adjustments before full-scale adoption.

How does generative AI change the software development lifecycle?

Generative AI, as discussed by Brian and Tom, brings a transformative capability to the software development lifecycle by enabling tools like Blitzy to perform substantial portions of the development autonomously. This shift allows for faster project completion and greater efficiency, but it also requires a rethinking of traditional development practices. Organizations must consider how to integrate AI into their existing frameworks and what new roles or processes might emerge as a result.