Developer Journey: Accelerating Developer Productivity

In 2026, we’ve learned not to measure developer productivity by lines of code. What actually matters is the velocity of
the "inner loop"
and getting to production. Agentic AI and hyper-distributed deployment topologies solve many problems, but developers
still face many of the same frictions – cognitive overload, code overload, and configuration overload. This session
mixes a high level strategic overview of the modern developer journey with live demos of how IBM’s modern frameworks
bring the developer joy

It will cover:

- Why developer productivity is about more than outputs
- Standard First Architecture: Why relying on Jakarta EE and MicroProfile creates portable, future-proof systems.
- Observability by Design: Moving beyond simple logging to a standardized telemetry approach that provides instant
feedback.
- How to identify and eliminate "toil" in your specific development lifecycle.

Transcript

1. 1 IBM TechCon 2026 Session D11
 Developer Journey: Accelerating Developer Productivity
 Holly Cummins
2. developer journey: accelerating developer productivity Holly Cummins Senior Technical Staff Member IBM
3. @holly_cummins #IBM
4. @holly_cummins #IBM true story (from the internet)
5. @holly_cummins #IBM true story (from the internet) paying bonuses for lines of code
6. @holly_cummins #IBM
7. @holly_cummins #IBM for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++) { // code }
8. @holly_cummins #IBM for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++) { // code } for ( var i = 0; i < 10; i++ ) { // code }
9. @holly_cummins #IBM the team made comments prettier
10. @holly_cummins #IBM the team made comments prettier __ .__ .__ .__ __ _/ |_| |__ |__| ______ |__| ______ _____ ____ ____ _____ _____ ____ _____/ |_ \ __\ | \| |/ ___/ | |/ ___/ \__ \ _/ ___\/ _ \ / \ / \_/ __ \ / \ __\ | | | Y \ |\___ \ | |\___ \ / __ \_ \ \__( <_> ) Y Y \ Y Y \ ___/| | \ | |__| |___| /__/____ > |__/____ > (____ / \___ >____/|__|_| /__|_| /\___ >___| /__| \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/
11. @holly_cummins #IBM the experiment lasted one day
12. @holly_cummins #IBM
13. @holly_cummins #IBM productivity can be hard to measure
14. @holly_cummins #IBM productivity can be hard to measure but we know what it feels like
15. @holly_cummins #IBM it feels good
16. @holly_cummins #IBM
17. @holly_cummins #IBM why are you smiling?
18. @holly_cummins #IBM why are you smiling? work is not a place to be happy!
19. #IBM @holly_cummins ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΈΛΗΣ
20. #IBM @holly_cummins «τελειοῖ δὲ τὴν ἐνέργειαν ἡἡδονή» ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΈΛΗΣ
21. #IBM @holly_cummins «Η ευχαρίστηση στην δουλειά βάζει την τελειότητα στην εργασία» ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΈΛΗΣ
22. #IBM @holly_cummins “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” Aristotle
23. #IBM @holly_cummins joy has business value.
24. #IBM @holly_cummins the science bit
25. #IBM @holly_cummins piglet litters grow faster if they play more https://www.flickr.com/photos/tambako/8746156155
26. #IBM @holly_cummins job satisfaction is the no. 1 predictor of organizational performance
27. #IBM @holly_cummins https://hbr.org/2012/01/positive-intelligence
28. #IBM @holly_cummins “Your brain at positive is 31% more productive than your brain at negative, neutral or stressed. " https://hbr.org/2012/01/positive-intelligence
29. #IBM @holly_cummins
30. #IBM @holly_cummins https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/eproto/workingpapers/happinessproductivity.pdf
31. #IBM @holly_cummins "Individuals [who just watched a comedy video] have approximately 12% greater productivity." https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/eproto/workingpapers/happinessproductivity.pdf
32. #IBM @holly_cummins how can we make development feel good?
33. #IBM @holly_cummins inner & outer loop development
34. #IBM @holly_cummins inner & outer loop development Developer
35. #IBM @holly_cummins inner & outer loop development Developer
36. #IBM @holly_cummins inner & outer loop development Inner loop Developer Test Build / Package Code Push Debug
37. #IBM @holly_cummins inner & outer loop development Production Inner loop Developer Test Build / Package Code Push Debug
38. #IBM @holly_cummins inner & outer loop development Production Inner loop Developer Test Build / Package Code Push Debug
39. #IBM @holly_cummins inner & outer loop development Production Inner loop Developer Test Build / Package Code Push Debug
40. #IBM @holly_cummins inner & outer loop development Production Inner loop Developer Test Build / Package Code Push Debug
41. #IBM @holly_cummins inner & outer loop development Production Inner loop Outer loop Developer Test Code Review Build Deploy Security Tests Compliance Build / Package Code Push Debug
42. #IBM @holly_cummins inner & outer loop development Pull/Merge Request Production Inner loop Outer loop Developer Test Code Review Build Deploy Security Tests Compliance Build / Package Code Push Debug
43. #IBM @holly_cummins inner & outer loop development Pull/Merge Request Production Inner loop Outer loop Developer Test Code Review Build Deploy Security Tests Compliance Build / Package Code Push Debug
44. #IBM @holly_cummins inner & outer loop development Pull/Merge Request Production Inner loop Outer loop Developer Test Code Review Build Deploy Security Tests Compliance Build / Package Code Push Debug
45. #IBM @holly_cummins inner & outer loop development Pull/Merge Request Production Inner loop Outer loop Developer Test Code Review Build Deploy Security Tests Compliance Build / Package Code Push Debug
46. #IBM @holly_cummins what makes a good inner loop?
47. #IBM @holly_cummins -fast feedback what makes a good inner loop?
48. #IBM @holly_cummins -fast feedback -low cognitive load what makes a good inner loop?
49. #IBM @holly_cummins -fast feedback -low cognitive load -low setup costs what makes a good inner loop?
50. #IBM @holly_cummins -fast feedback -low cognitive load -low setup costs -fast start -live reload what makes a good inner loop?
51. #IBM @holly_cummins -fast feedback -low cognitive load -low setup costs -fast start -live reload -expressive APIs what makes a good inner loop?
52. #IBM @holly_cummins it’s all about quick feedback loops
53. #IBM @holly_cummins
54. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus
55. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint
56. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint ✔
57. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint ✔ ✔
58. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint ✔ ✔ fast start
59. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint ✔ ✔ fast start ✔
60. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint ✔ ✔ fast start ✔ ✔
61. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint ✔ ✔ fast start ✔ ✔ web console
62. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint ✔ ✔ fast start ✔ ✔ web console ✔
63. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint ✔ ✔ fast start ✔ ✔ web console ✔ ✔
64. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint ✔ ✔ fast start ✔ ✔ web console ✔ ✔ live reload
65. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint ✔ ✔ fast start ✔ ✔ web console ✔ ✔ live reload ✔
66. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint ✔ ✔ fast start ✔ ✔ web console ✔ ✔ live reload ✔ ✔
67. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint ✔ ✔ fast start ✔ ✔ web console ✔ ✔ live reload ✔ ✔ support for standards
68. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint ✔ ✔ fast start ✔ ✔ web console ✔ ✔ live reload ✔ ✔ support for standards ✔
69. #IBM @holly_cummins websphere liberty quarkus small memory footprint ✔ ✔ fast start ✔ ✔ web console ✔ ✔ live reload ✔ ✔ support for standards ✔ ✔
70. #IBM @holly_cummins why developers are like clouds
71. #IBM @holly_cummins Demo: Dev Services
72. @holly_cummins #IBM let’s talk about quarkus
73. #IBM @holly_cummins
74. live coding
75. live coding less dev time wasted waiting for full build + launch cycles
76. #IBM @holly_cummins
77. #IBM @holly_cummins easy… right?
78. #IBM @holly_cummins
79. #IBM @holly_cummins what about external dependencies?
80. #IBM @holly_cummins what about external dependencies? -database
81. #IBM @holly_cummins what about external dependencies? -database -messaging system
82. #IBM @holly_cummins what about external dependencies? -database -messaging system -observability stack
83. #IBM @holly_cummins https://testcontainers.org
84. #IBM @holly_cummins Dev Services ❤
85. #IBM @holly_cummins Demo: Dev Services
86. #IBM @holly_cummins
87. #IBM @holly_cummins
88. boilerplate code
89. @holly_cummins #IBM
90. @holly_cummins #IBM I don’t need a nice programming model anymore, AI will vibe- code it all
91. @holly_cummins #IBM context costs
92. @holly_cummins #IBM human-in-the-loop code review costs
93. @holly_cummins #IBM we spent far more time reading code than writing it
94. @holly_cummins #IBM Pull/Merge Request Outer loop Code Review Build Deploy Security Tests Compliance
95. @holly_cummins #IBM https://www.cjroth.com/blog/2026-02-18-building-an-elite-engineering-culture pr review time increased 91% in high AI-adoption teams
96. @holly_cummins #IBM code isn’t an asset it’s a liability
97. @holly_cummins #IBM the dream
98. @holly_cummins #IBM don’t make humans tell the computer what the computer already knows the dream
99. @holly_cummins #IBM don’t make humans tell the computer what the computer already knows the dream is now achievable
100. @holly_cummins #IBM package com.example; import org.jboss.logging.Logger; public class Thing { private static final Logger log = Logger.getLogger(Thing.class); public void doSomething() { log.info("It works!"); } }
101. @holly_cummins #IBM package com.example; import org.jboss.logging.Logger; public class Thing { private static final Logger log = Logger.getLogger(Thing.class); public void doSomething() { log.info("It works!"); } } import io.quarkus.logging.Log; Log
102. @holly_cummins #IBM public String hello(@QueryParam("name") String name) {
103. @holly_cummins #IBM public String hello(@RestQuery String name) {
104. #IBM @holly_cummins testcontainers integration … without quarkus @TestConfiguration(proxyBeanMethods = false) public class ContainersConfig { @Bean @ServiceConnection public PostgreSQLContainer<?> postgres() { return new PostgreSQLContainer<>(DockerImageName.parse("postgres:14")); } } public class TestApplication { public static void main(String[] args) { SpringApplication .from(MySpringDataApplication::main) .with(ContainersConfig.class) .run(args); } } @Import(ContainersConfig.class)
105. #IBM @holly_cummins testcontainers integration … without quarkus quarkus
106. #IBM @holly_cummins what if… you could inherit boilerplate Hibernate queries from a superclass, instead of having to write them all? example: hibernate
107. @holly_cummins #IBM @ApplicationScoped public class GreetingRepository { public Entity findByName(int name) { return find("name", name).firstResult(); } void persist(Entity entity) {} void delete(Entity entity) {} Entity findById(Id id) {} List<Entity> list(String query, Sort sort, Object... params) { return null; } Stream<Entity> stream(String query, Object... params) { return null; } long count() { return 0; } long count(String query, Object... params) { return 0; } } example: hibernate with panache
108. @holly_cummins #IBM DAO @ApplicationScoped public class GreetingRepository implements PanacheRepository<Greeting> { public Entity findByName(int name) { return find("name", name).firstResult(); } } example: hibernate with panache
109. @holly_cummins #IBM this isn’t using gen AI to automate code generation this is making the need for the code go away
110. @holly_cummins #IBM of course … MCP
111. @holly_cummins #IBM no matter how you create it … code doesn’t count unless it gets to prod
112. #IBM @holly_cummins Pull/Merge Request Production Inner loop Outer loop Developer Test Code Review Build Deploy Security Tests Compliance Build / Package Code Push Debug
113. #IBM @holly_cummins Pull/Merge Request Production Inner loop Outer loop Developer Test Code Review Build Deploy Security Tests Compliance Build / Package Code Push Debug code doesn’t count unless it gets to prod
114. @holly_cummins #IBM security manageability observability
115. #IBM @holly_cummins Demo: Dev Services
116. @holly_cummins #IBM the bigger picture
117. @holly_cummins #IBM the perils of toil
118. #IBM @holly_cummins get rid of boring stuff
119. #IBM @holly_cummins it’s probably waste get rid of boring stuff
120. #IBM @holly_cummins it’s probably waste get rid of boring stuff
121. @holly_cummins #IBM
122. @holly_cummins #IBM repetitive
123. @holly_cummins #IBM meaningless repetitive
124. @holly_cummins #IBM meaningless repetitive
125. @holly_cummins #IBM low-value meaningless repetitive
126. @holly_cummins #IBM low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive
127. @holly_cummins #IBM low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive
128. @holly_cummins #IBM low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive
129. @holly_cummins #IBM low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive redundant
130. @holly_cummins #IBM low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive repetitive redundant
131. @holly_cummins #IBM repetitive low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive repetitive redundant
132. @holly_cummins #IBM repetitive low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive repetitive redundant
133. @holly_cummins #IBM meetings
134. @holly_cummins #IBM manual handoffs
135. @holly_cummins #IBM fiddly setups
136. @holly_cummins #IBM boilerplate code
137. #IBM @holly_cummins we can do development better (and everyone wins)
138. 67 QUESTIONS? Take the survey before heading to the next session.