Enhancing value delivery: The impact of generative AI in engineering

The 'value' or 'perception' of what a digital solution needs to deliver has evolved over time. Today, the success of digital solutions lies in the value that customers can derive from them. However, businesses face the challenging task of keeping up with rapidly evolving customer expectations, and in the context of digital business transformation, even the most meticulously crafted long-term plans may not always align perfectly with the constant change.

From an engineering standpoint, ensuring value through digital transformation requires enabling clients to keep pace with dynamic customer and market expectations.

Delivering value is not about scale
Enabling a seamless and consistent flow of value isn't just about the size or the complexity of transformation programmes. It's about the agile extraction of value from transformative efforts. As the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to expand in enterprise applications, it prompts a reevaluation of traditional engineering operating models and how they must evolve to traverse various levels of value creation.


Engineers must transcend the confines of coding and implementation, shifting their focus towards a deep exploration of the value their solutions will deliver to customers. Value generation transcends efforts in isolation; it thrives through the synergy of five key elements: SPEED – Strategy, Product, Engineering, Experience, Data and AI. The “E” in SPEED encapsulates the essence of building experiences and products in a way that adds meaningful value and differentiation, enabling businesses to swiftly respond to ever-changing customer needs, thereby giving them a competitive edge to foster stronger customer loyalty. Accomplishing this will require engineers to focus on improving time-to-market and fuel innovation through experimentation. The approach should be to "fail fast," with the ability to recover and deploy alternative solutions swiftly to course correct.

This approach demands delivering impactful results, regardless of the tools or technologies used — and that's where Generative AI (GenAI) becomes a catalyst.

The GenAI play
Previously, engineers were required to meticulously consider the syntax and intricacies of different programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, or Python. However, with the advent of GenAI coding tools, these time-consuming tasks have been significantly streamlined. Rather than getting bogged down by syntax, engineers now enjoy the time and flexibility to shift their focus towards higher-level thinking, conceptualising innovative solutions and identifying efficient strategies that deliver value.

Beyond programming languages, engineers will benefit from tapping into GenAI tools to tailor solutions according to their customer's preferences and interests. For example, by analysing customer behaviour and feedback, engineers can leverage GenAI tools to create solutions in sync with the interests of the Gen-Z audience.

The human touch will not go away
It is important to acknowledge that GenAI tools serve as aids to assist with various aspects of engineering, like coding and testing. However, these tools are not the be-all and end-all of engineering solutions. Human expertise will still have to play a pivotal role in refining AI-generated output. This collaboration will empower businesses to deliver personalised and relevant solutions, fostering deeper connections and enhancing overall satisfaction.


Idea-centric engineering
The pivotal question for engineers to ponder is, "What idea do they aim to bring to life?" With a clear vision of their approach, engineers can then concentrate on the "how" – the process of bringing ideas to fruition.

At Publicis Sapient, we have long championed the concept of "idea engineering" to empower our people to think strategically about how to materialise their ideas effectively. It involves leveraging the collective potential of various tools to bring ideas to life with greater efficiency and impact. This synergy helps us drive innovation and elevates the possibilities of idea realisation.

Innovation-driven professional growth
Conventional skill assessments tied to specific technologies will give way to a more comprehensive approach. As engineers tackle larger and more complex challenges and adopt a business-focused problem-solving outlook, their growth trajectory will be measured through the real-time impact of their ideas and implementations.

In this evolving landscape, their ability to devise and execute innovative solutions and domain-specific knowledge will be increasingly crucial. Understanding the business and industry they operate in and leveraging that knowledge to drive profitability and growth will be vital to their development.

This new perspective on growth will empower engineers to thrive in dynamic environments, aligning their career paths to make meaningful and impactful contributions to the organisation's success.

The 10X attributes behind Publicis Sapient's engineering innovation

At Publicis Sapient, we recognise the vital attributes that enable our people to consistently deliver 10X value to their customers compared to their peers. For our engineers, these essential behaviours are cornerstones of competitiveness and success that involve:

• Being a Polyglot: Skillfully navigating diverse programming languages, expanding horizons in problem-solving.
• Reuse: Embracing sustainable engineering practices, prolonging resource lifespan and devising efficient solutions.
• Reduce: Strategically minimising resource consumption, efforts, infrastructure, and costs, while maximising functionality.
• Mentorship: Fostering mentorship to nurture the next generation of engineering talent.
• Collaborating in Pods: Collaborating synergistically to yield outcomes exceeding individual efforts.
• Being Multidimensional: Amplifying cross-functional value across SPEED capabilities through multidimensional skills, profoundly benefiting clients.

Through these qualities, our engineers are able to elevate their impact and maintain a forward-thinking and problem-solving edge in the ever-evolving landscape of technology.

At the core of our values is a strong commitment to cultivating an environment of continuous learning, empowering our people to develop a growth mindset and seamlessly adapt to new technologies.

Engineering to create lasting value
Looking ahead, the imperative to evolve and adapt for value delivery will reign supreme in the dynamic landscape of digital business transformation. Engineers who seize this opportunity will have a profound impact through their work, leveraging Generative AI tools and refining idea-centric engineering.

Throughout this journey, preserving the human touch will remain pivotal. By nurturing a culture of continuous improvement and collaborations, engineers will continue to be at the forefront of innovation, consistently delivering optimal value to clients. Their commitment to engineering excellence will thrive in the fluid landscape of the ever-changing digital era.

Contributed by
Lakshminarasimman Raghavan
GVP Technology, Publicis Sapient