Atlassian says AI has created an 'unexpected paradox' for software developers – they're saving over 10 hours a week, but they’re still overworked and losing an equal amount of time due to ‘organizational inefficiencies’

Software developers are saving more than a full day’s work each week through AI tools, new research shows, but they’re losing time in other critical areas.

Atlassian’s State of DevEx report found that AI adoption among developers has surged over the last year, helping to drive marked productivity improvements and reduce manual toil.

More than two-thirds (68%) of developers told Atlassian they’re saving at least 10 hours per week using AI tools, which marks a significant increase compared to last year when just 46% of devs reported productivity gains.

These time savings are being put to good use, the study noted, with developers using spare time to focus on improving code quality or building new features.

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But while developers are saving time in some areas, pressure is mounting in other areas of their working week. Atlassian said its study uncovered an “unexpected paradox” whereby despite the increased use of AI, overall productivity isn’t keeping pace.

Indeed, 50% of developers said they still lose over 10 hours a week and 90% lose at least six hours or more due to “organizational inefficiencies”.

Common issues identified by both developers and managers include poor communication and collaboration between teams as well as a “lack of clear direction” on projects.

Another crucial hurdle for developers includes simply finding information, Atlassian noted. This emerged as the leading cause of wasted time for development teams alongside tackling technical debt.

This isn’t the first time Atlassian has highlighted the performance impact of knowledge retrieval. A study from the company in March this year found workers were wasting a quarter of their working week tracking down information relevant to their job or individual tasks.

UK workers in particular wasted an average of nine hours per week, accounting for hundreds of hours annually. The State of DevEx report noted that, for a company with 500 developers, this wasted time equates to a loss of $7.9 million (£5.8m) annually.

Atlassian CTO Rajeev Rajan said that while the report showcases the benefits of AI, it also highlights the need for more efficient cross-departmental processes.

“This pressure-cooked mix of innovation and strain demands a closer look at how AI is reshaping the developer experience, and what that means for the future of software development across the industry,” he said.

“In a year of economic turbulence, rapid AI breakthroughs, and growing expectations to ship faster, developer experience continues to take center stage in leadership conversations”.

Developer challenges need to be acknowledged

Crucially, Atlassian’s research warns of a growing disconnect between management and developers, with the former often lacking a clear understanding of the challenges faced by devs.

Nearly two-thirds (63%) of developers said they feel leaders at their organization don’t understand key pain points faced by teams in their daily activities. This marks a 19% increase compared to last year’s survey.

This is where the question of whether or not AI tools are truly helping developers comes into the equation, Atlassian noted. These tools primarily support developers with coding tasks, which only make up around 16% of their working week - the remainder of their time is spent on general administrative tasks.

“To truly improve the developer experience, the 84% of the workweek spent on less enjoyable tasks needs to be addressed,” the company said.

Addressing these hurdles will be a challenge for C-suites and senior developers alike, the study warned, but a good starting point could be to improve documentation and information sourcing given it was identified as a leading pain point.

Notably, the firm said developers are crying out for the ability to “build and maintain self-serve resources” that they can draw upon with ease. Unlocking efficiency gains in this area alone will reduce manual toil and help streamline processes.

“When developers can self-serve information, they are 4.4 times more productive,” the company said. “To bridge the developer-leadership gap, teams need to communicate challenges early with clear examples and context, identifying friction points.”

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