paper
Cybernetic Software Delivery: A Governed Lifecycle for Agentic Engineering Work
This paper argues that the traditional SDLC cannot govern a world where AI agents produce engineering artifacts. Cybernetic Software Delivery (CSD) reframes delivery as a control system — a closed-loop model with humans, agents, tools, evaluations, and feedback. The primary unit of delivery becomes the governed run: a bounded, observable, policy-aware execution of delegated work that is fully reconstructable from storage. The paper introduces a nine-stage lifecycle, a five-category artifact taxonomy, 13 new metrics extending DORA, and a four-tier governance framework.
Abstract
Software delivery is entering a new phase in which autonomous agents participate as active producers of engineering artifacts. The traditional Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) is insufficient to govern this shift: it assumes human executors, treats code as the sole first-class deliverable, and lacks feedback mechanisms for continuous evaluation of machine-produced work. We propose Cybernetic Software Delivery (CSD), a closed-loop lifecycle model in which delivery is treated as a control system.
Why it matters
As AI agents increasingly write code, generate tests, and produce documentation, engineering organizations need a new operating model. The traditional SDLC was designed for human developers working in sequential phases. CSD provides the governance, observability, and quality framework needed when agents are first-class producers. For engineering leaders, this is the missing operating manual for agentic software delivery — not just how to use AI tools, but how to govern the work they produce.