Developers are Happier and More Satisfied in Their Coding Environment

GitHub Copilot makes the everyday work of Volvo Cars developers easier, more enjoyable, and more efficient.
– The tool frees up time for innovation and, ultimately, allows workers to focus on perfecting the end product, says Martin Wänerskär of Volvo Cars. 

Six months have passed since the extensive rollout of GitHub Copilot to Volvo Cars’  developer community.
– We expected significant efficiency gains of approximately 20%, but tasks like unit testing have surpassed expectations and seen gains of up to 40%, says product developer Sabina Edenlund, who sits on Volvo Cars’ Gen AI committee.

GitHub Copilot assists developers with testing, explaining, and generating code, and can support the advanced ‘autocompletion’ of coding.

Martin Wänerskär works in Developer Experience at Volvo Cars. His team is responsible for managing the practical aspects of GitHub Copilot.
– AI helps us with the ‘boring’ parts of coding, like repetitive tasks. By deploying Copilot as a work tool, we can free up time that allows developers to spend more of their working day in a ‘flow state’. That is when they are most creative, solving problems through innovation, Wänerskär says.

Volvo Cars was an early adopter of generative AI, seeing its potential to support the company’s developers. Indeed, the foundations for introducing AI support for software development were laid over a year ago.

”Incredible Hype”

In December 2022, when GitHub Copilot for Business was first released, excitement started brewing among developers. This was, no doubt, aided by the launch of ChatGPT-3.5 only a month prior.
– There was incredible hype from our developer community and the company’s leadership.

 With safety as one of the company’s guiding principles, Volvo Cars closely monitored Copilot’s development.
– About a year ago, we received approval to use generative AI to assist our code production. After receiving the green light, we set about creating a use case, beginning with a developer base of 150 workers, tells Sabina Edenlund.

 The test was successful. Data showing the benefits of GitHub Copilot was collected in September and October of 2023.
– Our developers provided positive feedback that overlapped considerably with GitHub’s preliminary claims and research; They became more efficient and had more fun at work,” says Martin Wänerskär.

GitHub Copilot Makes Work More Enjoyable

Therefore, in week 50, Volvo Cars launched GitHub Copilot to all developers in the organization. Of those at Volvo who use the tool, a large proportion have reported the same benefits as those observed during the use case last year.
– When I talk to developers, they are much happier in their coding environment. One coder said, ’I should have had this at Chalmers 20 years ago. Now I can’t live without it,’ notes Sabina Edenlund.
– 75% of Volvo Cars employees who use GitHub Copilot say that they find coding more enjoyable as a result of using the tool. Repetitive coding and writing tests stand out as areas where workers feel especially benefitted, says Martin Wänerskär.

 Copilot has led to higher efficiency and more fun at work. But communication between developers has also improved.
– A senior developer told me they get better questions from junior developers. The interaction between developers becomes sharper because of Copilot, says Sabina Edenlund.

 The tool is seen as a fantastic aid.
– Nevertheless, it is important to understand that GitHub Copilot is not a magic wand. Quality responsibility and code verification still lie with each developer, says Martin Wänerskär.

 At the time of writing, 40% of developers use GitHub Copilot. The next step to get even more developers at Volvo Cars to incorporate the tool into their work, Martin Wänerskär believes, is to provide more support for beginners.
– It would be valuable to organize lunch and learns or a getting-started package that is more hands-on. Not examples from YouTube but how it works here at Volvo Cars.
– In the long run, we hope to recruit more and more ‘champions’: users who are proficient with GitHub Copilot, and who are good at facilitating other colleagues’ usage of it, Wänerskär concludes.