NAB Doubles Engagement with Amazon Code Assistant

National Australia Bank (NAB) has significantly ramped up its utilization of Amazon’s AI coding assistant, now named Amazon Q Developer, expanding its usage from an initial 20-30 engineers to a current 1000 engineers within a few months. This tool, which started as a proof-of-concept known as CodeWhisperer, initially supported a small team in day-to-day coding tasks but has quickly become integral to NAB’s software development processes.

NAB's strategic scaling of Q Developer has primarily been driven by the need to enhance productivity and streamline onboarding for new hires. Andrew Brydon, NAB’s chief engineer, highlighted that new hires are using Q Developer to familiarize themselves with NAB's software development lifecycle more quickly. By incorporating NAB-specific customizations into Q Developer, the bank has optimized the tool to provide engineers with tailored support, thus reducing the time required for new team members to become productive.

Brydon explained that the initial focus was on using Q Developer for generating repeatable documentation and boilerplate code. However, the tool's capabilities have since been expanded to include custom vectors specific to NAB, enhancing its utility for both new and existing engineers. These customizations have been particularly effective in helping engineers become familiar with various codebases across the organization, thereby driving down the time to productivity.

The journey of integrating Q Developer began with a small-scale pilot among a select group of engineers. This initial phase was designed to validate the hypothesis that improving developer happiness would lead to increased productivity. By embedding Q Developer into their rapid development environment, NAB was able to gather valuable feedback from the pilot group, which in turn helped build internal confidence in the tool’s potential.

Brydon emphasized the importance of focusing on the "developer happiness metric" during the pilot phase. The positive reception from the initial group encouraged NAB to scale up the use of Q Developer across its developer teams in Australia, Vietnam, and India. A survey conducted among NAB developers, and initially revealed at the AWS Summit Sydney, indicated that half of the code suggestions made by Q Developer were accepted by engineers. Furthermore, 40 percent of engineers reported improved productivity, and 45 percent noted an improvement in the quality of the final code due to the tool’s assistance.

In addition to day-to-day coding tasks, NAB is now exploring the use of Q Developer for more complex challenges, such as upgrading code languages. Brydon noted that managing the transition from older versions of Java to newer ones, such as moving from Java 8 to Java 11 and then to Java 17, is a significant task for the organization. Q Developer's ability to facilitate these upgrades with fewer engineers is seen as a major benefit, helping NAB manage its extensive application portfolio more efficiently.

The success of Q Developer at NAB underscores the potential of AI tools in transforming software development processes. By automating routine tasks and providing intelligent code suggestions, Q Developer enables engineers to focus on more complex and creative aspects of their work. This not only boosts productivity but also enhances the overall quality of the software being developed.

The journey from a small-scale pilot to widespread adoption of Q Developer at NAB illustrates the bank's commitment to leveraging advanced technology to drive innovation and efficiency. By continuously refining and expanding the capabilities of Q Developer, NAB aims to maintain its competitive edge in the financial services sector. The bank’s experience also serves as a valuable case study for other organizations considering the adoption of AI tools in their development workflows.

In conclusion, NAB’s rapid scaling of Amazon Q Developer represents a significant advancement in its approach to software development. By integrating this AI-powered coding assistant into its processes, NAB has not only enhanced productivity but also improved the quality of its software. The bank's focus on developer happiness and the strategic use of technology to address complex challenges exemplify a forward-thinking approach to innovation in the financial sector. As NAB continues to refine its use of Q Developer, it is likely to set new benchmarks for efficiency and quality in software development, paving the way for other organizations to follow suit.