Pega’s VP of Product Management on how AI is ending the sprint, and why product managers are building again.

In this episode of Designed to Accelerate, Steph Louis and I sit down with Drew Piekarski, Vice President of Product Management at Pega, to talk about how AI is changing the way software gets built, from the first idea to production.

Drew shares how Pega’s product teams have moved from traditional Scrum to what they call “agentic engineering.” Product managers now prototype ideas themselves instead of writing user stories, sit side by side with developers, and measure success by the value delivered, not by story points. He’s also candid about the risks: when teams move this fast, misalignment can send you off course “further, faster.”

We discuss:

- Why product managers are the real solution designers, and why “you’re not the project manager”

- Replacing specs and grooming sessions with AI-built prototypes developers can react to

- Moving from two-week sprints to a weekly, continuous way of working, and whether burn-down charts still matter

- Keeping humans accountable for AI-written code, and turning senior developers into “player coaches”

- How Pega’s structured platform makes AI agents more reliable

- Practical advice for leaders starting with agentic engineering: get started, set guardrails, experiment in safe zones

⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:56 Meet Drew Piekarski, VP Product Management at Pega
02:20 How AI is changing product management
05:36 What a product manager actuallyowns
08:52 “You’re not the project manager”
09:20 How PM and engineering work together now
11:12 Fewer ceremonies, faster feedback
13:30 Fixing the “death of a thousand cuts”
15:24 From Scrum to agentic engineering
16:48 The risk of going off course faster
18:40 Do burn-down charts go away?
20:04 Humans stay accountable for AI-written code
21:28 Which AI tools and agents Pega uses
23:20 Why Pega’s structure helps AI
25:40 How to get started with agentic engineering
29:00 Books and resources
30:20 Senior vs. junior developers and AI
34:00 Wrap-up

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About the Podcast
Designed to Accelerate, hosted by Clay Richardson andSteph Louis, explores how leaders design enterprise solutions that deliver real value through workflow automation, AI and intelligent platforms.

💬 Drew asked for your input: how is your team getting started with agentic engineering? Tell us in the comments or join the conversation here >.

#AgenticEngineering #ProductManagement #Pega #VibeCoding #EnterpriseAI

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• Why your title can stay the same while the tasks underneath it turn over overnight, and why that's more disruptive than a job disappearing
• Why "slapping AI on a title" or sprinkling a little AI skilling on top isn't enough, and what a real rethink of learning actually looks like
• The shift from rigorous certification to badging and "prove you can do it," and why passing a test was never the same as being able to do the job
• What grows in value as AI gets more capable: judgment, decision-making, facilitation, and the human context the tools still depend on — including the move from Business Architect to Solution Designer

Next Steps:📍 Join the next cohort of our Solution Design Accelerator Workshophttps://workshop.digitalfastforward.com📘 Request a complimentary copy of "The Ultimate Guide to Pega Value Acceleration"https://book.digitalfastforward.com

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We discuss:

• How AI tools like Pega Blueprint empower everyone to ideate, not just developers and architects
• Why Kenneth sees AI as a steady evolution rather than a disruption, even after 20 years in the field
• The difference between using AI at "design time" and "run time" and how a regulated bank got AI approved for design work
• Where the Solution Designer role is heading as ideation spreads from IT to the businessNext Steps:1. Join the next cohort of our Design Accelerator Workshop: https://workshop.digitalfastforward.com2. Request a complimentary copy of Clay's book, "The Ultimate Guide to Pega Value Acceleration": https://book.digitalfastforward.com

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Most conversations about AI and the Business Analyst role focus on one question:Will AI replace Business Analysts?That’s the wrong question.In this episode, we explore what’s actually changing—and why tools like Pega Blueprint are exposing a deeper shift in how value gets created.The real transformation isn’t about replacement.It’s about moving from:→ order-taking→ to value creationIn this conversation, Clay Richardson and Steph Louis sit down with Ben Baril (Senior Director, Solutions Consulting at Pega) to unpack:• Why Business Analysts are still optimizing for feasibility over value• How AI is lowering the barrier to designing and shaping solutions• What it means to evolve from BA to Solution Designer• The difference between “Dumb AI” and “Smart AI” for BAs• Why creativity and human judgment become more important—not lessWhether you call the role a Business Analyst or Business Architect, the shift is the same:👉 The value the role delivers is now front and center.

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