How Atlassian Revolutionized Software Development with AI: 45% Faster PR Cycles

Update The Revolution of Code Reviews at Atlassian Atlassian faced a pressing challenge: its median pull request (PR) review time had ballooned to over three days, leaving developers in limbo as they awaited review comments, often for a significant 18 hours. This delay not only hampered productivity but also stunted innovation, especially given the accelerated pace of coding in today's tech landscape. The bottleneck became evident—despite the increase in code generation, the number of engineers available for reviews remained fixed. To tackle this, Atlassian’s Developer AI team introduced Rovo Dev, a cutting-edge AI agent designed to streamline this crucial process. How Rovo Dev Transformed the Review Process Rovo Dev's implementation was nothing short of revolutionary. By leveraging advanced large language models (LLMs), Rovo Dev provides immediate feedback on code quality, efficiently enforcing engineering standards and ensuring PRs align with the relevant acceptance criteria tracked in Jira. With Rovo Dev automating the first round of reviews, Atlassian saw an impressive 45% reduction in PR cycle time—translating to more than a full day off the review process. The Advantages of Instant Feedback One of the most significant hurdles was the waiting time for the first code review comment, which contributed to an average of 26% of the total PR cycle time. With Rovo Dev, this wait was eliminated. The AI quickly identifies common issues such as typos, logic errors, and anti-patterns, allowing engineers to make corrections in real-time without the lengthy back-and-forth typical of manual reviews. Enforcing Standards to Improve Quality Beyond just speeding up reviews, Rovo Dev helps maintain consistent coding practices by embedding company-specific engineering standards into the review process. This integration not only enhances code quality but also aligns coding practices with organizational expectations—eliminating confusion and improving overall team cohesion. As the AI automatically checks PRs against established standards found in Confluence, developers can focus more on the value they are adding rather than getting bogged down by procedural errors. A Future Powered by AI and Continuous Improvement The positive impacts of Rovo Dev extend beyond just time saved. It has notably accelerated the onboarding process for new engineers, with those utilizing Rovo Dev merging their first PR five days faster than their peers. As Atlassian looks forward, the company plans to enhance Rovo Dev further by expanding its feature set to cover even more stages in the software development lifecycle. Rovo Dev signifies a remarkable shift towards AI-driven processes that promise not only efficiency but sustained quality in code development. Conclusion As software development actions shift towards more automated approaches, tools like Rovo Dev are paving the way for streamlined workflows without compromising on quality. The Atlassian team’s proactive embrace of AI illustrates a roadmap for others in the industry. By adopting such innovations, organizations can mitigate bottlenecks, elevate engineering standards, and foster an environment where developers’re actively engaged in creative problem-solving rather than administrative tasks.