A Russian proverb cautions: No one can teach. Only the student can learn.

Like most Eastern cliches, this one strikes a harsh tone, but the idea is to challenge our presumption that outsiders can change how we think. A related truism notes: The teacher will appear when the student is ready. Both remind us of the need to keep an open mind.

That quality is especially important these days as GenAI turns the whole world topsy-turvy. What can it do? What can’t it do? Most people, and organizations, are feverishly trying to figure out some reasonable answers to those questions right now.

Portuguese software outfit OutSystems is no exception. A pioneer in “low-code” software platforms, the company has made a name for itself all around the world, especially in Europe and Asia Pacific, though they’re making serious inroads in the Americas as well.

The term “low-code” implies a graphical interface for building applications, as opposed to the old-fashioned paradigm of hacking out code one line at a time. Who doesn’t like a nice Graphical User Interface (GUI) for building applications, or managing the business?

The challenge has historically been a level of inefficiency. Industry Analyst Mark Madsen of ThirdNature once noted: “A human can always write tighter code than a machine.” That assertion still holds true today, though perhaps we’re closing the gap.

The raw processing power of today’s information systems allows for leeway in that regard. With hyperscalers dominating the IT landscape, it’s easy to see that a little extra code probably won’t hurt anyone, so long as the appropriate job gets done in a timely fashion.

The emphasis must focus on innovation. How can the code you write help the business? OutSystems Founder and CEO, Paulo Rosado, seems to appreciate this reality quite deeply. “Everyone is an innovator,” he declared at the company’s ONE Conference yesterday!

What an awesome mantra! You can see why Rosado is revered by so many employees and customers of OutSystems. He effuses enthusiasm and excitement for the business of innovation, and that’s exactly what a low-code platform should enable.

The big news at this year’s show? The launch of Mentor, formerly Project Morpheus. And if you guessed that GenAI is a big part of this offering, you are correct! Mentor is basically the co-pilot for OutSystems, and it was demonstrated before a crowd of thousands.

During the demo, a fearless Solutions Architect named Sezen de Bruin did something truly amazing: She took a simple text-based requirements document, then loaded it into the OutSystems platform, and… voila! Out came a pro forma application, just like that!

Talk about Generative AI! The fact that you can take a document and load it into a platform, then auto-magically crank out a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), is outstanding. And the OutSystems tech did something even more remarkable: it found, and fixed, a big error!

The application they created was for an automotive use case, and there were several possible outcomes. But the requirements document failed to mention one key potential option: rejection! So the platform figured that out, and created it, calling it a Cancellation.

As a veteran of the enterprise software industry, with decades of experience covering the most innovative players in a vast and quickly evolving world, I must say: That was darn impressive! Just building the app was remarkable; but fixing it in real-time!? Wowzers!

Later, OutSystems CIO Tiago Azevedo mused about his mild frustration with naysayers who questioned what they saw, with some folks swearing it wasn’t possible; that the demo was canned. It wasn’t. “Stop saying that,” he joked! “It works! You just saw it!” Indeed, we did!

About Mentor

Mentor is more than just a code generator. It’s really an AI-powered digital worker designed to assist developers throughout the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC). In fact, OutSystems now touts the Generative Software Development Lifecycle, so GSDLC!

Mentor goes beyond simply speeding up coding; it helps developers design, build, deploy, and even monitor applications, all within the familiar, secure environment of OutSystems’ low-code platform. What sets it apart?

• Rapid Prototyping: Describe your app idea, and Mentor generates a functional prototype complete with a user interface, data model, and basic logic — in a fraction of the time it would take traditionally;

• AI-Assisted Development: Mentor provides intelligent suggestions and optimizations as you build, ensuring your application adheres to best practices for quality and security;

• AI Integration: incorporate AI agents into your apps, enabling features like natural language understanding without writing a line of code.

• Automated Code Review: Mentor acts as an ever-vigilant code reviewer, automatically identifying potential issues related to security, performance, and architecture.

Mentor represents a significant step forward in OutSystems’ overall AI strategy. It tackles the challenges often associated with AI in coding, such as “orphaned code” and maintainability issues. As such, it keeps the company in the limelight of modern app development.

By integrating AI within its low-code platform, OutSystems provides a controlled environment where developers can harness the power of AI without sacrificing code quality or increasing technical debt. That’s good news for everyone in business, from coders to users and beyond.

“We’re entering a new era of software development,”  remarked Rosado. “Mentor empowers developers to build high-quality applications faster than ever before, while maintaining rigorous standards for security and governance.”

Developers and IT professionals eager to explore this new frontier can ask to be part of the Mentor early access program. The full release, including the AI-powered app generation and editing features, is expected in early 2025.