Perspective1 min read
From Operating to Orchestrating
We're moving from clicking through software to telling agents what needs to happen and how.
Software is moving from something we operate to something we orchestrate.
Applications → Capabilities
Software becomes something agents can call when they need it, rather than a destination people have to navigate.
UI → API
As agents interact directly with applications, machine interfaces, interoperability, and permissions become as important as the screens we design for people.
Command → Control
People spend less time working through software step by step and more time defining objectives, setting constraints, and making decisions where judgment matters.
The interesting part is that these shifts compound. When software becomes callable, interfaces become less of a bottleneck. When agents can work across systems, workflows begin to change. And when more execution can be delegated, the human role shifts toward direction, judgment, and accountability.
But autonomy creates a new challenge: how do you ensure agents build within the system your organization has established, rather than inventing their own rules every time? That’s where I think design systems become much more interesting. Not just as libraries of components for people to use, but as structured, machine-readable context that agents can understand and build from.
That’s a big part of what we’re exploring with Handoff. As software shifts from being operated to being orchestrated, the systems that preserve how things should be built become increasingly important. We're not just making software easier to use. We're changing what it means to use software at all.