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.

Most organizations are experimenting with AI.But far fewer are figuring out how to turn those experiments into enterprise solutions that deliver real business value.In this episode of Designed to Accelerate, hosts Clay Richardson and Steph Louis sit down with Steve Bixby (SVP of Product Engineering at Pega) to explore what it actually takes to move from AI experimentation to enterprise-scale solutions.The conversation wrestles with challenges that keep organizations focused on low-hanging-fruit AI and solution use cases, why integration remains one of the biggest barriers to enterprise AI, and why the role of solution design will become more important in the age of AI-powered solutions.If you're experimenting with enterprise AI but struggling to move beyond prototypes, this episode explores the challenges of designing solutions that actually deliver operational value at scale.GuestSteve BixbySVP of Product Engineering, PegaAbout the PodcastDesigned to Accelerate, hosted by Clay Richardson and Steph Lewis, explores how leaders design enterprise solutions that deliver real value through workflow automation, AI, and intelligent platforms.

AI is transforming how enterprise software gets designed and built. But what happens when AI begins to collapse the lines that separate design, architecture, and build. In this episode, Clay Richardson and Steph Lewis sit down with Pega’s Chief Product Officer, Kerim Akgonul, to explore how AI is shifting the boundary between design and development.Using the analogy of collaboration across a new home architect and new home builder, this conversation unpacks:

• Why design is starting to feel like build
• How AI is collapsing traditional role boundaries
• The rise of the “solution designer”
• Why speed without guardrails creates technical debt
• And what high-fidelity design really means in an AI-first world

AI can generate workflows, screens, and prototypes in seconds. But acceleration doesn’t eliminate the need for architectural clarity.This conversation explores what enterprise teams must rethink as AI reshapes modern software delivery.