PALO IT has announced the results of a successful collaboration with Singapore Airlines (SIA) to test an AI-driven software engineering approach within one of the airline’s digital product squads. The proof of concept (PoC) involved PALO IT’s Gen-e2 methodology and demonstrated notable productivity gains, prompting plans to expand the initiative across more IT teams at SIA.
The Gen-e2 approach, developed by PALO IT, rethinks traditional enterprise software development by embedding generative AI throughout the entire project workflow. Rather than enhancing existing processes with AI tools, Gen-e2 treats AI as the foundation of the development process. At the centre of this methodology is GitHub Copilot, which acts as an AI-powered programming assistant integrated across every stage of development.
During the PoC, the squad was tasked with creating a new website feature. With GitHub Copilot contributing a substantial portion of the code, the feature was ready for user acceptance testing within five weeks—nearly half the time initially forecasted using traditional development methods. The team also experienced a sharp rise in build success rates, exceeding 90% just three weeks into the project.
Measurable benefits and positive team response
Alongside faster development timelines, the digital squad also recorded increased code coverage and stronger build stability at earlier stages of the project. Weekly surveys conducted during the PoC indicated a positive team sentiment towards the Gen-e2 methodology, with many developers noting improvements in software engineering practices.
Visual metrics supported these perceptions. A burn-up chart comparing the Gen-e2 timeline to the traditional nine-week forecast showed a clear acceleration in feature development. Meanwhile, build success rates rose steeply during the first half of the PoC, outperforming typical rates under conventional approaches.
PALO IT stated that these gains highlight not only the effectiveness of generative AI in development, but also the ease with which teams can adopt such methods. The company plans to work closely with SIA on scaling the Gen-e2 methodology across more teams.
Expanding partnerships to drive innovation
The success of this initiative follows a two-year partnership between PALO IT and GitHub, focused on exploring and advancing the role of AI in software development through Copilot.
“Strategic partnerships are key as we extend the reach of GitHub’s Copilot-powered platform,” said Sharryn Napier, Vice President, APAC at GitHub. “We’re excited to deepen our partnership with PALO IT and enable more companies to unlock innovation at scale through AI-driven software development, just as we’ve seen with Singapore Airlines.”
The project underscores growing interest in generative AI’s potential to transform how enterprise-level software is built, not just by automating tasks, but by reshaping entire workflows.
