Services · Software Factory
Software Factory
A software factory turns requirements into shipped, tested software through the same stations and gates every time. Ours runs on AI agents, with independent review of every pull request and automated checks on every merge. It is how Code and Trust delivers client projects.
What is a software factory?
A software factory is a repeatable, automated pipeline that turns requirements into shipped, tested software. Instead of relying on one-off heroics, work moves through standard stations, from intake to build to review to deployment, and every change has to pass the same gates before it reaches users. The result is delivery you can predict and inspect.
Software factory: the government meaning and the AI meaning
Software factory has two common meanings. In government, it names a Department of Defense style delivery organization built around a DevSecOps pipeline and continuous authority to operate. In commercial software, it increasingly means an AI software factory, where AI agents do work at several stations of the pipeline while people set scope and own the risk.
| Meaning | How it works | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Government software factory | A DevSecOps pipeline and the teams around it, built so security checks run inside the pipeline and approved software can keep shipping under a continuous authority to operate. | Defense and federal programs, such as the Air Force's Kessel Run and Platform One and the Army Software Factory. |
| AI software factory | A delivery pipeline where AI agents do the work at several stations, while people set the scope and own the risk of what ships. | Teams that want a repeatable path from a reported problem to tested, deployed software. |
DoD software factories
The US Department of Defense popularized the term's current use. Programs such as the Air Force's Kessel Run and Platform One and the Army Software Factory bring developers, security, and operations together around a DevSecOps pipeline. Security and compliance checks run inside that pipeline, which is what lets software keep shipping under a continuous authority to operate (continuous ATO) instead of waiting on a separate approval for every release. Those are government programs, and Code and Trust is not affiliated with them. For our own federal work, see federal software development.
What is an AI software factory?
An AI software factory is a software factory where AI agents do the work at several stations: shaping a request into a ready issue, writing the code, and reviewing it. People stay in charge of the parts that carry consequences. They set the scope, decide what gets built, and own the risk of what ships to production.
How our software factory works
Our software factory has four stations. An AI agent turns each request into a ready GitHub issue, coding agents build it and open pull requests, a reviewer that did not write the code reviews every pull request, and merging to main runs the automated checks, applies migrations, and deploys. Merge approval is agreed per engagement.
Intake
An AI agent interviews whoever reported the problem or request and turns it into a ready GitHub issue, so the work starts from a clear definition of done.
Build
Coding agents implement the issues and open pull requests against the codebase.
Independent review
Every pull request is reviewed by a reviewer that did not write it, before it can merge.
Gates and deploy
Merging to main runs the automated checks, applies database migrations, and deploys automatically. Nobody deploys to production by hand. Whether a person approves each merge is agreed per engagement, because it depends on the client and the project.
Is the software factory something you buy?
The software factory is not a separate product you buy. It is how Code and Trust delivers client projects, so every software build, and every retainer that keeps a product moving, runs through the same stations. To use it, you hire us for the work itself: a new product, a feature roadmap, or an existing codebase that needs to keep moving.
The usual way in is custom software development. If you want AI agents running inside your own business rather than in our delivery pipeline, that is our agent factory, and AI implementation covers putting AI to work in the systems you already run.
Software factory: common questions
Software factory questions usually come down to what the term means, how it relates to DevSecOps, where AI agents fit, and whether people still review the code. The short version: it is a repeatable delivery pipeline, ours uses AI agents with independent review of every pull request, and it is how we deliver client work.
What is a software factory?
A software factory is a repeatable, automated pipeline that turns requirements into shipped, tested software. Work moves through standard stations, such as intake, build, review, and deployment, and has to pass the same gates every time, so delivery depends on the process rather than on one-off heroics.
Is a software factory the same as DevSecOps?
Not exactly. DevSecOps is the practice of building security and operations into every step of development. A software factory is the organization and pipeline that puts that practice to work. Government software factories, such as those run by the US Department of Defense, are built around DevSecOps pipelines, but the term covers the whole delivery system, not just the tooling.
What is an AI software factory?
An AI software factory is a software factory where AI agents do the work at several of the stations: turning a request into a ready issue, writing the code, and reviewing it. People still set the scope, decide what gets built, and own the risk of what ships.
Is every change reviewed before it merges?
Every pull request in our software factory is reviewed by a reviewer that did not write it, before it can merge, and every merge has to pass the automated checks. Whether a person approves each merge is agreed per engagement, because it depends on the client and the project. We settle that with you before the work starts.
Can you build our product this way?
Yes. The software factory is how Code and Trust delivers client projects, not a separate product you buy. If you hire us to build custom software or to keep an existing product moving on a retainer, the work runs through the same intake, build, review, and deployment stations.
How much does it cost?
There is no separate charge for the software factory, because it is how we deliver the work. Fixed-price builds start from $15,000, and retainers start from $1,750/month. Most large builds are fixed-price, with a monthly retainer after launch. The price is agreed in writing before the work starts.
Related services
Related services are where the software factory gets put to work. Custom software development is the usual way in. The agent factory builds AI agents for your own operations, AI implementation fits AI into the systems you already run, and federal software development covers government buyers.
Have a project or a product that needs to keep shipping?
Tell us what you want built, or what your current software needs next. We will tell you whether it fits a fixed-price build or a retainer, and how it would run through our software factory.