Create a 'Design Buddy' for Better Code

~430 Words | ~2min Read

AI lets a solo developer do the work of a team. But it doesn’t let you overcome the human limit of perspective. You still have one mind, and when you’re designing a solution, you’re often not looking at options. You’re thinking about how you would solve the problem. At least, that’s true for me.

Here’s what typically happens: You refine requirements, maybe capture some test cases. Many developers jump straight into implementation from there. But there’s a step between requirements and implementation that is usually implicit. You make design decisions about scalability, security, and adaptability. These sit at the interface between business requirements and technical limitations.

The problem? When you’re focused on your implementation approach, you stop considering alternative options. You may not remember all your ADRs, while designing a new section. This gap is where architectural drift enters, even with the best intentions.

But here, AI can help act as a counter balance. Proper use can even help us to avoid the ‘AI slop’! Just help the human carefully consider what they’ll build before they build it! AI can help everyone on your team to critically evaluate their design as though they had the best designer on your team sitting with them to do it! All you have to do, is teach it how.

Capture a ‘Design Buddy’ persona/prompt to teach the AI the approach you want to take. Start with your team’s design expertise. What perspectives, approaches, and patterns of evaluation lead to better design? Record the process you’d want followed every time. Consider these steps for example:

• Review requirements and discover relevant ADRs and architecture docs
• Ask clarifying questions when you’re in solutioning mode
• Push back respectfully when there might be better approaches
• Suggest alternatives you haven’t considered
• Evaluate designs against your documented standards

The key is making explicit what’s usually implicit. Your team has an approach to design, whether you’ve written it down or not. The Design Buddy helps formalize that approach and makes it available to everyone. They just need to remember to use it.

The real value comes from using Design Buddy BEFORE you start writing software. Let the AI read all your documentation, so you can focus on solving the problem. That is really where humans should focus anyway. Use the AI to augment the human, not replace them.

Your designs will be higher quality and more consistent. They’ll represent the best you’re capable of, rather than just the average you’re capable of. That’s the goal: elevate every design decision closer to the level of your team’s best thinking.