AI & Vibe Code Software

Turning vibes into viable.

The reality of AI in software development

Let's start by pointing out the obvious: AI has very much changed how software can be created, spitting out code for mammoth sized systems at an incredible speed that makes developers around the world look on in awe.

Now let's point out something that might not yet be too obvious: Faster development doesn't automatically mean better software, in fact, the easier it becomes to create something that looks finished, the easier it becomes to overlook whatever needs to happen before it's ready to be used.

Whether you've already got an AI built application, inherited a codebase you didn't create, have an AI generated prototype that needs turning into a proper product or simply want an independent opinion on software that's being developed using AI, we can help you understand what you've got and what your options are going forward.

So, what's the problem with AI?

Well, it's not actually AI...rather, it's using AI without understanding the wider implications and indeed, what sits behind the code.

You may already be aware that AI can generate surprisingly, sophisticated code in an even more surprisingly short amount of time. It can also make it look incredibly easy to create something that looks finished, way before you'd ever want to let it loose and into production. This isn't necessarily because of the code itself, it's everything around it.

Regardless of how great your prompt is, AI does not understand your business. It doesn't automatically understand your processes and why they need to be that way. It doesn't grasp why your database is structured the way it is, what happens when 10,000 users access the system at once, whether sensitive information is properly protected or what needs to happen when something inevitably goes wrong.

Nor does it have the ability to engage in proper discovery planning, architecture, testing and code reviews - all critical components of any bespoke software development project.

But, it works?

Working and being production ready are two very different things indeed. Whilst everything may look great on the surface, here are some of the realities of what may be going on underneath the seemingly polished outside:

So, what does that mean in terms of your options?

Well, if you come to us with an AI generated codebase and ask us whether it's production ready, you'll get one of three answers:

1) It's a good start, but X, Y and Z need addressing before this is deployed.

2) We will not build on top of this codebase and we'd strongly urge you not to try to either.

3) It looks pretty robust to us...carry on. 

Whilst we haven't yet used answer number three, we know it's coming and that's when things will start to get really interesting.

What is vibe coding?

In short, vibe coding is software development by 'prompt' rather than 'process'.

The term is generally used to describe building software by telling an AI what you want in plain old English (or whatever other natural language you might speak), letting it generate the code, prompting it to make changes based on your requirements until such a point where you appear to have the result you want. What's missing from this interaction is the small matter of the whole development process...

The difference between AI assisted development and vibe coding

We use AI tools as do many professional developers.

Using AI to help write a function, explain unfamiliar code, generate a test or speed up repetitive development work is very different from handing an AI a business idea and asking it to build the full solution without human context, proper planning or engineering oversight.

Using AI does not remove the critical need for: 

Vibe coding removes all thinking from the process and that's really problematic, even if it doesn't appear to be initially.

AI is very good at responding to the problem immediately in front of it.

However, it doesn't know that the solution it's suggesting today is going to cause a problem six months from now. Instead, it will probably:

Add another feature.

Prompt a fix.

Add an integration.

Prompt another fix.

Change how users log in.

Prompt another fix.

Before you know it, you've got a software system that is Frankensteined together by a growing collection of perfectly reasonable looking decisions that have not been considered holistically and therein lies the problem. The components of a software system are meant to work together, they all have a purpose and changes to one, will impact another.

Vibe coding has it's place

All that being said, vibe coding is not inherently bad. In fact, it can be incredibly useful and can still very much help to speed up the development process. 

For no commitment experimentation, proof of concepts, early MVPs or prototypes it's pretty much the perfect tool as it creates something and it creates it quickly.

If this something proves itself to be viable, then it needs more than just good vibes...it needs to be engineered.

Where we can help

Depending on which camp you're in - Already got some AI generated software | Thinking about building something with AI | Or just wondering whether AI could actually do something useful for your business - we can support you with the niche, technical knowledge required to ensure it's a worthy investment of your time and doesn't end in disaster.

AI & software assessments

Ok, so someone has built your software using AI. Can you rely on it?

We can assess the software, looking at areas including:

We'll provide you with a comprehensive assessment outlining any areas of concern and how they can be remediated as well as any opportunities for improvement based on the context of your business and what you're actually trying to achieve both in the short and long term.

AI strategy & consultancy

Sometimes AI makes a lot of sense. Sometimes it doesn't. If you need to make a process quicker, reduce those repetitive administrative tasks that swallow up valuable time or get more useful information from the data you already have, then it's worth exploring all of your options rather than just jumping straight to AI.

We can help you identify where AI might genuinely add value to your business and where it's probably wise to look at alternative solutions for things like:

We'll highlight areas where AI might be worth exploring further and provide you with non AI alternative options so you can make an informed decision.

Prototype to production

If you're in the fortunate position of having a solid, AI generated prototype that you're ready to turn into production ready software, we can assess what needs to happen before it can be trusted with real users, real data and real business processes.

This might look something like:

Vibe code remediation

If you're in the unfortunate position of already having discovered your vibe coded software isn't quite as robust as you'd hoped, hope is not lost - let us help you work out what needs to happen next.

It might be a case of fixing specific problems, restructuring parts of the software or, where the foundations simply aren't suitable, we'll rebuild the whole thing...properly!

Now, there's much to discuss on what might be involved in your vibe code remediation and frankly, it needs a section for itself.

AI integration

AI powered platforms can be incredibly useful for activities right across the business...providing they work with the rest of your business software that is.

You may be looking to incorporate an AI chatbot into your website, introduce an AI powered customer support tool, use AI to search and analyse business information or connect an AI platform to your existing systems for another reason and we can help you make it happen in a fully informed way.

We can assess your requirements, establish what's possible, highlight and mitigate any risks and identify the best way to integrate the platform with your existing software, databases and workflows.

This might include:

Where an integration is viable, we can design and build it for you, helping your chosen AI platform work with the systems and processes that are already incorporated into your daily operations.

You've already vibe coded your own software, now what?

Don't panic. Don't delete it. And for goodness sake, don't give it any more prompts.

Chances are, there's something that can be salvaged from your vibe coded software and it may be more than you think. Let's take a closer look at some of the options you may have:

Keep it

Your AI software might be perfectly usable and the underlying architecture sound.

In that case, there's no reason to start again just because AI took the lead on creating it.

We can help you establish what's working, identify any risks and put sensible development practices around it so you can continue building with confidence.

Fix it

Perhaps your software works but there are areas that need attention before it's used in the real world.

This might be security vulnerabilities, poor database design, performance issues, duplicated or bloated code, inadequate testing or an architecture that is going to cause problems as the software expands. 

We'll identify the issues and help you prioritise what needs to be fixed to get your software into production ready status.

Rebuild it

Sometimes, vibe coded software is just not worth building on.

If it has fundamental architectural, technical or security problems, trying to resolve them might be expensive, time consuming and ultimately, fruitless. In these cases, rebuilding the software from scratch may prove to be a better investment of time and money.

However, we can use what you've already learned from the original software - including what worked, what didn't and what you're actually trying to achieve - rather than starting from a blank canvas.

Retire it

And yes, sometimes the answer is to simply down tools and forget you ever started.

If the software doesn't solve the problem you thought it would, isn't commercially viable or would take up too much of your time trying to keep on top of it, then continuing to throw money at it doesn't make much sense.

We won't be shy about telling you that.

AI as a tool in bespoke software development

AI has transformed the way software developers work and we firmly think it's for the better. It can help us work faster, explore potential solutions quickly, understand unfamiliar code structure, generate repetitive code and create testing schedules a lot faster than our humans can. In short, when used properly, it can remove a lot of the tedious parts of development.

However, there is a very important distinction between using AI to assist in building software and letting AI decide how software should be built. AI is a tool, it is not an architect and it cannot do 'architect things' including:

Turn raw intent into structured requirements

AI cannot fully grasp the qualitative context of your unique goals, for your unique business. Much less, turn them into a structured set of requirements that will actually achieve these goals.

Plan the architecture based on logic

AI lacks the human intuition, empathy and adaptability needed to balance shifting stakeholder needs and the subjective trade offs often required.

Design a solid data and storage strategy

AI cannot determine what information you need to be stored, where it should live and who should have access to it because navigating complex data privacy laws, proprietary business risks and sensitive user trust requires nuanced human judgement rather than algorithmic rules.

Architect third party and legacy integrations

AI cannot facilitate complex integrations between other systems because navigating undocumented legacy quirks, understanding vendor protocols and anticipating real world breaking changes requires the sort of hands on engineering experience and human collaboration that AI simply does not have.

Validate software behaviour through comprehensive testing

AI is unable to verify that software works under real world conditions because it doesn't live in the 'real world'. It has no ability to anticipate the chaotic, unpredictable ways that humans interact with software nor can it replicate the level of exploratory testing that is needed to unearth edge cases and unexpected user behaviour.

Manage deployment, live support & disaster recovery

AI does not have the ability to safely or sensibly manage how a live system transitions into production, gets monitored and recovers from critical failures. It cannot co-ordinate deployments across multiple departments, triage real time production anomalies or manage high stakes rollback plans should things go wrong. This requires immediate human accountability and critical decision making under pressure.

AI is the paintbrush, the human is the artist.

Now, we've discussed what AI can't be trusted to do, let's take a look at where it can really make an impact and how that benefits you:

Faster prototyping: We can turn ideas and concepts into working prototypes much faster which helps you validate an idea sooner and move towards a finished product faster.

Less repetitive development work: When we have AI helping with routine coding and other repetitive tasks, our developers can spend more of their time on the work that requires their experience and judgement. This can make development more efficient and help us deliver more within the same budget.

Quicker investigations: AI can help us analyse errors, unfamiliar code and potential solutions much quicker than if it were purely manual. That means less development time spent diagnosing problems and potentially lower costs for you.

More comprehensive testing: Whilst AI can't anticipate the more complex testing requirements, it's very good at writing repetitive test cases and covering common scenarios. This allows our developers to test more of the application, more quickly and thus, helping identify issues earlier and reduce the time and cost of fixing them later.

Thorough documentation: Documentation can take up a significant amount of developers' time, especially for more complex systems but it is not something that should ever be foregone because without it, you'll have a real problem if you ever need to move to a new development team. AI can help produce and maintain technical documentation, code comments and other supporting information.

More efficient code reviews: AI can act as an additional pair of eyes on code, helping identify potential issues, inconsistencies or areas that warrant further investigation by a human. It doesn't replace our developers' code reviews, but it can help them uncover things more efficiently.

Ultimately, the biggest benefit of all is that we're able to spend less development time on repetitive or time consuming tasks and more on the things that require our very human brains. It means you getting more functionality, better testing and greater attention to the important parts of your project within the same budget. 

Why Cool Code Company?

In short, because we won't recommend AI just because it's AI. In fact, we won't recommend anything just because. 

We start AI related projects as we start all of our projects: understanding your business, your current environment and what you want to achieve.

Let's take a look at some other reasons we may just be the perfect partner for your next AI project:

We understand software, not just AI

AI is not particularly useful when it's used in isolation. If you're looking at introducing AI to your existing business environment, it needs to work with your software, databases, APIs, workflows and people. 

Our extensive experience in building bespoke software allows us to consider the full picture when assessing the best solutions for your particular business.

We genuinely understand that every business is unique

There is no universal AI solution that will work for all businesses, nor is there a universal bespoke software solution that will work for all businesses. We approach our projects as such and tailor all of our engagements based on your specific circumstances.

We endeavour to provide you with options

Where possible, we will always provide you with as many options as we can. We work with a large range of technologies and we are not wedded to any particular one of them.

If there are a number of ways to achieve your goals, we'll tell you. There might be a solution using AI, a solution that doesn't use AI or a simple change to a process you're already using. You can assess which option is right for you based on the parameters that are important.

We speak your language

When we recommend solutions, we will tell you why. We don't just expect you to trust us blindly, you'll know what the technology is doing, what information it needs, how it fits into your existing systems and what the potential risks and limitations are.

We do this in a way that's understandable to you. If you have a development background, great - we'll, wear our technical hats. If you've never worked with a software system in your life - much less AI - also great, we'll wear our plain English hats.

We'll tell you when we don't know

Unfortunately, we don't know everything - and we will never will. Technology changes so fast, AI even more so and whilst we are absolutely committed to constantly refining and expanding the technologies we work with to best suit our clients, sometimes, we just won't have the answers.

We also won't pretend to have them before going away to read a couple of articles, then professing to be experts. That's not in your best interests and it's not in ours.

We understand 'other systems'

The overwhelming majority of software projects - regardless of whether AI is involved or not - have some sort of dependency on another system. This might be a bespoke legacy system that you can't (or won't get rid of), third party systems that allow you to access their services or even a bunch of spreadsheets that act as your current data repository.

The important thing is, we've worked with them all and we understand the complexities in trying to integrate with them - including integrating AI. We can identify when integration is going to cause problems, where there are likely to be limitations and what needs to be done to overcome them.

We don't disappear once the solution is built

Unlike pure AI, we'll be around to manage deployment, help get it into your live environment, ensure your staff know what they're doing and provide ongoing support once it's there.

We can maintain your software and ensure it receives regular updates and maintenance to keep it in tip top shape.

How it works

Here's a quick overview of what you can expect when you engage with us on an AI related project:

Show us what you've got

We'll look at the software, prototype, codebase or project you're working with and more importantly, understand what it's supposed to achieve.

You don't need to know whether the architecture is right, whether the code is maintainable or whether AI has made a mess of things. It's our job to tell you that.

We'll assess it

We'll get into the detail and work out how far it goes towards achieving the outcomes you want to see. Depending on the project and your intentions, we might look at the architecture, code quality, database, security, integrations, testing, performance, scalability or deployment setup.

We'll identify what's working, what isn't and where there are going to be potential problems.

We give it to you straight

We'll tell you what we've found and we won't beat around the bush. If you're already sitting on the perfect software solution to your problems, we'll celebrate with you. If you're sitting on a technical car crash waiting to happen, we'll commiserate with you. If you're throwing money at a solution that is realistically never going to pay off or do what you want it to do, we'll advise you to cut your losses.

Options, options, options

As we've already mentioned, we'll provide you with as many options as possible (providing you want them of course) so you can weigh up the pros, cons, costs and risks and decide which route makes the most sense for your business.

You might be able to carry on with what you've got. You might want to fix a few things first. Your prototype might need some serious work before it's ready for production. You might be better off replacing part of it rather than the whole thing. Or, in some cases, starting again from scratch might actually be the most sensible option.

Over to you

Now you have the facts and understand the options available, it's over to you to decide how to move forward.

If there's work to be carried out - we can do it - whether it's remediation, taking a prototype into production, integrating AI into an existing system or rebuilding the software properly.

We build, deploy and support

If you do decide to proceed, we move into development with the full and clear understanding of what we're trying to achieve.

We'll build, test and deploy the solution, then remain available to support, maintain and develop it as your requirements change.

What next?

You don't need to have all the answers before you talk to us, that's part of what we offer!

Whether you've already built something with AI, are considering using it, or simply want to understand what's possible, simply tell us what you're trying to achieve and we'll work with you to find the best way to get there.

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