Anthony KanBuilding with AI

What AI coding taught me.

For a first idea, or a project that is becoming harder to change. Find a question you recognise and start there.

Start wherever a question feels familiar. The order is a guide, and each note can be read on its own.

20 notes

Getting started

For your first tools: find a purpose, care for people’s work and learn what to check. No programming background assumed.

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  1. My Next Step · About 2 min

    Before the first prompt

    Who is the tool for, and what would count as helping them?

  2. My Next Step · About 2 min

    Keep the person in view when the conversation changes

    A short project foundation helps a small task retain its purpose.

  3. InkSpire · About 4 min

    AI can build features faster than you can build a product

    What InkSpire taught me about the distance between adding a feature and creating a coherent experience.

  4. My Next Step · About 2 min

    Sometimes the improvement is one less screen

    Attaching a document should not become a separate job.

  5. My Next Step · About 2 min

    Enough to save does not mean finished speaking

    The difference between a valid record and a person choosing to stop.

  6. My Next Step · About 3 min

    AI should help people find their evidence, not invent their story

    Why My Next Step puts a person’s actual experience before a polished application.

  7. Fiction Studio · About 3 min

    Sometimes the best AI feature is optional

    Fiction Studio, Ray and a writer’s authority over their own work.

  8. LifeInUK · About 2 min

    A translation should help someone take the next step

    LifeInUK and this site reminded me that having two languages is only the beginning.

  9. InkSpire · About 2 min

    “Saved” has to mean the words you can see

    A slow-save scenario in InkSpire revealed a small detail with a large effect on trust.

  10. InkSpire · About 2 min

    An AI attempt can fail without losing the person’s work

    InkSpire taught me to design the route back, as carefully as the route forward.

  11. InkSpire · About 2 min

    What if the same request happens twice?

    A slow response is not proof that nothing happened.

  12. My Next Step · About 2 min

    A useful reply should survive harmless format changes

    Where an AI response can be flexible, and where checks must stay firm.

  13. Fiction Studio · About 2 min

    A writer should not have to manage a recovery system

    Fiction Studio’s writing protection became a lesson in speaking the writer’s language.

  14. My Next Step · About 2 min

    Only change what the person meant to change

    A tidy import preview is not the whole record.

  15. My Next Step · About 2 min

    Try the app without your familiar starting point

    An empty account and a clean installation reveal different gaps.

  16. Across projects · About 2 min

    Try the download on a real phone

    A narrow preview cannot reproduce every browser boundary.

  17. J_OS · About 2 min

    Let another pair of eyes question the work

    Self-checking helps; a fresh review asks different questions.

  18. J_OS · About 2 min

    Choose capacity for the work that remains

    A clear implementation can still contain a difficult decision.

  19. Nottinghamshire Jobs · About 4 min

    Sometimes the right product has no AI button

    Nottinghamshire Jobs and the value of making a small, useful thing.

  20. J_OS · About 2 min

    You can begin without understanding everything

    A way to keep learning without handing over your judgement.

11 notes

When the project grows

For working apps that are getting harder to change: code boundaries, performance, shared behaviour and evidence you can inspect. Technical terms and examples stay where they help.

Back to reading paths ↑

  1. Fiction Studio · About 2 min

    Move one responsibility out of the large file

    A bounded extraction is easier to understand than a simultaneous redesign.

  2. My Next Step · About 2 min

    Different screens should not invent saving again

    Consolidate common mechanics without hiding important domain differences.

  3. My Next Step · About 2 min

    Help the design stay coherent across changes

    Shared tokens, semantic components and checks each do a different job.

  4. My Next Step · About 2 min

    Build the lookup once, before the loop

    How repeated full-list scans turn a small catalogue into expensive work.

  5. My Next Step · About 2 min

    Count the reads behind one screen

    Reduce repeated queries while preserving exactly whose data is selected.

  6. Nottinghamshire Jobs · About 2 min

    When two apps share data, make the contract visible

    Allow known optional fields without guessing around a broken schema.

  7. My Next Step · About 2 min

    Check what actually reaches the production bundle

    A source import is a clue; the emitted build is the evidence.

  8. My Next Step · About 2 min

    Passing tests still leave a screen to try

    DOM tests, rendered browsers and real devices answer different questions.

  9. My Next Step · About 2 min

    Give an audit room to observe before repairing

    Separate findings from fixes, and uncertainty from confirmed defects.

  10. J_OS · About 3 min

    Better agents changed the rules I needed.

    What I learned from making J_OS lighter without throwing away the lessons that kept the work grounded.

  11. J_OS · About 2 min

    The board worked. I still stopped using it.

    J_OS Desk taught me that a working feature and a useful working habit are different things.

These are edited reflections and technical explanations. Examples are identified where illustrative; source code shows implementation, not public availability or measured user outcomes.