What If The Real Key To AI Coding Is Old-Fashioned & Boring?

“The key to AI-assisted and agentic software development is <insert thing you were selling before>” The Big Design Up-Front folks say the key is better specifications. The plan-driven folks say it’s better plans. The architects say it’s better architecture. The product managers say it’s better product management. The command-and-control folks say it’s better agent orchestration. The test automators say it’s better test suites. The folks selling static analysis tools say it’s better automated code reviews. The folks selling the models say… well, we know what they say. MORE TOKENS!!! It’s true that I’m also claiming that the key to AI-assisted software development is something I just happen to specialise in – development practices that work in small batches and rapid feedback loops. The difference is that the data’s led me back here, just like it led me to it in the first place. The only thing that AI code generation has really changed is the speed at which code’s generated and the…