Using AI in Your Daily Dev Workflow
AI does not replace engineering judgment. It speeds up the time between being stuck and finding solutions.
Stop asking AI to "make code better." Use these five practical methods instead.
- Find performance bottlenecks Use AI to create checklists for your audits. Ask for specific measurements like:
- Database call counts
- Network waterfalls
- Bundle sizes
- RUM and server timings
- Lighthouse scores
- Generate unexpected test cases Give an AI a function signature or a spec. Ask for:
- Boundary cases
- Strange inputs
- Race conditions
- Property-based testing ideas Turn these suggestions into real tests to improve reliability.
- Refactor with constraints Vague prompts lead to bad code. Use specific instructions:
- "Reduce cyclomatic complexity without changing behavior."
- "Extract pure functions and make side effects explicit."
- "Keep the public API the same but improve naming." Constraints make the output easier to review.
- Ask for context-specific explanations AI helps you learn faster when you provide your project details. Ask:
- "Why does this React render happen twice in StrictMode?"
- "Based on this SQL query plan, what is the cause of the lag?"
- "Where should I put this validation in this specific codebase?"
- Follow the validation loop AI often produces incorrect details with high confidence. Follow these rules:
- If it compiles, test it.
- If it touches security, review it twice.
- If it states a fact, check a source.
Use this prompt template for better results:
- Goal: What you want to achieve.
- Context: Your language and framework.
- Input: Your code, logs, or errors.
- Output format: Bullets, steps, or a diff.
- Constraints: Performance, readability, or no new dependencies.
Example: Goal: Reduce API latency. Context: Node.js and Postgres. Input: Endpoint code and query. Output: A list of 5 improvements. Constraints: No schema changes this sprint.
How do you use AI in your daily work?
Source: https://dev.to/imkrunal/using-ai-in-your-daily-dev-workflow-without-the-hype-57b1
Optional learning community: https://t.me/GyaanSetuAi