Vibe Coding vs Spec-Driven Development
Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Build a real product with AI
Course outcomes
- Understand the differences between vibe coding and spec-driven development workflows
- Design structured specifications that guide AI coding assistants effectively
- Demonstrate how AI tools behave when given vague prompts versus structured specs
- Apply a spec-driven workflow to build software more reliably with AI tools
Course description
While vibe coding can produce results, it often leads to fragile code, confusing architecture, and long debugging cycles. Spec-driven development allows software engineers to structure product ideas into clear specifications that AI coding assistants can use to generate working software more reliably.
Sergio Pereira, software engineer and CTO, will demonstrate both approaches by building the same small product twice. First, you’ll see vibe coding in action and explore the common pitfalls and iteration loops that arise from unclear specifications. Then you’ll discover how a spec-driven workflow that focuses on structured documentation and clear feature definitions streamlines the process. You’ll leave with a practical framework for integrating AI coding tools into a disciplined development process that improves reliability, reduces debugging time, and makes AI-generated software easier to maintain.
This live event is for you because...
- You’re a software engineer who’s experimenting with AI coding tools.
- You’re a tech lead or CTO evaluating how AI can fit into a professional development workflow.
- You’re a product manager using tools like Cursor, Copilot, or Claude to prototype products.
- You want a clearer process for turning ideas into working software without endless prompt iteration.
Prerequisites
- Familiarity with software development concepts
- Some exposure to AI coding tools such as ChatGPT, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, or similar tools (useful but not required)
- Access to an AI coding environment such as Cursor or GitHub Copilot (to follow along with demos)
Schedule
The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.
Introduction and overview (10 minutes)
- Presentation: Overview of AI coding tools such as Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and Claude Code
Vibe coding—workflow and pitfalls (15 minutes)
- Presentation: How vibe coding works in practice (prompting an AI tool to generate software iteratively); common pitfalls including unclear architecture, inconsistent code, and debugging loops
Building a product with vibe coding (35 minutes)
- Presentation and demo: Building a small product live using a vibe coding approach
- Group discussion: How prompts evolve and iteration cycles appear
- Break
Spec-driven development—a structured workflow for AI coding (15 minutes)
- Presentation: Introduction to spec-driven development; structuring product ideas into clear specifications before writing code
Building the product with spec-driven development (25 minutes)
- Presentation and demo: Building the same product again using a spec-driven workflow
- Group discussion: Comparing reliability, iteration speed, and clarity of the code produced by each approach
Wrap-up and Q&A (20 minutes)
Your Instructor
Sergio Pereira
Sergio Pereira has been a software engineer and CTO for 14 years, building products for several fast-growing startups such as Bulk MRO, StudentFinance, and Candidly. For the past eight years, he’s built software products for the fintech industry under strict compliance requirements. He’s responsible for creating processes to help software development teams deliver high-quality software in a timely manner for clients. Sergio was an early adopter of Cursor and has been a thought leader on the topic of AI tools for software development, sharing his knowledge for the benefit of the community.
Skills covered
- Coding Practices
- Refactoring
- Test-Driven Development (TDD)