---
slug: beyond-vibe-coding
title: "Beyond Vibe Coding: Professional AI Development Methodologies"
author: henry-technical
status: drafting
created: 2026-01-22
updated: 2026-01-24
content_type: explainer
primary_keyword: "ai coding methodologies"
secondary_keywords: ["spec driven development", "ai pair programming", "human in the loop ai", "ralph loop"]
assets_folder: assets/beyond-vibe-coding/
---

# Idea

**Source:** Perplexity research on AI-assisted development terminology (Jan 2026)

**Concept:** Overview article covering AI coding methodologies landscape. Position vibe coding (Collins Word of Year 2025) as entry point, then survey professional approaches: Spec-Driven Development, Agentic Coding, AI Pair Programming, HITL, TDD+AI.

**Goal:** Establish Henry's expertise in AI-assisted development. Second article for Dev.to account warmup.

**Angle:** Survey + practitioner perspective (via interview with Oleg)

---

# Brief

See [brief.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/brief.md) for complete strategic context, target reader analysis, content requirements, and success criteria.

**Quick Summary:**
- **Goal:** Fight "AI is for juniors" stigma with data-backed professional methodologies survey
- **Angle:** Seniors use AI MORE than juniors — methodology separates pros from beginners
- **Format:** Survey of 6 methodologies with credentials, practitioner insights
- **Target:** 2,500-3,500 words, thought leadership + long-tail SEO

---

# Outline

See [outline.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/outline.md) for complete article structure.

**Tone:** "Here's what exists and here's what I actually do" — landscape survey through practitioner's lens, not prescriptive guide

**Structure:**
- Introduction (400w) — Hook with vibe coding, establish legitimacy question
- 6 Methodology sections (400-500w each) — Credentials block, description, Henry's experience (integrated naturally)
- Conclusion (450w) — Landscape overview, legitimacy validation with stats, what I use, community invitation

**Total:** ~2,800 words
**Code examples:** 3 (CLAUDE.md spec, .claude/settings.json, TDD test)

---

# Validation Status

**Validated:** 2026-01-23
**Validator:** @validator
**Verdict:** REVISE → COMPLETE ✅

See [validation-results.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/validation-results.md) for complete validation report.

**Summary:**
- ✅ **4 claims fully verified:** Senior/junior AI usage, 76% adoption, 27% bans, Ralph Loop virality
- ✅ **Security vulnerabilities claim updated:** Added source citations [1][2][3]
- ✅ **Removed false claims:** "359x growth" for SDD, "90% Fortune 100 Copilot adoption"
- ✅ **Minor stat correction:** "33%" → "about a third" for senior developers

**Revisions Applied by @architect:**
1. Removed Claim 4 (90% Fortune 100) from Conclusion section
2. Removed Claim 6 (359x growth) from Spec-Driven credentials, replaced with qualitative description
3. Added source citations for Claim 3 (security vulnerabilities): Georgetown CSET, Veracode, industry reports
4. Updated Claim 1 to "about a third" instead of "33%" in Introduction and Conclusion

**Next Step:** Ready for @writer to create Draft

---

# Assets Index

All working files for this article:

## Core Files

| File | Purpose | Status |
|------|---------|--------|
| [brief.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/brief.md) | Complete Brief: strategic context, target reader, requirements, success criteria | ✅ Complete |
| [outline.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/outline.md) | Article structure with word budgets | ✅ Revised & Complete |
| [text.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/text.md) | Article draft (English) | ✅ Draft complete |
| [text-rus.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/text-rus.md) | Article draft (Russian) | ✅ Complete |
| [interview.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/interview.md) | Oleg's practitioner insights — source for Henry's voice | ✅ Complete |
| [log-chat.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/log-chat.md) | Activity log and agent comments | ⏳ Active |
| [seo-metadata.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/seo-metadata.md) | SEO title, description, keywords | ⏳ Pending @seo |

## Methodology Specs

Detailed research for each methodology — use for expanding credentials in text.md:

| File | Methodology | Key Sources |
|------|-------------|-------------|
| [spec-driven-dev.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/spec-driven-dev.md) | Spec-Driven Development | GitHub Spec Kit, AWS Kiro, Tessl, Martin Fowler |
| [agentic-coding.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/agentic-coding.md) | Agentic Coding + Ralph Loop | arXiv papers, Geoffrey Huntley, Cursor 2.0, GitHub Copilot Agent Mode |
| [ai-pair-programming.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/ai-pair-programming.md) | AI Pair Programming | GitHub Copilot official, Microsoft Learn, Cursor, Windsurf |
| [ai-aided-test-first.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/ai-aided-test-first.md) | TDD + AI | Thoughtworks Radar, Kent Beck, DORA Report 2025, Builder.io |

## Statistics & Research

| File | Purpose | Status |
|------|---------|--------|
| [ai-usage-statistics.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/ai-usage-statistics.md) | Statistical research: AI adoption by seniority, company policies, security concerns | ✅ Complete |
| [ai-adoption-statistics.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/ai-adoption-statistics.md) | LaTeX-formatted statistics for infographics (2024-2026 data) | ✅ Complete |
| [research-index.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/research-index.md) | Methodology clusters, verified sources, interview questions | ⏳ Needs update |
| [validation-results.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/validation-results.md) | Fact-checking results for all statistical claims | ✅ Complete |

## Images

| Folder | Contents | Status |
|--------|----------|--------|
| [images/comic/](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/images/comic/) | 8 comic illustrations, uploaded to CDN | ✅ Ready |
| [images/infographic/](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/images/infographic/) | Infographics (based on ai-adoption-statistics.md) | ⏳ In progress |
| [images/comic/cdn-urls.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/images/comic/cdn-urls.md) | CDN URLs for all comic images | ✅ Complete |

## External Research

| File | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| [perplexity-chats/AI-Assisted Development_...](research/perplexity-chats/) | Original Perplexity research on terminology |

---

# TODO: Part 4 (Potential Future Addition)

Consider adding a fourth part to the series covering additional methodologies:

| Methodology | Description | Status |
|-------------|-------------|--------|
| Architecture-First AI Development | Design patterns and system architecture before AI implementation | ⏳ Needs research |
| Prompt-Driven Development | Structured prompt engineering as development methodology | ⏳ Needs research |
| Copy-pasting from AI chatbot | Manual workflow — baseline to compare other methods against | ⏳ Needs research |

**Rationale:** These approaches represent common patterns not covered in Parts 1-3:
- Architecture-First — enterprise/complex systems angle
- Prompt-Driven — bridges gap between vibe coding and spec-driven
- Copy-pasting — the "default" many developers start with, important baseline

**Next steps:**
1. Research each methodology for credentials and sources
2. Conduct interview with Oleg for Henry's perspective
3. Assess if volume/interest justifies a Part 4

---

# Activity Log

See [log-chat.md](assets/beyond-vibe-coding/log-chat.md)

**Latest:** @writer completed draft (2026-01-24). 2,650 words, 8 image placeholders for @image agent. No code snippets per user request.
