# A Flow-Based Technique for AI-Augmented Programming

DevFeed: [A Flow-Based Technique for AI-Augmented Programming](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/i-can-teach-you-to-program-with-ai-21578.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://maryrosecook.com/blog/post/i-can-teach-you-to-program-with-ai>)

Published: 2025-05-23T07:00:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Mary Rose Cook](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/mary-rose-cook.md>)

Topics: [AI-assisted coding](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ai-assisted-coding.md>), [Programming](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/programming.md>), [Artificial Intelligence](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ai.md>), [Code](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/code.md>)

Tags: [agent](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/agent.md>), [ai](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai.md>), [code-generation](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/code-generation.md>), [developer](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/developer.md>), [programming](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/programming.md>), [techniques](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/techniques.md>)

## AI overview

The author describes a flow-based technique for AI-augmented programming: describe a feature, provide relevant code context, review generated code, let the agent fix lint and type errors, and test the feature. The author says this approach has made feature development about three times more productive and offers one-on-one coaching for professional engineers.

## Source excerpt

tl;dr: I'm offering coaching sessions where I teach professional engineers a smooth, stay-in-flow technique for AI-augmented programming. All the nitty gritty tips and setup were very helpful. -- Andrew J. Email me to sign up!. Let the computer make you more productive My first job after university was working at a software company on their huge Java desktop application. The architecture, complex and winding, made the code very hard to follow. Layer upon layer of indirection meant that trying to follow the flow of execution led to cognitive overload. Fortunately, the company, though almost unflaggingly tight-fisted (bring your own cake on your birthday), bought IntelliJ for every developer. It had a feature, go to definition, where you could click on a method call and jump to the implementation. This made it possible to understand the byzantine code. Which brings me to AI. As programmers, we feel comfortable using tools to make us more productive. Generating code with AI is a natural next step in letting the computer help us. Three times more productive With code generation, building features goes much faster. I can be declarative ("add a button..."). I can get an implementation of a stock algorithm ("implement A* with this contract...") I can zoom in when I need to ("wait, don't duplicate that state..."). Programming is a craft. Getting better is the slow process of accreting little techniques and intuition. But there are some core techniques you use all the time. For example, moving in small steps to keep the code compiling. AI-augmented programming is also a craft. And there are also some core techniques. But they're different. That one I described above isn't even really a thing for AI-augmented programming. It's too low level. One core technique for AI-augmented programming, maybe the core technique - describe a feature, attach relevant code context, skim the code as it's generated, let the agent fix lints and type errors, try out your new feature. This isn't a cobble