AI Assisted Coding: Augmented AI Development - Software Engineering First, AI Second With Dawid Dahl

BONUS: Augmented AI Development - Software Engineering First, AI Second

In this special episode, Dawid Dahl introduces Augmented AI Development (AAID)—a disciplined approach where professional developers augment their capabilities with AI while maintaining full architectural control. He explains why starting with software engineering fundamentals and adding AI where appropriate is the opposite of most frameworks, and why this approach produces production-grade software rather than technical debt.

The AAID Philosophy: Don't Abandon Your Brain

"Two of the fundamental developer principles for AAID are: first, don't abandon your brain. And the second is incremental steps."

Dawid's Augmented AI Development framework stands in stark contrast to "vibecoding"—which he defines strictly as not caring about code at all, only results on screen. AAID is explicitly designed for professional developers who maintain full understanding and control of their systems. The framework is positioned on the furthest end of the spectrum from vibe coding, requiring developers to know their craft deeply. The two core principles—don't abandon your brain, work incrementally—reflect a philosophy that AI is a powerful collaborator, not a replacement for thinking. This approach recognizes that while 96% of Dawid's code is now written by AI, he remains the architect, constantly steering and verifying every step.

In this segment we refer to Marcus Hammarberg's work and his book The Bungsu Story.

Software Engineering First, AI Second: A Hill to Die On

"You should start with software engineering wisdom, and then only add AI where it's actually appropriate. I think this is super, super important, and the entire foundation of this framework. This is a hill I will personally die on."

What makes AAID fundamentally different from other AI-assisted development frameworks is its starting point. Most frameworks start with AI capabilities and try to add structure and best practices afterward. Dawid argues this is completely backwards. AAID begins with 50-60 years of proven software engineering wisdom—test-driven development, behavior-driven development, continuous delivery—and only then adds AI where it enhances the process. This isn't a minor philosophical difference; it's the foundation of producing maintainable, production-grade software. Dawid admits he's sometimes "manipulating developers to start using good, normal software engineering practices, but in this shiny AI box that feels very exciting and new." If the AI wrapper helps developers finally adopt TDD and BDD, he's fine with that.

Why TDD is Non-Negotiable with AI

"Every time I prompt an AI and it writes code for me, there is often at least one or two or three mistakes that will cause catastrophic mistakes down the line and make the software impossible to change."

Test-driven development isn't just a nice-to-have in AAID—it's essential. Dawid has observed that AI consistently makes 2-3 mistakes per prompt that could have catastrophic consequences later. Without TDD's red-green-refactor cycle, these errors accumulate, making code increasingly difficult to change. TDD answers the question "Is my code technically correct?" while acceptance tests answer "Is the system releasable?" Both are needed for production-grade software. The refactor step is where 50-60 years of software engineering wisdom gets applied to make code maintainable. This matters because AAID isn't vibe coding—developers care deeply about code quality, not just visible results. Good software, as Dave Farley says, is software that's easy to change. Without TDD, AI-generated code becomes a maintenance nightmare.

The Problem with "Prompt and Pray" Autonomous Agents

"When I hear 'our AI can now code for over 30 hours straight without stopping,' I get very afraid. You fall asleep, and the next morning, the code is done. Maybe the tests are green. But what has it done in there? Imagine everything it does for 30 hours. This system will not work."

Dawid sees two diverging paths for AI-assisted development's future. The first—autonomous agents working for hours or days without supervision—terrifies him. The marketing pitch sounds appealing: prompt the AI, go to sleep, wake up to completed features. But the reality is technical debt accumulation at scale. Imagine all the decisions, all the architectural choices, all the mistakes an AI makes over 30 hours of autonomous work. Dawid advocates for the stark contrast: working in extremely small increments with constant human steering, always aligned to specifications. His vision of the future isn't AI working alone—it's voice-controlled confirmations where he says "Yes, yes, no, yes" as AI proposes each tiny change. This aligns with DORA metrics showing that high-performing teams work in small batches with fast feedback loops.

Prerequisites: Product Discovery Must Come First

"Without Dave Farley, this framework would be totally different. I think he does everything right, basically. With this framework, I want to stand on the shoulders of giants and work on top of what has already been done."

AAID explicitly requires product discovery and specification phases before AI-assisted coding begins. This is based on Dave Farley's product journey model, which shows how products move from idea to production. AAID starts at the "executable specifications" stage—it requires input specifications from prior discovery work. This separates specification creation (which Dawid is addressing in a separate "Dream Encoder" framework) from code execution. The prerequisite isn't arbitrary; it acknowledges that AI-assisted implementation works best when the problem is well-defined. This "standing on shoulders of giants" approach means AAID doesn't try to reinvent software engineering—it leverages decades of proven practices from TDD pioneers, BDD creators, and continuous delivery experts.

What's Wrong with Other AI Frameworks

"When the AI decides to check the box [in task lists], that means this is the definition of done. But how is the AI taking that decision? It's totally ad hoc. It's like going back to the 1980s: 'I wrote the code, I'm done.' But what does that mean? Nobody has any idea."

Dawid is critical of current AI frameworks like SpecKit, pointing out fundamental flaws. They start with AI first and try to add structure later (backwards approach). They use task lists with checkboxes where AI decides when something is "done"—but without clear criteria, this becomes ad hoc decision-making reminiscent of 1980s development practices. These frameworks "vibecode the specs," not realizing there's a structured taxonomy to specifications that BDD already solved. Most concerning, some have removed testing as a "feature," treating it as optional. Dawid sees these frameworks as over-engineered, process-centric rather than developer-centric, often created by people who may not develop software themselves. AAID, in contrast, is built by a practicing developer solving real problems daily.

Getting Started: Learn Fundamentals First

"The first thing developers should do is learn the fundamentals. They should skip AI altogether and learn about BDD and TDD, just best practices. But when you know that, then you can look into a framework, maybe like mine."

Dawid's advice for developers interested in AI-assisted coding might seem counterintuitive: start by learning fundamentals without AI. Master behavior-driven development, test-driven development, and software engineering best practices first. Only after understanding these foundations should developers explore frameworks like AAID. This isn't gatekeeping—it's recognizing that AI amplifies whatever approach developers bring. If they start with poor practices, AI will help them build unmaintainable systems faster. But if they start with solid fundamentals, AI becomes a powerful multiplier that lets them work at unprecedented speed while maintaining quality. AAID offers both a dense technical article on dev.to and a gentler game-like onboarding in the GitHub repo, meeting developers wherever they are in their journey.

About Dawid Dahl

Dawid is the creator of Augmented AI Development (AAID), a disciplined approach where developers augment their capabilities by integrating with AI, while maintaining full architectural control. Dawid is a software engineer at Umain, a product development agency.

You can link with Dawid Dahl on LinkedIn and find the AAID framework on GitHub.