How I build

I build my applications with AI. I say that openly, because it is part of the work and because the important part is not the typing: I set the direction and I check. The AI writes the code. What that looks like is here.

The process in five steps

I name the problem

Every project starts with something that gets in my own way. With the Ausbildungsorganizer: timetable, homework, training log and absences lived in four systems. With the Azubi-Cockpit: there is no network on the train, and the learning app is no help then.

I decide what gets built and what does not

Before any code appears, I write a plan and have it reviewed. I answer questions such as: What is in the first version? Which data must never leave? For the Azubi-Cockpit it was written out what the first version still cannot do. This step stays with me.

The AI writes the code

For that I use Claude Code and Cursor. I give bounded tasks with goal, limits and stop condition: “Build this collection, change nothing in those files, stop when the tests are green.”

I check

I read the changes, run the tests, look at the result in the browser, in light and dark, on the phone and on the large screen. For anything that involves access or input, a separate security check follows. What fails the check goes back.

I roll out under control

Before every deploy the tests are green and the rollback path is clear. After the deploy I watch homepage, logs and error messages for five minutes. If something shows, I roll back at once. Databases are backed up externally every day, and a restore is tried, not only set up.

What I decide myself

• What gets built and what does not.
• Where data lives and who may see it.
• When something is done. The AI says “done” fairly quickly. I say it only after the check.

What the AI takes on

• Writing code, tests and configurations.
• Routine work such as renaming, translating and documenting.

Where you can see it

• Ausbildungsorganizer: I set problem and workflows, the AI built, I checked every version. Over a thousand commits in two months.
• Azubi-Cockpit: I set the scope of the first version and described the sync between app and server as a contract.
• Self-hosted services: Rollback and watch after every deploy are my rules; the AI writes the configuration.

If you want to think along on a project, get in touch.