Vibe coding versus coding with AI

In today's rapidly evolving development landscape, I've discovered two distinct approaches to leveraging AI in software development: vibe coding and coding with AI. Each serves different purposes and contexts, and understanding when to use each can significantly impact project success.

Vibe Coding: Simplicity in Action

I use vibe coding for small private projects like lorenzogm.com, livingmuseum.es, and ópticasuárezjaen.es. This approach requires basic technical knowledge, but my role is essentially describing what I want to an AI agent.

Vibe coding excels in simple projects. For example, with Óptica Suárez, the business owner writes the functionality they need, and my role is ensuring the AI agent implements it correctly. I focus on implementing quality checks to ensure the project works as intended.

However, challenges arise when integrating external systems like e-commerce platforms. In such cases, I can even work with my mobile phone's microphone, speaking directly to the AI to describe requirements and solutions.

Coding with AI: Enterprise Complexity

At my position at Valtech, we practice "coding with AI" to improve efficiency in our projects while maintaining quality. Here, systems are much more complex, processes are more sophisticated, and significantly more people are involved in the development cycle.

This approach requires careful coordination, established workflows, and robust quality assurance processes to handle the complexity of enterprise-level projects.

Finding the Middle Ground

From my perspective, the future goal is to find the middle ground between both practices. We need to think about simplifying those complex processes to ultimately deliver the functionality our clients demand.

After all, a website is fundamentally just some text with images and a few rectangles drawn on a screen. The challenge lies in bridging the gap between simple, intuitive development and the robust requirements of complex systems.

The key is understanding when to apply each approach and gradually working toward a methodology that combines the simplicity of vibe coding with the reliability needed for enterprise solutions.