---
title: "AI Coders give you the edge.The 6 Rules I Follow When Working with AI Coders."
slug: ai-coders-give-you-the-edge-the-6-rules-i-follow-when-working-with-ai-coders
date_published: 2025-11-18T12:24:59.197Z
original_url: https://www.tigzig.com/post/ai-coders-give-you-the-edge-the-6-rules-i-follow-when-working-with-ai-coders
source: migrated
processed_at: 2025-12-02T10:00:00.000Z
---

# AI Coders give you the edge.The 6 Rules I Follow When Working with AI Coders.

Coding by hand is a business liability. AI Coders give you the edge.

The 6 Rules I Follow When Working with AI Coders.

This post builds on my earlier one - 'Coding by hand is obsolete'

Over two decades coding by hand in SAS, Python, SQL, VBA - across enterprises and SMBs - and the last two with AI, I've reached one conclusion:

**Coding by hand today is a business liability.**

It's slower, costlier, and less scalable. The P&L edge of AI-assisted coding is too big to ignore. It's the same shift as manual ledgers to accounting software- or calculators to Excel

It's no longer optional. The skill now is turning domain knowledge into working systems with AI - not syntax

The only question is how fast people adapt. Those who move fast keep the edge

**When I say AI Coders, I don't mean copy-pasting code from ChatGPT.** I mean working with proper AI coding tools like Cursor, Claude Code, Gemini CLI, or Mito-AI (for Jupyter). With them, I've delivered client projects I'd once have declined, and built app.tigzig.com, my analytics portal with 30+ live micro-apps - open source, free and in real use.

These six rules are how I now execute - automations, models, analytics tools, full AI agent systems

**My 6 rules for working with AI Coders**

From live projects and lessons learnt the hard way

## 1. Share - Context is half the code

Give it everything it needs

* Background, logic, schema, goal, and constraints
* Include examples, sample rows, and even failed attempts

AI Coders amplify your clarity. Garbage intent in, garbage code out

## 2. Tell - state clearly what you want

* Set the scope and how you want it done
* Mention format, structure, and integrations upfront

Don't make it guess - it's a coder, not a mind reader

## 3. Ask - Interrogate first

Never execute blind. Ask for a plan first

* Demand 2-3 alternatives and trade-offs
* Clarify architecture, dependencies, and data handling.

If you don't get it, don't run it. Clarity before execution

## 4. Iterate - There's no magic prompt

You still build in loops - just faster.

* Review, test, and refine outputs step by step.
* Ask it to do security and performance reviews.

AI speeds the iterations but doesn't skip them.

## 5. Validate - Inspect what you expect

Test and verify

* Stress-test it
* Try and break it.

AI or no AI, the buck still stops with you.

## 6. The grind doesn't go away

You still put hard hours:

* to debug, test, and validate.
* to review logs, edge cases, and data errors.

Faster. Easier. Scalable. But still a grind - just a better one.

📍 Get started: - For a quick start: [youtube.com/@VoloBuilds](http://youtube.com/@VoloBuilds) on YouTube - practical tutorials from an experienced developer. Simple to complex builds across major tools.

📍 More tutorials: YouTube - plenty of solid content out there.