AI makes it trivial to generate a working demo. Making something that survives real traffic is a different skill. Here's how I approach it — the principles from a talk I gave recently, with the full video at the end.
Start simple — and earn the complexity
Gall's Law: a complex system that works invariably evolved from a simple system that worked. AI tools make it tempting to scaffold a sprawling architecture on day one. Resist it. Ship the simplest thing that solves the problem, then let real constraints pull you toward complexity — not the other way around.
Treat the model like an engineering team you manage
Working well with Claude Code is less about clever prompts and more about setup. The pieces that actually move the needle:
