From Replit with Vibes
The pace of AI product development is accelerating rapidly.
Image: Replit Logo Brand Asset
AI providers are over-indexing on speed to market while achieving product-market fit.
Despite the raging debate surrounding vibe coding 🔥 its potential for rapid ideation to prototype is undeniable, particularly for AI Product Managers.
AI prototyping tools enable Product Managers to turn PRDs into functional prototypes within hours, instead of weeks.
Here are 3 strategies that have helped me build better prototypes with Replit.
1. Upload PRDs
I start working on every app the same way: by uploading a PRD.
While Replit's AI can enhance initial user prompts, providing comprehensive FE and BE requirements with clear guardrails significantly reduced the number of prompts I needed to write.
2. Utilize Replit’s Canned Prompts
I use Replit's prompts (Inspect for errors, Explain this code, Improve the visual design, Add dark mode toggle, Brainstorm new features) to enhance the app at key checkpoints.
Word to the wise—always validate the code, and don’t be afraid to roll it back or jump in the driver's seat.
3. Tell Replit to Stop Over-engineering
I've seen Replit reduce up to 80% of excess code by utilizing this simple and effective prompt—You're over-engineering this...
A PM's understanding of the PRD is necessary to produce a minimally viable prototype.
Vin Vashishta rightly pointed out that AI development extends beyond vibe coding as it relies on math and data—an important consideration when using these tools.
Vibe coding without proper engineering practices (version control, unit testing, code review) can lead to issues.
As a recovering Data Scientist who spent weeks building Python apps in the past, I'm now able to achieve the same results in hours, and my GitHub activity recently turned green again ✅
Andrew Ng predicted a 10x increase in demand for AI Product Managers, driven by the ability to gather user feedback faster than ever before.
🔗 https://www.deeplearning.ai/the-batch/ai-product-managers-will-be-in-demand/
