Series Articles
This series focuses on using prompt engineering responsibly in day-to-day software development. Each article addresses a real engineering task and shows how structured prompts can help compress context, form better hypotheses, and support decision-making—without replacing judgment or verification.
1. Prompt Engineering for Understanding Large Codebases
Learn how to build a reliable mental model of an unfamiliar, large codebase without reading every file. This article introduces a practical framework (CSIO), explains where AI helps and where it doesn’t, and provides structured prompts for understanding architecture, modules, and critical functions—always with verification first.
Prompt Engineering for Understanding Large Codebases
2. Prompt Engineering for Debugging Like a Senior Engineer
How to use prompts to reason about failures, form testable hypotheses, and narrow down root causes—without outsourcing thinking. This article focuses on debugging workflows, not magic fixes, and emphasizes validation through code, tests, and runtime behavior.
Prompt Engineering for Debugging Like a Senior Engineer
3. Prompt Engineering for Safe Refactoring and Legacy Code
Refactoring code you don’t fully understand is risky. This article shows how prompt engineering can help surface assumptions, hidden dependencies, and risk areas before you make changes—so refactoring becomes safer, more deliberate, and easier to review.
(Coming soon)
4. Prompt Engineering for Code Reviews and Design Feedback
Using AI to support code reviews and design discussions without turning it into an authority. Learn how to prompt for critique, trade-offs, and edge cases while keeping ownership of decisions firmly with the engineering team.
(Coming soon)
5. Prompt Engineering for Faster Onboarding and Knowledge Transfer
How teams can use prompt engineering to reduce tribal knowledge, improve onboarding, and document systems more effectively—without replacing human mentorship or shared understanding.
(Coming soon)