Why You Must Stop Asking AI to Build Your App MVPs

Stop asking AI to “build your app”

Developer Alp Yalay identifies that prompting AI for an MVP without a technical plan leads to negotiating with a machine rather than building. This unstructured approach causes context decay where the model forgets earlier decisions and reintroduces removed features.

Why This Matters

AI models inherit the chaos of their prompts; mushy product definitions inevitably lead to mushy implementations. This workflow failure is exacerbated by context decay, where the model loses track of earlier decisions and reintroduces errors, making the project’s external documentation more valuable than the chat history itself.

Key Insights

• The five-step sequence of Research, MVP requirements, Technical planning, Agent instructions, and Building prevents project drift.
• Context decay causes models to ignore previous decisions and reintroduce removed elements during long sessions.
• A project’s external documentation serves as a persistent memory that survives switching tools or starting fresh sessions.
• Beginners often mistake generated code volume for actual momentum, resulting in repos that are merely autocomplete with better marketing.

Practical Applications

• Use Case: Building side projects by making the machine inherit structured thinking through explicit technical plans rather than conversational prompts.
• Pitfall: Requesting a build my startup prompt in one go, which results in the agent making unauthorized assumptions and creating technical debt.

References:

• https://dev.to/khazp/stop-asking-ai-to-build-your-app-42jj