Using AI to Develop Applications End-to-End – A PileupBuster Showcase

Introduction

In this post, I want to share some reflections on how artificial intelligence can accelerate and enhance the full lifecycle of app development, using my recent project, PileupBuster, as a showcase.

Designing the Initial Screens with Sora

To kick off PileupBuster, I used Sora to generate the initial UI screen concepts. It was remarkable how quickly AI could interpret my requirements and translate them into a variety of design options. This saved hours, if not days, of manual prototyping and allowed me to rapidly iterate on the visual direction of the app.

AI-Generated Icon

The app's icon was also generated by AI. Rather than spending time on manual graphic design, I relied on generative tools to create a clean, memorable icon that matches the application's personality.

Issue Creation with GitHub Copilot

For tracking work, I used GitHub Copilot to help draft project issues. Copilot's context awareness made it easy to break down features and tasks, ensuring nothing was missed in my planning.

Implementation with Code Agents

Most of the coding was handled by GitHub code agents, with some features implemented using GitHub Copilot Agent in VSCode. This collaborative approach let me focus on orchestrating the process: guiding the AI, reviewing suggestions, and making high-level decisions, rather than getting bogged down in every detail myself.

Timeline and Role

Amazingly, the whole project took just three evenings to complete. My main role was to coordinate the AIs, acting as a conductor rather than a solo performer. Instead of solving every problem myself, I let the AI tools do the heavy lifting and concentrated my effort on direction and quality control.

Results and Reflections

The end result was an application that was not only built faster but was also better tested, better documented, and more robust than what I could have achieved solo. I like to think this process puts me at the cutting edge (sometimes even the bleeding edge!) of modern development practices – though I say this with humility and a sense of excitement for what's possible, not self-importance.

Conclusion

This experience reinforced to me that AI isn't just automating code, it's empowering developers to build better software, faster – and making the process a lot more fun along the way.