Most developers agree: One-shot prompts aren’t a dependable way to code with AI.
But what if test-first thinking gave you a systematic way to guide AI and tame its wild imaginations, while you still actively use and hone your engineering skills?
In this book, you’ll watch us systematically use Copilot as we build a slice of a full-stack .NET+ React app from scratch, using 3 good engineering practices as our strategy: test-first thinking, C4 model and the test pyramid.
We move from requirements to architecture diagrams to tests to backend code to frontend UI—step by step—so you can see exactly how test-first guidance shapes Copilot into a nearly reliable coding partner. Most importantly, we will use our valuable engineering skills to achieve this.
Before starting the walkthrough of my process, you’ll get a friendly, practical tour of how Copilot really works—where it shines, where it stumbles in funny ways, and how to stay fully in control with clear prompts, tiny steps, and tests that lead the way.
If you’ve been asking yourself questions like:
- How do I get decent results from Copilot instead of wrestling with it?
- Can test-first thinking really keep AI focused and less rogue?
- Where can I learn AI-assisted development by watching a real app come together?
…then this book is for you.
Ready to pragmatically see how to overcome problems while using AI assistants for greenfield development? Let’s dive in.
