Founder Mode is a weekly newsletter for builders—whether it’s startups, systems, or personal growth. It’s about finding your flow, balancing health, wealth, and productivity, and tackling challenges with focus and curiosity. Each week, you’ll gain actionable insights and fresh perspectives to help you think like a founder and build what matters most.
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Boost Developer Productivity and Code Quality with AI
Published 7 days ago • 5 min read
Supercharging Your Dev Team: How AI Can Boost Efficiency
Welcome back to the Founder Mode! Do you like the new logo/branding? :)
I recently talked with a dev team I'm advising. We talked about how AI tools can boost the development process. Today, I want to share key takeaways to help you boost your engineering teams with AI.
The "Angry Janitor" Approach to Code Quality
A big challenge in development is balancing clean code and speed. As your project grows, the code gets more complex. This leads to technical debt—small issues that build up over time if not addressed. To address this, I suggested the "Angry Janitor" method with Devin AI. Here’s how we’ve made it work:
1. Start with Documentation
Good documentation is key to a healthy codebase. This is especially true when working with a team. Bringing in new developers is very important. Here’s how we’ve used Devin AI to handle this:
Ask Devin to check your codebase. Also, have it create clear README files for each component. This ensures that the code is documented well from the start.
It helps new developers learn faster. This cuts down the learning curve.
Also when you read the README and it's wrong it means you aren't sure what is actually in your code base or worse some of the conventions are too confusing.
Good documentation helps the team stay aligned. It also makes project maintenance easier.
2. Build Quality Gates
A simple way to keep code quality high is to set up automated checks. These checks run each time a developer pushes new code to the repo. This is the stage for linting, formatting, and basic testing:
ESLint is great for JavaScript, and Pylint works well for Python. They both help find coding errors and style issues right away. They help prevent problems before they start.
Prettier, Ruff and similar tools help you keep your code looking the same. This keeps code formatting changes to a minimum.
Basic unit testing help your code run and verify its main functions. I call these the 'don't get me fired' tests. ie if that sort of key use case breaks you should be fired.
These tools run automatically on every pull request (PR). They act as safety checks. They spot small mistakes early. This helps prevent bigger problems later. I like to suggest GitHub Actions for these so they live with the code.
3. Create a "Known Issues" Backlog
As your team grows, you will build up some technical debt. A “Known Issues” backlog helps you track problems. You can prioritize them by their impact and difficulty.
Track your technical debt. Note issues found during code reviews or testing. This way, you can tackle the most impactful problems first.
Rank issues by their urgency. Some bugs may need to be fixed immediately, while others can wait for the next release.
Handling these issues early keeps your code tidy. It also helps you avoid delays in your development process.
These systems keep every developer safe, no matter how skilled they are. It also helps your codebase resist errors better. This way, your team can work faster without the fear of causing issues.
Breaking Down Tasks for AI Success
The key to AI success is knowing how to break down tasks. AI tools like Devin work best when given clear, specific tasks to focus on.
For example:
✘ - "Build a new feature"
✓ - "Add a new route in the navigation system for a VIP page"
Consider Devin an intern. It knows basic coding well but is new to your practices and standards. The clearer your instructions, the better Devin will do. Begin with simple tasks for Devin. Make sure these tasks align with your current systems. It’s like setting the intern up for success by giving them the right tools and guidance. Start small then scale up to bigger things.
The AI Tool Chain
I’ve had success using a mix of AI tools for different parts of development:
ChatGPT: It’s useful for coming up with ideas, looking over logs, and creating prompts for Devin.
v0: Ideal for UI projects, especially when teaming up with Figma designs.
Devin AI: is great for making changes, fixing bugs, and running tests.
This tool chain lets each AI do what it does best. It also helps cover for the weaknesses of the other tools. A mix of tools can simplify and improve your development process.
Practical Tips for Getting Started
If you’re ready to incorporate Devin AI into your workflow, here’s where you can start:
Code reviews are important: Ask Devin to look at your codebase. It can suggest helpful changes.
Implement CI/CD: Set up GitHub Actions that run automated tests on every PR. This saves time and ensures the quality of your code.
Focus on small wins: Start with simple tasks. For example, add linting or formatting to your workflow. These small changes will help create a strong base for future growth.
Document everything: Be sure to write clear README files for all parts. This helps new developers get up to speed. It also keeps your team aligned on project goals.
The ROI of AI-Enhanced Development
I’ve found that investing in tools like Devin AI (at $500/month) more than pays for itself:
Trim technical debt: Quality gates catch issues fast. They help keep code clean.
Improved docs: AI-made documentation helps new developers get up to speed fast. They can skip the long manual documents.
Higher productivity: Developers tackle tough challenges. AI tackles basic jobs. Tasks are to fix bugs, run tests, and create documents.
AI in development helps you skip repetitive tasks. This also helps your team be more productive. It lets your engineers work on important features. They won’t waste time on small, slow tasks.
On a personal note - needed a new chair, I wanted to share my new (to me) Herman Miller Aeron Chair. Typically when I've got these in the past I found them used on craigslist. To my surpirse they are on Amazon now! I love it for my posture and keeps me cool from longer days when I'm not doing enough standing! Highly recommended!
Final Thoughts
The goal isn’t to replace developers with AI. We want to build a space where everyone can work safely and efficiently. Using AI tools like Devin AI makes your team's work easier. It also speeds up your development process. It helps with scaling and makes your system stronger.
I’d love to hear how you’re using AI in your development process.
Stay ahead in AI & tech! I highly recommend Techpresso—a daily newsletter packed with the latest trends, insights, and actionable tips. Quick, sharp, and always relevant.
Founder Mode is a weekly newsletter for builders—whether it’s startups, systems, or personal growth. It’s about finding your flow, balancing health, wealth, and productivity, and tackling challenges with focus and curiosity. Each week, you’ll gain actionable insights and fresh perspectives to help you think like a founder and build what matters most.
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