Session type:

Discussion

Presented by:

Ben Fraser

Ministry of Justice

Session time:

04 Mar 12:15 — 13:00

Session duration:

45 minutes

About the session

Themes: AI-assisted prototyping in government | Intentional and ethical use of AI in the design process

Vibe coding has captured the imagination of designers prototyping in code - but when working on digital public services, improvised AI use can produce inaccessible, low-quality results that create more work than they save. 

This talk explores a more structured approach: using AI coding assistants intentionally, with the right context and constraints, to produce accessible, GOV.UK-compliant prototypes faster. 

You'll leave with practical techniques you can apply immediately, whether you're an interaction designer creating code prototypes, or a service designer wanting to explore AI-assisted prototyping.

Participant takeaways: 

  • why vibe coding can fall short in a context where a code prototype needs to be iterated
  • a practical mental model for structuring your AI coding workflow (vibe, lean and spec coding)
  • how to provide AI assistants with the context they need to produce GOV.UK-compliant, accessible code - introducing the publicly available ai-context.md file
  • practical prompting techniques you can apply to your next prototype

This session: 

  • is aimed at interaction designers and service designers working on government services
  • will also be useful for anyone using AI to prototype in code

About the speaker(s)