A Question About Software Design in the Age of AI

[juyi bai]

Dear Professor Ousterhout,

I'm currently building a software product using AI coding tools like Codex and Claude Code.

While AI makes writing code much faster, I've found that the development process often feels difficult to control. I frequently run into unexpected problems, struggle with how to design and implement UI, and sometimes even adding a simple feature feels unpredictable.

These frustrations are exactly what led me to start reading your book, A Philosophy of Software Design. I'm beginning to realize that being able to generate code is very different from knowing how to design good software.

If you happen to see this email, I'd be incredibly grateful to hear your thoughts on one question:

In the age of AI-assisted development, what do you think are the three most important software design principles that developers should follow?

Thank you for your time and for sharing your knowledge through your book.

Best regards,
Guozhu Huang