Beyond Vibe Coding: Why Specifications Are Becoming Critical Again
Vibe coding is an appealing idea. It suggests that software can be produced quickly and intuitively through natural-language prompts alone. But as AI moves deeper into real engineering workflows, the limits of that promise are becoming harder to ignore.
Daenet’s post addresses those limits with unusual clarity. Free-form prompting does not automatically lead to reliable software. In practice, teams often see overly complex code, bloated codebases, high token usage and additional review overhead. What looks like acceleration in the first draft can easily become friction in the later stages of delivery.
That is why specification-driven development is returning to the center of the conversation. When requirements are explicit, interfaces are well defined and quality expectations are established early, AI becomes a tool rather than a gamble. The key question is no longer whether a model can generate code, but whether the development process is designed to turn that output into maintainable systems.
This is a significant signal for the industry. AI is reshaping software engineering, but not by making discipline obsolete. If anything, it increases the value of strong specifications, rigorous review and technical leadership. That is likely where the difference between a short-lived productivity effect and sustainable engineering progress will be decided.
Source: Original LinkedIn post