PretectalMake an everyday task easier.
A resource finder, an onboarding checklist, or a focused practice tool can be a useful first project. Pick something small enough to understand and close enough to your work that you can ask a real user for feedback.
Building with AI: AI helps you plan, write, inspect, or improve the product. The finished tool can run with fixed content and ordinary rules.
Putting AI inside a product: a model generates answers or takes actions while someone uses it. Add that only when the task benefits from it and you can evaluate its output, cost, and failure behavior.
This guide follows an illustrative resource finder. It is a practice exercise you can adapt, not a claim about how a specific Pretectal project was built.
From a real task to a useful tool.
01Find one repeated task
Watch someone do the task today. Write down the inputs, the steps they repeat, the result they need, and where they get stuck. Choose a task whose result you can check yourself.
- In practice
- A new teammate searches several documents to find the right onboarding resource. Start with one searchable resource list.
- You leave with
- One person, one task, and an example of a successful result.
- Move on when
- Someone who does the task agrees that the problem is worth solving. Record how they handle it now before claiming an improvement.
02Define the smallest useful version
Describe what the user will do from start to finish. Choose the one action the prototype must support, write the expected result, and name the features you are leaving for later. Use the product brief below to keep these decisions in one place.
- In practice
- Search a small set of approved sample resources, open a matching item, and show a helpful message when there is no match. Save accounts and team reporting for a later version.
- You leave with
- A short product brief with three observable acceptance checks.
- Move on when
- You can explain what counts as working before opening a building tool.
03Choose one building tool
Choose a visual app builder if you want to start by describing and previewing a web app. Choose a coding assistant if you want to work directly with project files or improve an existing codebase. Keep the first experiment inside a preview and use sample data.
- In practice
- For the resource finder, begin with a single page and a small list of invented resources. You can test the search experience before connecting a live data source.
- You leave with
- One tool, a preview workspace, and sample inputs.
- Move on when
- You know how to preview a change and return to the last working version.
04Build one complete path
Give the AI your brief, the sample inputs, and the expected result. Ask it to propose a short plan, then implement one small change at a time. Try the result after each change and keep a working version before adding another feature.
- In practice
- Enter a search, inspect the matching resources, and open one. Then try an empty search and a term with no results.
- You leave with
- A prototype that completes the task from input to result.
- Move on when
- The main path works. Empty, invalid, and unexpected inputs produce understandable behavior.
05Watch someone use it
Give a teammate the task without explaining which buttons to press. Watch where they hesitate, what they misunderstand, and whether they reach the right result. Test on their screen size and with a keyboard. Fix the most important failure, then repeat the task.
- In practice
- Ask them to find the resource for their first day. Record whether they succeed unaided and what they expected the search to do.
- You leave with
- A short test record with observations, fixes, and open issues.
- Move on when
- An intended user can finish the task unaided. Any claim about speed or fewer errors is backed by a comparison with the previous process.
06Make the product maintainable
Write down who owns the tool, how to update its content, how to report a problem, and how to restore a working version. If it needs accounts, shared data, or integrations, test who can access what before inviting the team. Agree on the next check-in.
- In practice
- Give the resource list a named editor, record the reviewed version, and leave instructions for replacing an outdated link.
- You leave with
- A reviewed version, a named owner, and simple operating notes.
- Move on when
- The next person can use and maintain it without reconstructing your AI conversation.
Give the AI a brief it can work from.
Replace the bracketed text with your own task. Keep the brief as a separate file so your decisions survive tool changes and new conversations.
Before adding accounts or shared data, learn which parts of your product run in the browser and which need a server. The Vite, Next.js, and backend guide explains those choices in plain language.
Use material you are authorized to share. Replace the bracketed inputs and review the result against the original sources.
Ready for a first team trial.
A working preview is a milestone. Before a teammate relies on it, make these four things clear:
- The task works with the intended inputs, including an empty or incorrect input.
- A user can complete it without coaching, on the device they actually use.
- The owner, known limits, data access, and recovery steps are written down.
- You have a way to collect feedback and decide whether it helped.
Save unresolved issues in the handoff. A prototype that still needs review can be useful for learning; label its status clearly when you share it.