Play 5: Iterate on the UX

The AI got you a working prototype, fast. But that's all it is: a prototype. The navigation is probably a bit clunky, the forms are functional but unforgiving, and the primary actions might not be as obvious as you think.

This is the phase where you, the human, are most important. Your job is to be the user's advocate. You need to go through every flow, feel every friction point, and use your intuition to guide the AI in sanding down the rough edges. This is what turns a collection of features into a cohesive product.

For UpvoteVibe, I spent about five hours just living in the app, using it as a real user would, and making dozens of small, targeted fixes.

The Play-by-Play: The Refinement Loop

This isn't a linear process; it's a loop. You'll run through it again and again, on flows big and small, until the app feels solid.

Step 1: Find the Friction

Use the app. Seriously. Go through your core user stories from start to finish and pay attention to what feels awkward or confusing.

Here are the questions I asked myself as I reviewed UpvoteVibe:

• The Primary Action: Is the "Give a Vibe" button the most prominent thing on the page? Is it instantly clear what happens when I click it? Are the loading, success, and error states obvious?
• The Discovery Flow: When I land on the homepage, do I know what to do? Is the information on the project cards easy to scan? Can I get to a project's detail page intuitively?
• The Submission Flow: Does the form feel intimidating? Does it give me helpful feedback as I fill it out? What happens if I make a mistake?

Write down every single friction point you find, no matter how small.

Step 2: Make a Targeted Fix

Don't try to fix everything at once. Pick one friction point and ask the AI for a specific, bounded change.

• Instead of: "Make the project cards look better."

• Try: "The metadata on the project cards feels cluttered. Let's create a dedicated, clearly labeled section for 'Status', '% AI Built', and 'Time to Demo'. Use our space-2 token for spacing."

• Instead of: "Improve the vibe button."

• Try: "Let's make the 'Give a Vibe' button more satisfying. Add a subtle scale animation on hover and a clear loading state with a spinner. Use our primary color tokens and our standard transition duration."

Step 3: Test the Flow, Not Just the Component

After each change, go through the entire user journey again. A change that feels good in isolation might break the flow of the larger experience.

• Did making the vibe button bigger push important information below the fold on mobile?
• Did the new form validation message feel helpful or annoying when you're tabbing through the fields quickly?

This constant, holistic testing is what ensures the final product feels cohesive, not like a collection of individually polished but disconnected parts.

This loop—Find Friction > Make Fix > Test Flow—is the engine of user-centric refinement. It's how you use your human intuition to guide the AI's raw implementation power toward a truly great user experience.

With the UX feeling solid, you're ready to ship.

Next: Deploy and Monitor