I give it freedom but with the predefined restrictions. I use a plug-in called Obra Superpowers. Whenever I want to start on a block of work, whether it's a ticket or if I just want to tackle tech debt, I start with the brainstorm command. I say something vague like "implement X" or "last time i tried to vibe code Y, Z happened. I don't want that to happen again. Let's improve the harness."

It'll ask follow questions, which I answer, then generate specs that I manually review. If it looks good, it'll generate a plan. If not then I'll give it feedback.

When the scope of work is well-defined (ie my boss says users should be able to do Y) then this process is fairly seamless.

When it's not well-defined then it does take a bit longer and more dialogue as you said. But because everything is documented and written down, we have a pretty good feedback loop (boss asks why it works like X, I can look at the generated spec/plan, or ask the AI to, to understand why).

Ok, so it’s constrained by specs, but you dialog with the AI and have it create the specs. I should try that. I’ve been creating my own specs and having it work from those and then iterating, but that’s not exactly quick and I find myself thinking, “At this rate I could do it faster myself.”

Yeah definitely agreed. I'm lucky I'm that my boss is willing to invest in this little experiment so the point isn't "can we do this faster manually" it's "how can we build our AI infrastructure such that it can actually be faster."

And also, I'm taking care of my infant daughter while working so my workflow is often "launch an AI agent from my computer while she's asleep, review plan on my phone while feeding or napping the little one, approve it and execute it" so it's often running when I'm not really in a mental space to be thinking deeply.