In my opinion, for effective agentic coding, engineers should think like managers. But perhaps you are not interested in management. You don’t know what managers do, and you don’t want to know. You are put off by all the manager-analogies and wish they’d stop. Perhaps you are the artistic type - a software craftsperson.
So let’s change the subject and talk about something interesting… like art. Hey, how about that Rubens? Do you know his process on some of his famous paintings like The Elevation of the Cross?
Peter Paul Rubens would start by sketching the general view of the composition. This helped him plan the placement of the characters, orientation and the overall imagery.
Then he would submit this oil sketch to whoever commissioned the painting for comments and approval.
The next step would be to execute the composition on a canvas or panel. While Rubens took care of the key figures and details, he would delegate large parts of the paintings to his pupils, assistants and collaborators. They would either perform specialized jobs like painting figures, animals or still-life elements. Or they would cover large areas like background, drapery, secondary figures etc. The initial oil sketch would serve as the model for his assistants to paint their parts.
Lastly, the painting would be reviewed by Rubens and he could provide final touches like his signature brushwork.
So a painting would be conceptualized by Rubens and credited to him, yet it might be only partially painted by him.
This process was fairly common with all major artists who operated large workshops of assistants - Rembrandt, Raphael, Titian etc. It is no surprise that they ended up producing thousands of paintings during their lifetimes.
To recap: the artist receives a commission. They create a high level plan of what the composition would look like. They draw a quick sketch, or an MVP, and get it approved. Then they decide how to execute the actual painting. They break down the tasks and assign them to their team of assistants. They meticulously review the work and provide final touches.
Sound familiar? So if an artist like Rubens could delegate away the grunt work, why not do the same with your code? You’re still the engineer. You design, delegate, review and iterate. And you remain accountable.
But let the AI agents be your assistants in the workshop to carry out your vision.