Lesson 1: Prototyping with Cursor

Introduction to AI-Enhanced Prototyping

In this lesson, we'll explore how AI tools can dramatically accelerate the process of turning a Product Requirement Document (PRD) into a working prototype. We'll use the MealSnap app as our case study.

Video Lesson

The PRD-to-Prototype Workflow

Traditional development workflows often involve extensive planning, wireframing, and coding before seeing a working product. With AI-enhanced development, we can significantly compress this timeline.

Step 1: Define Your Product Requirements

Begin with a clear description of what you're building. For our MealSnap app, the core requirements include:

• Take photos of meals
• Use AI vision to calculate calories and macros
• Save data to a database
• Generate reports and track meal trends

Step 2: Use AI to Refine Requirements

AI tools like Claude can help refine your initial requirements by asking clarifying questions, suggesting additional features, or highlighting potential issues.

Step 3: Generate a Technical Plan

Once your requirements are solid, use AI to create a technical implementation plan with specific tasks and technologies.

Step 4: Scaffold Your Application

With your technical plan in place, you can use Cursor and other AI-powered tools to quickly scaffold your application structure and core components.

// Example of scaffolding a React Native component with Cursor
import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { View, Text, Image, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';

const MealCard = ({ meal }) => {
  return (
    <View style={styles.card}>
      <Image source={{ uri: meal.imageUrl }} style={styles.image} />
      <View style={styles.details}>
        <Text style={styles.title}>{meal.name}</Text>
        <Text style={styles.calories}>{meal.calories} calories</Text>
        <Text style={styles.macros}>
          Protein: {meal.protein}g | Carbs: {meal.carbs}g | Fat: {meal.fat}g
        </Text>
      </View>
    </View>
  );
};

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  // Styles generated by AI
});

Practice Exercise