Vibe Coding for Product Owners

Safety first, magic second

Aug 05, 2025

I was having one of my semi-irregular networking check ins with a product owner I worked with for several months whose work ethic and character made that experience better than it would have been without him (you know who you are, and please forgive me for taking some small literary license with our last chat). As is typical these days, the discussion turned to AI and how we’re using it. He mentioned that he had been vibe coding to better understand the impact of backlog prioritizations on developer productivity.

This got me to thinking about how POs could use vibe coding to better communicate with both business owners and development teams about what everyone was talking about. There are tons of blog posts and books about why Agile and its derivatives (mostly --only-- the derivatives, IMO) have failed to meet expectations. One common theme is culture, which I have ranted about in my own posts. Another theme that is less explored (at least in my experience) is communication. So I decide to explore the idea of POs using vibe coded prototypes to overcome the communication barriers they have to deal with, and here are my findings.

AI Content Disclaimer: I used Perplexity for my research. I wrote the above and prompted it to complete the post, the results of which I edited into what you are reading here. The AI responded with some interesting meta commentary before providing the response which I thought you might find interesting (or amusing) as well:

“Absolutely—a juicy subject and not your typical “AI will eat your job, learn Python or else” post. Let’s kick the tires on this idea of vibe coding for Product Owners, peeling back not just the tech but the perilous, occasionally absurd, act of talking to humans about software.”

And now, back to my regularly planned meandering…

Ooh, wait… a shiny object: It’s vibe writing. Much safer than vibe coding (which can be done safely, and be sure to do it that way). Because I’m writing this in quasi-real-time, I hadn’t actually read the output after the meta commentary, and when I did, I was not entirely pleased. How much of that is a result of my prompting (I know how to do it right, and I often get lazy when doing it outside of “real” work) and the current state of AI (via my personal favorite, which is the only paid one I have available for personal work) is not entirely known, though I would guesstimate it at 70/30, with my pre-dawn prompting being on the 70 side. Anywhoo…I kept the thread going and the result from Perplexity was pretty good, so keeping with my full disclosure policy, about 90% of the following is directly from the bots brain, with minor edits from yours truly…

If you’re reading this, you’ve at least heard of “vibe coding” already. According to Perplexity (writing as me, sort of): …vibe coding refers to the practice of using natural language—sometimes only a prompt or a rough sketch—to articulate an application concept to an AI coding tool, which then produces a working prototype. The process is conversational and iterative, lowering the bar for turning ideas into usable, testable software. It’s catching on fast in product management circles, especially since it helps surface misalignments and misunderstandings before costly development work starts ((Perplexity source: : cacm.acm+1). If you want to keep learning, I suggest following https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardlyons/, who has been posting some great content lately on the subject).

What Makes Vibe Coding Valuable for Product Owners

Product Owners sit at the intersection of business needs and technical realities, often translating between stakeholders with different priorities and languages. Prototypes—especially quick, low-fidelity ones—have always helpfully bridged the gap. Now, vibe coding’s accelerated approaches offer new ways to close that gap, with greater speed and flexibility.

Practical Applications and Examples

Rather than inventing scenarios, let’s look at real-world applications and key principles:

AI-generated Prototyping for Communication
Recent case studies, such as one from Purdue University, describe teams leveraging vibe coding to develop interactive data analytics interfaces. By generating prototypes with AI based on natural language feedback, the team could quickly test multiple design concepts. This approach yielded richer feedback during testing with domain experts and allowed faster iteration—demonstrating how vibe coding can bridge gaps between what product owners imagine and what users actually need. (Perplexity source: arxiv)
ScubaDuck: Proving Feasibility
The “ScubaDuck” case study highlights how a nontrivial application was built in a matter of days using vibe coding principles—with minimal focus on traditional code review or deep stack expertise. The takeaway: vibe coding enables rapid progress, particularly for proof-of-concept or ancillary software, even in unfamiliar technical domains. The process also introduced considerations about quality and review that product owners must keep in mind. (Perplexity source: ezyang)
Business Stakeholder Engagement
Communication breakdowns—between product, stakeholders, and development—are far less likely when you can “show, not tell.” Research from ACM and practical guides published by Google Cloud emphasize the role of prototypes and vibe coding in making a product “real” early on, further reducing ambiguity and surfacing misalignments before real development starts. (Perplexity source: cloud.google+2)
Industry Insights
Forbes and Zapier have both profiled how vibe coding is accelerating prototyping and enabling non-engineers to meaningfully participate in product design and validation. Use cases range from plywood visualizers to resume scoring bots—and emphasize the flexible, feedback-driven, and democratized nature of the approach. (Perplexity source: zapier+1)

Common Challenges and Pitfalls

Vibe coding offers clear benefits, but it brings its own set of challenges:

Misreading Fidelity: Well-done rapid prototypes can be mistaken as “almost done” products. Several sources urge product leaders to clarify prototypes’ purpose and avoid overpromising based on AI-generated results. (Perplexity source: cacm.acm+1)
Quality and Security Gaps: A recurring theme (see LinkedIn case studies and commentary) is that velocity comes with risk—especially security flaws or unpolished behaviors. POs need to remain vigilant about handoffs to development and when to bring in formal review. (Perplexity source: linkedin+1)
Iteration Overload: The speed of vibe coding can feed endless cycles of “just one more tweak.” Setting limits and knowing when to finalize a direction is key. (Perplexity source: launchnotes)

Tried-and-True Recommendations

Drawing from the body of published work and case studies, here are some practices Product Owners can use to maximize the value of vibe coding:

Always Communicate Prototype Intent
At every stage, specify whether the artifact is for feedback, a potential design direction, or an actual implementation candidate. This heads off misunderstandings.
Involve Key Parties Early
The most cited benefit of prototyping is unclogging feedback loops. Share your prototypes in the formative stages, not after all big decisions have been made. (Perplexity source: aguayo+1)
Use Light, Accessible Tools
Tools like Figma for UI, Replit for quick app scaffolding, or natural language platforms described by Google Cloud and ACM allow even non-technical POs to participate fully—without getting bogged down. (Perplexity source: aguayo+2)
Document Learnings Directly on Artifacts
Annotate, highlight, and flag open questions or uncertainties on or alongside your prototypes—making the artifact a living document shared by the team and stakeholders. (Perplexity source: arxiv)
Prioritize Discussions of Risk and Gaps
Use vibe-coded outputs as a way to surface the “hard parts” early. Ask: what’s unclear, what are the technical unknowns, what pieces rely on real user validation?

Helpful Resources for Going Deeper

When introducing vibe coding into your practice—or just refining your approach—these resources and case studies come highly recommended:

Closing Thoughts

Vibe coding won’t replace careful product thinking or make every communication perfect, but it does help surface ambiguity, requirements, and risk sooner—and puts everyone on the same page faster. As a Product Owner, your language can increasingly be the prototype itself—bridging intention with execution, and making your work more transparent to both business partners and developers.

If you’ve experimented with vibe coding or seen it in action, I’d love to hear your stories or favorite examples—real-world experiences are the best classroom for sharpening these skills.

Ready to try it? Grab your prompt, your sketch, or your favorite AI code tool—and start bringing those “what-ifs” into reality. (Perplexity source: launchnotes+3)

ED: I find it really insulting that Perplexity used a reference in conclusion when it is writing as me…what am I, chopped liver?

Afterthought

If you want to see how the sausage was made, the factory is here: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/you-are-writing-as-me-based-on-nbkY.ZqfRpeaNLAALRsnhg

Full Reference List

https://www.arsturn.com/blog/analyzing-case-studies-of-successful-vibe-coding-projects-in-tech

Exoterica

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