Taxonomy Components Demo
This is a demo to compare the two visualization approaches.
Option 1: Decision Matrix (2x2)
The matrix gives a quick visual for “where should I be?” based on stakes and verifiability:
Stakes
High Low
Human-Driven or invest in verification Grokking: Required
Agentic Engineering review critical paths Grokking: Recommended
Vibe Engineering invest in guardrails Grokking: Helpful
Vibe Coding ship it Grokking: Optional
Hard Easy
VerifiabilityReading the matrix:
- High stakes + hard to verify = you need tight control (Human-Driven)
- High stakes + easy to verify = let AI draft, review what matters (Agentic)
- Low stakes + hard to verify = invest in guardrails (Vibe Engineering)
- Low stakes + easy to verify = let it rip (Vibe Coding)
Grokking requirement increases toward the top-left. If you can't verify, the price is understanding.
Option 2: Taxonomy Cards
Cards give more detail per mode. Here’s the full set:
Vibe Coding
No-look shipping
You do
- Prompt → run → accept
- Trust the model did the obvious thing
You don't
- Read the code
- Review architecture
Verification
Visual check, quick run, 'does it work?'
Best for
- Throwaway prototypes
- One-off scripts
- Zero-stakes experiments
Vibe Engineering
No-look, but with guardrails
You do
- Invest in prompts, tests, and tooling
- Define crisp acceptance criteria
- Let the system verify for you
You don't
- Read most of the code
- Manually review every change
Verification
Tests, linters, type checks, self-checks
Best for
- Things you care about but not enough to read every line
- Unfamiliar stacks with verifiable behavior
Agentic Engineering
Co-authoring with selective review
You do
- Write some code yourself
- Review critical paths and architecture
- Verify with tests AND reasoning
You don't
- Let AI make unsupervised architecture decisions
- Ship without understanding failure modes
Verification
Tests + mental model of invariants
Best for
- User data involved
- Correctness matters
- Will be extended by future-you or teammates
Human-Driven Development
AI as autocomplete
You do
- Drive design and implementation
- Use AI for boilerplate and lookup
You don't
- Prompt for large code blocks
- Let AI make structural decisions
Verification
You are the verification
Best for
- Delicate work requiring tight control
- Learning and building muscles
- Domains you don't trust AI in
Hand Coding
Pre-2022 mode
You do
- Write everything yourself
You don't
- Use AI beyond maybe search
Verification
You, exhaustively
Best for
- Perfection required
- Proving competency (interviews)
- When time doesn't matter
Which to use?
Matrix is good for:
- Quick orientation
- The core decision logic at a glance
- People who want the TL;DR
Cards are good for:
- Full context on each mode
- Reference material
- People who want to understand before deciding
You could use both: matrix first for the decision framework, then cards below as the “full taxonomy reference.”