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Scott & Mark Learn To...Sculpt, not Spec

April 22, 2026 · 20 min

Show notes

In this episode, Scott Hanselman and Mark Russinovich ​​explore how software development is evolving in the age of AI, challenging the idea that everything should start with a fully defined spec. They highlight a more iterative, sculpting approach to building, where continuous refinement, testing, and human judgment are essential and discuss the realities of AI-assisted coding, including edge cases, maintenance, and the limits of productivity gains. 

 

Takeaways:    

  • AI-assisted coding works best as an iterative process, not a one-shot, fully spec’d solution 
  • Edge cases and real-world usage quickly expose gaps that initial builds 
  • AI can accelerate development, but human review, testing, and bottlenecks still limit true productivity gains  

 

Who are they?     

View Scott Hanselman on LinkedIn  

View Mark Russinovich on LinkedIn   

 

Watch Scott and Mark Learn on YouTube 

       

Listen to other episodes at scottandmarklearn.to  

         

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcasts 


Produced by Hangar Studios

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