Can Software Developers Use CHATGPT Effectively?

‘Work smarter, not harder.’

It’s a common phrase that Americans in every industry often strive for professionally. How can get success without working as hard as I did last week or last month? Efficiency. With the sudden popularity of CHATGPT, a language model developed by Open AI, professionals everywhere are trying to figure out if it’s a useful tool for their use case. So, naturally, we did too.

Can CHATGPT make software development easier and more efficient?

With its ability to generate human-like responses to user input, CHATGPT can help software developers to streamline their workflows and improve the quality of their code. While we don’t anticipate CHATGPT building custom applications from a one or two-line request, there are some ways software developers can utilize the tool. We will explore some of the ways in which you can use CHATGPT effectively for software development (and how to use your own discernment with each use case).

Code completion

One of the most useful features of CHATGPT is its ability to complete code snippets based on user input. This can be particularly helpful for developers who are working on large, complex projects, as it can save time and reduce the risk of errors.

While this may be a useful tool for new coders or someone learning a new language, you most likely won’t want to use CHATGPT to complete complex code. The most experienced coders may find it redundant to ask an AI to complete code that they’ve been writing their entire carrier. Custom, complex needs in the code may be too much for the AI to take on - and isn’t that what most of us are work on anyway?

To use CHATGPT for code completion, simply enter the start of a code snippet and wait for CHATGPT to generate a list of possible completions. You can then select the one that best matches your needs and incorporate it into your code.

Bug identification

Another way in which CHATGPT can be useful for software development is in identifying bugs in your code. By analyzing your code and comparing it to known bugs and error patterns, CHATGPT can help you to identify potential issues before they become major problems.

While CHATGPT can identify bugs in the language, it will not test the code and understand it from a user’s perspective. As we know, producing effective code also comes down to how the users interact with the software - not just that the code functions as written.

To use CHATGPT for bug identification, simply input your code and wait for CHATGPT to generate a list of possible bugs and errors. You can then review these suggestions and make the necessary changes to your code to address any issues that are identified.

Documentation generation

Documentation is an important part of software development, but it can be time-consuming and tedious to create. CHATGPT can help to streamline this process by generating documentation based on your code.

Your code may have components that are easy to identify, but some of it may be extremely custom. While CHATGPT can provide templates and standard language, a complete document will be a well-reviewed, edited document.

To use CHATGPT for documentation generation, simply input your code and wait for CHATGPT to generate a list of possible documentation templates. You can then select the one that best matches your needs and customize it to include the relevant information for your project.

Code optimization

Optimizing your code is an important part of software development, as it can improve the performance of your applications and reduce the risk of errors. CHATGPT can help you to optimize your code by analyzing it and identifying areas where improvements can be made.

Be sure to review the code you’ve optimized before using it in your application. You’ll know whether the optimization effectively removed important components that made your code unique (and brilliant). Consider this a peer review that may need an extra set of eyes.

To use CHATGPT for code optimization, simply input your code and wait for CHATGPT to generate a list of possible optimizations. You can then review these suggestions and make the necessary changes to your code to improve its performance.

Project management

In addition to its technical capabilities, CHATGPT can also be used for project management. By analyzing your project data and generating insights into your team’s performance, CHATGPT can help you to improve your project management practices and achieve better outcomes.

This may be our favorite way to use CHATGPT, because it isn’t going to directly affect your code and the software. If you are a team without a scrum master or your team has hit a rut with not progress forward, this could be a great way to evaluate your performance and come up with fresh ideas to grow.

To use CHATGPT for project management, simply input your project data and wait for CHATGPT to generate a list of insights and recommendations. You can then review these suggestions and make the necessary changes to your project management practices to achieve better outcomes.

In Conclusion

CHATGPT is a powerful tool that can be used in various ways to improve your software development practices. Whether you are looking to complete code snippets, identify bugs, generate documentation, optimize your code, or improve your project management practices, CHATGPT can help you to achieve your goals more quickly and effectively.

As long-time software engineers, we caution you not to rely too heavily on the use of AI to do your job. Yes, stay current with the latest technologies, but don’t hand off your work to an intelligent computer. Learn how to use them to best leverage your knowledge and become better.