Summer Product Development
A 6-day vibe coding intensive — students go from idea to live, shipped product, end-to-end. Here's the full curriculum, day by day.
Tasks
Section 1 — Capstone Brainstorm
Capstone Brainstorm (15 min)
Write down every idea — nothing is too small! Pick one of the three angles below and list as many ideas as you can. After ~5 minutes alone, trade lists with a partner and steal their best ideas.
What to Save
Option 1 — ICC Projects: What projects do you think ICC needs, or can be made for ICC? Option 2 — School Challenges: What challenges do you notice at school? Think about things that could be easier or better. Option 3 — Community Challenges: What challenges exist in your community? Think about issues affecting your neighborhood or city. Aim for at least 5 ideas, then circle the one that excites you most.
Lock In Your Capstone Idea
Use BuildBot as a thinking partner — it asks the questions, you do the thinking. Then save your sharpened spec to Notes.
Example Prompt
“I want to build [your idea] to solve [the problem] for [who]. Ask me 5 questions, one at a time. Your questions should force me to think harder about: (1) who specifically this helps, (2) what it actually does step by step, and (3) what the 3 most important features are. Don't give me answers — just ask the next question after I answer each one.”
What to Save
Save your project spec: • Problem (one sentence) • User (be specific — e.g. "7th graders who forget assignments", not just "students") • 3 core features • Why it matters to you
Section 2 — Pick Your Vibe Coding Tool
Create a Free Account
Pick a build tool and create a free account — choose whichever looks easiest to start with.
Section 3 — Prompt Battle
Prompt Battle (10 min)
No AI help for this one — this is a skill-building exercise. Challenge: Write the BEST prompt for your sparkle fullscreen page! Your prompt will be scored on clarity, specificity, and creativity. May the best prompt win! Your prompt should include: • What the page is for • Who it is for • What it should look like • What it should do
What to Save
Write your winning prompt here. Make it specific, creative, and clear — cover what the page is for, who it is for, what it should look like, and what it should do.
Rehearse With BuildBot
Test-drive your prompt before you commit. Paste it to BuildBot and ask it to describe what it would build — does that match what you meant? If not, sharpen your prompt before Step 6.
Example Prompt
“Here is a prompt I wrote for a webpage: [paste your prompt]. Don't build it. Instead, describe in detail what page you would build based ONLY on what I wrote — the layout, colors, text, buttons, and what each part does. Be specific and literal. Don't fill in anything I didn't say.”
Drop Your Prompt Into Your Build Tool
Paste your (sharpened) winning prompt into your vibe coding tool and watch your first page come to life.
Save Your Project Link + One-Sentence Why
Your project is live! Copy the link and save it to Notes with a one-sentence summary. Then share with a partner — trade links, try each other's pages for 60 seconds, and say one nice thing + one question.
What to Save
Live project URL: One sentence: I built [thing] for [who] because [why].
Tasks
Show Someone Your Project
Share your project link with a friend, family member, or classmate. Ask them to try it.
What to Save
Write down: Who did you show it to? What did they say? What confused them? What did they like?
List What to Improve
Ask BuildBot to help you turn early reactions into action items.
Example Prompt
“People said [feedback]. How should I improve my [project type] based on this? Give me 3 specific changes.”
Add a New Feature
Pick the most requested feature and add it to your project using your build tool.
Example Prompt
“Add a [feature] to my project. It should [describe behavior]. Put it [where on the page].”
Improve the Design
Make your project look more polished — colors, layout, fonts, spacing.
Example Prompt
“Make the design more professional. Use consistent spacing, a clean color palette, and make sure it looks good on mobile.”
Save Your Progress
Screenshot your improved project and save a note about what you changed and why.
What to Save
What 3 things did you change? Why? What feedback led to each change?
Tasks
Test Everything
Click every button, fill every form, try to break your own project. Write down what doesn't work.
What to Save
List every bug you find using this format: "When I [do this], I expect [this] but instead [this happens]."
Fix Your #1 Bug
Take your worst bug and describe it clearly to your build tool. Watch it fix it.
Example Prompt
“When I click the submit button with an empty form, the page crashes. Instead, it should show a message that says "Please fill in all fields" and keep the form open.”
Ask BuildBot for a QA Check
Ask BuildBot to help you think of things you might have missed.
Example Prompt
“I built a [project type]. What are 5 things that might be broken or confusing that I should test before showing it to people?”
Final Polish
Make 3 final improvements — small things that make a big difference.
Example Prompt
“Add a page title and favicon. Make sure all text is readable. Add a footer with my name and the year.”
Confirm Your Project is Ready for Testers
Run through the launch checklist: Does it load? Main feature works? Nothing confusing?
What to Save
Final check — does it load? Does the main feature work? Is anything confusing? Would you proudly show this to someone? Write YES or what still needs fixing.
Tasks
Write Your Feedback Questions
Ask BuildBot to help you draft 5 specific questions to ask testers.
Example Prompt
“Help me write 5 specific feedback questions to ask a classmate testing my [project type]. Focus on: what confuses them, what feels broken, and what they wish existed. Keep them open-ended, not yes/no.”
Ask a Classmate to Try It
Share your project link with a classmate. Read them a short intro (one sentence — what it does), then stay silent while they use it. Don't help them. Watch where they get stuck.
What to Save
Tester 1 — [Name] • Where they got stuck: • What they said (quote their exact words): • Something they tried I didn't expect: • Their #1 suggestion:
Ask a Target User to Try It
Now find someone who fits your target user — the kind of person you actually built this for. A parent, a sibling, a friend. Walk them through the same questions and stay silent while they use it.
What to Save
Tester 2 — [Name + why they fit your target user] • Where they got stuck: • What they said (quote their exact words): • Something they tried I didn't expect: • Their #1 suggestion:
Turn Feedback Into 3 Fixes
Paste your two tester notes to BuildBot and ask it to rank the top 3 fixes by impact.
Example Prompt
“Here's what my testers said: [paste your Day 4 notes]. Turn this into the 3 most important fixes I should make tomorrow, ranked by impact. For each fix, tell me exactly what to change and why.”
Save Tomorrow's Fix List
Save BuildBot's top 3 fixes as your plan for Day 5.
What to Save
Day 5 — Fixes to make 1. [Fix #1 and why] 2. [Fix #2 and why] 3. [Fix #3 and why]
Tasks
Apply Your Top 3 Fixes
Open your build tool. Work through the fix list from Day 4. Describe each fix to your build tool clearly — you've done this before.
Create an Account on a Slide Tool
Pick a slide tool — these are AI-powered like your build tool, but they make pitch decks instead of apps. You're proving vibe coding works across different tools.
Prompt Your Pitch Deck
Paste your project spec and a slide outline into your slide tool. It will generate the deck.
Example Prompt
“Create a 6-slide pitch deck for my project. Slide 1: title + my name. Slide 2: the problem I solved. Slide 3: my solution (leave space for a screenshot). Slide 4: what I learned building it. Slide 5: what I'd build next. Slide 6: live project link + thank you. My project: [paste your project spec from Day 1 Notes].”
Add Screenshots of Your Project
Take 2-3 screenshots of your app. Drop them into the slides where they fit. If your slide tool supports a live link embed, use that instead.
Save Your Deck URL
You're presentation-ready. Save the deck URL to Notes — tomorrow you'll present from it.
What to Save
Day 5 deliverables • Pitch deck URL: • Live project URL:
Tasks
Open Yesterday's Deck
Pull up the pitch deck URL from your Day 5 notes. Read through every slide once end-to-end.
Write a 2-Minute Spoken Script
Ask BuildBot to turn your slides into a 2-minute spoken pitch.
Example Prompt
“Here's my pitch deck content: [paste the text from each slide]. Write me a 2-minute spoken script that matches each slide. Natural tone, not robotic. I want to sound confident but real.”
Do a Timed Dry Run
Set a timer. Present the deck + a live demo end-to-end. Aim for 2-3 minutes. If you go over 3, cut a slide or shorten a section.
Present to Your Class or Coach
You're ready. Share your deck link, share your live project link, tell your story. This is the moment.
Save Your Demo Day Artifacts
Save everything — deck URL, project URL, and how it went. This is your portfolio, forever.
What to Save
Demo Day wrap-up • Pitch deck URL: • Live project URL: • One sentence on how the presentation went: • One thing you're proud of: