Quick Reference

AIDLC Cheatsheet

Quick reference guide for all five AIDLC phases. Keep this handy as you implement AI-Native Software Delivery.

A

Analyze

Phase 01

AI-assisted requirements gathering and research synthesis

Key Activities

  • Requirements extraction
  • Research synthesis
  • Competitive analysis
  • Feasibility assessment

Example Prompts

  • "Summarize these requirements..."
  • "What are the risks of..."
  • "Compare approaches for..."
  • "What questions should I ask..."
I

Ideate

Phase 02

AI-driven architecture design and documentation generation

Key Activities

  • Architecture diagrams
  • Design pattern selection
  • API contract design
  • Technical specifications

Example Prompts

  • "Design an architecture for..."
  • "Generate a Mermaid diagram..."
  • "What patterns fit this..."
  • "Write a technical spec for..."
D

Develop

Phase 03

AI coding agents and intelligent code generation

Key Activities

  • Delegate scoped tasks to agents
  • Review agent diffs
  • Refactoring assistance
  • Bug identification

Example Prompts

  • "Implement this function..."
  • "Review this code for..."
  • "Refactor to use..."
  • "Why is this failing..."
L

Launch

Phase 04

AI-generated tests and deployment automation

Key Activities

  • Test generation
  • CI/CD configuration
  • Deployment scripts
  • Release validation

Example Prompts

  • "Generate tests for..."
  • "Create a CI pipeline..."
  • "Write deployment script..."
  • "What should I test before..."
C

Curate

Phase 05

AI-powered monitoring and continuous improvement

Key Activities

  • Log analysis
  • Root cause analysis
  • Performance optimization
  • Documentation updates

Example Prompts

  • "Analyze these logs..."
  • "What caused this error..."
  • "How can I optimize..."
  • "Update docs to reflect..."

At a Glance

Phase Focus AI Role Output
Analyze Requirements Research assistant Specs, analysis docs
Ideate Design Architect partner Diagrams, specs
Develop Code Coding agent Working code
Launch Deploy QA engineer Tests, pipelines
Curate Maintain SRE assistant Fixes, updates

Do's

  • Provide context in every prompt
  • Review all AI-generated code
  • Iterate on prompts for better results
  • Document AI-assisted decisions
  • Start with one phase, expand gradually

Don'ts

  • Blindly accept AI output
  • Skip security reviews
  • Expect AI to understand without context
  • Replace human judgment entirely
  • Try to implement all phases at once

What Good Looks Like

Signs your team is getting AIDLC right - qualities to aim for, not benchmark promises.

Less time on boilerplate

More of your day goes to design and review, less to repetitive typing.

Tests written by default

Coverage stops being the thing that gets cut when deadlines loom.

Docs that stay current

Documentation tracks the code instead of rotting behind it.

Humans own the review

Every agent diff is read and understood before it ships.

Want to Go Deeper?

Explore detailed guides for each phase of the AIDLC framework.

Analyze Ideate Develop Launch Curate