The UI-First Approach: A Game-Changing Development Strategy for LLM-Assisted Programming

Discovering a revolutionary methodology through trial, error, and Allah’s help!

As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh!

Introduction

In the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-assisted development, finding the right approach to building applications with Large Language Models (LLMs) can make the difference between success and frustration. After experiencing numerous failures and breakthroughs while working on Flutter applications, I've discovered what I call the UI-First Approach - a methodology that has transformed how I develop applications with AI assistance.

This approach emerged from real challenges faced while building Escape, an AI-powered application designed to help people overcome addictive sins and behavioral challenges through LLM-assisted guidance, and represents a fundamental shift in how we think about application development in the age of AI.

The Traditional Approach: Why It Fails with LLMs

The Old Way: Bottom-Up Development

Previously, my development process followed what seemed like a logical sequence:

1. Plan the entire application

2. Create data models

3. Build repositories and data layers

4. Implement controllers and providers

5. Finally, create the UI

This bottom-up approach appears methodical and structured, especially when following clean architecture principles. However, when working with LLMs, this traditional sequence creates several critical problems.

The Problems with Traditional Approach

Lack of Visual Reference: Without a tangible UI to reference, you're essentially developing blindfolded. It's like trying to reach the airport with a blindfolded driver - you have no visual confirmation of your progress or direction.

Dependency Confusion: The most intriguing discovery is that models, repositories, providers, and controllers actually depend on your UI design decisions. When you build these components first, you're making assumptions about requirements that haven't been visually validated.

Lost Direction: LLMs work best when they have concrete, visual context. Abstract data layers provide little tangible feedback, making it easy to iterate in wrong directions and lose sight of the end goal.

No Immediate Validation: Without UI components, there's no way to immediately test and validate your architectural decisions, leading to potential rework later.

The UI-First Approach: A Revolutionary Methodology

Core Principles

The UI-First Approach flips traditional development on its head with this sequence:

1. Plan the application (high-level overview)

2. Optionally create basic data models (if absolutely necessary)

3. Design and build the complete UI first

4. Then build supporting architecture (repositories, controllers, providers)

5. Connect everything together

Why UI-First Works with LLMs

Visual Context: The UI serves as a visual roadmap for both you and the LLM. Every subsequent architectural decision can be made with concrete reference to how users will interact with the application.

Clear Dependencies: Once you have the UI, the dependencies become crystal clear. You know exactly what data flows are needed, what state management is required, and how components should interact.

Immediate Feedback: UI components provide instant visual feedback. You can see, test, and validate your design decisions immediately.

User-Centric Development: Since users interact with your application through the UI, starting there ensures you're always building with the end-user experience in mind.

LLM Optimization: LLMs can better understand and assist when they have concrete, visual context rather than abstract architectural concepts.

Practical Implementation

Step 1: UI Design and Structure

Begin by creating your complete UI using atomic design principles:

• Atoms: Basic UI elements (buttons, inputs, text)

• Molecules: Simple combinations of atoms

• Organisms: Complex UI components

• Templates: Page-level layouts

• Pages: Specific instances of templates

Step 2: Feature Dependency Mapping

With your UI complete, map out feature dependencies. For example, in the Barakah finance app:

• Accounts are foundational (you need accounts before you can create transactions)

• Entries depend on accounts existing

• Transactions depend on both accounts and entries

• Everything flows from the UI requirements

Step 3: Incremental Backend Development

Build your supporting architecture incrementally, starting with the most foundational features:

1. Create models that match your UI data requirements

2. Build repositories for data persistence

3. Implement controllers for business logic

4. Add providers for state management

5. Connect everything to your existing UI

Real-World Example: The Barakah App Architecture

The Challenge

Building an Islamic finance tracking application with complex accounting principles, double-entry bookkeeping, and clean architecture requirements. The app needed to handle multiple interconnected financial concepts while maintaining a clear, user-friendly interface.

Feature Mapping: Thinking User-First

The key insight was mapping the application based on what users can actually do rather than technical data structures. Here's how the Barakah app was organized by user capabilities:

Core User Features:

• Accounts: Users can create, view, edit, and manage their financial accounts (bank accounts, cash, assets, liabilities)

• Transactions: Users can record financial transactions between accounts

• Entries: Users can create detailed accounting entries (the foundation of double-entry bookkeeping)

• Categories: Users can organize their transactions by category for better tracking

• Budgets: Users can set and monitor spending budgets

• Savings: Users can create and track savings goals

• Reports: Users can generate financial reports and insights

• Dashboard: Users can view overview of their financial status

• Contacts: Users can manage people/entities they transact with

Architecture Implementation

Each feature follows clean architecture with complete separation:

features/
├── accounts/
│   ├── controllers/     # Business logic
│   ├── models/         # Data structures
│   ├── providers/      # State management
│   ├── repositories/   # Data access
│   └── screens/        # UI components
├── transactions/
├── entries/
├── budgets/
└── [other features...]

Design System Structure

The UI was built using atomic design principles:

• Atoms: Basic components (buttons, inputs, constants)

• Molecules: Simple combinations (charts, cards, list items)

• Organisms: Complex components (composite cards)

• Templates: Page layouts (accounts_template, dashboard_template, etc.)

The Development Process

1. Planned user capabilities and feature dependencies

2. Created complete UI templates for all features first

3. Built atomic design system components

4. Identified that accounts were foundational (transactions need accounts to exist)

5. Developed accounts feature completely (models → repositories → controllers → providers → screens)

6. Connected accounts to existing UI templates

7. Moved to dependent features (entries, then transactions)

Feature Dependency Discovery

With the UI complete, the dependencies became crystal clear:

• Accounts → Foundation (everything needs accounts)

• Categories → Support structure for organization

• Entries → Depend on accounts and categories

• Transactions → Depend on accounts, categories, and entries

• Budgets → Depend on accounts and categories

• Reports → Depend on all transaction data

• Dashboard → Aggregates data from all features

The Results

• Clear development roadmap based on user capabilities

• Immediate visual validation of each feature

• Logical dependency chain that matched user mental models

• Reduced rework because UI requirements drove architecture decisions

• Better LLM assistance due to concrete, user-focused context

Note: This methodology was originally discovered while building the Escape app and has since been successfully applied to multiple projects, proving its effectiveness across different domains.

Benefits of the UI-First Approach

For Developers

• Clarity: Always know what you're building toward

• Motivation: See tangible progress immediately

• Validation: Test ideas quickly without building full architecture

• Focus: Stay user-centric throughout development

For LLM Integration

• Better Context: LLMs understand visual requirements better than abstract concepts

• Clearer Instructions: Easier to explain what you need when you can reference UI elements

• Reduced Iterations: Less back-and-forth because requirements are visually clear

• Practical Guidance: LLMs can provide more specific, actionable advice

When to Use UI-First Approach

Ideal Scenarios

• Building consumer-facing applications

• Working with LLMs for development assistance

• Prototyping and MVP development

• Projects where user experience is critical

• Complex applications with multiple interdependent features

Considerations

• May require upfront investment in UI design

• Works best with frameworks that support rapid UI development (Flutter, React, etc.)

• Requires discipline to resist building back-end components too early

Lessons Learned

Failure as a Teacher

This approach emerged from multiple failures using traditional methods. Each failure provided valuable insights that eventually led to this breakthrough methodology. As they say, you primarily learn through failure, and these failures were indeed blessings in disguise.

The Power of Visual Reference

The human brain processes visual information more effectively than abstract concepts. The same principle applies when working with LLMs - they perform better with concrete, visual context.

Dependency Clarity

One of the most surprising discoveries was how clearly feature dependencies emerge once you have a complete UI. What seemed complex and interconnected becomes straightforward and logical.

Conclusion

The UI-First Approach represents a fundamental shift in how we think about application development in the age of AI assistance. By putting the user interface at the center of the development process, we create a clear roadmap that benefits both human developers and AI assistants.

This methodology doesn't just change the order of development tasks - it changes how we think about the entire development process. Instead of building toward an abstract goal, we build toward a concrete, visual reality that users will actually interact with.

For developers working with LLMs, this approach can be the difference between getting lost in architectural complexity and building successful, user-focused applications efficiently.

The next time you start a new project with AI assistance, consider beginning with the end in mind - start with the UI, and let everything else flow naturally from there.

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This approach was developed through practical experience building real-world applications and represents a synthesis of clean architecture principles with AI-assisted development best practices. May it serve as guidance for developers seeking more effective ways to build with AI assistance, Ameen!