Developing a ‘Not To Do’ App with AI Assistance: A Journey in Modern iOS Development

Introduction

In the world of productivity apps, we often focus on what we should do. But what about the things we shouldn’t do? This was the premise behind my latest project: a ‘Not To Do’ app. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through the process of developing this iOS app, highlighting how I leveraged AI assistance (specifically, Claude) to streamline the development process.

The Concept

The ‘Not To Do’ app is designed to help users break bad habits by focusing on behaviors they want to avoid. Instead of checking off completed tasks, users mark the habits they successfully avoided each day. The app includes features like daily tracking, encouraging messages, statistics, and an achievement system to keep users motivated.

Development Process

1. Initial Planning and Setup

I started by outlining the core features of the app:

  • A main screen for daily habit tracking
  • iCloud sync for cross-device usage
  • Statistics to visualize progress
  • An achievement system for motivation

For the tech stack, I chose:

  • Swift and SwiftUI for the UI
  • Swift Data for local data management
  • CloudKit for iCloud sync

2. AI Assistance with Claude

Throughout the development process, I used an AI assistant called Claude to help with various aspects of the project. Here’s how Claude assisted:

  • Brainstorming and Feature Refinement: Claude helped expand on the initial app concept, suggesting features like the achievement system and cheering messages.
  • Code Generation: Claude provided code snippets and full view implementations, which I could then customize and integrate into the app.
  • Problem Solving: When I encountered issues (like incorrectly implementing the cheering messages), Claude helped identify and correct the problems.
  • Best Practices: Claude offered suggestions on SwiftUI and Swift Data best practices, helping ensure the app was built on a solid foundation.

3. Key Development Stages

a) Core Functionality:

  • Implemented the main dashboard for tracking ‘Not To Do’ items
  • Set up Swift Data for local storage
  • Integrated CloudKit for iCloud sync

b) User Engagement Features:

  • Added encouraging messages when users successfully avoid bad habits
  • Implemented a statistics screen to visualize progress

c) Achievement System:

  • Designed and implemented an achievement system to gamify the experience
  • Created various achievements to keep users engaged long-term

Key Learnings

  1. AI as a Development Partner: Using Claude as an AI assistant significantly sped up the development process. It was particularly helpful for generating boilerplate code, suggesting implementations, and quickly iterating on ideas.

  2. Importance of Clear Communication: When working with an AI, I learned the importance of being very specific in my requests and providing clear context. This ensured that Claude’s suggestions were directly applicable to my needs.

  3. SwiftUI and Swift Data: This project deepened my understanding of these newer Apple technologies. SwiftUI’s declarative syntax and Swift Data’s seamless integration with SwiftUI views made for a smooth development experience.

  4. Balancing Features and Simplicity: Throughout the development, there was a constant balance between adding engaging features and maintaining the app’s simplicity and focus.

Conclusion

Developing the ‘Not To Do’ app was an exciting journey that combined modern iOS development techniques with the novel experience of AI-assisted coding. The result is an app that takes a unique approach to productivity and habit-breaking.

The use of AI in the development process opened up new possibilities and significantly sped up certain aspects of development. However, it also highlighted the continued importance of human creativity, decision-making, and the ability to critically evaluate and integrate AI suggestions.

As we move forward, I’m excited to see how tools like Claude will continue to shape the software development landscape, potentially making app creation more accessible and efficient for developers of all levels.