Build the internal tool yourself
Use an AI pair programmer to write the small scripts and tools you would otherwise wait months for, and test your own speed-up the way GitHub’s randomised experiment did.
- For
- Analysts and operators who write some Excel formulas, SQL or Python and have a backlog of small automations
- Based on
- GitHub / Microsoft: GitHub Copilot AI pair programmer
- Effort
- One hour to set up; first useful tool in one to two days
- Cost
- $0–20 a month: free tiers exist; Copilot Pro is $10 a month (US dollars, check current pricing)
- Updated
- 2026-10-17
Measured result, as reported
GitHub / Microsoft · vendor research (controlled experiment)
“developers who used GitHub Copilot completed the task significantly faster–55% faster than the developers who didn’t use GitHub Copilot”
Evidence strength. Randomised controlled experiment, also published as a paper on arXiv. Run by the vendor, on a single small task.
Inside the playbook
Section by section. The full text, prompts and templates are for members.
- 01
The experiment: 95 developers, random groups, a test suite, 55% faster
- 02
Why it worked, and what the experiment did not show
- 03
Setup: VS Code with GitHub Copilot, or Claude Code / ChatGPT for non-developers
- 04
The spec-first loop: a reusable instruction file and four prompts
- 05
Three starter projects for operators
- 06
Run your own mini-experiment with tests and a stopwatch
- 07
Pitfalls: leaked secrets, company data in personal accounts, tools nobody maintains
The full build is for members
The complete playbook has the step-by-step build with prompts and templates to copy, plus the measurement plan and pitfalls. Membership covers all 3 complete playbooks and every new one, for €15 a month or €150 a year.
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