Using GitHub Copilot and spec-kit for Agentic Coding, SDD and TDD

Course Description

AI-powered coding tools such as GitHub Copilot are rapidly transforming how software is designed, implemented, and maintained. This course teaches participants how to move beyond simple prompt-based coding and adopt a systematic, agentic approach that improves productivity without sacrificing quality, governance, or maintainability. Participants will learn how to use Copilot's advanced chat and agent modes without or with spec-kit to implement “vibe coding” and Spec-Driven and Test-Driven Development (SDD and TDD) respectively.

SDD's structured methodology spans the whole software development life cycle (SDLC) and ensures that software development remains aligned with business intent, technical constraints, and long-term sustainability. Additionally, TDD makes sure that the generated code will be of high quality. The course combines conceptual foundations with extensive hands-on exercises, enabling participants to immediately apply these techniques to real-world projects.

Training Objectives

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Understand the differences between the various modes in Copilot Chat
• Understand the concepts of MCP servers and tools, and configure and use them in Copilot
• Create new applications and modify existing ones consisting of multiple files
• Use Copilot to create and run unit and integration tests
• Generate documentation for applications based on source code and user prompts
• Use Copilot for source control tasks
• Understand the limitations of “vibe coding” and the need for a more structured methodology which spans the whole software development life cycle (SDLC)
• Understand the main principles, advantages and disadvantages of Spec-driven and Test-driven Development (SDD and TDD)
• Explain the meaning and importance of SDD and TDD steps
• Use SDD and TDD in greenfield projects
• Use SDD and TDD in brownfield projects

Main Topics

GitHub Copilot and Agentic Coding

• Copilot Chat modes: Ask, Edit, Plan, and Agent
• Configuring and using MCP tools and toolsets
• Using Copilot to create and modify multi-file applications
• Using Copilot to create and run unit and integration tests
• Using Copilot for documentation
• Using Copilot for source control
• Configuring and using asynchronous background and cloud-based coding agents

Spec-driven and Test-driven Development (SDD and TDD)

• Limitations of “vibe coding” and the need for a more structured methodology which spans the whole software development life cycle (SDLC)
• What is Spec-driven and Test-driven Development (SDD and TDD)?
• Installation and basic configuration of spec-kit
• SDD workflow: Constitution, Specification, Planning, Task breakdown, Implementation
• Configuring and using TDD
• Applying SDD and TDD in greenfield projects
• Applying SDD and TDD in brownfield projects

Target Audience

Software developers and testers as well as their technical managers who want to understand and use GitHub Copilot and spec-kit in agentic coding and spec-driven software development.

Prerequisites

• Experience with VS Code or similar IDEs
• Experience using ChatGPT or similar chat-based AI tools
• General programming skills, experience with at least one object-oriented programming language

Structure

Roughly 50% lecture, 50% hands-on lab exercises.