Coding Agents Are Junior Teammates With Fast Hands

End-of-lesson check

15 questions · take it digitally for instant feedback at tendril.neural-forge.io/learn/quiz/end-coder-agent-mental-model-creators

1. A developer tells a coding agent to 'just improve everything.' Based on the concepts in this material, what is the most likely result?

   1. The agent will refuse to act without explicit permission
   2. The agent will improve only security and performance
   3. The agent will produce risky, unbounded changes across the codebase
   4. The agent will ask follow-up questions to clarify the goal

2. When the material discusses 'scope' in the context of coding agents, what does it refer to?

   1. The specific, bounded task the agent is asked to complete
   2. The time limit before the agent must stop working
   3. The amount of memory the agent can use while working
   4. The number of files the agent is allowed to read

3. Before sharing code generated by a coding agent with others, what should a developer inspect?

   1. The color scheme and formatting of the code
   2. The agent's execution time and token usage
   3. The diff, data access, and failure path
   4. Only the final output to ensure it runs without errors

4. According to the material, what is the difference between a working demo and a production-ready feature?

   1. A production feature must be observable, reversible, and safe for others to use
   2. A demo uses more sophisticated algorithms
   3. A production feature has more comments
   4. A demo runs faster than production code

5. What question should a developer answer BEFORE giving a coding agent a task?

   1. What should the user be able to do when this is finished?
   2. How much will this cost in API credits?
   3. Which programming language should the agent use?
   4. Which model should power the agent?

6. What data should an application or agent never expose, according to the material?

   1. Credentials, API keys, and private user data
   2. User interface styling preferences
   3. Internal error messages

7. What does the material identify as the developer's primary role when working with coding agents?

   1. Writing all the code while the agent watches
   2. Translating the agent's output into a different language
   3. Providing scope, review, and system-level understanding
   4. Running the tests after the agent finishes

8. The material suggests naming the job before naming the tool. What does this principle mean in practice?

   1. Write the job title in the code file header
   2. Choose the tool brand before starting the project
   3. Define what needs to be built before deciding to use an AI coding tool
   4. Use a more specific programming language name in comments

9. When testing changes made by a coding agent, what should the test prove?

   1. That the code uses the same style as the existing codebase
   2. That the agent followed all best practices
   3. That the change works as a user would expect it
   4. That the code is shorter than the previous version

10. A developer wants to use a coding agent to refactor a large, messy codebase. What approach does the material recommend?

    1. Ask the agent to rewrite the entire codebase in a new language
    2. Decline to use an agent for refactoring work
    3. Break the work into many small, independent scoped tasks
    4. Give the agent full access to refactor everything at once

11. What is a 'rollback path' and why is it important when using coding agents?

    1. A sequence of API calls the agent uses for recovery
    2. A way to undo changes if the agent's output is incorrect or harmful
    3. A testing strategy that verifies backward compatibility
    4. A path through the codebase that handles errors gracefully

12. The material describes coding agents as having 'fast hands.' What does this metaphor suggest about their nature?

    1. They can solve any problem faster than humans
    2. They can type very quickly
    3. They require physical keyboards to operate
    4. They are excellent at executing bounded, mechanical tasks

13. Why does the material advise running agent output 'as a user, not as a fan of the tool'?

    1. To ensure the code uses the latest programming patterns
    2. To verify the feature actually solves the user's problem
    3. To compare the agent's speed to human developers
    4. To check if the agent's code is well-documented

14. When an agent asks to access sensitive resources like production databases, what does the material suggest?

    1. Grant the minimum access necessary for the specific task
    2. Ask the agent to work only with test data
    3. Grant full access since the agent knows what it's doing
    4. Deny all access to protect the system

15. A coding agent produces code that appears to work but has a subtle security vulnerability. Who is ultimately responsible?

    1. The developer who reviewed and shared the code
    2. No one, because security bugs are inevitable
    3. The agent, because it wrote the vulnerable code
    4. The company that built the coding agent