I use GitHub Copilot in Intellij with Claude Sonnet and the plan mode to implement complete features without me having to code anything.

I see it as a competent software developer but one that doesn't know the code base.

I will break down the tasks to the same size as if I was implementing it. But instead of doing it myself, I roughly describe the task on a technical level (and add relevant classes to the context) and it will ask me clarifying questions. After 2-3 rounds the plan usually looks good and I let it implement the task.

This method works exceptionally well and usually I don't have to change anything.

For me this method allows me to focus on the architecture and overall structure and delegate the plumbing to Copilot.

It is usually faster than if I had to implement it and the code is of good quality.

The game changer for me was plan mode. Before it, with agent mode it was hit or miss because it forced me to one shot the prompt or get inaccurate results.