OutSystems Mentor: From Idea to Prototype in Minutes with AI

Is it really possible to build a functional app in just five minutes? That was the bold claim behind OutSystems Mentor — an AI-powered assistant for low-code development. Naturally, we were skeptical. But also curious. So, we put it to the test with a real challenge: building a collaborative technical content manager app.

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Our app needed to allow users to form teams (up to three members, one team per user), write and publish technical posts, and include a special LinkedIn summary field editable only by users with the Marketing role. Everyone could read posts, but only authors could edit them — a solid use case to push Mentor’s capabilities.

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Through experimentation, one insight became crystal clear: the quality of the prompt directly impacts the output. The more specific and structured the prompt, the better the results. Defining entities, relationships, business rules, and even UI color codes significantly improved the outcome.

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Key takeaways on working with Mentor:

• A detailed prompt alone can work well — even without an attached requirements document.
• The presence of a document seems more impactful than how detailed it is.
• Hex codes are more reliable than descriptions (e.g., “black” sometimes generated grey).
• Mentor builds structure quickly but still relies on humans for logic and nuance.

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Within just a few minutes, Mentor delivered:

• A solid data model with Users, Teams, and Posts.
• Functional screens for listing, creating, and editing content.
• Proper user role setup.
• UI styled with our brand color right out of the box.

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Of course, some manual work was still required. Rules like “one team per user” or “max three members” weren’t enforced automatically. Restricting the LinkedIn field to Marketing users also needed custom logic. And while the app worked, Mentor generated more screens than expected — something to watch if you're aiming for a lean MVP or working within Application Object limits.

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Despite these adjustments, the productivity boost was undeniable. We skipped the entire “blank canvas” stage and started from a fully functional base. It felt like pair programming with an AI — fast, efficient, and surprisingly accurate.

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What we learned from the experience:

• ✅Mastering prompts is a crucial new skill for developers and designers.
• ✅Mentor shines at building a strong foundation but still needs human refinement.
• ✅Prompt iteration is key — small wording changes can drastically change results.
• ✅AI accelerates development but doesn’t replace it; it gives us time to focus on UX, logic, and quality.

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We started skeptical but ended genuinely impressed. OutSystems Mentor won't build the entire app for you, but it gets you from concept to prototype with incredible speed.

For anyone working in low-code, it’s a tool worth embracing.

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