Building Trust and Adoption in Platform Engineering: Insights from Jessica Andersson

Platform engineering is a crucial aspect of accelerating and empowering developers to deliver more product value faster over time. Jessica Andersson, a platform engineering expert, shared her insights on how their startup adopted platform engineering at QCon London.

Andersson emphasized the importance of investing in platform engineering early on, even before reaching a certain size as most companies do. She highlighted that having software in production implicitly creates a platform, whether recognized or not. This implicit platform is often built in a piecemeal fashion to address immediate needs, leading to inefficiencies and bottlenecks over time.

To address this, Andersson’s team identified their implicit platform and transformed it into an intentional platform by streamlining, upgrading, and securing existing tools. She stressed the importance of not replacing all tools but focusing on those that are insecure or hindering platform performance.

The primary goal of the platform engineering team is to enhance the ability to deliver product value by removing bottlenecks and reducing time sinks. Andersson outlined key indicators to identify areas needing improvement, such as blocked teams, lengthy tasks, and unreliable processes.

Treating the platform as a product involves considering users, problem-solving, and ongoing maintenance. Andersson highlighted the significance of involving a product manager to ensure a user-centric approach and seamless transitions during migrations or tool switches.

In terms of gaining platform adoption from developers, Andersson emphasized the importance of building trust through activities like removing pain points, being approachable and proactive, and understanding teams’ perspectives. Trust plays a crucial role in supporting a platform, as it underpins adoption, communication, and overall success.

Overall, platform engineering aims to enhance the developer experience and enable teams to focus on building exceptional products. By investing in platform adoption and building trust, organizations can create a solid foundation for innovation and growth.