GOTO - The Brightest Minds in Tech Platform Engineering: A Deep Dive Conversation • Russ Miles & Kevlin Henney
Sep 12, 2025
Russ Miles, an Author and Chaos Engineering Practitioner, joins Consultant and Keynote Speaker Kevlin Henney for a thought-provoking dialogue. They explore the intricate relationship between platform engineering and user feedback, cautioning against the pitfalls of letting external requests dictate design. Emphasizing the human aspect, they discuss how effective communication and trust foster innovation. Both reflect on personal career fulfillment, highlighting the need for purpose and self-awareness to combat burnout in the tech industry.
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Avoid Feeding The Pigeons
- Don't double down on the behaviors you don't want to encourage when building a platform.
- Investigate the underlying story before implementing the obvious technical fix.
Design Around Decision Loops
- Start platform design by asking which decision loops you want to speed up, not by choosing tools.
- Focus on OODA loops that help users observe, orient, decide, and act faster and better.
Platform As Habitat
- Treat platform architecture as a habitat for people, not just structural components.
- Design for how the space feels and enables people to live and work there productively.
