Platform Engineering – Making Other Teams 10x Better
Jul 26, 2024
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Jessica Andersson, a platform engineering expert, discusses how to empower teams to become 10x better. She delves into cultivating a positive engineering culture, emphasizing collaboration while maintaining team independence. Metrics are key, as Andersson differentiates between platform and product development success measures. She also shares insights on the human challenges of leadership, highlighting the importance of communication and mentorship. The conversation wraps up with a look at the future of platform engineering and its growing significance in the tech landscape.
Platform engineering enhances team performance by streamlining processes and fostering a collaborative environment for developers to innovate more effectively.
Establishing trust between platform teams and developers is essential for success, which relies on addressing pain points and providing proactive support.
Deep dives
Empowering Developers through Platform Engineering
Platform engineering plays a crucial role in empowering developers by streamlining processes and removing pain points. The concept of becoming a '10X engineer' evolves from focusing on individual performance to enhancing the capabilities of entire teams. By enabling developers to operate efficiently and effectively, platform engineers help organizations deliver more value. This shift emphasizes collaboration and support, allowing developers to create and innovate without unnecessary obstacles.
Building Trust within Engineering Teams
Trust acts as a vital currency in the relationship between platform teams and developers, determining the success of collaboration. Establishing trust involves understanding and addressing developers' pain points through proactive support and approachability. By fostering an environment where developers feel comfortable seeking help, platform teams can build stronger interactions and enhance team performance. Conversely, imposing restrictive processes or assumptions can erode trust, making it essential for platform teams to prioritize empowerment over control.
Success Metrics for Platform Teams
Measuring the effectiveness of platform engineering is vital and can be done through specific metrics such as deployment frequency and lead time for changes. These metrics help teams evaluate their impact and make necessary adjustments over time by consistently comparing performance against set benchmarks. Although factors like developer happiness and efficiency are important, they can be more challenging to quantify. Ultimately, focusing on clear, actionable metrics allows platform teams to track progress and communicate their value to the overall organization.
This is the Engineering Culture Podcast, from the people behind InfoQ.com and the QCon conferences.
In this podcast Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods spoke to Jessica-Andersson about the role of platform engineering in empowering and enabling other teams.
Read a transcript of this interview: https://bit.ly/3Y9poIs
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