How platform teams get stuff done

Overview
The article explains how platform teams can effectively deliver value by choosing appropriate collaboration patterns with their consumer teams. It discusses the maturity of teams, phases of platform adoption, and the trade-offs between doing work themselves versus enabling others.

Key Takeaways

• Assess the maturity of consumer teams before deciding on a collaboration model.
• Choose collaboration patterns (e.g., platform-as-a-service, internal developer platform, professional services) that match the adoption phase.
• Platform teams should balance building reusable components with providing direct support when needed.
• Migration to a platform often requires a mix of patterns rather than a single approach.
• Continuous feedback loops between platform and product teams improve platform effectiveness.

Who Would Benefit

• Engineering managers leading platform or infrastructure teams.
• Technical leads responsible for internal tooling and services.
• CTOs and VP of Engineering shaping organizational delivery models.
• Software architects designing platform strategies.
• Product owners of platform products.

Frameworks and Methodologies

• Internal Developer Platform (IDP) concepts.
• Collaboration patterns for platform consumption.
• Phased platform adoption model.
• Service-oriented architecture principles.
• DevOps and self-service tooling practices.