Paul Stovell is cofounder and CEO of Octopus Deploy.
DevOps has evolved beyond its origins of building and maintaining technical systems. Today, DevOps teams must meet performance benchmarks measured by research bodies like DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) and set by internal stakeholders—all while fostering team collaboration and productivity.
DevOps teams are tasked with defining a set of architectural decisions to guide the implementation of software delivery projects and processes while determining roles and responsibilities across different organizational functions. Platform engineering is the strategy commonly used to help DevOps teams accomplish this.
In my previous article, I defined platform engineering as “…a broad spectrum of software delivery functions to create and maintain robust, scalable and efficient platforms for developers to build upon.” Ultimately, the goal of platform engineering teams is to improve the productivity and well-being of DevOps team members. This is commonly referred to as developer experience (DevEx). Let’s look closely at DevEx and how to implement DevEx as a service (DEaaS) in your organization.
What is DevEx?
DevEx can empower developers to focus on what they do best—writing code—by eliminating friction in their workflows and providing them with the tools and support they need to succeed. According to Deloitte, companies that focus on “best-in-class developer experiences achieve 60% higher revenue growth than those that don’t.” More specifically, DevEx is measured by three dimensions.
Flow State
Flow state defines a state of optimal functioning and enjoyment. In the case of DevEx, developers have clearly defined goals, feel engaged in their work and have limited distractions or context switching.
Cognitive Load
This is the amount of mental resources, such as attention, memory and processing capacity, used to complete a task or solve a problem. For developers, the cognitive load will increase when there are too many tools or technologies with which to interact.
Feedback Loops
The software delivery lifecycle includes several feedback loops, including build and test times, code reviews, manual testing and more. The more efficient these feedback loops are, the less disrupted the flow state and cognitive load will be.
When the flow state, cognitive load and feedback loops are harmonious, they lead to a better DevEx. When they are out of sync (flow state is low, cognitive load is high or feedback loops are slow), this can lead to burnout and inefficient development work, ultimately impacting the bottom line.
Platform teams are responsible for implementing platform engineering practices with the specific goal of improving DevEx. This is the foundation of DEaaS.
What is DevEx as a service?
DEaaS aims to improve the developer experience, and platform teams are responsible for leading a DEaaS initiative. At its core, DEaaS aims to centralize and standardize the developer experience across the organization through an internal developer platform (IDP) developed by the platform team. By leveraging cloud-based platforms and services, platform teams build an IDP with a curated set of tools and resources tailored to developers’ needs.
DEaaS is an internal service that requires business processes such as documentation, support, issue tracking, monitoring, marketing and training.
How To Implement DEaaS
While the IDP is how DEaaS is delivered, it’s not as easy as telling all your developers to use it. Platform teams essentially manage an internal startup and must draw inspiration from multiple disciplines across engineering, technical writing, product, design teams and more to ensure DEaaS is successful. Here are a few key considerations for a successful DEaaS implementation.
Build a platform team.
We already know platform teams are responsible for DEaaS and ultimately improving DevEx. To build a platform team, pull individuals from various roles across the organization, such as DevRel, technical support, security, SREs and more, who are interested in tackling various challenges with a defined mission. The goal is to create a group of passionate people dedicated to treating DEaaS as an internal product and not just a delivery feature.
Define the mission.
Now that your platform team is built, it's important to define a mission statement. This will ensure everyone is working toward quantifiable goals. An example of a DEaaS mission statement might be: “Manage costs by providing the ability to create standardized cloud resources with self-service workflows.”
Conduct internal interviews.
Platform teams should talk to DevOps teams to understand the opportunities the platform team has to improve DevEx. These conversations will quickly highlight the pain points in current processes and surface any aspirational goals.
Provide support and training.
The IDP is how platform teams deliver DEaaS, but it cannot be expected that everyone on the team will understand how to use it without some training and guidance. This should be a continuous learning and collaborative initiative between platform teams, DevOps teams and developers.
Establish regular feedback loops.
As mentioned above, fast feedback is critical to improving DevEx. With a mission clearly defined, there should be regular check-ins through internal interviews to gain feedback on the IDP, understand what is working and what is not and gauge perceived DevEx.
Always improve.
The IDP is not a one-time project. It is a living organism that always adapts to current developers’ needs. Only then can it deliver a sustainable business value.
Conclusion
As pressure builds for developers to deliver products and solutions that meet increasing business and customer standards, it’s important to focus on improving DevEx in your organization.
With the help of a platform team, DEaaS can be a successful initiative. Platform teams should define a mission, provide support and continuously collaborate with DevOps and development teams to ensure that DevEx is improving based on the standards they set forth. This will set a foundation for a successful DEaaS initiative and, ultimately, happier developers.
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