We’re all obsessed with customer-centricity, and for good reason. We spend countless hours on user research, persona development, and journey mapping for our external users. But what about our internal users—our developers?
The conversation around Platform Engineering is getting louder, and it’s time for product managers to take the lead. Treating your internal developer platform (IDP) as a legitimate product, with its own roadmap, metrics, and dedicated PM, isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a strategic imperative. When your developer experience is fragmented and full of friction, you’re not just accumulating tech debt; you’re kneecapping your ability to ship value to customers.
Thinking of your platform as a product means applying our core skills internally. Who are the user personas (front-end vs. back-end engineers)? What’s their user journey for shipping a new feature? How do you measure success—reduced cycle time, higher deployment frequency, improved developer satisfaction? A great platform becomes a force multiplier for every other feature team in the company. If you’re not thinking this way, you’re ignoring one of the biggest levers you have for increasing velocity and innovation.
How does your organization approach its internal platform and developer experience? Is it treated as a first-class product with a dedicated roadmap, or is it just a cost center that gets attention when things break?