Why do internal platforms fail?

Why do so many internal platforms fail to gain traction with product engineers?

After many years in platform engineering, I’ve seen firsthand how easy it is to assume that product engineers will instantly embrace whatever tools you create for them. The famous metaphor “if you build it, they will come” is really appealing, but I’m sad to say that this rarely works.

I’m a big believer in meeting people where they are: Treat the engineering teams that use your platform as your invaluable customers. You must understand their needs, swallow your pride and make a product that is approachable for them, meeting them exactly where they are, fighting their daily battles.

If you follow this principle, having product engineers onboarding on your platform is a lot easier. You essentially make the onboarding process smoother and more approachable for them. Want a few examples?

Nothing beats dog-fooding: By experiencing the platform firsthand, you gain invaluable insights into the challenges and pain points your users might face. Go through the process of implementing it on your own services. Put yourself in the shoes of your customer. That will give you invaluable lessons on how your product actually works.

Document your product from the user’s perspective. Ain’t nobody got time for that obscure Kubernetes configuration only you care about. Your customers are fighting their own monsters and deadlines, they just want to ship and your platform is there to support their journey and get out of the way.

Work closely with your user and help them implement your solution. Pair with them and observe how they interact with your product. You’ll be surprised how seemingly minor details can become significant pain points. That “clear” method signature? It might not be as intuitive as you thought. Use this feedback to iterate and improve.

If you manage to do these three small things, I can almost guarantee you will have a better platform.