Unlock developer potential with effective platform teams

Developers are drowning in complexity while delivery dates keep slipping. Everyone’s talking about platform teams as the solution, but if you build it, will they come? The harsh reality is that most platform initiatives fail not because of technology choices but because they miss what truly matters: genuine collaboration. The most powerful platforms aren’t technology stacks — they’re relationship accelerators that fundamentally change how teams work together.

What are platform teams and what do they do?

The Team Topologies framework defined the four fundamental types of teams involved in software development:

1. Stream-aligned teams, who focus on a single stream of work
2. Enabling teams, who provide specialized skills and expertise to support stream-aligned teams
3. Complicated-subsystem teams, who build and maintain backend systems that require specialist knowledge
4. Platform teams, who enable stream-aligned teams to operate more quickly and autonomously.

Of these, platform teams often get the most attention — and for good reason. When done right, they can transform how quickly an organization delivers software.

Platform teams make developers’ jobs easier by handling complex technical work for them. They give developers everything they need to build, test, and deploy applications without worrying about the underlying technology. Think of the platform team as a product team creating an internal product — and developers are their customers.

A platform team’s core goal is simple: enable developers to deliver software faster by simplifying complexity. Rather than having each development team figure out how to set up monitoring, security controls, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud resources, the platform team creates standardized, well-documented solutions that work seamlessly together.

But here’s a nuance many leaders miss: The success of a platform team isn’t measured by the sophistication of its technology stack or the number of features it delivers — it’s measured by how effectively it enables other teams to deliver business value. Platform teams are defined by how they collaborate with the teams they serve.

I’ve worked with organizations across industries, and the pattern is clear. When platform teams focus on reducing cognitive load for developers and creating self-service capabilities that feel effortless, everyone wins. The business delivers faster, developers stay focused on what matters, and customers get better products.

The restaurant model of platform excellence

Think of a well-designed platform like a restaurant. The food might be excellent, but customers are unlikely to return if the service is slow, the staff is rude, and the environment lacks character.

The same applies to platform teams. The technology matters, but how it’s organized and presented to developers — the customers of the platform — matters just as much. Great platforms create an environment where software developers can focus on creating business value instead of wrestling with infrastructure concerns or reinventing workflows.

Just as restaurant kitchens must evolve with changing culinary techniques and equipment, platform teams must continuously evolve their offerings to meet changing business requirements and development processes.

Three pillars of platform team success

Align priorities around outcomes

The most effective platform teams align their priorities with the outcomes developers need to achieve. This alignment isn’t always easy, especially when platform teams report through IT functions while development teams report through business units.

Breaking this organizational pattern requires platform teams to focus on what developers truly need. The metrics that matter aren’t technical but outcome-based: How much faster can developers ship? How confidently can they release changes? Here are a few of the outcomes you should be measuring:

• Increasing adoption rates: Teams choose your platform because it makes their lives easier
• Developer velocity: Teams using your platform ship faster than those who don't
• Developer satisfaction: Regular feedback shows developers enjoy using your platform
• Reduced support burden: Support tickets decrease dramatically as developers can self-serve through well-designed interfaces and comprehensive documentation

Great platform leaders advocate upward to leadership about the direct connection between developer productivity and business outcomes, turning “developer experience” from a nice-to-have into a strategic imperative.

Build strong communication channels

Remember, the platform is a product, and developers are the customers. This mindset shift changes everything.

The best platform teams create multiple channels for feedback:

• Regular user research sessions
• Developer experience surveys
• “Office hours” where developers can get help
• Champions programs that bring developer perspectives into platform planning

Even the name matters. Teams with names like “Developer Enablement Platform” or “Developer Experience Team” send a clear signal about their purpose — they exist to serve developers, not to control them.

Developers who feel heard and respected become collaborators rather than mere users. They bring insights that improve your platform because they know their needs will shape its evolution.

Learn more about how to create a communication framework for platform engineering that increases adoption, builds trust, and shows value.

Focus on developer delight

Developer experience isn't just about reducing friction — it’s about creating delight. Think of your platform as a product that has to compete for mindshare. At one major media and telecommunications company I worked with, the platform team would theme their developer interfaces to celebrate key holidays and events throughout the year. These seasonal themes — whether for Halloween, major sporting events, or end-of-year celebrations — added no functional improvements yet consistently generated positive developer feedback. This simple touch demonstrated that the platform team cared about the human experience, not just the technical capabilities.

The best platforms don’t just build features; they craft experiences where:

• Error messages guide rather than confuse
• Documentation anticipates questions
• Interfaces feel natural and intuitive
• Common tasks require minimal cognitive load

Platform engineering excellence comes from making complex things appear simple. It’s not about building the most sophisticated system — it’s about hiding complexity so developers can focus on creating business value.

The path forward

Team Topologies provides a valuable framework for understanding how platform teams should function. But the real magic happens when you combine that framework with a relentless focus on the developer experience.

My advice for platform leaders:

1. Measure what matters: Track developer velocity and platform adoption as your primary metrics.
2. Find champions: Every feature should have a customer champion who helps shape it.
3. Make the right way the easy way: Success comes when developers choose your platform because it's genuinely better than alternatives.

The most successful organizations I’ve worked with understand that platforms are collaborative ecosystems that succeed or fail based on human factors as much as technical ones.

By focusing on outcomes, communication, and experience, your platform team can become a force multiplier, transforming how your organization builds software.