In the past few years, we've witnessed a shift in the industry where job titles have transitioned from DevOps engineer to platform engineer. While some view this as a mere rebranding exercise, the reality is that these roles focus on different aspects of software development and operations. DevOps is traditionally centered around operational efficiency, while platform engineering emphasizes optimizing the developer experience.

Whether in DevOps or platform engineering, a true transformation requires a holistic approach that integrates technology, people, and processes across the development lifecycle. It's not just about optimizing one aspect but considering all stakeholders involved, from engineers to operations to security teams.

Starting the Platform Engineering Journey

When the transition began, the DevOps team found itself stuck in what could be called a "fake SRE topology," where operations teams were labeled as Site Reliability Engineers (SREs) without significant changes to their processes. This led to a situation where developers would hand off feature-complete software to SREs, creating gaps in software observability and limiting the ability of SREs to engage meaningfully with developers to resolve issues.

This scenario, though common, can be a challenging starting point. It was clear that addressing the needs of a single stakeholder, such as software engineers, wasn't enough. In a large organization, platform engineering must consider the input and requirements of all stakeholders, especially in industries with stringent regulatory requirements.

Redefining DevOps Principles

To redefine the role of the DevOps team, a set of principles was established, grounded in automated deployments, lean management, continuous improvement, measurable outcomes, knowledge sharing, integrated security, and governance best practices. These principles laid the foundation for the DevOps team to begin a process of introspection, reflecting on their current challenges and clarifying their goals.

Owning the Backlog: A Crucial Step

One of the key insights was the importance of owning the backlog. Without this ownership, the team struggled to understand and communicate the value they were bringing to the organization. This lack of clarity contributed to burnout, a common issue in DevOps roles.

To counter this, the team transitioned towards platform engineering, with the aim of building a self-service platform. By owning at least half of the backlog, the team could set its own goals, drive automation, enhance security, and embed DevOps concepts into their processes.

Building a Future-Proof Cloud-Native Platform

The journey towards platform engineering included learning from industry best practices and adopting cloud-native architectures. The goal was to build a scalable, self-service internal developer platform that would enable teams to deploy, monitor, and maintain their production environments independently. This shift was essential for scaling with the organization's growth.

A significant milestone was the overhaul of the Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline, migrating to a cloud-native stack that improved developer productivity and reduced incidents. This transformation demonstrated the technical capabilities of the new platform engineering team and established a new framework for decision-making within the organization.

Measuring Impact and Driving Continuous Improvement

To measure the impact of these changes, the team adopted industry-standard metrics like DORA (DevOps Research and Assessment), which track deployment frequency, lead time for changes, change failure rate, and recovery time. These metrics provided a clear view of the platform's performance and guided continuous improvement efforts across the organization.

As the organization grew, the platform engineering team expanded its focus to include additional stakeholders like quality, security, and compliance. By codifying automation and self-service within the organization's processes, the team democratized observability and empowered engineering teams to take ownership of their delivery speed and quality.

The Future: OrgOps and the Age of Platforms

As the organization scaled, the platform engineering approach evolved into what could be termed "OrgOps." This involved building cross-functional teams around the tech stack and including all stakeholders in the software release process. The result was an integrated, organization-wide effort to enhance performance and agility.

The journey from DevOps to platform engineering is ongoing, with the team now managing multiple platforms to meet diverse stakeholder needs. As the company grows, the platform engineering approach will need to evolve further to keep pace with the organization's demands. This continuous evolution is the essence of successful platform engineering — building a foundation that meets current needs and is adaptable for the future.

If you have any questions or would like to know more, please get in touch with us at info@zifornd.com