Internal platforms are crucial for empowering software teams, but their evolution presents strategic challenges. In this session, we’ll embark on a journey using Wardley Maps to explore the platform engineering landscape together. Rather than offering definitive answers, we’ll engage in a discussion to map out key elements, track their evolution, and uncover potential strategies. Through this collaborative process, we aim to spark new ideas and perspectives, enabling participants to better navigate the complexities of building and scaling internal platforms.

The IKEA effect is real. Engineers love what they build, but sometimes (or often) they lack situational awareness and focus on bike-shedding instead of more strategically important things. Wardley mapping can spark discussions about where we are heading with our platform and whether we are truly addressing the needs of our customers (i.e., developers).

In DevOps and engineering communities, discussions often revolve around tools (e.g., tool A is better than tool B), but rarely about the reasons why we need them. I really would like more engineers involved in strategical decisions and Wardley mapping is a technique that can help. I will share my personal journey on using Warldey mapping.