Platform engineering onboarding serves as a critical launch pad for newcomers.
In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, onboarding developers to new platform engineering approaches is a critical task. To ensure a smooth transition and high adoption rates, it's essential to focus on user experience. Here are some best practices to follow:
Streamline Onboarding Processes
Avoid roadblocks by minimizing manual processes and lengthy approval workflows, allowing developers to start using the platform quickly. Offer temporary access to the platform, enabling developers to test it before full integration.
Personalize the Experience
Tailor the onboarding process based on developers' roles, needs, and previous experiences. Use AI or user feedback to provide relevant tutorials, documentation, and training resources.
Implement End-to-End Support
Provide support through various channels like real-time chat, email, and documentation hubs. Regularly collect feedback to identify and address friction points and improve the developer experience.
Create Standardized Processes
Establish well-defined workflows for common tasks to reduce cognitive load and enhance productivity. Use dedicated channels for communication and updates to foster collaboration.
Highlight Value Early
Ensure developers quickly experience the platform's value by providing clear examples of how it simplifies their work. Offer interactive demos to showcase the platform's capabilities.
By following these best practices, you can create a seamless developer onboarding experience that enhances user satisfaction and increases adoption rates.
According to the diffusion of innovations theory, there is a 16% user adoption point that represents a critical threshold where an innovation moves from the early market to the mainstream market. To achieve mainstream success, it's crucial to cater to the majority of early adopters, who demand clear value, proven stability, and intuitive usability.
When full automation isn't realistic, handling human tasks asynchronously can help avoid long approval workflows or restrictions that prevent instant testing. Prioritizing user experience from the start can lead to significant advantages in adoption rates and user engagement.
Ross, an industry expert, suggests that organizations should avoid naming a platform with the number of versions, as it suggests past iterations have failed, calling durability into question. He also advises against using unimaginative three-letter acronym combinations, as they make a platform indistinguishable from other abbreviations.
Organizations need to be sensitive to the initial user interaction with platform engineering to ensure adoption. A strong support structure is essential for building trust with users, and it should use diverse channels, including ticketing systems, email correspondence, real-time chat, and documentation hubs.
Organizations aiming to roll out new platform engineering toolsets should stay reachable through each user's preferred communication methods. The age of onboarding is characterized by formalized procedures to introduce changes to employees in a compassionate manner. Onboarding includes meetings, documents, how-to videos, and more, with the goal of improving employee retention and job satisfaction.
The best platform teams build a deep understanding of the daily realities of developers, security professionals, and operations specialists. Training should be required after joining a platform, not before. Offering immediate, temporary access to a platform free of charge for 30 days can help users determine if it's a good fit for their needs.
In conclusion, by focusing on user experience and adoption rates, organizations can create a successful onboarding process for developers transitioning to new platform engineering approaches.
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