Beyond Coding How to Build the Best Platforms for Software Engineers
Feb 11, 2026
Jelmer de Jong, platform engineering practitioner focused on self-service and measurable developer flow, and Adnan Alshar, platform enthusiast centered on developer experience and AI readiness, dig into when platforms help or hinder. They discuss why golden paths can become roadblocks. They cover shadow IT as a failure signal. They explore when to start a platform and which metrics matter.
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Platform Engineering Is DevOps Evolution
- Platform engineering evolved to restore developer flow by centralizing complex infra tasks like Kubernetes and cloud configuration.
- It extends DevOps rather than kills it by making modern DevOps practical again.
Avoid A Platform That Adds Burden
- If your platform makes common tasks harder, treat it as a bad platform and push for change or escape hatches.
- Use escape hatches for rare needs but follow security and compliance vetting when bypassing the golden path.
Engage Early And Report Problems, Not Solutions
- Developers should engage early with platform teams and report problems, describing issues not solutions.
- Give concrete pain signals like "ideation to production takes three weeks" so the platform team can design fixes.