Golden paths over golden cages: platform engineering that developers choose

Nobody adopts an internal platform because a memo said so. Adoption follows one variable: does the paved road get me to production faster than my workaround?

Start with the toil census

We interview delivery teams and rank pain by frequency multiplied by severity. Golden paths must target the top of that list — deployment pipelines, environment provisioning, secret handling — before anything shiny.

Batteries included, walls absent

A golden path is a supported default, not a locked gate. Escape hatches stay open for edge cases, with the platform team reserving the right to ask why you left.

Product thinking beats tickets

Platform teams need roadmaps, release notes, office hours and NPS scores. Treating internal customers like ticket numbers guarantees shadow platforms will bloom in dark corners.

Measure adoption honestly

Percentage of services deployed via golden path tells the truth. If it stalls below half, the path is wrong — iterate the product, not the mandate.