Justin Reock’s Post

What if your platform wasn’t just functional but a developer favorite? In his The New Stack blog, Justin Reock shares 6 steps to shift from reactive fixes to proactive impact. ✨ Root out real pain points. ✨ Develop Systems Thinking. ✨ Drive developer love with a product mindset. Curious? See how: https://lnkd.in/gzpYmadk

6 reasons why developer platforms fail. 1. Product misfit 2. Overly complex design 3. Swiss knife syndrome 4. Insufficient documentation 5. Siloed development 6. Stagnant platform Whether you're developing or using a platform, it’s imperative to understand and address the unique needs of your developers. You can overcome most of these challenges by treating your platform as a product. By applying the product mindset to your platform, you chalk out a clear path for your platform and its future. ✍✍✍

Product Mindset Key to Platform Engineering Success “Build it, and they will come” is not a viable strategy for ensuring developers will adopt your platform. To avoid your platform’s untimely demise, you have to treat your platform like a product and sell it to your customers: Your developers. The lighthouse team approach is valuable because it helps platform teams avoid boiling the ocean while also ensuring your platform provides real value every step of the way. #product #platformEngineering

“Platform engineering teams should consider themselves product owners, with developers as their customers. They should conduct discovery to understand developers’ needs and then reach out to end users to help them become successful with the resources provided. This requires marketing, communication and customer support skills, which are often lacking in very technical teams. The key here is a product-oriented mindset and culture, which allows platform engineering teams to focus on creating value for their end users (developers) by listening to user feedback and continuously iterating and improving their product (the developer platform).”

🚀 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 🚀 In the world of software engineering, it’s easy to talk about best practices, clean code, or seamless collaboration - but how often do we truly walk the talk? As a software engineer with 13 years of experience, I’ve learned that talking about best practices, scalable solutions, and clean code is only half the battle. What truly drives success in any project is the ability to consistently walk the talk. Whether you're an individual contributor or leading a team, execution is what sets apart high-performing engineers and teams. 🔥 “𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸” 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀: 1. 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗜𝗻: If we advocate for clean, maintainable code, we should commit to that standard in every pull request. 2. 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗙𝗶𝘅𝗲𝘀: I understand the importance of deadlines, but I prioritize delivering high-quality, scalable solutions over rushing to meet a target. The focus is on building systems that are robust, maintainable, and ready for future growth. 3. 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: Agile, CI/CD, TDD, DevOps - these aren’t just buzzwords. Consistently practicing them adds value to the business and keeps tech debt under control. 4. 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀: Deadlines matter, but delivering quality matters more. If you say you’ll ship a feature by a date, deliver something that you’re proud of, not just something that’s “done.” 5. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: The tech landscape changes fast. If we talk about being "lifelong learners," we should show it by investing time into learning new tools and technologies - because growth happens at the edge of our comfort zones. As engineers, our impact is defined by how consistently we deliver on what we stand for, not just by what we know or say. Let’s walk the talk—because in tech, action speaks louder than words. 🚀💻 #softwareengineering #walkthetalk #qualitycode #continuousdelivery

Ever wonder why great code doesn’t always lead to great products? 💻➡️💡 After transitioning from software engineer to product manager, I learned some hard truths about building for real people and it changed how I think about product mgmt. forever. In this article, I share stories and lessons from my journey. Article Link: https://lnkd.in/dQGppueh Hope it helps ✌️ I’d love to hear: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about building for people vs just shipping code? #productmanagement #businessoutcomes #softwareengineering

🔧 A messy codebase can create a chaotic mindset. Here are ways to ensure your product development brings mental calm: 🔧    Refactor Regularly: Regularly refactoring code helps keep it clean and maintainable. It’s easier to work with a well-structured codebase.    Adopt Coding Standards: Implementing and adhering to coding standards ensures consistency, making the code easier to read and understand.    Automate Testing: Automated tests catch issues early, giving you confidence that changes won’t break existing functionality.    Use Version Control: Version control systems like Git help track changes, making it easier to manage and collaborate on code.    Document Thoroughly: Good documentation provides clarity. It helps team members understand the codebase and reduces onboarding time for new developers.    Review Code Regularly: Regular code reviews promote best practices and catch potential issues early, leading to higher-quality code.    Prioritize Clean Architecture: Investing in a clean and scalable architecture upfront pays off in the long run. It reduces technical debt and makes future development smoother.    Encourage Continuous Learning: Stay updated with the latest development practices and tools. Continuous learning fosters innovation and efficiency. By implementing these practices, we can transform chaotic codebases into well-oiled machines, leading to a more productive and mentally calm development environment. #CleanCode #Productivity #SoftwareDevelopment #BestPractices #EngineeringLeadership

Software development is an endurance sport. Real value creation comes from small iterations delivered consistently over time. So how do you build successfully and sustainably long term? By finding your zone. Whether it's pushing out code, reviewing pull requests, or collaborating with teammates, every little bit adds up. Some best practices include: 🎯Commits that are small, frequent, and consistent. 🎯Coding days that are consistently above average. 🎯PRs that are sized for their stage of development (large PRs earlier in development and smaller PRs closer to the end of a sprint) 🎯High review participation 💡 Learn more about building successfully and other patterns for data driven engineering leadership by checking out our guide below:  https://lnkd.in/efAZ9SXw #SoftwareEngineering #EngineeringLeadership #EngineeringManagement #DevOps

🌟 The Magic of Taking Small Steps in Software Development 🌟 the power of taking small steps in our work as software engineers. It's incredible how breaking tasks down into manageable chunks and getting early feedback can make such a big difference. Here’s what I mean: Writing Code: Instead of trying to tackle huge features all at once, making small, incremental changes helps keep everything more organized. It also makes code reviews quicker and less overwhelming. Plus, it’s a great way to catch bugs early on! Testing: Building tests step-by-step ensures that each part of your application works as expected before moving on. This way, you can catch issues early and often, leading to a more stable codebase. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love that feeling of seeing all green tests? Refactoring: Improving the codebase bit by bit rather than doing massive overhauls makes the process smoother and less risky. It’s like tidying up your workspace a little each day instead of waiting for a giant cleaning session. Machine Learning: even When training models, it’s so beneficial to do it in small stages. This approach helps us monitor progress and tweak parameters effectively, avoiding those frustrating moments when a model just doesn’t perform as expected. Project Management: Breaking projects into smaller tasks and setting short-term goals can make everything feel more achievable. It’s easier to adapt to changes and incorporate feedback without feeling overwhelmed. Why Small Steps Are Awesome? Early Feedback: Getting feedback early allows us to make quick adjustments and avoid bigger problems down the road. Reduced Risk: Smaller changes mean it’s easier to pinpoint issues and fix them without major headaches. Continuous Improvement: Regular, incremental improvements help us stay adaptable and keep learning. Boosted Morale: Celebrating small wins keeps us motivated and makes larger goals feel within reach. As software engineers, embracing small steps can lead to better code quality, more maintainable projects, and a more agile and resilient approach to development. It’s a strategy that benefits everyone on the team and keeps us moving forward consistently. #SoftwareEngineering #Agile #ContinuousImprovement #MachineLearning #SmallSteps #Coding #DevOps #ProjectManagement

Having a product mindset isn’t just about what you build—it’s about how you build it. Test-Driven Development (TDD) is a simple yet powerful way to focus on solving real problems and making sure what you create works for users. Here’s how to start thinking differently: 1️⃣ Think like a user. Ask yourself: What problem am I solving? How will this be used? Would I want to interact with this API or feature? 2️⃣ Start small. Write the simplest test case that represents your goal, and take incremental steps toward success. 3️⃣ Fail fast. Don’t be afraid to let your tests fail—that’s how you refine and improve. 4️⃣ Iterate with purpose. Each change should bring you closer to a solution that’s intuitive, maintainable, and meaningful. If this resonates with you, I’ve got something for you. Tomorrow, I’m publishing a new issue of my newsletter, Letters From The Build Zone. I’ll dive deeper into how TDD is more than a technique, it’s a mindset for building impactful systems. Link to the newsletter in the comments.