Platform Engineering for Architects

Design and build Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs) with future-oriented design strategies, using the Platform as a Product mindset

Key Features:

- Comprehensive guide to designing platforms that create value and drive user adoption

- Expert insights on shifting to a product-centric mindset for architects and platform teams

- Best practices for managing platform complexity, reducing technical debt, and ensuring continuous evolution

Book Description:

As technology evolves, IT talent shortages and system complexity make it essential to have structured guidance for building scalable, user-focused platforms. This book provides platform engineers and architects with practical strategies to develop internal development platforms that enhance software delivery and operations.

You'll learn how to identify end users, understand their needs, and define platform goals with a focus on self-service solutions for cloud-native environments. Using real-world examples, the book demonstrates how to build platforms within and for the cloud, leveraging Kubernetes. It also explores the benefits of a product-centric approach to platform engineering, emphasizing early end-user involvement and flexible design principles that adapt to future requirements.

Additionally, the book covers techniques for maintaining a sustainable platform while minimizing technical debt. By the end, you'll have the knowledge to design, define, and implement platform capabilities that align with your organization's goals.

What You Will Learn:

- Make informed decisions aligned with your organization's platform needs

- Identify missing platform capabilities and manage that technical debt effectively

- Develop critical user journeys to enhance platform functionality

- Define platform purpose, principles, and key performance indicators

- Use data-driven insights to guide product decisions

- Design and implement platform reference and target architectures

Who this book is for:

This book is for platform engineers, architects, and DevOps professionals responsible for designing and managing internal development platforms. It is also useful for decision-makers involved in optimizing software delivery and operations in cloud-native environments. Familiarity with cloud computing, Kubernetes, and CI/CD concepts is helpful but not required, as the book provides practical guidance on platform engineering, self-service solutions, and managing technical debt.

Table of Contents

- Platform Engineering and the Art of Crafting Platforms

- Understanding Platform Architecture to Build Platform as a Product

- Building the Foundation for Supporting Platform Capabilities

- Architecting the Platform Core - Kubernetes as a Unified Layer

- Integration, Delivery, and Deployment - Automation is Ubiquitous

- Build for Developers and Their Self-Service

- Building Secure and Compliant Products

- Cost Management and Best Practices

- Choosing Technical Debt to Unbreak Platforms

- Crafting Platform Products for the Future