Using Pulumi involves more than writing code, as it encompasses success patterns that help effectively build, deploy, and manage infrastructure and applications. The text describes a pattern using the Pulumi Automation API to create a centralized developer portal, allowing multiple teams to provision infrastructure and applications through a single web application rather than writing Pulumi programs themselves. This portal, maintained by a central platform team, can deploy cloud resources such as virtual machines, networks, and Kubernetes deployments, adhering to organizational standards. An example of such a portal is illustrated through Komal Ali’s Self Service Infrastructure Platform, which uses Python, Flask, and Jinja templates to provide push-button cloud resource deployment. The developer portal is treated as a product, requiring management and resources from the platform team to ensure its functionality and service to developers and other teams.