Building a Successful Developer Platform: 3 Lessons from Toyota’s Production System

Gartner's prediction that the majority of software engineering organizations will adopt platform teams by 2026 highlights a growing trend towards enhancing productivity through developer self-service portals. However, the success of such platforms hinges on not just technology, but on involving developers in their design and creation, as demonstrated by the Toyota Production System (TPS), which emphasizes the importance of combining people, processes, and technology. By drawing lessons from TPS, platform engineering teams can learn to prioritize developer needs through practices like Genchi Genbutsu, which involves understanding developer workflows firsthand, Nemawashi, which focuses on building consensus among stakeholders, and Poka-Yoke, which aims to create error-proof processes. These principles ensure that platforms are user-friendly and cater to the actual needs of developers, thereby fostering collaboration and efficiency. The article underscores that platform engineering should be a collaborative, developer-centric process that aligns with the values of lean manufacturing to create systems that truly enhance productivity and quality.