From DevEx Disaster to Delight: How to Champion a DevEx Revolution in Your Organization

From DevEx Disaster to Delight How to Champion a DevEx Revolution in Your Organization Developer Week 2025

DevEx disasters… Developer Week 2025

Bad DevEx Common examples Poorly documented features (or bugs) Developer Week 2025

Bad DevEx Common examples Poorly documented features (or bugs) Missing OpenAPI spec (or even APIs)] Developer Week 2025

Bad DevEx Common examples Poorly documented features (or bugs) Missing OpenAPI spec (or even APIs) PDF documentation… or accessgated Developer Week 2025

Bad DevEx Common examples Poorly documented features (or bugs) Missing OpenAPI spec (or even APIs) PDF documentation… or accessgated Missing examples… of anything Developer Week 2025

Bad DevEx Common examples Poorly documented features (or bugs) Missing OpenAPI spec (or even APIs) PDF documentation… or accessgated Missing examples… of anything “CI as Magic 8-Ball” Developer Week 2025

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git push heroku main Developer Week 2025

DevEx isn’t new REF: F. Fagerholm and J. Münch, “Developer experience: Concept and definition,” 2012 International Conference on Software and System Process (ICSSP), Zurich, Switzerland, 2012. Developer Week 2025

DevEx isn’t new “New ways of working such as globally distributed development or the integration of self-motivated external developers into software ecosystems will require a better and more comprehensive understanding of developers’ feelings, perceptions, motivations and identification with their tasks in their respective project environments.” REF: F. Fagerholm and J. Münch, “Developer experience: Concept and definition. 2012.” Developer Week 2025

DevEx isn’t new “…developer experience could be defined as a means for capturing how developers think and feel about their activities within their working environments, with the assumption that an improvement of the developer experience has positive impacts on characteristics such as sustained team and project performance.” REF: F. Fagerholm and J. Münch, “Developer experience: Concept and definition. 2012.” Developer Week 2025

Jeremy Meiss Director, DevEx & DevRel OneStream Software DevOpsDays Kansas City Organizer Developer Week 2025

Turning DevEx disasters into delights Overview of DevEx The Developer Experience journey Why DevEx matters DevEx fits all sizes Implementing DevEx in your org Developer Week 2025

A working definition of DevEx _”…the journey of developers as they learn and deploy technology, which if successful, focuses on eliminating obstacles that hinder a developer or practitioner from achieving success in their endeavors.” -Jessica West, Co-Founder, DevEx Institute Developer Week 2025

Point of clarification “DevEx” by default focuses on “developer” View “DevEx” as a whole of the lifecycle Developer Week 2025

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Source: GitHub Developer Week 2025

Source: ACM Digital Library Developer Week 2025

Developer Experience != Developer Productivity Developer Week 2025

DevEx factors that impact Dev Productivity Positive influencers Negative influencers Availability of resources and tools Code complexity and technical debt Relevant expertise for assigned tasks Diverse contexts of tasks, causing Minimized interruptions to maintain cognitive overload. developer flow Lack of standardization, leading to inefficiencies. Developer Week 2025

Key Themes of Developer Experience 1. Developer proficiency & growth Align tasks with expertise and skill level Focus on skill development, mentorship, structured work Provide challenging but meaningful tasks Developer Week 2025

Key Themes of Developer Experience 1. Developer proficiency & growth 2. Work environment & productivity flow Minimize interruptions, unnecessary context-switching, distractions A healthy physical and virtual work environment Give autonomy over work, tools, decision-making Developer Week 2025

Key Themes of Developer Experience 1. Developer proficiency & growth 2. Work environment & productivity flow 3. Collaboration & communication Effective team collaboration Provide clear, accessible, relevant information Encourage psychological safety and supportive team culture Developer Week 2025

Key Themes of Developer Experience 1. Developer proficiency & growth 2. Work environment & productivity flow 3. Collaboration & communication 4. Code & tooling quality High-quality, maintainable, well-documented codebases Intuitive, reliable, well-integrated tools and APIs Automation and developer-friendly tooling investment Developer Week 2025

Key Themes of Developer Experience 1. Developer proficiency & growth 2. Work environment & productivity flow 3. Collaboration & communication 4. Code & tooling quality 5. Process & standardization Balance structured process and developer flexibility Standardization that supports, not hinders, productivity Steadily evolving technical ecosystem with right resources Developer Week 2025

Making the Case for Developer Experience Developer Week 2025

Making the case… Responding to the challenges 1. Acknowledge the concern 2. Focus on the positive 3. Use data and examples 4. Offer a path forward 5. Emphasize collaboration Developer Week 2025

Making the Case… Challenges you’ll likely face Budget constraints Challenge: “We’d love to improve developer experience, but we just don’t have the budget for it right now. These kinds of initiatives are expensive.” Developer Week 2025 Response with benefit: “I understand the concern about budget. However, investing in DevEx isn’t just an expense; it’s an investment in our team’s efficiency and ultimately, our bottom line. For example, by streamlining our onboarding process, we could save X hours per new developer, which translates to Y dollars. Let’s explore some low-cost, high-impact options we could pilot.”

Making the Case… Challenges you’ll likely face Lack of Awareness Challenge: “Developer experience? Isn’t that just about giving developers nicer keyboards, beanbag chairs, foosball, and artisan coffee? We have more pressing issues to deal with.” Developer Week 2025 Response with benefit: “That’s a common misconception - it is much broader than perks. It’s about creating an environment where developers can do their best work. Poor DevEx can lead to frustration, slow development cycles, and even developers leaving the company. Let me share some data that shows the link between DevEx and key metrics like productivity and retention.”

Making the Case… Challenges you’ll likely face Resistance to change Challenge: “We’ve always done things this way. Why change now? New tools and processes just add complexity and slow us down.” Developer Week 2025 Response with benefit: “I understand the hesitation - change can be uncomfortable. But the goal here isn’t to add complexity; it’s to remove it. These improvements are designed to make our work easier and more efficient in the long run. Let’s try a small pilot project with a few volunteers and see how it goes. We can gather feedback and adjust as needed.”

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DevEx for All Small Teams - The Agile Advantage Focus on lightweight tools, processes to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing Developer Week 2025

DevEx for All Scaling to Enterprise Create a specific DevEx team to drive initiatives, or prioritize internal DevEx community for sharing best practices and collaboration. KEY: Internal developer portal for centralized resources and tools. Developer Week 2025

DevEx for All Common Ground 1. Developer feedback 2. Continuous improvement 3. Automation Developer Week 2025

Practical Implementation Turning DevEx into Reality Developer Week 2025

Turning DevEx into Reality 1. Start Small, Win Big Identify a pain point Define success Example: Streamline onboarding Developer Week 2025

Turning DevEx into Reality 1. Start Small, Win Big 2. Focus on feedback Multiple channels Act on the feedback Developer Week 2025

Turning DevEx into Reality 1. Start Small, Win Big 2. Focus on feedback 3. Metrics that matter Measure the impact Communicate results Developer Week 2025

DevEx is… “ruthlessly eliminating barriers (and blockers) that keep your practitioners from being successful” Developer Week 2025

@jerdog.dev /in/jeremymeiss Thank you! @jerdog @jerdog@hachyderm.io jmeiss.me @IAmJerdog Developer Week 2025

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