Succeeding with Backstage 3: Improving Adoption

by: Alexandre Couedelo
Nov 13, 2023

Summary

This article, the third in the “Succeeding with Backstage” series, provides key strategies for improving Backstage adoption within your organization. I will guide you through implementing systematic approaches to help developers unlock the platform’s full value, emphasize the importance of establishing a dedicated team for custom plugin development and maintenance, and explore effective internal marketing techniques such as team restructuring and cross-pollination through demos and hackathons. Additionally, I will highlight the critical role of a well-structured onboarding experience and continuous engagement activities in ensuring Backstage’s long-term success as an integral part of your developer experience.

Key Concepts

Guiding Developers to Unlock Value: Implement a systematic approach, starting with core features and gradually introducing more complex functionalities like annotations. This “gamified” approach encourages discovery learning. Tailored onboarding paths, such as Onboarding Software to Backstage and Backstage for All, can further facilitate this process.
Dedicated Team for Custom Plugins: Establish a central team responsible for Backstage operations, custom plugin development (requiring TypeScript and React skills), and ongoing maintenance. This team also facilitates inner sourcing and leverages the wider Backstage community for enhancements. Crucially, they monitor Backstage usage and adoption through KPIs and tools like the Google Analytics, Pulse, and Soundcheck plugins.
Internal Marketing: Employ strategies like Dynamic Reteaming by Heidi Helfand, which involves mixing and merging teams to promote knowledge sharing and mentorship. Utilize cross-pollination through company-wide demos, following the Tell, Show, Do, and Review method. Organize hackathons or game days to encourage developer contributions and foster a sense of ownership over the platform.
Onboarding Experience: Continuously refine the onboarding process for new employees, ensuring they receive a proper introduction to Backstage, including how to access information, identify teams, and launch new projects using software templates. Reinforce engagement through recurring discussions like fireside chats (using the Lean Coffee approach) and organized talks, both internal and external.