Navigate the Labyrinth: How Golden Paths in Platform Engineering Streamline Development

Tired of endless detours and undocumented processes when deploying new services? In many organizations, the "right way" to do things is shrouded in mystery, leading to developer frustration and wasted time. Discover how a Golden Path can be your guiding star.

What is a Golden Path? Your Route to Efficient Software Delivery

Golden Paths, also known as Paved Roads (Netflix), represent an opinionated guide that offers a clear, supported route for developers from initial concept to production deployment.

It's a curated set of tools, documentation, and best practices for building, deploying, securing, and maintaining software.
Unlike a chaotic jungle of choices, it offers a streamlined, opinionated, and efficient way to achieve specific outcomes.
Following a Golden Path empowers developers to follow organizational best practices without needing to reinvent the wheel.

Golden Paths have become essential in modern platform engineering, streamlining development workflows and reducing cognitive load.

Why Golden Paths Matter: Boosting Developer Velocity and Reducing Bottlenecks

A well-defined Golden Path eliminates confusion and wasted effort, so developers aren't spending time on areas that are not central to their goals.

Reduced Mental Overhead: Golden Paths free developers from worrying about infrastructure setup, security protocols, and compliance requirements.
Accelerated Development: Spend more time building features and less time wrestling with tools and processes.
Improved Developer Experience: Happier developers, fewer mistakes, and increased focus translate into faster and more reliable releases.

For organizations seeking to scale their DevOps practices, Golden Paths offer a standardized, self-service approach to enable developers speed while still applying security and compliance standards.

What Does an Effective Golden Path Look Like? Key Characteristics to Consider

While no two Golden Paths look exactly alike, the most successful implementations share some core principles.

Purpose-Built Guidance: Rather than overwhelming developers with options, a good Golden Path offers a clear, opinionated, and supported route to achieve a specific outcome.
Self-Service Accessibility: Developers should be able to independently discover and utilize Golden Paths without needing to submit tickets, wait for manual resource provisioning, or wait on other teams.
Optional Adoption: While adherence is encouraged, Golden Paths should ultimately be optional, allowing flexibility for unique project requirements.

The key is to make the "right way" the easiest way.

Golden Paths vs. Internal Developer Platforms: From Tutorials to Tangible Tools

Golden Paths are guidelines, while internal developer platforms (IDPs) bring those guidelines into reality. An IDP bakes the Golden Path into the developer workflow.

Netflix's Wall-E platform automatically integrated security best practices when developers provisioned new services.
Rather than a simple checklist, the platform enforced secure configurations by default.
Building an IDP can be accomplished by leveraging open-source technologies such as Cyclops, which allows teams to maintain flexibility and avoid being locked into commercial build-vs-buy decisions.

Ready to build your IDP with open-source tools? Star Cyclops on GitHub!

What is a Golden Path? Your Route to Efficient Software Delivery

Golden Paths, also known as Paved Roads (Netflix), represent an opinionated guide that offers a clear, supported route for developers from initial concept to production deployment.

It's a curated set of tools, documentation, and best practices for building, deploying, securing, and maintaining software.

Unlike a chaotic jungle of choices, it offers a streamlined, opinionated, and efficient way to achieve specific outcomes.

Following a Golden Path empowers developers to follow organizational best practices without needing to reinvent the wheel.

Golden Paths have become essential in modern platform engineering, streamlining development workflows and reducing cognitive load.

Why Golden Paths Matter: Boosting Developer Velocity and Reducing Bottlenecks

A well-defined Golden Path eliminates confusion and wasted effort, so developers aren't spending time on areas that are not central to their goals.

Reduced Mental Overhead: Golden Paths free developers from worrying about infrastructure setup, security protocols, and compliance requirements.

Accelerated Development: Spend more time building features and less time wrestling with tools and processes.

Improved Developer Experience: Happier developers, fewer mistakes, and increased focus translate into faster and more reliable releases.

For organizations seeking to scale their DevOps practices, Golden Paths offer a standardized, self-service approach to enable developers speed while still applying security and compliance standards.

What Does an Effective Golden Path Look Like? Key Characteristics to Consider

While no two Golden Paths look exactly alike, the most successful implementations share some core principles.

Purpose-Built Guidance: Rather than overwhelming developers with options, a good Golden Path offers a clear, opinionated, and supported route to achieve a specific outcome.

Self-Service Accessibility: Developers should be able to independently discover and utilize Golden Paths without needing to submit tickets, wait for manual resource provisioning, or wait on other teams.

Optional Adoption: While adherence is encouraged, Golden Paths should ultimately be optional, allowing flexibility for unique project requirements.

The key is to make the "right way" the easiest way.

Golden Paths vs. Internal Developer Platforms: From Tutorials to Tangible Tools

Golden Paths are guidelines, while internal developer platforms (IDPs) bring those guidelines into reality. An IDP bakes the Golden Path into the developer workflow.

Netflix's Wall-E platform automatically integrated security best practices when developers provisioned new services.

Rather than a simple checklist, the platform enforced secure configurations by default.

Building an IDP can be accomplished by leveraging open-source technologies such as Cyclops, which allows teams to maintain flexibility and avoid being locked into commercial build-vs-buy decisions.

Ready to build your IDP with open-source tools? Star Cyclops on GitHub!