Platforms as Internal Products
“A digital platform is a foundation of self-service APIs, tools, services, knowledge and support which are arranged as a compelling internal product.”
Evan Bottcher’s definition should be printed on every platform team’s wall. It reframes internal tooling from technical infrastructure to product thinking.
This isn’t semantic—it changes everything about how platform teams operate. They need user research, product management, and success metrics. The goal isn’t technical elegance; it’s reducing cognitive load for stream-aligned teams.
The “Thinnest Viable Platform” concept challenges the usual platform thinking. Don’t build the comprehensive solution upfront. Build just enough platform capability to enable flow, then evolve based on actual usage patterns.
“The purpose of a platform team is to enable stream-aligned teams to deliver work with substantial autonomy.”
The best platforms feel invisible to their users. Powerful enough to enable complex work, simple enough that you don’t need specialized knowledge to use them effectively.
I’ve started asking: what’s the minimum viable platform that removes friction, rather than the maximum possible platform that covers every scenario?
Platform teams that think like product teams build platforms that stream-aligned teams actually want to use.
Related:
This is an entry in my digital garden. See what else is growing here.