"Golden Paths" - the magical solution to all your platform engineering problems, right?
Just give developers a clear, streamlined process, and everything will run like clockwork. What could go wrong? Well, quite a bit, actually. If you're not careful, that shiny road to productivity can quickly turn into a gilded cage, trapping your devs in a rigid workflow and stifling innovation.
How to Spot a Golden Cage (Before It's Too Late)
Golden Paths tend to start off as a gift but can turn into a nightmare. Here’s how to tell if your “efficient” process is becoming a bureaucratic prison:
- Creative Workarounds: If your devs are suddenly more innovative at finding loopholes than building features, it’s a sign your path is too narrow. They shouldn’t have to hack their way around the system just to get stuff done.
- Innovation on Vacation: When your team stops coming up with fresh ideas because the "official" process doesn’t allow for it, you’ve gone from path to prison.
- Developer Eye-Rolls: If the team spends more time complaining about the platform than using it, congrats—you’ve officially built a golden cage.
How to Avoid Building the World’s Prettiest Trap
Luckily, there’s a way to avoid locking your developers into the very system that’s supposed to free them up to work smarter.
- Make Paths Optional: Think of the golden path like Google Maps. It’s a suggestion, not a law. Devs should feel free to reroute when needed, without needing an executive blessing just to take a different turn.
- Update or Die: Your path may be golden today, but give it six months, and it might feel like a toll road no one wants to drive on. Regularly check in and adjust based on feedback, because nothing says "developer love" like a path that doesn’t suck.
- Guardrails, Not Fences: Build flexible guidelines, not rigid walls. Give developers the freedom to experiment within safe boundaries instead of locking them in a cage. No one likes a micromanaged path.
Conclusion
Golden Paths are great—until they’re not. What starts as a smart way to streamline processes can quickly become a roadblock if you don’t build flexibility into it. Keep your paths as guides, not mandates, and let your developers breathe a little. They’ll thank you—probably with a little less sarcasm than usual.