DevRel Engineer One: Building a Developer Relations Team from The Ground Up

As a full-stack developer transitioning into a DevRel role, you may find yourself in the exciting yet challenging position of being the first developer relations hire at a company. Your task is to shape the entire DevRel strategy from the ground up, ensuring that it includes accurate metrics, diversity, and community building. It‘s a daunting responsibility, but with the right approach, you can lay the foundation for a thriving developer community.

The Importance of a Technical Background in DevRel

One of the key advantages of being a full-stack developer in a DevRel role is the ability to deeply understand the needs and challenges of your developer community. Your coding skills and technical expertise allow you to create resources, tutorials, and sample code that resonate with developers and provide genuine value.

Many successful DevRel professionals have strong technical backgrounds. For example, Mary Thengvall, Director of Developer Relations at Camunda, began her career as a software engineer and brings that technical perspective to her DevRel work. Similarly, Aydrian Howard, Senior Developer Advocate at Vonage, leverages his experience as a full-stack developer to create compelling demos and tutorials.

Having a technical background not only helps you build credibility with developers but also enables you to have more meaningful conversations with product teams and engineering. You can provide valuable insights into developer pain points and advocate for improvements that will make their lives easier.

Building an Inclusive and Diverse Developer Community

Creating an inclusive and diverse developer community should be a top priority for any DevRel team. By fostering an environment where developers from all backgrounds feel welcome and supported, you can tap into a wider pool of talent and ideas.

To build a diverse community, start by ensuring equal representation in your events, content, and outreach efforts. Seek out speakers and contributors from underrepresented groups and provide them with opportunities to showcase their expertise. Collaborate with organizations that focus on diversity in tech, such as Women Who Code, Black Girls Code, and Out in Tech, to promote your events and initiatives.

Establish a code of conduct for your community that clearly outlines expectations for respectful and inclusive behavior. Enforce this code consistently and provide a safe and confidential channel for reporting violations.

Companies like Slack and Mozilla have successfully fostered diversity in their DevRel efforts. Slack‘s developer relations team has made a concerted effort to feature speakers from diverse backgrounds at their events and in their content. Mozilla‘s DevRel team has partnered with organizations like Outreachy to provide internship opportunities for underrepresented groups in tech.

Crafting Effective Developer Documentation

Documentation is a critical component of any successful developer relations program. Well-written, comprehensive, and user-friendly docs can make the difference between a frustrating and a delightful developer experience.

When creating documentation, focus on clarity, conciseness, and organization. Break down complex topics into easy-to-follow steps and provide plenty of code examples and illustrations. Use a conversational tone and avoid jargon or assumptions about the reader‘s prior knowledge.

Continuously gather feedback from developers and iterate on your docs based on their input. Implement a system for tracking and prioritizing documentation issues and improvements.

Tools like GitBook, ReadMe, and Sphinx can help streamline the process of creating and maintaining high-quality documentation. These platforms offer features like version control, collaboration, and automated publishing workflows.

Measuring and Communicating the ROI of DevRel

Demonstrating the value and impact of developer relations is crucial for securing ongoing investment and support from stakeholders. To do this effectively, you need to track metrics that matter and communicate them in a way that resonates with different audiences.

Some key metrics to consider include:

• Developer engagement: API usage, library downloads, forum activity, event attendance
• Developer satisfaction: NPS scores, sentiment analysis, feedback surveys
• Product adoption: Number of integrations, apps built, active users
• Brand awareness: Social media mentions, press coverage, search rankings

Create dashboards and reports that visualize these metrics and provide context around their significance. Use case studies and success stories to illustrate the real-world impact of your DevRel efforts.

When communicating with executives, focus on metrics that tie directly to business objectives, such as revenue growth, cost savings, or customer acquisition. For product teams, highlight metrics that demonstrate how DevRel is driving product adoption and providing valuable user feedback.

The Role of Open Source in DevRel

Open source plays a significant role in building developer communities and establishing trust and credibility. By contributing to and maintaining open source projects, companies can attract developers who value transparency and collaboration.

Many successful DevRel programs have open source at their core. For example, Microsoft‘s DevRel team actively contributes to and maintains a wide range of open source projects, from Visual Studio Code to TypeScript. This has helped Microsoft shed its reputation as a closed-source company and build strong relationships with developers.

When incorporating open source into your DevRel strategy, consider the following:

• Identify projects that align with your company‘s mission and technology stack
• Encourage your developers to contribute to and maintain these projects
• Provide clear guidelines and support for open source contributions
• Highlight and celebrate your company‘s open source work in your content and events

By embracing open source, you can tap into a passionate and engaged developer community and build a positive reputation for your company.

The Future of DevRel

As the field of developer relations continues to evolve, it‘s important to stay ahead of emerging trends and technologies. Some key areas to watch include:

• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: As AI and ML become more prevalent, developers will need support and resources for integrating these technologies into their applications. DevRel teams can play a crucial role in providing education and guidance around responsible and effective use of AI and ML.

• Serverless and Edge Computing: The shift towards serverless architectures and edge computing will require developers to adopt new paradigms and best practices. DevRel teams can help ease this transition by creating tutorials, sample code, and best practice guides for these emerging technologies.

• Low-Code and No-Code Platforms: The rise of low-code and no-code platforms is democratizing software development and creating new opportunities for citizen developers. DevRel teams can help bridge the gap between these platforms and traditional coding environments, providing resources and support for integrating and extending low-code applications.

• Virtual and Augmented Reality: As VR and AR technologies mature, developers will need support for creating immersive and interactive experiences. DevRel teams can provide guidance and best practices for designing and developing VR and AR applications, as well as showcase innovative use cases and success stories.

By staying attuned to these trends and adapting your DevRel strategy accordingly, you can position your team and your company as leaders in the ever-evolving technology landscape.

Conclusion

Building a successful developer relations team from the ground up requires a unique blend of technical expertise, strategic thinking, and community-building skills. As a full-stack developer and DevRel professional, you have the opportunity to shape the future of your company‘s developer ecosystem and make a lasting impact on the tech community.

By understanding your target audience, creating inclusive and diverse spaces, crafting effective documentation, measuring and communicating your impact, embracing open source, and staying ahead of emerging trends, you can build a DevRel program that drives innovation, collaboration, and growth.

Remember, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Start small, iterate often, and always keep the needs of your developer community at the forefront of your efforts. With dedication, empathy, and a willingness to learn and adapt, you can become a true DevRel Engineer One and lead your team to success.