Download the Developer Journey Map & Metrics Template
As companies increasingly rely on developers to adopt and integrate their tools, understanding the developer journey has become crucial. Whether you're just starting to engage with developers or looking to scale your existing program, the Developer Journey Map Template offers invaluable insights into the stages of developer engagement and program maturity.
What is a Developer Journey Map?
A Developer Journey Map visualizes the path a developer takes from first discovering your product to becoming a loyal, active user. It's not just about the developer's experience – it's also a reflection of your program's effectiveness in engaging developers at each stage.
The Five Stages of the Developer Journey
Discover
At this stage, developers are just becoming aware of your product. They're asking themselves, "Do they understand my challenges? Is there brand credibility?" Your job is to make a strong first impression through your landing page, initial documentation, and perhaps some cold outreach.
Key Metrics: Website traffic, content engagement, social media activity
Evaluate
Developers are now considering whether your product is worth their time. They're wondering, "Will it save me time? Who else uses this?" Provide easy access to your product, inspiring content, and initial case studies to help them make an informed decision.
Key Metrics: Product registrations, downloads/installs, engagement with your content
Learn
At this stage, developers are trying to get up to speed with your product. They're asking, "How do we get up to speed quickly? How are the docs?" Focus on providing comprehensive documentation, quickstart guides, and perhaps office hours for support.
Key Metrics: Active users, time to meaningful use, documentation engagement
Build
Developers are now actively using your product to build something. Their main concerns are around speed to MVP and ongoing support. Offer build shortcuts, showcase examples, and provide robust support channels.
Key Metrics: API usage, time to meaningful use, support ticket resolution times
Scale
In this final stage, developers are looking to expand their use of your product. They're asking, "What are future risks and opportunities? Can I do more?" Provide advanced features, beta programs, and opportunities for developers to give feedback and influence your roadmap.
Key Metrics: Revenue influenced, innovation metrics, developer churn rates, NPS/CSAT scores
Program Maturity Stages
While the developer journey stages describe the path a developer takes with your product, there's another important dimension to consider: the maturity of your developer program. These stages reflect how established and sophisticated your efforts to engage developers are:
Ground Zero
At this stage, you don't have a formal developer program. You might have a product that developers could use, but you haven't yet begun targeted efforts to reach or support them.
Awareness
You've recognized the need for a developer program and are likely exploring how to start one. You may be in the early stages of planning DevRel (Developer Relations) initiatives.
Foundation
Your developer program is established and you have basic structures in place to support developers. This might include initial documentation, some community-building efforts, and dedicated resources for developer support.
Expansion
At this stage, your developer program is growing and becoming more sophisticated. You're likely expanding your offerings, improving your documentation, and increasing your community engagement efforts.
Maturity
Your developer program is well-established and comprehensive. You have robust support systems, extensive documentation, and a thriving developer community.
Leadership
At this stage, your developer program is industry-leading. You're not just supporting your own developers, but you're influencing the broader developer ecosystem.
These maturity stages don't directly correspond to the developer journey stages, but they do influence how effectively you can support developers at each stage of their journey. As your program matures, you'll be better equipped to provide support and resources across all stages of the developer journey.
For example, a program at the "Foundation" stage might be able to support developers well through the Discover and Evaluate stages, but might struggle to provide the advanced resources needed in the Build and Scale stages. On the other hand, a program at the "Maturity" or "Leadership" stage would likely have comprehensive support across all stages of the developer journey.
Metrics: Measuring Success at Every Stage
To gauge the effectiveness of your program at each stage, it's crucial to track relevant metrics. These metrics evolve as developers progress through their journey:
- Early stages (Discover/Evaluate): Focus on awareness metrics like website traffic, social media engagement, and initial product registrations.
- Middle stages (Learn/Build): Track active usage, time to meaningful use, and API calls.
- Later stage (Scale): Measure revenue influence, innovation metrics, and long-term satisfaction scores like NPS or CSAT.
By aligning your efforts with these journey stages and tracking the right metrics, you can create a more effective developer program that truly serves your developer community while driving business results.
Remember, every developer's journey is unique, and your program should be flexible enough to support various paths. Use this map as a guide, but always listen to your specific developer community to refine and improve your approach.
Whether you're new to working with developers or looking to take your program to the next level, understanding and optimizing for each stage of the developer journey is key to building lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with your developer community. Simultaneously, assessing and advancing your program's maturity will enhance your ability to support developers effectively at every stage of their journey.
Download the Developer Journey Map & Metrics Template
