𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹 (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁)

𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹 (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁)

1️⃣ Lack of Adoption Due to Upfront Investment Requirements

𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼: a platform team pushes out a new feature that requires some upfront investment of time and resources from the development teams. If these teams are overburdened, they won’t adopt it because they can’t allocate the time or don’t understand the long-term benefits.

𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Adjust workloads by temporarily reducing other tasks to free up time for adoption or create/leverage an enabling team to jump in and help. This team should guide—not do the work for—the development teams, ensuring they learn and can adopt the tool independently.

2️⃣ Friction Undermines the Benefit

𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼: A feature might offer some value but introduces operational friction. If the friction is significant, teams might decide the hassle isn’t worth the gain.

𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Work with the teams to identify the sources of friction and simplify or adjust the feature to minimize operational barriers. This often involves refining the user experience to make the tool more intuitive and easier to integrate into existing workflows. If the friction can not be eliminated, the total ROI may not be there. In that case, check the following two scenarios.

3️⃣ Benefit Is Misplaced or Indirect

Scenario: The feature's real benefits go to another team or serve a broader company goal rather than the immediate team adopting it. When this happens, the feature may feel irrelevant to the development team’s daily work.

𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Be transparent about the broader impact and recognize the team's contribution when adopting a feature. Consider offering incentives or rewards for helping with company-wide initiatives, and ensure the development team is given the time and resources to implement.

4️⃣ Complete Misalignment

𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼: The new feature simply doesn’t fit the development team’s needs, regardless of how much initial investment it requires. There’s no return on investment (ROI) for the team or anyone else.

𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Trash it. Sometimes, you just have to take the losses. Next time, gather early feedback from the teams that will use the feature and ensure the Platform team is doing their homework to meet their clients’ needs. Don’t beat yourself too much when these happen. If you have a productive Platform team, you’re bound to have some misses. Be transparent about it and move on.

By understanding these common pitfalls and taking proactive steps to mitigate them, you can dramatically improve your platform team initiatives' chances to succeed.