Welcome!
The Gruntwork Way is Gruntwork's official framework for how to build a world-class developer platform.
What's a developer platform?
Nearly every company on the planet needs software, and when companies write their own software with more than a few developers, the same common needs arise:
- Enable developers to move fast (velocity)
- ...while meeting the other needs of the business like security, cost, and compliance (governance)
- ...without accumulating an unsustainable level of debt (maintainability)
A developer platform is the product your platform team builds to balance these three concerns. It consists of three essential building blocks:
- Patterns - pre-built solutions to common infrastructure problems
- Platform components - the machinery for deploying and managing infrastructure
- Interfaces - how developers interact with your platform.
Together, these enable developers to move fast while meeting the needs of the business, and to do so in a way that incurs manageable levels of debt.
Why read this framework
Making sense of developer platforms can be confusing. We've found bits and pieces of insights scattered across blog posts, vendor solutions, and industry talks, but none of these presents a holistic way to think about developer platforms.
This framework will help you build comprehensive clarity.
Ultimately, that clarity will empower you to build a successful developer platform.
Why trust Gruntwork
We've spent years building expertise on how to deliver software effectively by serving as:
- Authors - We've written leading books and guides, including Terraform Up & Running, Fundamentals of DevOps and Software Delivery, ,The Startup CTO's Handbook, and A Comprehensive Guide to Scaling Apps on AWS.
- Makers - We've created leading open source DevOps tooling like OpenTofu (co-founder), Terragrunt, Terratest, Runbooks, Boilerplate, and Cloud Nuke.
- Experts - As a vendor, we've equipped over 500 companies and thousands of engineers with AWS, DevOps, and Platform Engineering best practices.
Next
Now let's learn more about who we wrote the Gruntwork Way for.