On value creation in developer relations (DevRel): A practitioners' perspective

Abstract

Software Ecosystem (SECO) comprises third-party developers cooperating and competing when contributing to a platform provided by a central organization (keystone). A keystone has invested in a Developer Relations (DevRel) internal team as a global business strategy to attract and engage a critical mass of third-party developers in producing and evolving contributions. For this reason, the DevRel team should promote social relationships among SECO actors and synergy among keystone' goals and developers' expectations. It can help to establish and sustain a competitive value creation network (VCN) within a SECO that must survive to inherit changes. However, it is still a challenge the way DevRel team can act on a SECO to better engage the developers' communities aiming to establish a robust VCN. In this paper, we advance on investigating the perceptions of 31 DevRel practitioners from large, medium and small-size companies based on seven countries about value creation in DevRel. We found 55 elements of value creation distributed in retention, efficiency, innovation, and complementarity. Based on our analysis, we contribute with a set of seven insights (feedback loop, loyalty program, roadmap enhancement, technical training, processes restructuring, innovative products, cost reducing) and a DevRel VCN that involves elements, suppliers and consumers. It fosters a common perspective for DevRel practitioners, keystones and researchers for designing strategies and a research roadmap.