Managing expectations: Lessons from making large-scale platform changes

Technical challenges are often easier to anticipate than human reactions and expectations during large-scale platform changes

Trust is fragile - it takes long to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair. Maintaining trust should be a top priority when implementing changes

Start small and work with teams who are willing to collaborate first, rather than trying to force adoption across the entire organization at once

Listen to and validate concerns from teams who will be affected by the changes. Make them feel heard and give them a sense of ownership

Let successful teams become advocates for your platform - their testimonials are more powerful than self-promotion

Don’t assume early successes with a few teams can be easily extrapolated to the whole organization

Address resistance with kindness and empathy, not entitlement or force, even when you have executive support

Build relationships at a personal level to drive successful collaboration across teams

Be willing to adjust plans based on feedback rather than rigidly controlling the solution and pace

Don’t treat platform adoption as a one-time task - it requires ongoing relationship building and trust maintenance

Consider the impact of external factors (like remote work during COVID) on team dynamics and adoption

Focus on making changes a win-win for all teams involved rather than optimizing for platform team goals alone