Platform engineering can feel daunting—especially in organisations not born in the cloud. This toolkit was introduced in the Fast Flow session From Theme Parks to Flow: Mapping Platforms for Real Impact and is grounded the DevOpsDays London talk Old Tracks, New Rides….
It’s designed to help you treat platforms as systems of value and take practical next steps. Inside you’ll find a curated set of field-tested community resources—plus checklists, templates, and quick exercises.
We’ve organised everything for fast access and only included our own and what we use and know works. Whether you’re working with hybrid stacks, evolving platforms, or messy developer experiences, start here, start small, and design for the system—not just the parts.
Got something to add? We’d love your contributions. Because this is a curated toolkit, not everything will be included by default—we focus on proven, practical resources that align with the approach we’re sharing and have been used in the real world. We update on a best-endeavours basis (we care, but we also have day jobs and lives), so responses may take a little time. When you suggest something, a short note on where it’s been used and why it helps really speeds things up. Thanks for helping keep this useful and grounded.
Some clickable image of a theme park
| Tool name | Description | Category | Tool type | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Short description (with image)
Tool type: Article
Link: Link
Platforms aren’t just tech—they’re systems of value. If your organisation feels more like a theme park—old rides, long queues, hidden gates, the Platform Mapping Canvas helps you 'zoom out' and see what actually exists, who depends on what, and where small changes can lift flow for many teams. Two pages, one quick starting session, immediate clarity — Read the full guide →
If you want to run a pilot in your organization, picking the right one can be difficult. This is a list of characterstics that can help you pick the right one.
Tool type: Structure/classification
Link: link
When you start a change (on Platform engineering or similar) as a change agent. Discussing the expectations and working agreements up front is essential. This canvas will help you make these explicit.
Tool type: Workshop tool
Link: Link
An approach for a change agent helping team(s) to start their platform engineering journey. This can serve as inspiration for creating a journey suited for your own organization.
Tool type: Structure/classification
Link: Link
A framework for reflection and for identifying opportunities for improvement in any organization leveraging platforms
Tool type: Maturity model
Link: Link
A canvas that helps to determine the different types of services that are needed to consume a platform. It can serve to determine the current state of a platform, but also to determine the future state where it wants to grow towards.
Tool type: Workshop tool
Link: Link
A tool and approach to map out different systems and how they are connected. Determine strategy to evolve the landscape. Provides insights in how platforms support other systems and determine organization level strategy towards different platforms. There is a.o. a short introduction movie and a free book.
Tool type: Book, Structure/classification, Workshop tool
Link: https://learnwardleymapping.com/ Free book: https://learnwardleymapping.com/book/
Simon Wardley sessions on Wardley Maps Wardley Mapping Part 1: How and why to map your business | AWS Public Sector Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkePAhnkHeg Wardley Mapping Part 2: How to spot patterns | AWS Public Sector Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsDT7L-tARs Wardley Mapping Part 3: How to anticipate change | AWS Public Sector Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58iLrw6-4x4 Wardley Mapping Part 4: How to use doctrine and gameplay | AWS Public Sector https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPDVA6uVAlU
A practical, adaptive model for organizational design and team interactions. It leverages certain team types, that conincide with platform engineering and ensure organization design that matches with its principles.
Tool type: Book, Structure/classification
Link: https://teamtopologies.com/
Guidance in designing adaptive, socio-technical systems. A combination of tools (wardley mapping, Domain Driven Design & Team Topologies), that complement each other in a structured way.
Tool type: Book, Structure/classification, Workshop tool
Link: https://susannekaiser.net/architecture-for-flow-canvas/ Video: https://youtu.be/Mm0ctgk-uIM?feature=shared
A model for different elements of a platform that can have/require different types of funding. It helpt to determine how these elements are funded currently, and how that should evolve to ensure proper incentives are placed in the organization.
Tool type: Workshop tool, Structure/model
Link: Link
An overview of a typical platform landscape with several tool examples
Tool type: Information
Link: https://platformengineering.org/platform-tooling