Building a Self-Service Platform on Kubernetes - Lessons in Balancing Flexibility and Standardization

Explore the challenges and lessons learned in building a self-service platform on Kubernetes in this 14-minute conference talk from PlatformCon 2023. Discover how Affirm aimed to empower application developers with autonomy over their services, and examine the delicate balance between standardization and flexibility. Learn about the tools and technologies used to implement critical guardrails, identify potential pitfalls in offering excessive flexibility, and gain insights into correcting these issues. Uncover valuable lessons on striking the right balance between developer empowerment and platform simplicity. Gain a deeper understanding of the evolution from pre-Kubernetes infrastructure bottlenecks to the implementation of a self-service platform, and explore strategies for optimizing developer productivity while maintaining necessary controls.