Dialogue-driven development — The human essence of platform engineering
The presentation outlined how human‑centred collaboration and disciplined platform engineering enabled the development of Kubernetes infrastructure for hosting modern applications.
Key themes included navigating regulatory and security requirements, taking an agile approach to cluster creation, reorganising team workflows to increase throughput and embedding continuous feedback mechanisms with users. The team described how they scaled from a single cluster to approximately 1,000 secure clusters in six months. This was made possible by CNCF‑native components, custom operators and a managed Kubernetes service that was built in‑house, all of which were subject to rigorous change management controls.
The session also highlighted user engagement initiatives, such as a “Genius Bar” for hands‑on support, that improved the developer experience, adoption and service reliability. Emphasising dialogue‑driven development, the talk demonstrated how clear communication, product ownership and cross‑functional partnership can accelerate delivery while maintaining control and resilience.