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Code RED · July 30 · 39 min

#47 – Platform Engineering Was Never Just About Kubernetes with Rachael Wonnacott

Platform engineering leader Rachael Wonnacott joins Code RED co-host Kasper Borg Nissen to explain why great platforms are defined by the experience they create for developers. Drawing on years of building internal platforms in large enterprises, she explains how poorly designed abstractions can turn a golden path into a golden cage, why reducing developer cognitive load often means transferring that complexity to the platform team, and how observability helps both sides understand what is happening beneath the abstraction. They also explore context-driven development: using platforms to give AI agents the architecture, constraints, and production signals they need to make better decisions. Links mentioned in this episode: Patrick Debois — Context-Driven Development: https://tessl.io/blog/context-development-lifecycle-better-context-for-ai-coding-agents/ Daniel Bryant — Golden Bricks (KubeCon NA 2024 talk): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhfQfQmnNd4 Rachael Wonnacott — The Conservation of Cognitive Load (FastFlow keynote): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4CTkModyEk

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Platform engineering leader Rachael Wonnacott joins Code RED co-host Kasper Borg Nissen to explain why great platforms are defined by the experience they create for developers. Drawing on years of building internal platforms in large enterprises, she explains how poorly designed abstractions can turn a golden path into a golden cage, why reducing developer cognitive load often means transferring that complexity to the platform team, and how observability helps both sides understand what is happening beneath the abstraction. They also explore context-driven development: using platforms to give AI agents the architecture, constraints, and production signals they need to make better decisions.


Links mentioned in this episode:


Patrick Debois — Context-Driven Development: https://tessl.io/blog/context-development-lifecycle-better-context-for-ai-coding-agents/


Daniel Bryant — Golden Bricks (KubeCon NA 2024 talk): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhfQfQmnNd4


Rachael Wonnacott — The Conservation of Cognitive Load (FastFlow keynote): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4CTkModyEk

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