Developer Relations: The What, why, who and where

A company can’t exist without its users. All tech companies and non-tech ones have users they cater to. If the users like a company’s product, they stick with it. Due to this, companies have a customer service department to guide users on how to use their product and listen to users' complaints about the product.

There are companies whose users are software developers. These companies’ customer service is called developer relations (DevRel). DevRel is different from the usual customer service because the customers are software developers, while the product is technical.

In this article, you will learn what DevRel is, its importance, those who engage in it, and where it is needed.

What is DevRel?

DevRel is a field that connects the software developers using a product and the company offering the product. DevRel involves interacting with the users, educating them about the product, and helping them solve issues they face while using the product.

Apple created the first DevRel program in the 1980s, beginning with Mike Murray, who tried to convince third-party software developers to develop applications for the Macintosh platform. DevRel became mainstream in 2013 when more software companies started adopting it.

Why DevRel?

DevRel is a young field compared to other fields in tech with a lot of importance that includes:

• Getting users' feedback for a product/service

• Educating users on how to use a product

• Establishing a connection between the company and the users of the product

• Gaining users' trust

Who does DevRel?

As with the software development field, DevRel also has many roles in it. Although the names for different DevRel roles may vary from company to company, the most common roles in DevRel are these three:

• Developer Advocate

• Technical Writer

• Community Manager

Developer Advocate

A developer advocate caters to the interest of developers using a product. They do so by creating educational content on the product, speaking about the product at a conference, and interacting with the community of software developers using the product.

Technical Writer

The job of a technical writer is to write. Technical writers write articles, documentation, whitepapers, and other documents that explain what a product is, how to use it, and its importance.

Community Manager

A community manager manages the developer community using a product. The community might be on Slack, Discord, or any platform that enhances communication and collaboration. A community manager interacts with the developer community, directs them to resources on how to use the product, and takes their feedback regarding the product back to the company.

Where is DevRel needed?

Companies whose users are developers need DevRel, while companies with non-developer users do not. Examples of companies with developers that are users are Vercel, MongoDB, Sourcegraph, ConfigCat, and so on.

Conclusion

DevRel is younger than most fields in tech and is one of the most important. It connects companies that build products for developers to their developer users.

DevRel was explained in this article, alongside its importance, those who do it, and the companies that rely on it. If you want to dive into DevRel, Mary Thengvall's blog is a great place to start.