Who is this for?

"Developers" is not a market. It's a medium. If your ICP doesn't exclude anyone, it isn't one.

Use this when: you describe your user as "developers" or "engineering teams," you can't name a person who is clearly not a fit, or you're aiming your messaging at the VP of Engineering because they have the budget.

The core idea

A usable ICP is specific enough that some people are obviously out. "Every developer" gives you nothing to say, because a message that speaks to everyone speaks to no one. Sharpen until exclusion is possible.

And in almost every AI/dev-tool sale there is more than one person: the developer who adopts is rarely the person who pays. Market to the adopter; sell to the buyer. Confuse the two and you get great meetings and no decisions.

Framework 1: The personas in the sale (Frankl)

Map who plays each role. You need all of them for a complex sale; skip one and the deal stalls.