Platform Strategy

Scope

Covers

• Internal platforms (paved roads, shared infrastructure/services) treated as products
• External/hybrid platforms (APIs, extensions, partners) and ecosystem strategy
• Platform lifecycle strategy (when to open vs when to close for control/monetization)
• Platform surface-area design (interfaces, abstractions, governance) to reduce cognitive load for product teams
• AI platform defensibility (context repositories + integrated “toolkit” experiences) when relevant

When to use

• “Create a platform strategy for our developer platform / API.”
• “Turn our internal platform into a product with clear users, metrics, and roadmap.”
• “We want to open our platform to third parties—define incentives, governance, and a rollout.”
• “We’re building an AI platform—what’s the defensible system beyond a single feature?”

When NOT to use

• You don’t have a clear problem/job-to-be-done yet (use problem-definition first).