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Paving the Path Towards Platform Engineering Using a Comprehensive Reference Model

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Enterprise Design, Operations, and Computing. EDOC 2023 Workshops (EDOC 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 498))

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Abstract

Amidst the growing popularity of platform engineering, promising improved productivity and enhanced developer experience through an engineering platform, e.g., an Internal Developer Platform (IDP), this paper addresses the prevalent challenge of a lack of a shared understanding in the field and the complications in defining effective, customized strategies. Introducing a definitive Platform Engineering Reference Model (PE-RM) based on the Reference Model for Open Distributed Processing (RM-ODP) framework to provide a common understanding. This model offers a structured framework for software organizations to create tailored platform engineering strategies and realize the full potential of platform engineering. By facilitating a shared vocabulary and providing a roadmap for implementation, this paper aims to mitigate prevailing complexities and accelerate the adoption and effectiveness of platform engineering across organizations, showcasing the added value.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    https://platformengineering.org/blog/what-is-platform-engineering.

  2. 2.

    https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/what-is-platform-engineering.

  3. 3.

    https://thenewstack.io/platform-engineering/platform-engineering-challenges-and-solutions.

  4. 4.

    https://engineering.atspotify.com/2020/08/how-we-use-golden-paths-to-solve-fragmentation-in-our-software-ecosystem/.

  5. 5.

    https://humanitec.com/reference-architectures.

  6. 6.

    https://otomi.io.

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Acknowledgements

This research is partially funded by the EU Horizon program under grant agreements 101094227 (BlueCloud 2026 project) and 860627 (CLARIFY project) and partially supported by LifeWatch ERIC and Dutch NWO LTER-LIFE project.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Multiscale Networked Systems, University of Amsterdam, 1098XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Ruben van de Kamp & Zhiming Zhao

  2. Wehkamp, 8021 EV, Zwolle, The Netherlands

    Ruben van de Kamp & Kees Bakker

  3. LifeWatch Virtual Lab and Innovation Center (VLIC), 1098XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Zhiming Zhao

Authors
  1. Ruben van de Kamp
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  2. Kees Bakker
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  3. Zhiming Zhao
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ruben van de Kamp .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Tiago Prince Sales

  2. Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Sybren de Kinderen

  3. Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria

    Henderik A. Proper

  4. Technical University of Munich, Heilbronn, Germany

    Luise Pufahl

  5. University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Dimka Karastoyanova

  6. University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Marten van Sinderen

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van de Kamp, R., Bakker, K., Zhao, Z. (2024). Paving the Path Towards Platform Engineering Using a Comprehensive Reference Model. In: Sales, T.P., de Kinderen, S., Proper, H.A., Pufahl, L., Karastoyanova, D., van Sinderen, M. (eds) Enterprise Design, Operations, and Computing. EDOC 2023 Workshops . EDOC 2023. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 498. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54712-6_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54712-6_11

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