Compass is a lightweight, easy-to-use developer portal designed to implement and manage golden paths within an organization. Inspired by Spotify's golden path concept, Compass aims to standardize development practices, accelerate onboarding, and enhance productivity across teams.
Provide a centralized hub for golden path documentation
Streamline the process of creating and maintaining golden paths
Reduce technical overhead for teams implementing golden paths
Foster knowledge sharing and best practices across the organization
Accelerate developer onboarding and reduce time-to-productivity
Ensure consistency in development practices across different projects and teams
Compass is designed for organizations looking to implement golden paths with minimal technical overhead. It serves as a documentation platform and guide for developers, focusing on:
Step-by-step tutorials for common development tasks
Best practices and standardized workflows
Easy customization and extension for organization-specific needs
The primary audience for Compass is golden path champions - engineers, scientists, or leaders responsible for implementing and driving adoption of golden paths within their organizations.
Compass leverages MkDocs and MkDocs-Material to create a responsive, easy-to-use documentation site. The system architecture includes:
MkDocs as the core static site generator
MkDocs-Material theme for enhanced UI and functionality
Markdown-based content for easy authoring and version control
Python-based setup for straightforward installation and customization
This design allows for a low-barrier entry point while providing a scalable foundation for future enhancements.
Spotify's Backstage:
Pros: More robust, offers extensive features out-of-the-box
Cons: Higher technical overhead, requires JavaScript and web framework knowledge
Decision: Opted for a simpler solution to lower the barrier to entry
Custom-built solution:
Pros: Fully tailored to specific needs
Cons: Time-consuming to develop, potentially harder to maintain
Decision: Chose existing tools (MkDocs) to leverage community support and faster setup
Date | Learning |
---|---|
2024-09-08 | Identified the need for a simpler alternative to complex dev portals |
2024-09-08 | Discovered the effectiveness of MkDocs for creating documentation sites |