The best developer platforms feel like they were waiting for you. Every API is where you expected it. Every error message tells you what to do next. That feeling is not luck. It is the product of relentless attention to the first five minutes, the first five hours, and the first five weeks of a developer's journey.
Time to First Success
Measure the time from sign-up to the first meaningful output. Then halve it. Then halve it again.
Error Messages Are a Product Surface
Most developers meet your product at its rough edges. Treat every error string like marketing copy: clear, helpful, and pointing somewhere actionable.
Documentation Is the Product
If the docs are wrong, the product is wrong. Promote your tech writers into engineering and watch what happens.
Conclusion
Developer experience is not a vibe. It is a discipline. Invest in it like the multiplier it is.