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Bridging the Gap: Why Developer Relations and P...

Bridging the Gap: Why Developer Relations and Product Management Must Work Together

This presentation deck is used for DevRelKaigi 2025.

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Taiji HAGINO PRO

October 03, 2025
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  1. Bridging the Gap: Why Developer Relations and Product Management Must

    Work Together #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp Taiji Eddie Hagino @taiponrock
  2. Taiji Eddie Hagino @taiponrock Please follow me! Lecturer, University of

    Tsukuba Lecturer, Meijo University Senior Business Solutions Architect My books for low-code programming: “Hajimete-no Node-RED”, “Node-RED Katsuyo Manual” (Kogakusha) “Practical Node-RED Programming” (Packt Publishing), etc. My books for developer relations: “Developer Marketing DevRel Q&A”, “Developer’s Career with English” (Impress R&D), etc. Hairdresser Musician Software Engineer Web Designer Product Developer R&D Developer IT Architect Tech Evangelist Dev Advocate Lead Dev Community Advocate 1997 GLUONS Inc. CEO Accurate Systems SOS Factory Udagawa Office Beaux Cheveux Dev Advocate HERE Technologies
  3. We’ll learn… 1. About Developer Relations 2. User Community and

    Developer Voice 3. Important Feedback Process 4. Developer Ecosystem Growth 5. Conclusion #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp
  4. Developer Relations (DevRel) is an effort to strengthen the relationship

    between companies and technical communities and developers, and to help developers use a company's technology and products effectively. DevRel originally emerged primarily to promote APIs, SDKs, and Cloud Services provided by enterprise in the software industry. What is Developer Relations #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp
  5. What is Developer Relations? Developer Relations is a strategic function

    that: 1.Empowers developers to use a company’s tools, APIs, platforms, or services effectively. 2.Collects feedback from the developer community to improve the product. 3.Builds trust and long-term relationships between developers and the company. Common Roles in Developer Relations Role Main Focus Developer Advocate / Evangelist Teaches and promotes tools via talks, content, and code Developer Experience (DX) Engineer Improves documentation, SDKs, and onboarding Community Manager Builds and moderates developer communities (forums, Discord, Slack, etc.) Technical Writer Creates tutorials, documentation, and guides Program Manager Organizes events, hackathons, and DevRel strategy #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp
  6. Typical Activities • Writing blog posts and tutorials • Speaking

    at meetups and conferences • Hosting webinars, workshops, or livestreams • Engaging with developers on GitHub, Stack Overflow, Discord, etc. • Creating and maintaining SDKs, libraries, or sample apps • Running or supporting open source projects • Collecting and relaying product feedback to internal teams Goals of Developer Relations • Increase adoption of the company’s platform • Foster community engagement and brand loyalty • Reduce friction in the developer onboarding process • Improve developer experience (DX) • Act as a bridge between developers and product/engineering teams #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp
  7. Developer(Engineer) Community • Open Community • Closed Community Enterprise Community

    • No licence needed • Exisiting Customer Only Community Types X X #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp
  8. DevRel 8 Steps Potential Prospect New Repeater Customer Member Follower

    Influencer ▪Developer Relations 1.Awareness 2.Prospect reach 3.Trial 4.Great Experience 5.Make trust with Developers 6.Churn Prevention 7.Fun/Follower 8.Support Infuluencers #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp
  9. DevRel 8 Steps Potential Prospect New Repeater Customer Member Follower

    Influencer Develoepr Voices #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp
  10. DevRel-related roles are... Developer Advocate / Technical Evangelist Community Manager

    Program Manager Technical Contents Creator #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp
  11. Support developers(users) Get feedback Make opportunities to collaborate Increase Advocates

    / Evangelists as influencer We have good opportunities in developer community to get developer voices User Community Cycle #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp
  12. Large Company Case DevRel Head @ HQ DevRel Team London

    DevRel Team Tokyo DevRel Team Amsterdam DevRel Team São Paulo Developer Advocacy Head Community Management Head DevRel Team Beijing Developer Advocate Community Manager Program Manager Developer Web Local Chief Editor External Advocate Program Regional Director Direction DevRel Team San Francisco Program Management Head Developer Web Contents Head External Advocacy Program Head Company HQ CEO Product Management Team Developer Voice Team #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp
  13. Mid Company Case Developer Advocates External Advocate Program Manager Lisbon,

    Virginia Company HQ CEO Product Management Team Chief Product Officer Director of DevRel Team Community Managers Community Program Expert Lisbon, Bengaluru, Tokyo Lisbon Lisbon Developer Voice Team #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp
  14. Community managers are NOT always present DevRel Team Technical Evangelist

    Developer Advocate Community Manager They can drive Community instead of Community Manager Best role to drive Community Cannot be in charge of leading the community, but can provide backup and support #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp
  15. Marketer is in charge Rampant lead acquisition events Sales is

    in charge Tends to call only on assigned accounts, resulting in a biased group CSM is in charge So-called enterprise community for existing customers Anti-patterns #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp
  16. Although affiliated with a vendor, they can see things from

    a flat perspective with developers and engineers No sales responsibility, so it is easy to gain the trust of users without being positionality They are technically familiar with the target products and services, so they have a high affinity with the developer community If tech evangelist/advocate do it… #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp
  17. Community drives are just a part of DevRel (farming) process

    DevRel is a seed sowing. The field may not even be plowed yet. It would be troubling to sow seeds wildly in such a situation and expect them to sprout in a short period of time. Plow the field (market development) Sow the seeds in the right places (reaching potential users) Nurture them in the right steps (event implementation, community development) Until they finally sprout (interest in the product or service) Lead the flow of events until the seed blossoms (becoming a user) Take care of it so that it does not wither (preventing churn) The DevRel job is to lead them with Tech Skills #DevRel #DevRelKaigi #DevReljp