Is This a Platform or a Product?
Why you are working on a platform instead of a product
Is your work frequently listed as a footnote or dependency to other programs? If so, then your work could be turned into a platform. Transitioning to a platform has these benefits:
Executive support for doing something once and re-using many times
Less time spent prioritizing because users are collaborating on a single priority list
More projects finished from grouping similar tasks together
More funding due to re-use across the organization
While it is clear there are benefits of an established platform, how do you start a platform?
Define the Platform
Allocate some time to think about what the platform is and is not. Reduce your time on one-off tasks and cut out time on items that don't fit in the platform definition. The major parts of a platform definition are:
The drivers for a platform: including the reasoning about why to form a platform now
Three phases to evolve to a platform: a simple story to get from today to the end state platform
Initial business case for the platform: show how costs go down from efficiencies and how business goes up
Roadmap: to outline the steps across functions to deliver the platform
Defining the platform is mostly to lay out a story and get your thoughts in one place. Nothing changes about your platform until you take steps to bring it to life.
Say Yes to Anything that Belongs in the Platform
If something belongs in the platform then bring it into the platform. For example, you have had 5 major customers ask for the same managed service. You have defined a managed service platform with a template contract. Instead of creating 5 new contracts for each managed service, you define the template and complete the 5 contracts with a few small variations. It takes a little extra effort and the next new managed service will be faster than usual.
As you continue to say "yes" to new platform projects, then you can track the increasing demand.
Show the Benefits of the Platform
As the demand increases, you can start acting like there is a platform. As a beginning platform, you can track the business case and prioritize the many requests into categories. The categories of requests can go into your platform roadmap.
You can build up more demand for your platform by showing the initial benefits. For example,
Deliver the first items in the roadmap and celebrate the conclusion
Show the early customers wins in relation to the business case
Recognize the savings from combining into a platform
Continue updating the roadmap with outstanding requests into fairly static categories. Start thinking about how others can help accelerate the roadmap.
Say No to Lower Priority Items in the Platform
When a request has to be delayed due to lack of resources, explain what is higher priority for the platform. Be prepared for people who can take over delayed items in the roadmap. By saying "no" to accelerating a key project on the platform roadmap, then you are providing ways for others to get involved in the platform.
A Platform Forum for Stakeholders
As more people become involved in the platform, it becomes necessary to formalize the platform and enable the executive team to influence the direction of the platform. When there are enough stakeholder questions about the new platform, you can consider if there is an existing forum for the executives to collaborate about priorities and funding the platform.
Once the stakeholders have a forum to discuss the platform, the rest of the platform team starts operating independently. Soon after this, you deliver the first version of the platform to your users.
Conclusion
It takes extra effort to get a platform started. After the platform is established with the first version, then the team can handle the new platform demands.