The stones go where the feet have been

There’s a fun little sign of human nature on the walk from my house to my kids’ school.

It’s a mostly straight shot down one street. About a block before we get there, the street stops and there’s a little park we walk through.

Right before the park, two sidewalks meet to form a “T.” Yet, nobody ever walks along the point where the sidewalks meet. Instead, they cut across the grass.

At least, it used to be grass. Many feet have carved the most efficient path.

Sometimes the footsteps are turned into actual paths, like Willamette University did in its quad:

At some point that was an open field.

Here’s where your work with developers comes in…

Developers are trying to cross an open field with their work and it’s your job to provide the path.

Metaphorically, that may actually be your job. But imagine if it literally was.

You’d need to consider:

1. Does anyone even want to cross this field?
2. What materials are required for the paths?
3. Where should the stones, gravel, or asphalt go?
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That first question seems obvious, which is often why it goes unasked. It doesn’t make sense to build a path to nowhere. Make sure you understand what kind of developers will benefit from your guidance to the other side.

Knowing who wants to cross this metaphorical field will also help you figure out how they plan to cross it. There’s a big difference between running trails and bike paths, for example. Similarly, Python and Swift are very different building materials.

Finally, how do you know where to put the paths?

Apparently, people who really do this for a living (and don’t just use it as a metaphor) will often save the paths for last. They let the space be used naturally, then place the stones or other material where the feet have been.

You can do the same with your developer content. And it won’t take months for the paths to become clear.

You already know many of the use cases your product supports. Each scenario helps developers solve another path across the field.

Here’s the thing: those natural paths are rarely direct. That’s because developers come at a problem with their own ideas in mind—and it doesn’t involve you yet. The direct path is the promotional path.

You want to join their natural way-finding, follow their momentum, and help make small adjustments along the way so they see the optimal path more clearly.

You can learn one approach to this idea in the Developer Content Mind Trick (also a chapter in the book).