Self-service

As explained in Platform Engineering on Kubernetes

A self-service capability lets development teams provision, configure, or operate platform resources without direct intervention from platform engineers.

Self-service lets development teams consume platform capabilities without waiting for platform engineers to perform every provisioning, configuration, or operational task. Platform teams assemble cloud services and internal practices, then hide those decisions behind interfaces that teams can use directly. section 1.3.1 section 9.5

Effective self-service depends on platform choices that are useful to teams and maintainable by platform engineers:

• Expose platform APIs that encapsulate decisions about cloud services, compliance requirements, tooling, and operational workflows. section 1.3.1 section 9.5
• Prioritize capabilities according to what different teams need, rather than treating self-service as a fixed product feature. section 9.5
• Choose reusable tools where they fit, while retaining flexibility when existing workflows, practices, or compliance requirements demand adaptation. section 1.3.1 section 9.5

Figure 1.15 Building platforms on top of Kubernetes distributions

Use the platform-building overview to compare how Kubernetes distributions shape the path toward self-service capabilities. section 1.3.1

How Platform Engineering on Kubernetes covers it

How deep it goes

Defines self-service through platform APIs and team capabilities, but stops short of prescribing a single implementation.

Examples

Points to OpenShift and Tanzu as opinionated Kubernetes-based tools that can support out-of-the-box workflows.

What it assumes

Assumes platform teams can identify team needs and maintain platform APIs as tools and organizational decisions evolve.

What you can do after

Apply it via platform APIs to consume platform capabilities while reducing direct platform-engineer intervention.

How it connects

Connects self-service to platform APIs, platform engineering, Kubernetes, CI/CD, GitOps, and infrastructure provisioning.

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Also explained in

• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Effective Platform EngineeringSelf-service is a pattern in which users obtain resources or perform supported operations directly without depending on an intermediary for each request.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Effective Data AnalysisSelf-service analytics is a practice in which stakeholders independently explore, query, and interpret data using prepared analytical resources.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Effective Conversational AIA service interaction in which customers complete a task or obtain information without assistance from a human agent.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  First-Party Data ActivationSelf-service is a capability that allows users to perform tasks independently without ongoing assistance from specialized technical teams.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Infrastructure as Code, Patterns and Practices: With examples in Python and TerraformSelf-service is an operational practice in which teams independently request, create, or modify resources without requiring another team to perform every change.

Compare how 6 books explain self-service →

Related concepts

• platform engineeringused by · Platform engineering is the discipline of designing and operating internal platforms that provide software teams with reusable, self-service capabilities and delivery workflows.
• deliverableuses · A deliverable is a defined work product, output, result, capability, or change that a project or team is expected to produce.
• internal developer platformused by · An internal developer platform is an organization-provided system of self-service interfaces, automation, abstractions, and reusable capabilities that supports software development and operation.
• opt-out requestaddresses · An opt-out request expresses a person's decision not to participate in, receive, or permit a specified activity.
• question answeringcontrasts with · Question answering is the computational task of producing, selecting, or extracting an answer to a natural-language question using available information or knowledge.
• handoffcontrasts with · A handoff is the transfer of work, responsibility, or relevant information from one person, agent, team, or process to another.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Platform Engineering on Kubernetes. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.