The four pillars of DevRel (and the foundation they rest on)

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When I started reviewing the literature on Developer Relations for my dissertation, I expected to find prior academic research that reflected what DevRel teams do. The field has conferences, frameworks, books, and more opinion pieces than I can count.

What I found (at least academically) was thinner than I expected. The most structured practitioner account came from Lewko and Parton’s 2021 book, which maps DevRel activities across four primary domains: Developer Education, Developer Marketing, Developer Success, and Developer Programs, with Developer Experience at the centre as the goal that the whole system is working towards. In my previous post, I explored why DX sits at the centre. This post moves one layer out: if DX is the centre, these four pillars are the main ways DevRel teams shape it in practice.

Developer Relations is more than marketing. It's co-creation.

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A question that framed my early MBA dissertation research is “Why does Developer Relations (DevRel) get described so differently depending on who you ask?”

Ask a senior marketing leader, and you’ll often hear something like: “DevRel is a specialised form of developer marketing.” It’s a framing that Tessa Kriesel challenges in More Than Marketing, and one I’ve heard plenty of people in the industry either defend or push back against.

I understand where the idea comes from. DevRel involves content, community, events, and advocacy. It contributes to awareness and whether developers decide to use the product. For organisations trying to draw an org chart, marketing is one of the closest boxes on the page.

Developer Advocacy on Chris Reddington

The four pillars of DevRel (and the foundation they rest on)

Developer Relations is more than marketing. It's co-creation.