Developer Onboarding
Get developers to "Hello World" fast with optimized quickstarts, tutorials, and sample apps.
What This Skill Covers
- Time-to-first-value optimization - Defining and measuring first value moments
- Quickstart checklist design - Structure, progress indicators, common failures
- Interactive vs static tutorials - When to use each, hybrid approaches
- Sample apps and templates - Minimal, starter, and production templates
- Handling onboarding failures - Error messages, recovery flows, proactive detection
- Measuring activation metrics - Activation definitions, funnels, leading indicators
Key Principle
You have about 10 minutes of developer attention. Every second of confusion, every error without guidance, every unexpected requirement costs you users. Great onboarding feels like pair programming with someone who anticipated every question.
Quick Reference
Time to first value targets:
- Simple APIs: <5 minutes
- SDKs with installation: <10 minutes
- Complex infrastructure: <30 minutes
Activation rate benchmark:
- 20-40% for self-serve developer products
When to Use This Skill
- Designing new product onboarding experience
- Improving activation metrics
- Building quickstarts and tutorials
- Creating sample apps and templates
- Debugging why developers don't activate
- Planning onboarding email sequences