Go beyond the typical user interview by understanding what developers want from their careers, where they started from, and how your product maps to their ambition.

1

“Tell me about your path into software.”

This is the first stop in your Dev Superpower Interview. Never, ever skip this.

Being a developer doesn’t just mean one thing.

Some people wrote their first shell script in their single digit years under a parent’s guidance, falling inevitably into a CS program. Others graduated from bootcamps and become full-stack devs after careers as artists. They might have “Sales” or “Product” in their title, but used your tool to hack together some little improvement to their workflow, and you can pry it from their cold, dead hands.

Or maybe you’re speaking to a current student, hoping there will be a job out there when they graduate.

Even if you think you know who you serve with your product, it pays to be curious.

The answer to this question will tell you how long they’ve been in the game, what work it took to get there, and what their current situation looks like. This is essential intelligence about how to enhance your tools and tell their story.

You’re the expert on how your product gets built and what you can do next. They’re the experts on how your product is used.

Don’t throw away leverage by assuming every user is like you.

2

“What tool has most shaped you as a developer?”

In your Dev Superpower Interviews, this question helps you understand how the person you’re talking to thinks about software as a practice.

Our tools shape us, we shape our tools. And what’s familiar becomes intuitive.

Every developer will be looking for familiar patterns in your product, so it helps to understand those expectations more concretely.

If someone had an early mentor who helped them become proficient with Terraform, other IaC tools may be more intuitive to work with. If someone was hell-bent on making iPhone apps and cut their teeth writing Swift, your Rust library might be more accessible because because type systems aren’t a new thing.

So do a bit of reverse engineering of the career path, to see if you can find out why your tool clicks. These origin stories help you understand the onramps you’ve already built, while providing inspiration for how to expand and enhance them.

In dev tools, bridging the gap between your mental model and your user’s mental model is the name of the game.

3

“What do you want from your career?”

Devtools win by paying rent. So in your Dev Superpower Interviews, find out what they want from their work.

People love acquiring mastery. We crave the respect of our colleagues. We all want more say over how we spend our time.

It might seem grandiose to consider all this in light of a technical tool, but don’t sell yourself short. Advantages compound in unlikely ways.

A tool that gives devs good fake data to code against may allow a junior to maintain velocity without waiting for seniors to provide database access. An IaC framework that enforces best practices can be a teaching tool, giving a recently promoted build engineer the chance to take part in architecture discussions.

This is the first step to improved job security. Better advancement in their orgs. More influence among peers.

People might want promotions within their orgs, or they might have broader goals like becoming a keynote speaker, or even starting their own company.

If you find out what they want, you can track signs of their success, design better learning materials, and make your product a hub for helping them get there faster.

4

“What tools do you use alongside mine?”

Technologies don’t exist in vacuums, they’re used in concert with other tools. So in Dev Superpower Interviews, this question is the first step to turning ecosystems into advantages.

Remember: your job is to use your product to save someone’s day when they’re against the ropes trying to ship.

It’s a lot easier to do that when you understand the tangle of adjacent vendors, projects and frameworks in their toolchain.

Understanding their stack lets you hone in on specific use cases and make informed decisions about which integrations you prioritize. It lets you invest in recipes and onboarding paths for tools that work well with yours.

You have a chance to craft developer experiences that take advantage of existing communities. You can supercharge each other’s adoption by working in a complementary fashion.

These network effects play a huge role in your adoption.

5

“What sucks about our product, and what do you love?”

Here we are at the very end of your Dev Superpower Interview, finally asking the question you probably wanted to start with. Why?

You care about your product, but developers care about how your product makes them the hero of their story.

Your results come from their results. So we’ve reversed the focus. Start with them, then get to you.

Let’s review what you know:

  • The kind of technologist you’re speaking to
  • Tools and communities that shaped them
  • How long they’ve been in the game
  • How they want to grow.

You can’t serve everyone. You have finite time and resources.

Understanding the developer you’re talking to helps you categorize the product feedback you’re now receiving. Are they going in a direction your product can support? If you built your tool with this customer in mind and they’re not into it, you need to know.

Not all user demands will take you in the right direction. But when the exact developer you’ve built your tool for loves it and wants you to build more, you know you’re onto something.