updated documentation

as per https://www.notion.so/skyscrapers/Improved-platform-user-content-DRAFT-1c93548b5930804ead7de685e4f9fc70

Author: dortnum

Process_and_Services/platformusersandroles.md

@@ -1,123 +1,148 @@
 # DevOps-as-a-Service: Platform Users and User Roles
 
-## What are Platform Users?
-
-Our DevOps-as-a-Service cooperations all start with the foundational construct of a Platform User:
+The cooperation and billing model of Skyscrapers is based on Platform Users. 
 
 > “Platform User” is any employee of, contractor of or person related to Customer who may be requesting support from Skyscrapers directly or indirectly, or may be accessing, deploying or maintaining application code through any means possible (UI, API, CI, etc) to platforms managed by Skyscrapers, or may be using or consuming cloud provider services within the cloud accounts managed by Skyscrapers.
 > 
 
 This definition is part of your agreement with Skyscrapers.
 
+We differentiate different types of pre-defined User Roles to determine the cooperation relationship with each person working for the Customer.
+
+# User Roles
+
+Use the following guidelines to determine the User Role the persons qualify as.
+
+ℹ️ As a customer you are contractually required to keep us up to date at all times on any team changes and what User Role the people in that team qualify as.
+
+## Technical Platform User
+
+A Technical Platform User is any person working for Customer that contributes to the creation, maintenance, or deployment of code on environments managed by Skyscrapers.
+
+→ Does this person “work on” or “change” something in the platform — code, infrastructure, pipelines, etc.? → Then they’re a Technical Platform User.
+
+“Developer” is the most common job title that qualifies for this qualification.
+
 <aside>
-ℹ️ As a customer you are required to keep us up to date on changes in your team, the Platform Users and User Roles.
+ℹ️ Depending on your agreement, this may influence the monthly price.
 
 </aside>
 
-## What are User Roles?
+## General Platform User
 
-Each Platform User is assigned a User Role. 
+A General Platform User is any person working for Customer who does not contribute to the code creation, deployment or maintenance, but instead uses or accesses the deployed applications or data on environments managed by Skyscrapers.
 
-Some of the Platform Roles can also be held by non-Platform Users. For example the Contract Owner could be a person not actively using any of the services provided by Skyscrapers.
+→ Does this person only “use” what’s deployed, like viewing dashboards and analyzing data from it, using apps, reading other data? → Then they’re a General Platform User
 
-## Why User Roles?
+<aside>
+ℹ️ Depending on your agreement, this may influence the monthly price.
 
-At Skyscrapers, User Roles are a way to categorise the people we work with on the customer side. It allows us to:
+</aside>
 
-- Better align the delivery of the services to different needs depending on the role people have
-- Helps Skyscrapers to understand your organisation
-- Set and manage expectations on both sides
-- Allows for creating standardised processes and tailored services for each role
-- Price differentiation aligned with your specific needs
+## Platform Lead
 
-There is a strong relation between User Roles and the Skyscrapers Responsibility Model.
+DevOps-oriented or Developer oriented people we work with closely and overseeing all work between SkS and your own organisation. They give access to the full context on your side.
 
-## User Roles
+Usually we see 1 person per team holding this role.
 
-|  | Platform Lead | Technical Platform User (formerly Supported Platform User) | General Platform User | Contract Owner (*) | Compliance Lead (*) |
-| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
-| Qualification | DevOps-oriented or Developer oriented people we work with closely and overseeing all work between SkS and your own organisation. They give access to the full context on your side. | A software developer or engineer (including but not limited to data analysts, QAs, etc.) working on applications deployed within Skyscrapers-managed infrastructure. Has full access to Skyscrapers support, tools, and infrastructure, ensuring efficient and smooth development, troubleshooting, and deployment. | A team member (e.g., product manager) who interacts with applications running on Skyscrapers-managed infrastructure but does not develop or deploy them. Has limited platform access and operates independently of Skyscrapers support. | Person that has contractual decision powers and oversight. Can be anybody. | First contact for security/compliance events and questions in both directions |
-| Counts as Platform User | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
-| Access to: |  |  |  |  |  |
-| VPN/AWS/Cluster access | Y | Y | Y | - | - |
-| GitHub Issues  | Y, incl. Platform Components requests | Y, Support/advice only | - | Y | - |
-| GitHub Repo  | Y | Y | - | Y | - |
-| Slack dedicated channel | Y | Y | - | - | - |
-| 24/7  | Y | Y | - | - | Y, for security and data incidents |
-| Customer specific documentation on GitHub  | Y | Y | - | Y | - |
-| Pull Request creation  | Y | Y, Vetted by the Platform Lead first | - | - | - |
-| https://docs.skyscrapers.eu/ |  | Y | Y | Y | - |
-| Responsibilities | Determine priorities/urgency
-Add context where needed
-Keep oversight on all support requested from Customer side | - |  | Budget, SLA decisions
-Oversee quality of service delivery | DPO and compliance in the cooperation |
-| Activities we organise: |  |  |  |  |  |
-| Support | Y | Y | - | - | - |
-| Trainings | Y | Y | - | - | - |
-| Expert Sparring | Y | Y | - | - | - |
-| Announcement Updates | Y | Y | - | - | - |
-| Status calls | Y | - | - | Y | - |
-| Account calls | Y | - | - | Y | - |
-| Notes: | Usually 1 person per team |  |  | *: Can also be any of the Platform Users | Required for GDPR
-*: Can also be any of the Platform Users |
-
-## Legacy Roles
-
-Before 2024 and depending on the contract you may have, the following roles may have been defined before:
+Specific responsibilities in the cooperation:
 
-- **Platform User**: didn’t have differentiation between roles
-- **Customer Dev Lead**: similar to the Platform Lead
-- **Contract Owner**: similar to the current Contract Owner
+- Determine priorities/urgency of all the work in the cooperation
+- Add context where needed to help Skyscrapers deliver high quality work
+- Keep oversight on all support requested from Customer side
 
-Over the next few months, your Skyscrapers Customer Lead will work with you in mapping your Platform Users to the new model.
+<aside>
+ℹ️ Depending on your agreement, this may influence the monthly price.
+
+</aside>
+
+## Contract Owner
 
-## Why do we use the Platform Users concept?
+Person that has contractual decision powers and oversight. Can be anybody.
 
-Our DevOps-as-a-Service cooperations all start with the foundational construct of a Platform User, which is any employee, contractor, or representative of the Customer ...
+Specific responsibilities in the cooperation:
 
-- who requests support from Skyscrapers (directly or indirectly).
-- that accesses, deploys, or maintains application code in platforms managed by Skyscrapers (via UI, API, CI, etc.).
-- that uses or accesses cloud provider services (infrastructure) in accounts managed by Skyscrapers.
+- Budget and SLA decisions
+- Oversee general value and quality of the service delivery
 
-ℹ️ This definition is part of your agreement with Skyscrapers. As a customer you are required to keep us up to date on changes in your team, the Platform Users and User Roles.
+<aside>
+ℹ️ This role does not influence the monthly price. 
+</aside>
+
+<aside>
+ℹ️ This can anybody in the company, even non-Platform Users.
+</aside>
 
-### **Platform Users as pricing model?**
+## Compliance Lead
 
-Just like any other company we want to be fairly compensated for the value we deliver, ensuring a sustainable relationship with our customers. Over time, we’ve tried several pricing approaches: from pay-for-time models to fees based on a percentage of cloud costs. Unfortunately, none of these fully aligned our incentives with the interests of our clients.
+First contact for security/compliance events and questions in both direction
 
-By pricing based on “Platform Users,” we believe we’ve found a model that’s both fair and aligned.
+Specific responsibilities in the cooperation:
 
-### What value do we deliver
+- DPO and compliance first contact in the cooperation
+- Required for GDPR
 
-We build and maintain cloud platforms, handle operational responsibilities, support developers, offer strategic advice, and share in the operational risk (on the platform level). The value of these activities scales with the complexity of your applications and the size of your team.
+<aside>
+ℹ️
+
+This role does not influence the monthly price. 
+
+</aside>
 
-### Platform Users as a proxy for value
+<aside>
+ℹ️ This can anybody in the company, even non-Platform Users.
 
-In most digital product companies (like SaaS businesses), there’s a relatively constant ratio of developers and platform engineers (DevOps, SREs, cloud engineers, etc.). 
+</aside>
 
-As your team grows, more developers (”Platform Users”) contribute code, run CI/CD pipelines, and require platform stability, security, and scalability. Each additional developer indirectly increases the demands placed on the platform and, in turn, the platform engineers (support, ops, technology, etc). Thus, the number of Platform Users serves as a reliable proxy parameter for the complexity, support needs, and operational overhead we manage on your behalf.
+# Features
 
-By using Platform Users as our pricing foundation, we create a fair, transparent, and growth-oriented model that reflects the real value we bring to your team and business. 
+Depending on the User Role a person qualifies as, the person may get access to certain features and services in the cooperation.
 
-### Additional benefits
+| Access | **Platform Lead** | **Technical Platform User (formerly Supported Platform User)** | **General Platform User** | **Contract Owner** | **Compliance Lead** |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| VPN/AWS/Cluster access | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
+| GitHub Issues | Y, incl. Platform Components requests | Y, Support/advice only | N | Y | N |
+| GitHub Repo | Y | Y | N | Y | N |
+| Slack dedicated channel | Y | Y | N | N | N |
+| 24/7 escalation | Y | Y | N | N | Y, for security and data incidents |
+| Customer specific documentation on GitHub | Y | Y | N | Y | N |
+| Pull Request creation | Y | Y, Vetted by the Platform Lead first | N | N | N |
+| Access to https://docs.skyscrapers.eu/ | Y | Y | Y | Y | N |
+| Support | Y | Y | N | N | N |
+| Trainings | Y | Y | N | N | N |
+| Expert Sparring | Y | Y | N | N | N |
+| Announcement Updates | Y | Y | N | N | N |
+| Status calls | Y | N | Y | N | N |
+
+# Legacy Roles
+
+Before 2024-31-12 and depending on the contract you may have, the following roles may have been defined before:
 
-- **Predictable Costs:** You can forecast and budget the DevOps-as-a-Service costs based on developer team growth, avoiding unexpected expenses for the foundational services.
-- **Scalable Pricing:** As your company grows, DevOps-as-a-Service naturally scales with it, so you always pay proportionally to what you need and value brought.
-- **Aligned Incentives:** We focus on long-term value and efficiency, not on increasing hours or cloud spend.
-- **Sustainable Innovation:** A stable, predictable revenue stream allows us to invest continuously in improving our services, tools, and practices to serve you better.
+- **Platform User**: didn’t have differentiation between roles
+- **Customer Dev Lead**: now named Platform Lead
+- **Contract Owner**: similar to the current Contract Owner today
+- **Supported Platform User**: per 2024 renamed to Technical Platform User
 
-### FAQ
+Over the next few months, your Skyscrapers Customer Lead will work with you in mapping your Platform Users to the new model.
 
-**What if my developers don’t need to interact with the Skyscrapers team and only push code to the platform through their CI/CD. Does that still count as a Platform User?**
+# FAQ
 
-Even if a developer never directly contacts Skyscrapers, their deployments, code changes, and usage of the platform’s infrastructure still generate operational tasks, risks and responsibility. These scale with the number of developers, making every developer a relevant factor to get a fair price for our services. 
+**Q: What if my developers don’t need to interact with the Skyscrapers team on Github or Slack, and only push code to an internal repository that in the background deploys: does that still count as a Technical Platform User?**
 
-Consider a platform where only 2 developers push code to vs a platform where 20 developers push code to. Do you think more will be asked from the platform team in that situation?
+Yes.
 
-**What if certain developers work only part-time, are not pure developers, etc? How is that counted?**
+**Q: What if certain developers work only part-time, are not pure developers, etc? How is that counted?**
 
 We understand that team compositions vary. Part-time developers, hybrid roles, or contributors who rarely interact with the platform may warrant special consideration. Simply discuss these scenarios with your Customer Lead or sales contact, and we’ll work with you to find a fair arrangement.
 
-**How does Skyscrapers know how many Platform Users should be invoiced?**
+**Q: How does Skyscrapers know how many Platform Users should be invoiced?**
+
+We trust you to respect the agreement with the obligation to report changes and additions in team as they occur and at least each quarter. From time to time, we might ask you to confirm the number of Platform Users and their roles to ensure accurate billing. This open, trust-based approach allows us to keep costs transparent and fair for everyone.
+
+**Q: Why do you use Platform Users as pricing model?**
+
+We believe fair compensation should reflect the real value we deliver: building and maintaining cloud platforms, supporting developers, and sharing operational responsibility. In the past we’ve experimented with traditional pricing models, like pay-for-time or cloud spend percentages. We found they didn’t align our incentives with those of our customers and went about it differently.
+
+In most online/digital product companies, you’ll find there is a certain ratio between developers and platform engineers. As the product team grows, so do platform demands: CI/CD usage, stability, security, and support needs. Those are also exactly the needs we cover with DevOps-as-a-Service.
 
-We trust you to report changes in team size as they occur and at least each quarter. From time to time, we might ask you to confirm the number of Platform Users to ensure accurate billing. This open, trust-based approach allows us to keep costs transparent and fair for everyone.
+Based on that thinking, we decided that the value we provide is best measured by the number of developers and people that get value from our work. The pricing scales automatically with the increasing team complexity and value they receive from us, making this model a fair, predictable and transparent basis for pricing. It also enables us to invest sustainably in innovation and long-term value for your team.