Mendix is an established brand in the low-code world. It was founded in 2005 by two Dutch entrepreneurs who understood that enterprises were increasingly becoming software makers themselves and needed a platform that allowed an enterprise to build practical apps that solved a real problem with the least amount of coding effort. Jan de Vries of Mendix has built that developer community from scratch. Jan used to be part of my team while we worked at a now-defunct company called Cordys. At Cordys we built our first developer community. Jan and I met again and decided it was a good time to share his story with our Community Leaders Forum (CLF) members.

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From developer advocacy to business impact
During our recent session “From developer advocacy to business impact” (see event), we explored this exact topic. Developer programs are no longer just about support, they’re about impact. When you connect developer contributions to business outcomes, real change happens.

The fight for developer attention

Developers are different. In many ways. Running a community of developers has completely different dynamics than, say, a community of farmers or software users. There is a lot happening in the developer world. Technologies come in waves, and convincing a developer to use a certain piece of software is an art in itself. Mendix has convinced more than 300.000 developers worldwide to use their software. The engine to engage with their developer and have them build great applications and continue to grow their ecosystem is called The Mendix Most Valuable Professional program, or short: MVP.

Hold your breath!

While his story unfolded, there were some uncanny resemblances to the Tyler Tech community story, which I wrote about a month ago. He, too, started small, had several iterations, focused on the goal and held his breath for more than 10 years to reach the current state of maturity. He ultimately worked on 3 phases. Phase 1: Very basic. 10K developers. See who contributes most. Phase 2: 100K developers and a more robust set of conditions to become an MVP. Phase 3: Fully automated and market-aligned 300K+ developers MVP contributions program, including agreed value dashboards for internal stakeholders.

Grass doesn’t grow by pulling on it!

This approach we have now seen time and again to work. Start small, focus on the goal of that phase, iterate, and grow. Looking back at all the successful community programs, there is an unmistakable pattern of perseverance by the community manager. A decade to succeed to full maturity is no exception. Grass does not grow by pulling on it, and a community manager needs to demonstrate continuously growing value to those who are funding the program.

Lessons from the Mendix Developer Program

So, what are the lessons from this developer program?

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• Rightfully so, Jan knew that he needed to demonstrate value at every step of the way. So he set out to demonstrate cost savings, topline impact, innovation, and branding as a core activity of his program.
• Online and Meetups are powerful components when done jointly.
• As an incubator program, the community was not connected to market events across the globe. In his ph3 program, he joined up with marketers and product managers to support the launching activities and make sure enough developers were reached in that region.
• The MVP program requires measuring who contributes what. Drinking his own champagne, he has now fully automated the measurement and ranking of community members who become the new MVPs.
• Jan has shifted his focus from the pure top-ranking MVPs to the full funnel of developers. This means they now also recognize people who do not immediately become an MVP.
• Developers are motivated most by access to Product Teams, where their ideas to improve the product are decided to be implemented. Second in motivation are the badges and recognition they get from being a top developer. It helps them in their career boost or - if they are self-employed - in finding new business.
• Demonstrating value and ROI is a continuous struggle to get accepted. Even if the numbers have been estimated as conservative, they are usually staggering. The team of 4 has an impact on both cost savings and topline that is in the millions. While there will always be people questioning the logic, this program has become mission-critical and is now officially a successful community program.

Join Us

You too can be part of this group of community managers. It is a true community. You give and you get. All members gladly share their stories and also can ask the questions they are struggling with. Just go here and register. It’s once a month every last Thursday. 10x a year. Access is free.

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