[Initiative] Call for Contributors - Platform Engineering Maturity Model Update (for completion by Kubecon EU)

[ChrisPlank]

Thank you for contributing to The Cloud Native Platform Engineering Community. We are planning several initiatives for the new year (2026) targeting Kubecon EU. This issue is representative of one of these initiatives and requests information from contributors who can dedicate time to developing artifacts and who have demonstrated practical experience related to the initiative's materials.

Initiative: Platform Engineering Maturity Model Update

Description

The Platform Engineering Maturity Model https://cloudnativeplatforms.com/whitepapers/platforms/ is widely referenced and used globally. As platform engineering has evolved, the Maturity Model has remained incredibly relevant, but it does need updates.

During work within the CNCF Platform Engineering Technical Community Group in 2025 on the Self Assessment Tool initiative, gaps within the model were identified.
This initiative will begin with an initial minor refresh to the Maturity Model with additions of key missing information/new content areas and updates to terminology reflecting recent industry practices (a "Minor" version update, NOT a "Major" version update). It will also kick off a series of regular updates, with each set of updates to be completed in subsequent 90 day timelines as set forth in guidance provided by the CNCF TOC.

This will be a separate initiative from the Platforms Whitepaper updates. While there will be overlap, it is not expected (and not recommended) for core contributors to contribute actively to both initiatives simultaneously. Initiative Leads will not be shared across the two initiatives.

Timeline

December 2025 - Determine scoping of updates reasonably possible by Kubecon EU (March 23, 2026)
January 2026 - Begin updates.
March 2026 - Begin and complete reviews of content updates. Begin planning next phase of updates (next initiative). Complete content reviews with CNCF staff and TOC.
March 22, 2026 - Announce the release at Platform Engineering co-located day.

Contribution

Levels of Contribution, Contributor Expectations and recognition will be as per the draft proposal currently under review #62

Call for Contributors

If you are interested in contributing to this initiative, please indicate your expected level of contribution, a very brief statement about your background/experience. Thank you!

[rzachary]

Hello Everyone!
My name is Rickey Zachary, I am very excited to have an opportunity to work on the updates to Platform Engineering Maturity Model. I am the Global Platform Engineering Lead at Thoughtworks. I have been working on our internal capability model for platform engineering as well as working on assessment methods adn ways to determine the platform engineering maturity for many of our clients as well as corrective actions.

I would love to work on updates to the model and share learnings we have received from our clients.

[cmcga1125]

Hey Chris,

I'm happy to help contribute here in any capacity as well, but I would want to focus on one project or the other. Both are interesting to me. Let me know where you need the help the most.

My Background:
For over eight years, I’ve been deeply involved in the Kubernetes and cloud-native ecosystem. I previously built platforms for major media brands like CNET, Metacritic, ZDNET, and GameSpot, and I have since applied that experience at Akamai, where I am currently developing our internal developer platform. Additionally, I've had the honor of speaking at KubeCon and have led the Cloud Native Louisville Community Group.

Thanks,
Corey McGalliard

[wrkode]

Hello,

My name is William Rizzo, and I'd love to contribute to the update of the Maturity Model.

My background:
Currently in the role of Strategy Lead in CTO office, I actively help organizations' stakeholders at any level, implement their Platform, Edge and AI initiatives at strategical and tactical level. In this role, I'm confronted with real world challenges that I believe can provide insight for what should be addressed in the upcoming year.

Kind Regards,
William

[bryanrossUK]

Hello,

My name is Bryan Ross, and I'd love to help with the Maturity Model update.

My background: Ten years experience of building platforms at Sky TV. Currently an executive advisor / field CTO at GitLab. I work a lot with organisations in establishing their first/next steps in platform engineering. I see maturity models are a great tool to open conversations about what an org would like to achieve and why.

Cheers,
Bryan

[abangser]

👋 I believe I have the bandwidth and background to contribute at the Reviewer level for this (and offering Contributor level for the white paper is either/both are useful).

I have been a member of the original WG Platforms since Sept 2022 which included working on the original white paper including final polishing and publishing. I then became a co-lead of the WG Platforms in June 2023 including being the lead for this original maturity model paper. In those roles I saw what it takes to bring together diverse thoughts into a community supported document. I have been building platforms across domains and scales of companies for a number of years in roles as a consultant, end-user, and now vendor, again building a vision for diverse perspectives.

Looking forward to this initiative and helping any way I can!

[patelpayal]

Hello,

I am willing to contribute to whatever is needed for this initiative.

My background:

Since 2016, I have been working on the Kubernetes platform, delivering platform engineering solutions to my team, which encompass CI/CD, routing, and cluster management. My work includes the development of both the redis cluster operator and the node manager operator. I have experience managing/building production-grade Kubernetes clusters in on-premises environments, as well as on AWS EKS and GKE at scale. I have been a KubeCon speaker twice before.

[kunalworldwide]

Hi team,
I’d love to contribute to this initiative at the Contributor level.
I work as a Developer Advocate at Cast AI, focusing on Kubernetes, cost optimization, and internal platform experiences for engineering teams. Over the last few years I’ve been working with multiple product and platform teams on designing platform engineering capability models, running assessments, and defining maturity roadmaps and corrective actions aligned to the CNCF Platform Engineering Maturity Model and related guidance.

[pratikconfluentis]

Hi Team,

I’d be glad to contribute to this initiative at the Contributor level.

I’m Pratik Mohapatra, Founder of Confluentis Consulting, working at the intersection of cloud-native architecture, Kubernetes platforms, and cost-aware engineering. I collaborate with product, platform, and SRE teams to design and evolve Kubernetes-first internal platforms, with a focus on scalability, reliability, and developer experience.

My work includes cluster and workload optimization, intelligent resource allocation, cost governance (FinOps-aligned), and secure-by-default platform patterns. I’ve led and supported initiatives around platform capability modeling, maturity assessments, and roadmap definition, aligning implementations with CNCF best practices and ecosystem guidance. I actively apply learnings from the cloud-native community to drive measurable operational efficiency and business-aligned outcomes.

[steve-fenton-octopus]

Hey community!

I'd love to be involved in the maturity model work as a contributor.

I worked on the CNCF maturity model assessment and created the matrix that identified conceptual gaps, so I'm keen to help update the source and loop back to keep the assessment updated with any changes that are made.

I'm a software developer and researcher specializing in software delivery, how we create, change, and deliver software end-to-end.