How to use the Productboard Technology Radar
Introduction
Our technology radar defines our playing field.
We’re here to deliver customer value, and Technology Radar should help anyone make informed decisions about what kind of tools, techniques, or other technologies we should use.
AI is a cross-cutting theme
Productboard is AI-driven in both its product experiences and engineering practice. We use agents for coding, debugging, research, browser-based checks, and other workflows.
The Radar does not use an umbrella AI or LLMs blip: neither tells a team what to choose. Instead, it records actionable choices such as model access, agent frameworks and gateways, evaluation, retrieval and search, and agent-assisted engineering tools and techniques.
If you aren't familiar with Thoughtworks Technology Radar, please check it first.
If you want to understand the ideas behind it, please watch the following video.
If you want to know how ThoughtWorks building their Technology Radar please read article from Neal Ford.
How can I contribute?
When the Technology Radar is limiting us, we do not silently bypass it but open a discussion to change it.
If you want to add a new technology to the Technology Radar, please open a pull request.
Reach Architecture Guild to discuss your proposal.
Process around the Technology Radar
There are two processes for the Technology Radar:
Architecture Guild will update the Technology Radar every 3 months to make sure it's up to date.
Anyone can open a pull request to update the Technology Radar. The pull request will be reviewed by the Architecture Guild and merged if it's approved.
Technology behind our Technology Radar
We're using the AOE Technology Radar
The quadrants are:
- Languages and Frameworks: Code-level dependencies such as languages, frameworks, libraries, SDKs, and embedded runtimes.
- Tools: Task-oriented software used to build, test, review, secure, analyze, or operate systems rather than consumed as a shared capability.
- Techniques: Vendor-neutral practices, patterns, processes, and architectural styles.
- Platforms: Shared capabilities consumed through a stable API, SDK, or control plane, whether managed externally or operated internally.
Each of the items is classified in one of these rings:
- Adopt: We can clearly recommend this technology as paved path.
- Limited: We using those for specific use cases. We don't recommend to use them for new projects.
- Assess: The research phase for stuff we think is worth exploring to understand them and learn them through proof of concepts or internal projects. This phase's outcome is to decide if we should adopt them in the long term or not.
- Hold: Don't start anything new for production with this technology and have a plan to get rid of it if you already use it. Contributions and source code of the Productboard Technology Radar are on GitHub: Productboard Technology Radar on Github