Reading the Room: How DJing Taught Me to Amplify Developer Experience

For 15 years, I was a DJ who performed as DJ Boo Boo across the Philadelphia area (Go Birds!). Yes, my DJ name might bring a smile or two, but the journey of being a DJ taught me the importance of reading a room and adapting to its vibe. Over those years, when people asked me my favorite type of music to play, my honest answer was always the same: “Whatever the audience needs me to play.” I’ve played hip-hop, country, line dance songs, slow jams, house, reggae, and more. If it gets people dancing or keeps people dancing, then it is “our” favorite music at that moment. At one point in my career, when I was a leader in the Developer Experience (DevEx) organization, I realized that this philosophy wasn’t just for DJs. I was still reading the room.

Understanding the Audience

When you’re DJing, you’re constantly scanning the room, feeling the pulse of the crowd, and adjusting your playlist to match their energy. In DevEx, the audience is our developers, and our job is to focus on their productivity and engagement by understanding their needs. Just as no two parties are the same, no two developer teams are identical; each has its own rhythm and challenges.

Amplifying the Energy

A great DJ doesn’t just play music; they amplify the energy already in the room. In developer experience, our role is to amplify the strengths of our developers by providing the right tools, resources, and support. Instead of dictating what tools they should use, we should ask, “What do you need to succeed?” and then find ways to deliver that.

Avoiding the Dictator Trap

Early in my DJ career, I learned a valuable lesson about the pitfalls of focusing on one person's request. While playing upbeat party music that had everyone dancing, someone approached me with a special request for a slow song, Lady in Red. Trusting this one voice, I transitioned to the slow song, but watched as the room’s energy fizzled out, and even the requester didn’t join in. This experience taught me the importance of understanding the collective vibe rather than pivoting based on a single perspective.

Similarly, developer experience teams can fall into the trap of designing solutions in a vacuum—creating a tool or process based on what they think will help developers, then relying on leadership to dictate its adoption. This top-down approach often backfires, leading to resistance from teams who don’t see value in the solution because it doesn’t truly address their pain points. Worse, tailoring a solution too closely to a single team and expecting it to work for everyone can create unnecessary friction, as what works for one group may not scale effectively. A more effective approach is to engage directly with developers, validate solutions across different teams, and ensure they are broadly applicable before pushing for adoption.

Conclusion

Like a DJ who reads the room to keep the party alive, a developer experience team thrives by tuning into developers’ voices and ensuring their work is supported and valued. I encourage leaders in technology to adopt this mindset: engage with your developers, understand their needs, and let their feedback guide your approach. By doing so, we create environments where everyone feels heard, and the whole team can shine.