When you think of top-tier engineering cultures, you might picture a tech giant or a nimble startup. You probably don't picture a 170-year-old financial services institution. But at American Express, the Developer Experience (DevEx) team has made it their mission "to make American Express an amazing place to be a software engineer," and they are succeeding.
So, how does a legacy organization build a developer culture that rivals modern tech companies? According to Michelle Swartz, who leads the enablement side of this effort, the answer lies in a deliberate, data-driven strategy. This article explores how Amex leverages deep developer sentiment analysis, a "Paved Roads" philosophy, and strong community engagement to turn their developer experience into a core strategic advantage.
An organizational priority: two sides of the same coin
American Express has positioned its DevEx function within the Chief Technology Office, signaling its strategic importance. The organization is structured into two complementary teams: an Enablement and Advocacy team led by Swartz, which focuses on community and feedback, and a Platform Development team that builds the tools to address those needs.
Swartz describes this as "two sides of the same coin," creating a powerful feedback loop between the engineering community and the platform builders. This structure is explicitly aligned with the company's broader strategy to attract, grow, and retain top tech talent—a commitment that has earned them pivotal support from senior leadership.
Finding what matters most with a developer sentiment survey
To guide their work, the DevEx team uses a sophisticated sentiment survey to pinpoint the most impactful areas for improvement. The survey maps roughly 50 questions to four pillars: meaningful careers, inclusive teams, growth opportunities, and holistic wellbeing.
However, their unique advantage comes from the analysis. "We wanted to do more than just report out answers to surveys," Swartz explains. "We wanted to perform a deeper analysis and understand the grouping of certain questions, looking at what we call storylines."
These "storylines" correlate different data points to reveal hidden themes. For example, by analyzing the relationship between project engagement, lateral mobility, and skill advancement, they can identify the key drivers of overall satisfaction. This has even led to a "developer network promoter score" - a single metric tracked over time. Crucially, this analysis is performed by engineers themselves, keeping the insights grounded in reality.
Measuring what matters: a holistic view of productivity
At American Express, productivity is not just about speed; it's about creating a streamlined development journey. "It's all about how do we reduce the developer cycle time?" says Swartz. "How do we accelerate their success?"
Their measurement approach balances technical metrics with developer sentiment, focusing on:
- Developer cycle time: How quickly engineers can move through workflows.
- Platform efficiency: Performance of internal developer platforms.
- Code quality: Maintained through embedded guardrails in pipelines.
- Community growth and external reputation: Building "tech cred" through open source, publications, and events where engineers can "have fun, they learn, they grow."
Balancing standardization and flexibility with 'Paved Roads'
A cornerstone of Amex's strategy is the "Paved Roads" initiative, which provides standardized tools and workflows for common tasks. The philosophy is about making the right way the easiest way, but without forcing compliance.
"We try not to use the four-letter word 'must' very often," Swartz explains. While teams can "off-road" through an exception process, the goal is to make the standard path so compelling that engineers naturally prefer it.
What makes this approach stand out is its community-driven nature. Rather than imposing standards from the top down, Amex engaged approximately 500 engineers to establish the principles for these Paved Roads. Communities like the Golang Guild and JVM Guild now create and maintain their own standards, fostering a sense of ownership and ensuring the tools truly meet developers' needs.
From financial institution to engineering destination
American Express's journey demonstrates that a world-class developer experience is not the exclusive domain of tech-native companies. By creating a system built on listening, empowering, and enabling, they have transformed their engineering culture into a strategic asset.
Their success provides a powerful blueprint for any organization. It starts with listening deeply to the engineering community through data-driven sentiment analysis. It builds momentum by empowering that community to define its own standards through initiatives like Paved Roads. And it is sustained by enabling a culture of learning, sharing, and innovation.
Ultimately, American Express proves that when a company commits to making itself an amazing place for engineers, it doesn't just attract and retain talent—it builds a durable competitive advantage.
