What are the first steps to build a self-service Internal Developer Platform (IDP)? Building a platform is as much about strategy and organizational alignment as it is about technology.In this hands-on workshop, we will demystify the process of building a platform from the ground up.We’ll break the journey into three distinct phases:1. The Strategy ("Why?"): We’ll start with the fundamentals of Platform Engineering—defining our goals, understanding cognitive load, and identifying the platform-as-a-product mindset. 2. The Architecture ("What?"): We’ll dissect modern platform components, discuss finding the right abstraction level for developers, and map out how these pieces fit together structurally. 3. The Implementation ("How?"): We’ll get our hands dirty building a real Golden Path. We'll establish a lightweight GitOps workflow, model custom platform abstractions using KRO, and tie it all together with a Backstage software template, enabling developers to bootstrap new applications with a single click. You’ll walk away with a clear blueprint of how to design developer-centric interfaces and the practical, real-world skills to start building your organization's Golden Path.Prerequisites: Basic familiarity with Kubernetes concepts (pods, services, custom resources), Git, and YAML. Please bring a laptop with Docker and a local Kubernetes cluster (like kind or minikube) pre-installed and running, along with a modern web browser and terminal.