---
title: "Bridging the Gap Between Developers and End Users"
description: "Shopify describes how distance between developers and end users can weaken product context and empathy as companies grow. The company created Bridge the Gap in 2014, connecting employees with merchants through Support teams. The program uses workshops, an internal podcast built from support-call clips and discussions, and voluntary one-hour shadowing sessions in which participants observe Support Advisors helping merchants via chat, phone, or email. Direct exposure is presented as a way to understand unexpected product use, identify customer workarounds that may inform fixes or new products, broaden domain knowledge, and develop listening, communication, patience, empathy, and expectation-setting skills. The broader goal is to make merchants accessible to Shopify’s workforce as people rather than abstract accounts or personas."
---

# Bridging the Gap Between Developers and End Users

[Shopify](https://yomu.fyi/company/shopify) · 2023-10-18 · Aug 11, 2021

**Type:** Explainer

## Summary

Shopify describes how distance between developers and end users can weaken product context and empathy as companies grow. The company created Bridge the Gap in 2014, connecting employees with merchants through Support teams. The program uses workshops, an internal podcast built from support-call clips and discussions, and voluntary one-hour shadowing sessions in which participants observe Support Advisors helping merchants via chat, phone, or email. Direct exposure is presented as a way to understand unexpected product use, identify customer workarounds that may inform fixes or new products, broaden domain knowledge, and develop listening, communication, patience, empathy, and expectation-setting skills. The broader goal is to make merchants accessible to Shopify’s workforce as people rather than abstract accounts or personas.

## Context

As companies grow, developers may have little direct contact with end users, receiving requirements and fixing reported bugs instead. The post argues that this distance can leave developers out of touch with how customers actually use products, reduce empathy, and affect product quality.

## Approach / What changed

Shopify launched Bridge the Gap in 2014 to connect employees with merchants through Support teams. The program offers topic-focused workshops, an internal podcast containing support-call clips and discussions, and voluntary one-hour shadowing sessions where participants observe Support Advisors handling merchant questions through chat, phone, or email.

## Takeaways

- Customer interactions can reveal differences between expected and actual product use, giving developers context that may be lost when issues pass through Support.
- Observing merchant workarounds can inform bug fixes, newer product versions, and potentially new products that make workflows more seamless.
- Bridge the Gap uses workshops, an internal podcast, and Support Advisor shadowing to build domain knowledge, empathy, and interpersonal skills across Shopify.

**Tags:** [Developer Experience](https://yomu.fyi/topic/developer-experience), [Onboarding](https://yomu.fyi/topic/onboarding)

- Source: [Shopify](https://shopify.engineering/bridging-gap-between-developers-and-users)
- Source URL: https://shopify.engineering/bridging-gap-between-developers-and-users
- Ingested by Yomu: 2026-08-30T15:29:32.450Z

[Read original post](https://shopify.engineering/bridging-gap-between-developers-and-users)