developer-support
Developer support systems including forums, office hours, and FAQ management
When & Why to Use This Skill
The Developer Support skill is a comprehensive framework designed for Developer Relations (DevRel) and technical support teams to build and scale effective support ecosystems. It facilitates the management of multi-channel support—including forums, Discord, and office hours—while providing a structured four-tier escalation model. By integrating best practices for FAQ management, automated retry strategies for frustrated users, and performance tracking (CSAT and deflection rates), this skill ensures developers receive timely, accurate, and professional assistance throughout their journey.
Use Cases
- Automated FAQ Curation: Streamline the creation of technical FAQs by identifying recurring issues from support tickets and community forums to improve self-service deflection.
- Multi-Tier Support Routing: Implement a structured escalation path that moves complex technical bugs or architectural reviews from community moderators to specialized engineering teams.
- Office Hours Management: Standardize the execution of technical Q&A sessions with structured formats, screen-sharing protocols, and automated action-item tracking.
- Developer Experience (DX) Monitoring: Track and analyze critical support metrics such as average response time, resolution rates, and user sentiment to optimize the developer success pipeline.
| name | developer-support |
|---|---|
| description | Developer support systems including forums, office hours, and FAQ management |
| sasmp_version | "1.4.0" |
| version | "2.0.0" |
| updated | "2025-01" |
| bonded_agent | 06-developer-advocate |
| bond_type | SECONDARY_BOND |
Developer Support
Build effective support systems that help developers succeed and scale.
Skill Contract
Parameters
parameters:
required:
- support_type: enum[question, bug, feature, escalation]
- context: string
optional:
- urgency: enum[low, medium, high, critical]
- channel: enum[forum, discord, ticket, office_hours]
Output
output:
response:
answer: string
resources: array[Link]
follow_up: array[Action]
Support Channels
| Channel | Response Time | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Docs/FAQ | Instant | Self-service |
| Forum/Discord | 4-24 hours | Community Q&A |
| Office Hours | Scheduled | Complex issues |
| Support Tickets | 24-48 hours | Bugs/urgent |
Support Tier Model
Tier 0: Self-Service
├── Documentation
├── FAQ
├── Knowledge Base
└── Search
Tier 1: Community
├── Forums
├── Discord/Slack
└── Stack Overflow
Tier 2: DevRel Team
├── Office Hours
├── Direct Outreach
└── Webinars
Tier 3: Engineering
├── Bug Reports
├── Feature Requests
└── Architecture Reviews
Office Hours Best Practices
Format
- Weekly or bi-weekly
- 30-60 minutes
- Open Q&A or themed topics
- Record for those who can't attend
Running Sessions
- Start on time - Respect schedules
- Screen share - Show, don't just tell
- Take notes - Action items to follow up
- Be honest - "I'll find out" is OK
FAQ Management
Creating Effective FAQs
Q: How do I authenticate with the API?
A: You can authenticate using API keys or OAuth 2.0:
**API Keys** (simplest)
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" ...
**OAuth 2.0** (for user data)
[See our OAuth guide →](/docs/oauth)
Related: [Authentication errors](/docs/errors#auth)
FAQ Sources
- Support tickets (recurring issues)
- Community questions
- Search queries
- User feedback
Retry Logic
retry_patterns:
unresolved_question:
strategy: "Escalate to specialist"
user_frustrated:
strategy: "Personal outreach, expedite"
recurring_issue:
strategy: "Create FAQ, update docs"
Failure Modes & Recovery
| Failure Mode | Detection | Recovery |
|---|---|---|
| Slow response | >24h wait | Prioritize, apologize |
| Wrong answer | User correction | Fix, thank user |
| No resolution | Multiple back-forth | Escalate |
Debug Checklist
□ Problem clearly understood?
□ Docs checked first?
□ Similar issues in history?
□ Reproducible steps?
□ Workaround available?
□ Escalation path clear?
Test Template
test_developer_support:
unit_tests:
- test_response_time:
assert: "<24h for community"
- test_answer_accuracy:
assert: "Solves problem"
integration_tests:
- test_escalation_flow:
assert: "Reaches specialist"
Support Metrics
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| Response time | <24 hours |
| Resolution rate | >80% |
| CSAT score | >4.0/5 |
| Ticket deflection | >60% |
Observability
metrics:
- tickets_resolved: integer
- response_time_avg: duration
- csat_score: float
- deflection_rate: float
See assets/ for support templates.