Transcript
Ole LensmarChief Architect at SmartBear
@Olensmar
APIs are moving to center-stage for many businesses and technology teams today
This makes it increasingly important to know what really matters when implementing
your API strategy.
There are some obvious aspects of your APIs that appeal to both technology and business needs of your API customers
Choice of Technology
Choice of Technology
Security
Choice of Technology
Security
Authorization
Choice of Technology
Security
Authorization
Naming/Vocabulary
And then there are some not-so-obvious aspects that, if utilized, could give your
API a head-up on the competition
Your API can become highly effective if…
It has a @twitter account
Communicates feature updates, new versions, etc.
Exposes itself in API directories
Provides health / uptime / downtime info
It has a @twitter account
It’s beautifully described
Generous and easily navigable documentation
Code examples for “relevant” languages
Metadata for code generation and testing
It’s beautifully described
It’s instantly accessible
Fully automated API key / account creation
Generous developer quota
“Getting Started” tutorials and examples
It’s instantly accessible
It has a sandbox for experiments
Limited functionality or content
Simulations of errors and out-of-bounds situations
No limits on usages – doesn’t consume quota
It has a sandbox for experiments
It has out-of-the-box clients
Lowers barrier of entry
Adapts API to client paradigms
Hides complexity related to authentication, parsing, etc.
It has out-of-the-box clients
It knows and serves its user
Uses the right technologies for the domain
Respects security and authentication requirements
Adopts common nomenclature and naming
It knows and serves its user
It’s aware of its own constraints
Continuously evaluates its own performance
Monitors third-party APIs and dependencies
Handles unexpected events gracefully
It’s aware of its own constraints
It’s prepared for (r)evolution
Versioned from day one in line with best practices
Communicates and implements a versioning strategy
Handles “old” clients gracefully
It’s prepared for (r)evolution
It follows the 3:30:3 rule
3 seconds to understand what the API does
30 seconds to find the endpoint
3 minutes to be up and running
Thanks to Ori Pekelman!
It follows the 3:30:3 rule
I hope you’ve enjoyed this presentation and that you are able to apply some of
these habits to your own APIs.
And now that you know how to make your own APIs effective…
Take a few minutes to learn how to use other people’s APIs safely…
Thank you!
#APIStrat
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