your api sucks! why developers hang up and how to stop that

Rapid  API  Workshop  

Marsh  Gardiner      Brian  Mulloy  @earth2marsh      @landlessness    

Your  API  Sucks  Why  developers  hang  up  and  how  to  stop  that.  

@earth2marsh @landlessness

Mapping  out  your  API  Strategy    

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Today:  Your  API  Sucks!  

PCI  Compliance  and  APIs  

Rapid API Workshop Webinar Series

•   User  experience  wins  •   API  users  =  developers  •   Developer  experiences  (generally)  suck  •   But  they  don’t  have  to…  

IN A NUTSHELL THIS TALK

#betterapis!

1. Give developers every reason to build

2. Make them successful faster

3. Don't violate their trust

4. Listen

Four simple rules

Why would I use your API?

Hangup Reason #1

Why  did  you  build  an  API?  

1. Give developers every reason to build

2. Make them successful faster

3. Don't violate their trust

4. Listen

Four simple rules

Simple  things  should  be  simple.  

Complex  things  should  be  possible.  

           —  Alan  Kay  

1. People don’t read pages. They scan them.

2. People don’t make optimal choices. They satisfice.

3. People don’t figure out how things work. They muddle through.

Krug says:

You’re making this too hard.

Hangup Reason #2

Time  To  First  Request  

TTFR

1. Give developers every reason to build

2. Make them successful faster

3. Don't violate their trust

4. Listen

Four simple rules

Are you going to support me?

Hangup Reason #3

1. Give developers every reason to build

2. Make them successful faster

3. Don't violate their trust

4. Listen

Four simple rules

Your  API  is  a  product.  

Treat  it  that  way.  Your  developers  are  your  customers.  

Why  is  this  so  hard?  

Why  does  Freemium  work?  

Do  it  beIer  

POST /InStock HTTP/1.1 Host: www.example.org Content-Type: application/soap+xml; charset=utf-8 Content-Length: 299 <?xml version="1.0"?> <soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope"> <soap:Header> </soap:Header> <soap:Body> <m:GetStockPrice xmlns:m="http://www.example.org/stock"> <m:StockName>IBM</m:StockName> </m:GetStockPrice> </soap:Body> </soap:Envelope>

SOAP  

http://api.twitter.com/1/statuses/public_timeline.json

Why  REST  is  winning:  

Your  engineers  may  be  great  at  wriAng  the  code  behind  your  API.    

Are  they  great  at  designing  for  API  adop<on?    

POST !https://api.bluevia.com/services/REST/Advertising_Sandbox/simple/requests?version=v1!

Opacity  is  inscrutable.  (Also,  unforgivable.)  

Give  devs  the  informa<on  they  need  to  succeed.  

Good  PaIerns  

Put  yourself  in  their  shoes.  

1. Give developers every reason to build

2. Make them successful faster

3. Don't violate their trust

4. Listen

Four simple rules

Mapping  out  your  API  Strategy    

PragmaAc  REST:  API  Design  Fu  

10  PaJerns  in  Successful  API  Programs  

Today:  API  Metrics  –  What  to  Measure?  

API  Technology  &  OperaAons  

Your  API  Sucks!  

Next:  PCI  Compliance  and  APIs  

Rapid API Workshop Webinar Series

Tired I am. REST I must.

THANKS!    Send  ques<ons,  examples,  and  ideas  to  @apigee  

Marsh  Gardiner      Brian  Mulloy  marsh@apigee.com      brian@apigee.com  @earth2marsh      @landlessness