turn your api into a strong product
TRANSCRIPT
API Days Paris
Turn your API into a strong Product
Arnaud Breton
Who am I?
Arnaud Breton Head of API Product
and Developers Relations
arnaud_breton
Endorphin addict
3
All-in-one email service provider
A team of experts+ 110 employees globally
80% growth YoY Global deliverability consulting
Email sending at scale+ 1B emails a month
+40,000 clients
A rapid growth#23 in Deloitte’s EMEA Technology Fast 500
3185% growth over 4 years
A trusted technologyEmail sending specialist
Marketing & transactional email
From a Software to a Product
API Product Management
What’s next?
GET/agenda
010203
1func Product(Software)
1
It all starts with a great software01
At this stage, you aim to:
• Validate your product value.
• Build the technical foundations.
• Onboard your first developer users.
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YES!
8
BEGINNING
4
Documentation
Libraries
Support
Versioning
Sunset
Scaling
Community
The 3 pillars of a strong API Product1. It’s not only about the best software
02
Support your users Show your customers that they’re not alone, there’s a
community to support them!
Document Guide developers on
their first steps. Show them the real value of
your API.
Ecosystem Not everyone codes in PHP
or NodeJS.. nor wants to spend time connecting your
API with 3rd parties.
DOCUMENTATION
01.01
API Guides01.01
Great API guides are made of:
• Step by step guide, allowing the developers to
understand how your API works
• Clear structure and content, enabling your users
to find key information, quickly.
• Plug’n’Play code samples in major programming
languages.
• Up-to-date information, few like to troubleshoot.
API Reference01.01
An API reference, what for?
• Enabling advanced users to quickly find key
information.
• Provide another view of your API, endpoints
oriented.
BUILD AN ECOSYSTEM
01.02
3rd party integration01.02
Leveraging 3rd parties will:
• Increase your product value.
• Increase your audience and revenue.
• Save time for your users.
Libraries01.02
Developers love libraries:
• Ease the integration within their system.
• Deal with the specifics of each environment.
• Make them feel at home.
• Allow them to contribute.
SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY
01. 03
Share updates Tell where you’re going.
Go out Be where your users are.
Meet with people.
Encourage Contributions Make contributions easy
and reward them.
Build a strong community01.03
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Developers want to speak to developers.
Don’t make the experience with your support team
another pain.
Be here when your users need you most01.03
1Product
Management
2
What it takes to get there02.01
Mailjet API team is composed of various profiles:
• Product Managers, listening to the market, users and giving global product directions.
• Developers, building a first class API.
• Project Managers, turning ideas into developer friendly APIs.
• Customer Success, guiding developers to production.
• Ecosystem Developers, integrating with the best.
• Dev. Evangelists, making sure all developers send emails via Mailjet.
• QA, the production gatekeepers.
Iterate fast02.02
Learn from your customers:
• Determine what they care the most about.
• Streamline scenarios.
• Be backward compatible, never break.
• Consistency is key.
Measure02.03• Define KPIs and goals every time you add new
features.
• Implement them as early as possible.
• Track them regularly and take actions.
Scaling up02.04
Your API is a living product, hence it’s normal to:
• Add new, non backward compatible features.
But, never break!
• Deprecate features, even endpoints deserve a
bit of REST.
• Identify bottlenecks in your system and
unlock them, one after the other.
1What’s next?
3
Never settle03.01• Publish content, to reach out to new
developers and provide the best developer
experience.
• Grow our ecosystem, tech moves fast and you
don’t want to be left behind.
• Keep improving our Product.
• Build channels to reach out our community
• Feature our customers’ success stories
Questions
Thank You