Adopt a Successful API Product Mindset

Chris Haddad@cobiacomm on Twitter

http://blog.cobia.net/cobiacomm

Read more about WSO2 API Manager at http://wso2.com/products/api-manager

API Product Success• Reach– Number of Consumers– Data and Transaction Breadth

• Impact– Aggregate Usage– Usage per Consumer

• Revenue– Direct and Indirect Revenue– Operating Margin / Net Margin

API Product Failure• Delivery issues– Capacity Melt-down– Server Error 500 , 404, 429

• Challenging interfaces and integration– Complicated URLs and Requiring Payloads– Authentication Token failure

• Evolution and monetization hurdles– Anonymous Users– Ambiguous and shifting business models – Minimal adoption

Product Mindset Facets

API Design

API Delivery

API Engineering

API Promotion

API Evolution

API Monetization

API Terms of Service

API Product Mindset Markers

• Understand your business model • Expose a business capability as an API product• Socialize availability• Encourage ecosystem adoption and API composition• Evolve and scale the API• Loop and re-examine the business model

Product Mindset Mojo• Warranty– Quality of Service– Scale– Longevity

• Packaging– Well-defined focus– Tiered Service Levels– Contextualization

• Evolution, adaptability, and agility– Minimal Viable Product – Less is more– Versions are a big, non-trivial event

• A business model

Evolution, Adaptation, Agility

API Product Governance

• Manage Dependencies• Track adoption – Usage and Subscription Tracking

• Manage Compatibility– Backwards or Forwards– Versioning

• Communicate Migration Strategies– Deprecation, Retirement

The Whole Product View

Dependencies and Technologies under the surface

• Apps are the delivery mechanism• APIs are the external core interfaces• Services are the internal implementation• Processes define business differentiation• Data has gravity

– Cache is persistence, Database is a repository

Composition is orthogonal and important

Very Large API = Increase API Reach

Description Context Personalization

Situational Context

Micro-Context Dimensions

Consumer’s Intent• Goals, Interests, and

Objectives• Requirements and

constraints• Available Resources– Human, physical, financial

Micro-context and the Long TailDrives the Pull Economy

Chart Credit: http://keithhopper.com/blog/long-tail-consumer-demand

Common API Personalization Dimensions

• Information access privileges• Information aggregation and composition• Social network access privileges• Business processes and rules• Service levels and Quality of Service• Security policies• Monetization rates

Questions?