A lot of material has been written about technical aspects of Web APIs. With this ebook we take a slightly different approach and want to provide best practices about what makes an API really successful on the long run: the API program around the actual technical interface. We analyzed many success stories of the API economy and draw from our experience in helping our customers to success. Download the whole ebook for free at http://pages.3scale.net/api-owners-manual-wb.html

1. Best practices of successful API teams

2. Purpose of this ebook
A lot of material has been written about technical
aspects of Web APIs.
With this ebook we take a slightly different approach
and want to provide best practices about what makes
an API really successful on the long run:
The API program around the actual technical interface.
We analyzed many success stories of the API economy
and draw from our experience in helping our customers
to success.
Download the whole ebook for free.
2The API Owner’s Manual

3. The best practices of successful API teams
We identified seven key areas that are critical to get
right for sustainable API success:
1. Focus relentlessly on the value of the API
2. Make the business model clear from the beginning
3. Design and implement with the user in mind
4. Place API operations at the top of the list
5. Obsess about developer experience (DX)
6. Go beyond marketing 101
7. Remember API retirement and change management
The API Owner’s Manual 3

4. Focus relentlessly on the value of the API
The focus needs to be on the value the API means to
its main two beneficiaries: the API consumer and the
API providing organisation. And this needs to be
continuously re-evaluated.
The API Owner’s Manual 4

5. Make the business model clear from the
beginning
The API Owner’s Manual 5
The API needs to be created to support the
organization’s business model and not vice versa.

6. Design and implement with the user in
mind
The API Owner’s Manual 6
Three main design goals are imperative: simplicity,
flexibility, and ease of adoption.

7. Place API operations at the top of the list
The API Owner’s Manual 7
API operations processes need to be in place to
deliver services according to the two API
beneficiaries’ expectations.

8. Obsess about developer experience (DX)
The API Owner’s Manual 8
DX is the sum of all interactions between a developer
and an API. If negative, the API adoption and usage
will suffer.

9. Go beyond marketing 101
The API Owner’s Manual 9
Developer marketing is very special. It needs to be
very clear what tactics to use to address which user
groups.

10. Remember API retirement and change
management
The API Owner’s Manual 10
Changes happen and they always understandably
upset someone. But it can be managed, planned, and
especially communicated.

11. Get the free ebook
Want to know more?
Download the whole ebook for free.
The API Owner’s Manual 11

12. Thanks
We have included a number of
successful API examples, including
Amazon, APIdaze, Context.IO, eBay,
Flickr, Lingo24, Netflix, Pingar,
SendGrid, Senzari MusicGraph, Slice,
Stripe, and Twilio.
The API Owner’s Manual 12
Most of those examples were provided by external contributors,
which we are extremely grateful for.

13. About 3scale
3scale makes it easy to open,
manage, distribute, control, and
monetize your APIs. A self-serve API
Management Platform, 3scale is built
with performance, customer control
and excellent time-to-value in mind.
No other solution gives API providers
so much power, ease and flexibility in
such a cost effective way.
Learn more about how it works, or
sign up for your free account and
start exploring for yourself.
Download the free ebook.
The API Owner’s Manual 13

14. Authors and contact
The API Owner’s Manual 14
Manfred (@ManfredBo on Twitter) is an API geek and evangelist.
He blogs about topics related to APIs and developer evangelism,
and curates articles about API strategy and technology for the API
Magazine.
In his day job, Manfred is API Market Development Director at
3scale.net. His job involves educating markets about the value of
APIs and about how to implement effective API programs.
www.3scale.net
Steven (@njyx on Twitter) was previously the research director of
one of the leading European research groups in Europe on
distributed systems and Artificial Intelligence at the Universitat
Politècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. He brings 10 years of
technical experience in Web Services, Semantic Web, network
technology, and the management of large-scale international R&D
teams to his work.