9. Features of Great APIs
- Reiteration
• Centered on Developer Experience
– Easy to Discover
• Well defined contracts. Consistently named
• Comprehensive Documentation
– Easy to Use, Adapt to
• Abstract away complexity
• Self service registration, testing and certification
• Available Client SDKs
Key features Vantiv Developer Portal
Developer Portal P
Community P
Comprehensive set of sample
code
P
Sandbox P
Simple documentation P
Simple registration P
Developer Dashboard P
Social tools P
RESTful APIs P
API console P
Automated Certification P
Analytics P
10. Features of Great APIs
- A recap. Continued…
• Agile in themselves and aid in developer agility
– Short design cycles
– Iteratively layered features
• Built and hosted on resilient, self correcting systems
• Automating Certification and Analysis
– Automating certifications of API integrations
• Allow developers to streamline their integrations
– Provides feedback and analytics to developer
– Insights in process and sales engineering engagement
– Find out in real-time how your API calls to Vantiv are
measuring
12. APIs in the Enterprise –
Multi Year Journey
July 2011 –
Vantiv
Separation
August 2011 –
EIS Team is
formed
2011 – 2012
Shared
Services .
Waterfall
Methodology
Fall 2012 –
Agile
Transformation
starts
2012 – 2014.
Staff Aug
Model. API
Proliferation
February 2014
– API As a
Product Team is
formed
Summer 2015 –
Partner APIs
align with Portal
Spring 2016 –
API Team
coalesces with
Product Trains
13. APIs in the Enterprise - Challenges
• Enterprise APIs are not different
• The organizational construct though, is different
– Hence requires a different mindset to execute
• Transition from “Shared Services” to “Enterprise APIs” to “API
– App Product Team is an evolutionary process
– Has a lifecycle, with stages of evolution
– Stages cannot be skipped
14. APIs in the Enterprise - Challenges
– Construct of a project/initiative
• API requirements delivered from within an initiative
– Success of initiative trumps elegant design. Eg., UI
concerns pushed to APIs
• Multiple initiatives have overlapping requirements, but don’t
agree on shared success
• In turn, leading to
– API Proliferation (read spaghetti)
– Lack of standards around cross cutting concerns (eg.,
security)
– Little consistency in API design
APIs
SharedService
team
• Focused on projects
• SOA not considered
• Did not promote reuse
• Project success
15. APIs in the Enterprise –
Multi Year Journey
July 2011 –
Vantiv
Separation
August 2011 –
EIS Team is
formed
2011 – 2012
Shared
Services .
Waterfall
Methodology
Fall 2012 –
Agile
Transformation
starts
2012 – 2014.
Staff Aug
Model. API
Proliferation
February 2014
– API As a
Product Team is
formed
Summer 2015 –
Partner APIs
align with Portal
Spring 2016 –
API Team
coalesces with
Product Trains
16. APIs in the Enterprise - Challenges
– Enterprise APIs are deployed on shared run times
• Non performant APIs end up affecting others on the platform
– API developers staffed in alignment with initiatives
• Leads to brain drain, loss of knowledge
– API teams are not long running
• Against the grain of one of the critical success factors of Agile development
Professional
services
• Shared runtime
• Projects staffed
• Teams changing
• Knowledge loss
• Consultant based
18. APIs in the Enterprise –
Multi Year Journey
July 2011 –
Vantiv
Separation
August 2011 –
EIS Team is
formed
2011 – 2012
Shared
Services .
Waterfall
Methodology
Fall 2012 –
Agile
Transformation
starts
2012 – 2014.
Staff Aug
Model. API
Proliferation
February 2014
– API As a
Product Team is
formed
Summer 2015 –
Partner APIs
align with Portal
Spring 2016 –
API Team
coalesces with
Product Trains
19. APIs in the Enterprise – How we addressed the
Challenges
• Organized ourselves as API Product Teams
with focus on what make a Great API
• Ease of use
– API Reuse. Stable APIs make it easier for
developers to consume. Do not reinvent the
wheel
• Abstract away complexity by hosting on a
capable enterprise service bus with the
following capabilities
» Mediation, Transformation and Translation
» Enrichment, using available technology
adapters
» Support for multiple formats (XML, JSON,
flatfile)
» Support for multiple transport protocols
(http(s), mq, jms, ftp, pop3 )
» Process orchestration and visibility
» Process recovery and resubmission
APIs
Partner APIs
Card Services
Research and
Reporting
Risk, Fraud,
Third Party
Merchant
Lifecycle
Boarding
Underwriting
Terminal
Management
Core
Acceptance
Developer
Portal
CNP RESTful
APIs
CP RESTful
APIs
20. APIs in the Enterprise – How we addressed the
Challenges…
• Follow sound principles of service
orientation
– Consistent and intuitive interface design
– Separation of concerns
– Support Layering and Composition
• Self service registration
– Through a developer experience centric API portal
– That leverages a capable ESB to integrate with
Directory services and user entitlement systems
• Easy to discover
– Well designed, intuitive repository
» With organizational and asset taxonomies
– Thoughtfully laid out, consistent service contracts
» Leverage Swagger for RESTful services
– Rich Documentation
VantivAPIs
APIManagementPlatform
Payments
Card
Management
TxResearch
Fraud
Management
Merchant
Info
Boarding
DeveloperPortal
API
Marketplace
CodeandSDKs
Knowledge
Base
Certification
Dashboards
Solution
Runtime
PartnerDeveloper
Automated
Certification
Certification
StatusTracking
Dev
Automation
Tools
21. APIs in the Enterprise – How we addressed the
Challenges…
– Deployed the APIs on resilient, capable, self correcting platforms
• Enterprises require multiple service patterns. Capable ESBs provide the following with minimum
development effort
– Request – Reply
– Asynchronous services with guaranteed delivery
– Business event based notifications
– Business process orchestrations
• APIs deployed on a highly available, common platform. Unified platform reduces complexity, makes
it easier to administer
– With proactive alerting mechanisms
– Delivering against performance benchmarks
– Using common logging standards, leveraging enterprise logging platforms
DataPower
Tier 1
Client webMethods
Tier 2
WebSphere
Tier 2
RAFT
DB2
22. APIs in the Enterprise – How we addressed the
Challenges…
– With behaviors geared towards developer
success
• Agile API teams
• Focused on developer success
• Playing a consultative role
– Built as long running teams
• Teams built subject matter expertise as they iterated on
features
• Leverage the expertise to better advise developers and
help them succeed
API as a Product
Drive developer adoption
APIs that are easy to understand with clear
helpers and samples
Agility
API ecosystem that supports exposing our
set of API’s in multiple ways (SOAP, REST,
etc)
Ecosystem
Develop and grow strong ecosystem of
partners who can help each other through
forums and solution idea sections
Users
23. APIs in the Enterprise
Multi Year Journey – Current State
– Well established, mature, long running API team
• Organized by business domain or product
• Has the largest surface area in the organization. Uses this to best influence
positive outcomes
– Library of mature, reusable APIs
– Well established
• Security, logging standards
• Contract/Domain object models
• Technology specific components
– Team builds fine grained APIs and layers them – as opposed to
building monoliths
25. APIs in the Enterprise –
Multi Year Journey
July 2011 –
Vantiv
Separation
August 2011 –
EIS Team is
formed
2011 – 2012
Shared
Services .
Waterfall
Methodology
Fall 2012 –
Agile
Transformation
starts
2012 – 2014.
Staff Aug
Model. API
Proliferation
February 2014
– API As a
Product Team is
formed
Summer 2015 –
Partner APIs
align with Portal
Spring 2016 –
API Team
coalesces with
Product Trains
26. APIs in the Enterprise
Evolution – What’s Next
– API Teams to spread the “Agile App Development” culture
– “Enterprise API Organization” retains stewardship of assets. Develops patterns
– API Developers join the Product Development teams
• Platforms are consolidated along product lines
• API developers play the role of facilitators
– Educate legacy application developers
– Help them transition to the next generation thinking – “Think Agile”, “Think Layering”, “Think
Micro”
– Mature APIs are layered and composed to address platform requirements
28. Cross Functional Team
Asset Stewardship, Standards/Guidelines, Platform Architecture and API SME
API
Standards,
Guidelines,
Solution
Architecture,
SME
Solution
Architect
APIs
Solution
Architect
Portals
Solution
Architect
Products
Boarding /
Underwriting
Value Added
Services
Card
Services
30. APIs in the Enterprise
Evolution – Recap
30
Text
– API teams go through stages of evolution
– Stages cannot be skipped
– API teams are best placed to influence the maturity of the enterprise
• Centralization is needed to build the “Agile App Development” culture
• Decentralization is needed to spread this culture throughout the enterprise
and to better align with the products themselves
Major shift to transform into digital business.
Unlocking value by exposing hidden assets (through APIs).
Standardizing on method (API Management and analytics) to expose and access hidden assets.
Empower the developers. Internal/external developers treated the same way.
Changing market approach from inside-out view (specific functional products) to an outside-in approach with the customer experience driving product development.
Moving to a product centric delivery rather than today’s functional teams. Allow organizations to respond quicker to market opportunities.
No longer viewing technology as a cost reducing mechanism but something empowers innovation and creativity of the organization e.g. first to market higher priority than reducing cost by x %.