How do you measure API success? What KPIs do APIs need? What mistakes should I avoid? Find out what you should, and shouldn't, be measuring as part of your API program in this Business of APIs Conference NYC talk. Dive into a breadth of API metrics, the 6 keys to better API metrics, and the traps to beware of (the important do's and don'ts). Also real-world API case studies show who measures what.
KPIs for APIs (and how API Calls are the new Web Hits, and you may be measuring all wrong)
1. KPIs for APIs
or,
why API Calls are the new Web Hits
and you may be measuring all wrong
John
Musser
/
@johnmusser
/
API
Science
/
apiscience.com
Business
of
APIs
Conference,
NYC,
2014
2. Why do we need
a Web site?
1995
Of course we have
a Web site
Of course we
have an API
Why do we need
an API?
2000 2005 2010
3. Why do we need
a Web site?
1995
Of course we have
a Web site
You are here
Of course we
have an API
Why do we need
an API?
2000 2005 2010
11. Marketing channel BizDev / LeadGen
New line of business
Extend product
Drive innovation
User acquisition
Upsell opportunity
Device and mobile support
Content acquisition
API as Product
Distribution channel
Increase stickiness
Accelerate internal projects
Partner opportunities
Drive traffic
Increase footprint
16. Many ways to think about API KPIs…
Traffic
Total calls
Top methods
Call chains
Quota faults
Developers
Total developers
Active developers
Top developers
Trending apps
Retention
Service
Performance
Availability
Error rates
Code defects
Marketing
Dev registrations
Dev portal funnel
Traffic sources
Event metrics
Support
Support tickets
Response times
Business
Direct revenue
Indirect revenue
Market share
Costs
17. More ways to think about API KPIs…
Customer
Satisfaction
NPS
Churn
Community
Forum activity
Social media
(both for API and
apps built on it)
Quality
Defects
Error prone APIs
Repair rate
API Maturity
Stability
Maturity metric
Change rate
Innovation
Number of products
Number of apps
Speed to market
Channel
Call volume: Mobile,
web, others
Revenue by channel
26. KPI SECRET #2
Know your
Developer Funnel
(for public APIs)
27. Web sites have funnels
Acquisi9on
Ac9va9on
Reten9on
Revenue
Referral
How
do
users
find
you?
Does
the
user
have
a
good
first
experience?
Do
users
return?
How
do
you
make
money?
Do
users
tell
others?
Dave McClure’s “Startup Metrics for Pirates”
28. APIs have funnels too
Acquisi9on
Ac9va9on
Reten9on
Revenue
Referral
How
do
developers
find
you?
Does
the
developer
have
a
good
first
experience?
Do
developers
return?
How
do
you
and
developers
make
money?
Do
developers
tell
others?
29. Potential KPIs
Acquisi9on
Ac9va9on
Reten9on
Revenue
Referral
Dev
portal
site:
sources,
traffic
vol,
uniques
#
dev
registraCons,
API
keys
issued
#
acCve
devs,
API
call
volume
by
dev,
#
apps
$
per
dev,
$
per
app,
#
end
users
#
dev
referrals,
dev/app
growth,
NPS
49. API Billionaire Club
13 billion API calls / day (May 2011)
5 billion API calls / day (April 2010)
5 billion API calls / day (October 2009)
1.1 billion API calls / day (April 2011)
1 billion API calls / day (May 2012)
1 billion API calls / day (Q1 2012)
1 billion API calls / day (January 2012)
53. 3 common API KPI traps
Not having a metrics process
(have a metrics plan & a feedback loop)
Using the wrong metrics
(don’t be afraid to change what you track)
Unrealistic expectations
(“Absolutely, we’ll have X developers on-board by X date”)
61. KPI: Conversions
“We are seeing a trend where a person
who uses another app with Evernote is
50% more likely to move on to our
premium (paid) service”
62. KPI: Engagement
“Apps that have an API integration with
Evernote are seeing much more usage:
Pocket readers normally read 15% of what
they save, but Evernote users read 80% of
what they save in Pocket.”
63. KPI: Revenue
API now accounts
for 20-25%
of the charity’s
annual revenue
67. Goal: “more eyeballs on our content”
API calls (requests)
Response volume (ex: # stories)
Impressions (via image beacon)
Loyalty
More
KPIs
KPI: Impressions
68. KPI: Recipe delivery
“We sell Vodka.
But people buy drinks.”
Goal: “ensure top quality drinks
consistently delivered to people
regardless of where people
encounter Absolut”
69. KPI: Recipe delivery
APIs let you be where
your customers are.
Measure how.
“We sell Vodka.
But people buy drinks.”
Goal: “ensure top quality drinks
consistently delivered to people
regardless of where people
encounter where people encounter
Absolut”