The document summarizes a presentation given by Bill Doerrfeld at API City in October 2018 about best practices for API developer relations. The presentation uses metaphors from Batman Begins to outline strategies like understanding developer needs, making APIs discoverable, communicating changes effectively, and prioritizing developer experience. The goal is to teach attendees how to build and maintain positive relationships with developers through community engagement, documentation, and responsiveness.

1. PRESENTED BY:
BILL
DOERRFELD
@DoerrfeldBill
AT:
API City
Oct 2018
Always Mind Your
[Developer] Surroundings
A DevRel Montage

2. The Nordic APIs Community
API Tooling Specialists
API Consumers
Thought Leaders, Bloggers
API Owners, Practitioners
Blog, eBooks
Events

3. API Owners & Dev Consumers
API Tooling Specialists
API Consumers
Thought Leaders, Bloggers
API Owners, Practitioners
Blog, eBooks
Events

4. Reach Developer Users
API Consumer
API Owners, Practitioners
API Consumer
API Consumer
API Consumer
API Consumer
API Consumer

5. Sustain Developer Relation
API Consumer
API Owners, Practitioners
API Consumer
API Consumer
API Consumer
API Consumer
API Consumer

6. QUESTIONS:
● How do we make an API discoverable?
● How do we sustain positive developer
relations?
● How can we fine tune the onboarding
process?
● How can we improve developer
experience?

7. WHAT WOULD LIAM NEESON DO?

8. IN AN ELABORATE TRAINING MONTAGE
ANSWER WITH CRYPTIC APHORISMS

9. Goal of Presentation
DevRel movie montage
To master the art of API Practice

10. "ALWAYS MIND YOUR
SURROUNDINGS"
-BATMAN BEGINS

11. "ALWAYS MIND YOUR
[DEVELOPER]
SURROUNDINGS"
-API CITY 2018

12. DISCLAIMERS
● I don’t advocate the use of hand-to-hand combat to solve
developer relations issues.
● I do, however, advocate the use of extended metaphor.
● Let's forget Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson) turned out to be the
bad guy, ok?

13. LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN

14. "A QUALITY API PROVIDER
UNDERSTANDS THAT
DEVELOPER RELATIONS IS A MATTER
OF PATIENCE AND AGILITY"

15. DevRel Takes Time & Effort
● Evangelism vs Advocacy
● Developer Experience
● Fostering Trust
● Onboarding process
● Creating Resources

16. Example: Context.io
Cecy Correa , Taking the Pain Out of
Support Engineering
- "Support rotation rarely works"
- Avoid ownership confusion
- Avoid abuse
- Stick to working hours
"I Don't Know, But I'll Find Out
For You"

17. "YOU KNOW HOW TO ONBOARD 6
DEVELOPERS...
...I CAN TEACH YOU TO SCALE 600"

18. Scaling Developer Relations
Self Service Human
SDKs Forum management
API docs 1-1 support
API sandbox Response to outages
Code tutorials Development, resource generation

19. What Makes a Good API Product
Owner?
https://nordicapis.com/qualities-
make-great-api-product-owner/
- Language proficiency
- Experience
- Collaboration
- Intimately understand audience
- Treats API as a product
Great API teams scale support to
the needs of their devs

20. The Role of an API Evangelist
What Qualities Make a Great API
Product Owner?
- Understand userbase
- Communicate value of product
- Ensure program is attractive
- Always be observing, gathering
feedback
- Host, attend, speak at events
- Build & maintain an online
knowledge center
- Translate tech trends
- Build a community of heroes

21. "YOU HAVE LEARNED TO BURY YOUR
PLATFORM POLICY IN LEGALESE...
...I WILL TEACH YOU HOW TO
CONFRONT IT, TO FACE THE TRUTH"

22. Platform Policy
- Easily accessible summary
- Part of self-service!
- Google Dev Guidelines:
- Put the user first
- Be transparent
- Respect user data
Have a human readable summary
Read: https://nordicapis.com/a-humans-guide-to-drafting-api-platform-policy/

23. "YOU HAVE LEARNED TO POST YOUR API ON
A COUPLE DEV CHANNELS...
...I WILL TEACH YOU HOW BECOME
TRULY VISIBLE"

24. API Directories, Marketplaces, & Lists
https://blog.runscope.com/posts/4-methods-to-make-your-api-truly-discoverable
ProgrammableWeb Any-API.com Azure Marketplace
RapidAPI.com SDKs.io Mashape
Rakuten Rapid API
*APAC division
API Katalogen
*Swedish API directory
API.market
APIs.guru API List
The API Stack
API Evangelist
Public APIs Github Repo Postman API Network API-rest.com
APIs.io Cenit IO Public App Directory API For That
18 as of September 2018

25. Ways to Make APIs Discoverable
● API Definition
● Discovery Formats
● SEO
● Competitions
https://blog.runscope.com/posts/4-methods-to-make-your-api-truly-discoverable

26. "A NINJA API PROVIDER EMPLOYÉS
EXPLOSIVE API ALERTS"

27. Ways to Communicate Change
- Changelogs
- Social Media
- Automated Emailing
- HyperMedia
- Developer Portals and Visual
Notification
Change management is a strategy
From: https://nordicapis.com/methods-to-communicate-api-change-effectively/

28. Example: Mailchimp
Obvious, clear API changes in developer portal

29. "THEATRICALITY AND POSITIVE RECEPTION
ARE POWERFUL AGENTS"

30. Making a Show of IT
● Design Matters
● Doc UI Matters
● Sampe Apps
Twilio: Example of sleek dev portal design

31. "Either you own the conversation
around your APIs or someone else
will."
– Kin Lane
The API Evangelist
Own the Conversation!
Example: Tinder distanced from dev community

32. "YOU MUST BECOME MORE THAN A TOOL
IN THE MIND OF YOUR API
CONSUMER"

33. Becoming More Than A Tool
TWITTER PAYPAL
UBER
(RIDES API)
TWILIO
SPOTIFY POSTMATES
GOOGLE MAPS YOUTUBE
MAILCHIMP ALCHEMY API
What do these top
self-service APIs
have in common?

34. Superb Dev Centers!
1. Getting Started Guide
2. Authentication Guide
3. API Documentation
4. Testing Environment
5. Developer Resources: code tutorials, SDKs, sample
apps
6. Support Channels: Static & Human
7. Platform Policy
7 elements of a superb dev center
https://nordicapis.com/7-ingredients-that-make-up-a-superb-developer-center/

35. Next Level: Forum
Example: API-driven German Fidor bank forum

36. Next Level: Community
Example: Shopify forum, events, dev blog

37. Next Level: Dev Events

38. "MISSING RESOURCES CANNOT BE
TOLERATED
COMPETITORS THRIVE ON YOUR BAD
API STYLE"

39. API Error Handling
https://nordicapis.com/best-pract
ices-api-error-handling/
- Human readable message
- An HTTP Status Code (1XX, 2XX,
3XX, 4XX, 5XX)
- An Internal Reference ID
"Quality error codes not only
communicate what went wrong, but
why it went wrong."

40. API Style: When to Use What?
https://nordicapis.com/when-to-u
se-what-rest-graphql-webhooks-gr
pc/
REST: stateless, rapid iteration,
standardized HTTP verbs, hypermedia
dependent.
GraphQL: greater data control, specific
data return scenarios.
Webhooks: automate data updates, API
updates clients routinely.
gRPC: Lightweight, nimble. Good for IoT,
lower power situations.

41. Meet Needs of Consumers:
Adopting APIs & Microservices at a
Major Bank , Eyal Sivan
CIBC constructing agile
microservices framework for open
banking REST & GraphQL APIs,
using open source components.
& market

42. "MAINTAINING FUNCTIONALITY IS ONLY
HALF…
REITERATING WITH DEV FEEDBACK IS
EVERYTHING!

43. Accumulate Dev Feedback
https://nordicapis.com/accumula
ting-feedback-4-questions-api-prov
iders-need-to-ask-their-users/
- What Do You Expect From This API?
- What Is Your Greatest Frustration
with the API?
- Why Did You Choose Our API?
- If You Could Change Our API, How
Would You?
4 questions API owners should ask
their dev users:

44. Know Your Developer Needs

45. Find Value From Dev Needs
"Find the underlying business value
and how you can augment your API for
it, not try to find a business value for
your API."
-John Sheehan, CA Technologies

46. "DEMONSTRATE YOUR COMMITMENT TO
DEVELOPERS...
...DON’T EXECUTE PUBLIC API
ENDPOINTS W/OUT WARNING"

47. I Don't Think This is Cool
HelloSmyte, Instagram, Facebook & others shutter API access with little warning

48. "YOU HAVEN’T RELEASED A GREAT API…
YOU’VE SACRIFICED YOUR DEVELOPER
FOOTING FOR AN MVP!"

49. "ALWAYS MIND YOUR
[DEVELOPER]
SURROUNDINGS"
LET'S SHORTEN THAT TO...

50. "ALWAYS MIND YOUR
DEVELOPERS"

51. Always Mind Your Developers
Applying the armature from Batman Begins to API strategy
- Have advocates
- Clear updates
- Be more than a tool: SDKs, code tutorials, resources
- Be vocal: own conversation
- Be discoverable: SEO, API directories, marketplaces
- Error responses
- API style: meet the needs of devs
- Improve internal efficiency: DevOps, API mindset
- Feedback: easy feedback loop
- More than MVP: To stay competitive, all companies need
great DX now.

52. End Goal?

53. 7 Global Movements That Are
Evolving The Story of APIs
PRESENTED BY:
BILL
DOERRFELD
@DoerrfeldBill
AT:
API City
Oct 2018
Always Mind Your [Developer]
Surroundings A DevRel Montage

54. @DoerrfeldBill
Slides are up:

55. SUBMIT TO THE BLOG!
I welcome thought leadership contributions!
bill@nordicapis.com

56. LIVECAST: Hourlong Webinars

57. ATTEND PS 2018
THE 2018 PLATFORM SUMMIT
October 22 - 24 | STOCKHOLM
EXPLORE THE API UNIVERSE
Attend the most global API conference on the planet

58. VOTE FOR BEST PUBLIC API
VOTE HERE: https://nordicapis.com/best-public-api-of-2018/

59. Sponsor: Curity
Curity is the leading supplier of API-driven identity management, providing
unified security for digital services.
Identity management oAuth server

60. THANK YOU API CITY!
- Tessa Mero is doing great work
to support an API community in
Seattle!
- Locals - See you at APIs and
IPAs meetup

61. 7 Global Movements That Are
Evolving The Story of APIs
PRESENTED BY:
BILL
DOERRFELD
@DoerrfeldBill
AT:
API City
Oct 2018
Always Mind Your [Developer]
Surroundings A DevRel Montage

62. "ONLY FOOLS BELIEVE DEVELOPERS
ARE THE ONLY ONES INTERESTED IN APIS"
Extra Liam Neeson insight ...

63. "YOUR API’S DOWNTIME
WAS NOT YOUR FAULT…
IT WAS YOUR OPS TEAM'S."
"OPS HAD NO WARNING!
"THAT DOES NOT CHANGE
THE FACT THAT
YOUR PLATFORM FAILED TO
ACT!"
Extra Liam Neeson insight ...