The document discusses the evolution of API product management, highlighting the shift from traditional IT to a platform-centric world driven by app developers and their end-users. It outlines the API lifecycle stages, emphasizing the importance of understanding user needs, ensuring ease of use for developers, and maintaining a balance between innovation and stability. The roles of product managers and the strategies for successful API design, launch, and growth are also addressed.

1. API Product Management –
Driving Success through the Value
Chain
03.15.12 @ 11:00 PST
VOIP or Dial-in (see chat)
groups.google.com/group/api-craft
Michael Hart @michaelhart
Jen Mazzon @jenmazzon
Sam Ramji @sramji

2. Your hosts

3. @michaelhart @jenmazzon @sramji

4. groups.google.com/group/api-craft

5. youtube.com/apigee
5

6. Driving Success through the
Value Chain

7. 1 Two major changes in the world
Web ➜ ➜ Apps
From 1 billion web browsers to 1 trillion devices
IT ➜ ➜ Platforms
2
From traditional IT to a world of platforms

8. API Value Chain
➜ ➜
➜ ➜
App User Apps App Developer API API Team
New indirect value chain
app developers are the kingmakers
success of their end-users drives success for devs and the API

9. API Product Management is about understanding the needs
of both the direct (developer) and indirect (app user) user
of the API product
➜ ➜
➜ ➜
App API
Apps App API
User Team
Developer

10. Consider end-2-end development experience
for developers
discovery
sign up
get started
choices/decisions they make
points of friction that you can smooth out

11. What services is your API exposing to make it
useful for a developer to make compelling apps?
Product managers should be app users – using
apps created by developers using your API

12. API Lifecycle
Define
& Plan
Grow & Design
Evolve & Build
Launch

13. Define & Plan
Clear end goals
End user reach
Additional revenue streams
Inorganic innovation
...

14. Define & Plan
Built-in flexibility
Leave room for serendipity
Allow for flexibility in the terms
Think modular & recombinant

15. Define & Plan
Safeguards
Control over exposure of key business assets
Ensure controls to safeguard against catastrophic
success - make sure a developer can’t take down
your system

16. API Lifecycle
Define
& Plan
Grow & Design
Evolve & Build
Launch

17. Design & Build
Who are your primary customers & markets?
- internal
- partner
- open
What different considerations for designing an
API product for each?

18. Design & Build
Internal Close
partner external Open API
partner
ALPHA Customer Phases

19. Design & Build
Picking earlier vs. later partners
Partner tolerance for change in the APIs?
Partner tolerance for the stress of being an early
adopter?
Internal vs. external, Web vs. native mobile
for the early ALPHA customer

20. Design & Build
The success of an API design is measured by
how quickly developers can get up to speed and
succeed using your API
Place the success of the developer over and above
any other design principle
Have a functional vs. implementation focus
Don’t reveal internal organizational or system
boundaries

21. API Lifecycle
Define
& Plan
Grow & Design
Evolve & Build
Launch

22. Launch
Out the gate
How to provision new developer on an API
Build simple sample apps & docs
Scale your process to your audience

23. Launch
Evangelize & drive adoption
Be clear on who you want to reach
Meet them where they already are
Provide incentives?

24. Launch
Validate the API design and functionality
Listen, listen, listen
Help early adopters succeed
Showcase examples

25. API Lifecycle
Define
& Plan
Grow & Design
Evolve & Build
Launch

26. Grow & Evolve
Validate the API design and functionality
What is/not working
Qualitative from community
Quantitative from API usage

27. Grow & Evolve
Prioritize and roll out changes to the API
Streamline & optimize for top usage scenarios
Keep the API exposure at pace with core services
- weigh reward vs. risk
reward - how much will end users value the functionality being available to
app developers vs. risk – stability

28. Grow & Evolve
Interface versioning
Gotta have it! But avoid whenever possible
Standard approach is to have clear versioning
Consider whether you’re randomizing too much for
the developer.

29. Grow & Evolve
Evaluate & evolve the API strategy
Evaluate the metrics you started with in the Design
& Plan phase
Review your metrics – do they need calibration?

30. Grow & Evolve
Identify new markets & opportunities
If it’s a no-brainer, build & release it
If it’s questionable, go back to doing the provisional
API with the partner who will best be able to
capitalize on that functionality

31. API Value Chain
➜ ➜
➜ ➜
App User Apps App Developer API API Team
PM

32. THANK YOU
Questions and ideas to:
@jenmazzon
@sramji
@michaelhart (bonobos.theresumator.com)
groups.google.com/group/api-craft