Developer experience is a key predictor for a successful API program. But how do you go about making a great DX at scale? If you are a startup there are many models in the API community you can emulate. But what if you are running a large API initiative as part of a digital transformation program, how will you do so consistently at scale? What are the pitfalls? What should you consider when choosing the governance model and technology for your devportal?

1. The role of Devportals in
digital transformation
Kristof Van Tomme
co-Founder/CEO
PRONOVIX
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@kvantomme
kristof@pronovix.com

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6. Formal rules and procedures don’t have a
predetermined effect on people’s behavior.
Rather, people actively interpret rules and use
them as a resource to fulfill their goals. What
matters are not the rules, but the ways people
use them.
Morieux, Yves. Six Simple Rules (p. 21). Harvard
Business Review Press. Kindle Edition.
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7. 7
Make you curious about:
1. Systems thinking
2. Complex Adaptive Systems
3. The role of APIs in Digital
Transformation
4. The role of devportals in Digital
Transformation
@kvantomme -
Goals of this
session

8. WHAT IS DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION?
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9. Most
enterprise
companies
are like trees,
adaptive as
they grow,
but rigid as
they mature
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10. To survive
we need our
companies
to become
more
adaptive,
more like ant
hills
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11. To become more
adaptive, we
need more
learning surface
with customers
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12. From tightly
integrated value
flows, companies
need to become
value networks,
rerouting around
bottlenecks
towards
constantly
evolving value
sources
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● Agile transformations
● DevOps
● Self-organizing teams
● InnerSourcing
● APIs
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One goal many
transformations

14. WHAT TRIGGERED THIS NEED
FOR CHANGE?
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15. THE ENVIRONMENT HAS
FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED
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16. Digital
technology
changes
everything
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17. Digital
technology
has increased our
interconnection &
Interdependence
resulting in 2
major results:
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18. THE VALUE SPACE
SINGULARITY
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19. Proximity is
being replaced
by experience
(Convenience,
Familiarity, &
Immediacy) as
the new
dominant value
dimension
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20. INCREASING COMPLEXITY OF
THE ENVIRONMENT
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21. Digital
technology
has increased our
interconnection &
Interdependence
resulting in 2
major results:
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22. COMPLEXITY
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Complexity arises when a set of
agents have the right level of:
-Interconnection
-Interdependence
-Diversity
-Adaptivity
@kvantomme -

23. Complicated >< Complex
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24. Rising
complexity
means that
industrial age
companies
organized as
complicated
systems no
longer work
(Cynefin framework)
Disorder

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COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
NECESSITATE COMPLEX AGENTS

26. Complex
Adaptive Systems
are a group of
interacting
agents, that adapt
to complexity in
the environment
with complex
adaptive
emergent
behaviour
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27. Hypothesis:
“Through your
developer
community a
devportal can
help you tune
your company
for complex
adaptive
behaviour”
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Worldwide the only consultancy dedicated to devportal development?
@kvantomme -28@kvantomme -

29. 29
OUR
EXPERIENCE
@kvantomme -29@kvantomme -

30. 30
AWARD
WINNING
DEVPORTAL
CONSULTANCY
Pronovix is a 45+
people agency
dedicated to
developer
portals
@kvantomme -@kvantomme -30@kvantomme -

31. DISTILL,
SHARE, &
RESEARCH
Developer
portals,
API docs,
& Best
practices
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PATTERNS FOR COMPLEX
ADAPTIVITY

33. How to adjust
to our new
environment?
33
1) Cooperate to remove friction
Appropriate intermediate levels of the
complexity parameters:
2) Interconnectedness
3) Interdependence
4) Diversity
5) Adaptivity
@kvantomme -

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5 objectives to become a
Complex Adaptive System
(CAS)

35. 1. Remove developer friction
through improved DX
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36. Removing
friction
36
1. Developer eXperience is achieved
through dialogue not through top
down rules & governance
2. Developer eXperience can’t be
reached without adjustment costs: to
really collaborate fully, respectful
conflict is essential
@kvantomme -

37. 2. Increase interconnection
through APIs
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38. Inter-
connection
38
1. Build as little devportals as
possible
2. Strongly encourage reuse, but
remain curious about exceptions
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39. 3. Use APIs to engage with
more diversity
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40. Diversity
40
1. Make internal diversity available to
the whole organisation
2. Build an API partner platform to
benefit from external diversity
3. Don’t try to standardize everything
but embrace healthy diversity
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41. 4. Create loosely coupled
interdependence through
APIs
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42. Inter-
dependence
42
1. Ideally APIs are constrained in such a
way that they don’t allow you to fail
2. But they are open enough to allow for
surprising applications
3. API consumers should be able to
influence API design and capabilities but
not dictate them
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43. 5. Use APIs as a boundary
behind which teams can adapt
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44. Adaptivity
44
1. Be careful with API versioning, but allow
for change
2. Clearly communicate about API versions
on your devportal
3. Integrate documentation into the
development process to keep docs in
synch with changes to the API
@kvantomme -

45. 1. Improve DX to remove developer friction.
2. Increase interconnection through APIs.
3. Use APIs to engage more diversity.
4. Create loosely coupled interdependence
through APIs.
5. Use APIs as a boundary behind which
teams can adapt.
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CAS through APIs & Devportals

46. HAPPY SWARMING!
THANK YOU!
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47. Developer portal mailing list
bit.ly/devportals
47Pronovix confidential and proprietary

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Road_in_nepal_after_earthquake.jpeg
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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:0312_Animal_Cell_and_Components.jpg
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https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Vachellia_drepanolobium#/media/File:Acacia_drepanolobium_and_Crematogaster_nigriceps_
@_Ngorongoro_Aug2009.jpg
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Thank you!

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_(biology)#/media/File:Celltypes.svg
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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Starr-120527-6708-Prunus_persica_var_persica-var_Earligrande_habit_with_bee_swarm-
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