1) The document discusses applying user experience (UX) methods like empathy, ideation, prototyping, and testing to improve the usability of application programming interfaces (APIs). 2) It provides an overview of techniques for each step of the process, including discovery, taxonomy, mockups/prototyping, and usability testing. 3) The goal is to make APIs easier for developers to navigate, understand, and use through applying UX best practices and getting feedback from both developers and end users.

1. The UX of DX: User Testing in the
Invisible World of APIs
DevRelCon London 2017
Jenny Wanger
@jennydove

2. Improve
API Usability
by applying UX
Methods
Empathize
Scope
Ideate
Prototype
Test
Iterate
{dev}

3. API Usability
Competition is Fierce
It’s no longer enough to just give developers your docs

4. Discovery Build something useful
Make it easy to navigateTaxonomy
Get the structures rightMock & Prototype
Find perfectionUsability
Our UX Framework

5. Interviews
Site Visits
Ethnography
TECHNIQUES
• Collaborate with your end user
to develop use cases
• Determine what information to
include that solves for their
need
Discovery
Taxonomy
Usability
Mock & Prototype

6. DISCOVERY
Observation > Conversation
Look for the
point of
marginal
return
# of users
learnings
Developers + End Users

8. Discovery
Taxonomy
Usability
Mock & Prototype
Card Sort
Tree Testing
TECHNIQUES
• Use user personas to create
different journeys for your
developers
• Focus on method and resource
names, order of operations

9. TAXONOMY
User
PHONE AGE PET
iPhone 26 yrs old 3 Cats
/details
/attributes
/characteristics
/randomThings
/tags
/data

11. Discovery
Taxonomy
Usability
Mock & Prototype
Paper Prototypes
Instant Messenger APIs
TECHNIQUES
• Think through the structure of
the API request and response
body
• The goal is to get a basic
outline of each endpoint

12. MOCK
&
PROTOTYPE
GET forecast/London
},{
"period": 3,
"title": "Wednesday Night",
"fcttext": "Overcast. Fog overnight.
Low of 54F. Winds from the WSW at 5 to 15
mph.",
"fcttext_metric": "Overcast. Fog
overnight. Low of 12C. Breezy. Winds from
the WSW at 10 to 20 km/h.",
“precipitation": "0"
},{
Percent or inches?
Why is only one FCT tagged
with the units? Should be
fcttext_imperial and
fcttext_metric

13. Ugly is
Beautiful

14. Discovery
Taxonomy
Usability
Mock & Prototype
Usability Testing via Postman
or Swagger
TECHNIQUES
• Mock up your API in full detail
without a back end
• Follow UX usability testing
techniques to run testing
• Build a strong moderator’s guide

15. USABILITY
• Charge a credit card for £12.50
• Apply a discount of 10% for every
person who uses the code “WE
<3 APIs”
• Create a pricing schema for
lattes, cappuccinos, and mochas

17. Let’s build an API!
Testing
Completed

18. Assess Vision
Don’t let an already-built API stop
you from building the right API
Version
18
APIs that are live today

19. CREATIVE
FIXES
GET reports
type: {periodic, summary,
histogram}
If periodic , please supply…
If summary, please supply…
If histogram, please supply…

20. HIDE WITH
DOCS
GET reports/periodic
type: periodic
Start_date: 10092017
End_date: 10102017
Start_time: 1124
End_time: 1909
Interval_length: 2
Interval_units: hours

21. Questions?
Users
first
Thanks to Emily Ryou for her contributions to this presentation.
@jennydove