Weekly API Evangelist Governance (Guidance)
After a couple of weeks of deep research on the API integration and consumption space I have a plan in place for how we’ll be approaching the building of Naftiko, my new startup with Jerome Louvel. This means that I will be getting back to writing here on API Evangelist as I make my way through the work, strengthening my understanding of what is going on with API integration and consumption, while also drumming up interesting conversations with folks about what they are doing as well.
I was reminded this week in one of my interviews, just how much my storytelling about different APIs has impacted people over the years. I want to get back to the curious and honest storytelling about useful and interesting APIs which I built API Evangelist on over the last 15 years. I will start queuing up stories about the APIs I am profiling for Naftiko integration, as well as publishing them on APIs.io. Going back to the regular cadence of simple, useful, and practical stories about what APIs are available, and the resources they make available to us.
Similar to APIs, I will continue weaving in a regular stream of stories on the fundamental tooling available for integrating with APIs. We are still building Naftiko tooling, but we are building Naftiko on a rich foundation of existing open-source tooling. This provides a opportunity for me to profile each tool, but then also get more precise in how the tooling fits into the world of API consumption. I enjoy test driving new tools and understanding where they fit into the ecosystem. We intend to be very explicit and vocal about the tooling we use and support.
Augmenting APIs and tooling, I will be getting back to storytelling about standards and why they matter when integrating with and consuming APIs. There needs to be more storytelling about the standards and specifications, and how they are being applied across APIs. The lack of attention given to standards in the overall conversation is one of the reasons we live in an XKCD cartoon with new standards being added every couple cycles. People aren’t familiar with what exists before they get to work on creating a new one.
As always, API Evangelist will revolve around talking to people and sharing their stories. I already have a couple of good stories I’ve gathered from private conversations, and have a couple of new API Evangelist Conversations to publish. These API Evangelist Conversations will continue to be the core of my storytelling here, but now they’ll also be the core of the Naftifko open-source and commercial road map. I will keep working to showcase the people doing the integrations, but inevitably other conversations will emerge.
One foundational aspect of what we are building at Naftiko is that we are using domain-driven design to shape the integrations we offer. This means we’ll be building around DDD’s definition of a capabilities, which “represents a high-level abstraction of what a business does, focusing on the functional areas or core competencies that deliver value.” The majority of my storytelling will center around capabilities, which means an emphasis on delivering value to the businesses an integration is being delivered for.
In an effort to focus on what we are hearing people need the most, the observability of API integrations will be top of our list. I am looking to tap into existing concepts of observability, as well as the infrastructure already in use, while focusing on helping make API integrations and their ongoing consumption more observable by default. Observability will mean different things depending on the domain in which an integration will be operating, but there are a lot of common motivations behind why we want to observe integrations.
In my experience, most people will only care about observability when something goes wrong or they need to account for SaaS usage. With this in mind most of the stories I tell around API integrations will work to understand the costs associated as well as the potential revenue or value generated. Most people I talk to emphasize the importance of being able to manage costs and justify their spends as part of API integrations. I will be working to craft stories that translate the technical details of integrations into costs and revenue.
Leaning into the analogy between electricity and APIs, I am convinced after all these years that nobody cares about APIs until they become unreliable. This will make the topic of reliability top of list when it comes to storytelling. Reliable integrations across a seas of potentially unreliable SaaS offerings is a relevant place to focus when it comes to talking about integrations in a way that will speak to engineering and business leadership. Only a few of use think about APIs, mostly people just want reliable integrations.
Like observability and reliability nobody will care about security until something goes wrong. It is our job as integration professionals to be thinking about security for everyone else. I will be focusing on encryption, authentication, authorization, and other key areas of security when it comes to integrations. The goal is to tap into the ongoing concerns and fears around the security of API integrations, while also making sure we are always minding the details of security that people tend to take for granted when things are just working.
One of the most defining factors of API operations is the amount of control we have or do not have over integrations. Control comes in many forms, maybe it is about access control, or maybe it is a 3rd-party service that we have limited control over. Maybe it is intentional or unintentional. I will be focusing on storytelling that reduces a lot of the technical concerns into discussions around how to carve up our integrations with 3rd-party SaaS solutions into meaningful domains that reflect the control we need to have to accomplish what we desire.
My goal in this next wave of API storytelling is to focus on business alignment. I noticed that business alignment is the most important aspect of the API economy while working at Postman. It is something I validated working at Bloomberg. What we are seeing right now with artificial intelligence is a symptom of the lack of alignment between engineering and the product side of things, with leadership from one or the other camp allowing themselves to be influenced by outside business interests. A lack of internal alignment allows for some serious challenges and friction with API integrations to fester.
I am confident that the inertia that exists within your average startups, SMB, SME, and enterprises will continue to prevent most people from doing the right thing when it comes to producing or consuming APIs. Ultimately I think only API consumption matters. And observability, costs, revenue, reliability, security, and control are what matters the most to business leadership—this is where I’ll focus with stories. I’ll do a lot of deep dives into APIs, tools, and standards, but it is the capability I will be using to align the technical details of API integrations with the business details. Business alignment will be the north star of storytelling on API Evangelist and what we are building at Naftiko.
“Humans are pattern-seeking story-telling animals, and we are quite adept at telling stories about patterns, whether they exist or not.”
― Michael Shermer