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Build APIs
Get StartedThe API Audit phase helps to confirm API designs comply to guidelines. API audit consists of checklists. Areas to check are business requirements, developer experience, standards and security. When in use, API management platform compatibility is also important. Note: The APIOps Cycles API Audit checklist is not exhaustive and does not guarantee secure APIs. The checklist is often used as basis for custom checklists.
Build APIs
With a good interface the API consumers do not know what technology is used to build the API. Nor do they need to know what the provider's internal data model looks like. Building APIs involves designing simple and useful data and interaction models. Use design style guides and standards like OpenAPI where possible.
Prototype
What data should the API use? How will the API work? What standards and formats do we need? How can non-API experts take part in API designing?
Diagrams with boxes or sequence diagrams - not everyone’s cup of tea and not the best to capture data and functional needs. Defining API design from code is the most expensive option to change. The alternative way to design APIs is to use the Data requirements and API design canvases.
Almost every API should be designed as if it could be used by external API consumers. The most important things to design are data, data formats, documentation and security.
Analyzing information needs and structureBuild Just Enough
How should endpoints i.e. the resources that our API allows the API consumers to use, be named? What features and thus endpoints should be included in the same API? To version or not and how?
There are no actual standards for how endpoints etc. should be named. There are some conventions and best practices that help the APIs to be RESTful. Design with the next phase, API Audit criteria in mind. When designing REST APIs, use the REST API style guide as your guideline.
At first, add only the endpoints and data attributes that you know are necessary. This reduces the need for versioning, support and maintenance.
Scale
What are the best practices for the technical design of an API? How are all those nice-looking API documentation pages created? What is the fastest way to get feedback about an API design from future API consumers? How can we maintain design consistency across APIs?
Create specifications (e.g. contracts) using standards like OpenAPI for REST APIs. You can use tools for creating and validating the designs using design standards automatically. API management platforms use OpenAPI to manage the API usage and security and generate pretty documentation based on the specification.
What type of API are you building?
API Cheat sheet helps you to understand the basic differences when building Private, Partner or Public APIs
Prototype
- No coding required.
- OpenAPI with examples
- Mock and test agains the prototype
- Give prototype out for comments and building for API consumers
What type of API are you building?
API Cheat sheet helps you to understand the basic differences when building Private, Partner or Public APIs
Build Just Enough
- Build so the interface works, it doesn't need to be super pretty, yet
- Protect with API management
- Set up CI/CD pipelines
- Do load testing, don't build for “theoretical future load”.
Scale
- Test coverage up, before optimizing
- Build for change
- Scale the API management
- Automate load testing.
- Check auto-scaling possibilities for all components but check also costs
method for lean api development
Great APIs need skilled people and a good method, which let's you create APIs as products - fast.
APIOps Cycles method is vendor & technology-neutral.
Read the free e-book "The 8 wastes of lean in API development". Learn quick tips on how to remove the wastes using the APIOps Cycles method.
