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APIOps Cycles
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Start Where It Matters Most

APIOps Cycles is a Lean and service design–inspired method for designing, improving, and scaling APIs.

APIOps Cycles is free to use, adapt, and share under the Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 4.0 license. Developed since 2017, APIOps Cycles has grown through community contributions and real-world projects across industries.

For developers or anyone that wants to contribute to the method, use the method locally or as part of their products and services, the whole method consists of a few localized JSON and markdown files used by this site and the APIOps Cycles open tooling, available also as npm package. Make sure you also check out the partners and community page, they can help you use the method and with other API product strategy and best practices needs.

APIOps Cycles method is built around a metro map of stations and lines — each representing a critical aspect of the API lifecycle.

How It Works (At a Glance)

Section titled “How It Works (At a Glance)”

Think of APIOps Cycles like a metro system:

  • Core Stations = Activities focusing on a specific API capability (e.g., Strategy, Design, Audit, Delivery).
  • Suburb Stations = upporting domains (e.g., security, compliance, localization).
  • Metro Lines = Thematic workflows that guide your team from a starting point to a target capability (e.g., Business Opportunities, Operating Model, Platform Architecture).
  • Suburbs = Perspectives where multiple core stations, suburb stations, and metro lines converge (e.g., Strategic, Governance, Technical, Consumer perspectives).
  • Resources = Canvases, guidelines and checklists linked from core and suburb stations to help your team to collaborate and meet the entry and exit criteria of each core station while you move a long the lines.

You can enter the system anywhere — depending on your goal — and loop back, validate, or iterate.

APIOps Cycles Metro Map

Getting Started in 3 Steps

Section titled “Getting Started in 3 Steps”
  1. Identify your current API challenge
    • You don’t have to visit every station in order. Instead, start where your team’s or organization’s current needs or pain points are by browsing the metro lines, and ticking of entry criteria to each station.
  2. Pick your Quick Start path
    • New build? Major redesign? Governance & scaling?
  3. Need to collaborate with your team?
    • Check instructions and links to canvases and other resources on each station page. Download from resource pages, or open CanvasCreator, the open source demo tool to help you fill or export any of the localized canvases as JSON, SVG or PNG, and share with your team. Also available as npm package.