API Strategy for Decision Makers

Chapter 4. Next Steps

The aim of this report is to introduce the notion of API product strategy and offer a guide to the product strategy journey and some of the key decisions you need to face along the way. This boils down to three key strategic challenges:

• Committing to an API product approach

• Managing the product lifecycle

• Establishing an observability culture

Committing to an API Product Approach

First, in order to build a successful API program, you need to adopt an API product point of view (see Chapter 1). The foundation of a solid product strategy can be summed up in three elements:

• Market and needs

• Business goals

• Key features and differentiators

Knowing your target audience and their needs is the first step. Recognizing where the needs of the market and your business goals overlap helps you keep your efforts focused on profitable work. And targeting key features that separate your APIs from competitors helps ensure your product will stand out in a crowded field (see “Establishing Your API Strategy”).

Managing the Product Lifecycle

The lifecycle of an API product has many steps and requires clear decision-making through the process (see Chapter 2). Once your product is released into the market, you need to make sure developers discover your product when and where they need it (see “Discovery”). You also need to make sure they can adopt your product and incorporate the API into their own lifecycle (see “Adoption”). Of course, it is important to pay attention ...