We hope that you already know how important API design is. If you have any question about the details of the API design process, we are here to break the mischief.
Be careful with Open APIs, as these might tempt you to skip the design part. We will stress it out one more time – API design is crucial for the whole process. You can’t maintain a proper API lifecycle without the designing phase. Here you will read on some of the API design FAQ.
- Why is API design so important?
Imagine this situation – you are about to create a software product. The first thing that you are going to do is to consider which you will build. Now you are interested in models of interaction and the specific use cases. Here comes the moment when you are writing your code. The point with the code is – if you want your API to be well adapted and useful, the code has to be well written.
You have to design an API that is consistent, intuitive and empowering. If you miss some steps through the API design process, you will create a bad API, which will be criticized and avoided. Of course, you want to skip this. Concluding – API design contributes to the general impression of your API and its usefulness.
- Is API design more critical than User Experience (UX) design?
As we mentioned above, developers should write a good code that will provide good communication and interaction between machines. Machines don’t tolerate double meanings. Once you release the API, it is game over for the eventual changes. Concluding – the API design is more important than user experience, as once you get the things done there is no turning back. You have to ensure that everything is consistent and done by the guidelines, best practices, and patterns.
- What is the connection between API design and Developer Experience (DI)?
You have to invest your time in creating a good designed API. If you give the right and clear instructions to the developers, they will produce exactly what you asked for. Some developers don’t have the patience to work with complicated APIs. Once the developer gets a headache out of your API, he might simply give it up.
On the other side, if you prepared a proper and documentation for a developer, the outcome will be more than satisfying for both sides. It doesn’t matter if you work with a few partners or you have millions of consumers, everybody appreciates a well-designed API.
- What are the stakeholders?
You probably heard that you can start the designing process by gathering the stakeholders. However, you don’t know what the stakeholders are. They include technical writers, product managers, API developers, and potential customers. These will have an informal discussion whose results will help you with the design process. Bringing all the members onboard will also point out possible mistakes, which you will avoid now that you are aware of them. It is a bit hard to have all stakeholders in the same place through the process. That is why you should pick a platform where the meeting will be possible.
Conclusion
Make sure you get the connection between the developers and the design and between the API and the customers. Stakeholders will help you a lot through the designing process, as it will point out to possible mistakes, which will be prevented this way. It will also provide better user experience once the API is released.
