I wrote an earlier article that basic API design guidelines are your first step towards API governance, but I wanted to introduce another first step you should be taking even before basic API design guides–cataloging all of your APIs. I’m regularly surprised by the number of companies I’m talking with who don’t even know where all of their APIs are. Sometimes, but not always, there is some sort of API directory or catalog in place, but often times it is out of date, and people just aren’t registering their APIs, or following any common approach to delivering APIs within an organization–hence the need for API governance.
My recommendation is that even before you start thinking about what your governance will look like, or even mention the word to anyone, you take inventory of what is already happening. Develop an org chart, and begin having conversations. Identify EVERYONE who is developing APIs, and start tracking on how they are doing what they do. Sure, you want to get an inventory of all the APIs each individual or team is developing or operating, but you should also be documenting all the tooling, services, and processes they employ as part of their workflow. Ideally, there is some sort of continuous deployment workflow in place, but this isn’t a reality in many of the organization I work with, so mapping out how things get done is often the first order of business.
One of the biggest failures of API governance I see is that the strategy has no plan for how we get from where we are to where we ant to be, it simply focuses on where we want to be. This type of approach contributes significantly to pissing people off right out of the gate, making API governance a lot more difficult. Stop focusing on where you want to be for a moment, and focus on where you are. Build a map of where people are, tools, services, skills, best and worst practices. Develop a comprehensive map of where organization is today, and then sit down with all stakeholders to evaluate what can be improved upon, and streamlined. Beginning the hard work of building a bridge between your existing teams and what might end up being a future API governance strategy.
API design is definitely the first logical step of your API governance strategy, standardizing how you design your APIs, but this shouldn’t be developed from the outside-in. It should be developed from what already exists within your organization, and then begin mapping to healthy API design practices from across the industry. Make sure you are involving everyone you’ve reached out to as part of inventory of APIs, tools, services, and people. Make sure they have a voice in crafting that first draft of API design guidelines you bring to the table. Without buy-in from everyone involved, you are going to have a much harder time ever reaching the point where you can call what you are doing governance, let alone seeing the results you desire across your API operations.
