Rarely do you come across an API governance program that has the resources they need. Most of the teams we talk to are staffed by maybe 1 full time person, but usually are just a handful of individuals who are working part time as part of an already overloaded workload. Because API governance touches almost every part of enterprise operations the workload talking to teams and reviewing their APIs can quickly become a bottleneck, which is why API Evangelist is working to produce snackable guidance that can help teams be more efficient and effective in their work. Here are just a couple of recommendations we have for teams who are understaffed and under-resourced.
- Self-Service - Make everything you do self-service and something you can reference using a URL.
- Ongoing Reviews - Try to avoid a single review, and work to make reviews ongoing and asynchronous.
- Share the Load - Expect teams producing APIs to carry their load and own their own API governance.
- Proactive Outreach - Spend a portion of your time reaching out to teams to introduce to governance.
- Champions - Cultivate champions within each team who can help load-balance the communication.
- Look Outwards - Do not try to carry the load on your own and look for outside guidance and help.
Remember, you are not alone in your API governance efforts. API Evangelist, as well as many other experts and service providers are here to answer questions. API Evangelist is beginning weekly office hours on Thursday at 12:00 PM EST, which is an open forum for you to bring your questions. Any questions. From specific questions on governance rules to more strategic questions regarding getting leadership on board—bring them to the public office hours. While there are services and tools to help you in your journey, we also have guidance, artifacts, templates, and other solutions. But also just people who have done this work, and are here to make sure you aren’t doing this alone.
