众所周知，大流行大大增加了组织接受新冠病毒的需求 数字领先战略. Digital transformations that had been deprioritized in favor of other organizational goals shifted front and center overnight, 以前所未有的紧迫性. 根据2020年 麦肯锡全球高管调查, companies accelerated the rate at which they digitized internal operations and expanded digital-product portfolios by several years, 尽管2019冠状病毒病带来了重大挑战.

这些数字化转型的核心是整合, 由应用程序编程接口(api)提供便利. 曾经被简单地认为是在软件系统之间传输数据的“信使”或“中介”, api现在被认为是结缔组织数字生态系统, 为构建和利用它们的组织提供无限的集成和业务机会. 因为有独特的潜在api， 产品经理 监督其发展必须采取一种释放其潜在价值的方法, 强调灵活性和可扩展性，以确保完美的集成体验.

事半功倍

甚至在过去前所未有的一年之前，api对组织的价值就已经很好了 记录，和 API经济 曾经繁荣过吗 time. 的起源是有帮助的，可以理解今天的集成环境 最佳犬种 (BoB)哲学. 90年代以前, software vendors marketed enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite solutions that attempted to solve a wide variety of organizational challenges. 越来越多地, 这些套房被认为是笨重和不切实际的, 因为他们没有处理特定于组织的用例. 结果是, 供应商开始构建更集中的工具来解决某个功能领域的挑战, 而不是试图为每个人做所有事情的更大的套房. 欢迎企业从各种小意念中选择, more specialized 工具 and began assembling collections of individual solutions that best matched their particular needs.

串连点点滴滴

随着BoB方法的发展，集成成为了产品策略的关键部分. A tool that was great at solving problems for one area of a business had to be able to 集成 well with other BoB products that were likely to be used alongside it. 考虑 HubSpot的, the sales and CRM software implemented by organizations to track and optimize their sales pipelines and customer relationships. Hubspot的 很容易与其他BoB软件集成，如 DocuSign (数字签名), 为什么Twilio (电邮/短讯通知)，以及 Zendesk (客户支持)，而不需要客户工程团队的额外开发.

The need for complementary 工具 to seamlessly plug into one another was accompanied by an industry-wide shift toward embracing openness rather than limiting interactions between systems. 在路上的某个地方, 产品支持的集成数量成为值得营销的指标.

平台主张

API对产品经理的真正价值, 然而, 超出了他们协调不同工具和系统的能力. api是将产品转变为平台的集体机制. 这就是平台产品管理发挥关键作用的地方. 产品s, by definition, are 工具 that have a specific application; hence “apps.“他们创造多种价值主张的能力有限, 通过扩展, 多种收入来源. 平台, 另一方面, 以另一种方式增加价值:提供基础设施层，在此基础上可以构建许多产品, 并实现更全面的产品管理方法.

api通过利用第三方的专业知识来打开新的业务渠道. 消费开发商可以设计一个房地产应用程序，使用 谷歌地图的位置 api来帮助用户找房子，或者他们可以利用 Skyscanner的 飞行api及 Expedia的 酒店api创建一个生态旅游网站，专门旅游到一个特定的位置. These developers and external partners benefit by gaining access to existing data and services they can adapt for their businesses, and API owners like Expedia expand their reach and monetize opportunities that would not exist had they continued to, 说, 只在他们的产品上列出酒店.

模块化

A successful API product development strategy requires a mindset shift from product thinking to platform thinking. 这意味着以模块化方式构建产品, open-ended fashion that allows their functionality to be recombined and that prioritizes flexibility for consuming developers. 想想宜家的货架系统, 哪些客户可以购买, 组装, 并以不同的方式定制，以满足各种需求. Good API 产品经理 see APIs for what they are: 工具 for scaling the business and developing valuable partnerships. 认识到这一潜力意味着实现最佳实践以确保采用.

让开发商高兴

如果一个可靠的API策略有一个基础支柱，那就是开发人员经验(DX)。. 对于API集成，产品经理需要取悦的“客户”是消费开发人员. 这些用户是最终调用/集成API的用户, 能够帮助实现产品到平台愿景的潜在合作伙伴. Labeling their experience “DX” instead of “UX” acknowledges that they are not typical end users—they are significantly more technically adept. 为了与他们感同身受，了解他们的具体需求和期望是必不可少的.

最佳实践

以下, 尽管这绝不是一个详尽的清单, 构建确保无摩擦和一致的一流api的基本实践是什么, 为消费开发人员提供可预测的集成体验. 接受API作为产品的概念是至关重要的, 因为它赋予api与其他产品相同的关注. 产品经理应该以可扩展的方式设计api, defining a best-practices framework and publishing it as a document that teams can refer to when building new APIs.

一致的命名约定和端点

Establishing consistent naming conventions for API endpoints that clearly identify the nature and purpose of the API removes ambiguity and contributes to a positive and predictable DX. It is best to choose a common base URL for all APIs and a framework for the trailing URL that avoids jargon and abbreviations. 北欧api提供了一个有用的 提示列表 用于命名端点.

详细的成功和失败响应结构

开发人员希望并期望熟悉的数据对象和状态码用于成功和失败响应. 这意味着成功场景的2xx状态码, 客户端故障的4xx代码, 以及用于服务器端错误的5xx代码. 然而，特异性是关键. A call to a “send email” API that simply returns a 4xx response without additional information makes for a poor developer experience, because it merely confirms that the error was in the client request without giving additional information as to what exactly went wrong.

{
   “状态”:400年,
   "message": "错误的请求"
}

与此形成鲜明对比的是, a response that offers specific details in human-readable format and in the form of a unique error code can help developers quickly decide how to rectify the error scenario, 编写代码来解决这个问题, 并重试API调用.

{
   “状态”:400年,
   "message": "收件人未指定"，
   “代码”:21221
}

求最优DX, 响应结构和通信状态的密钥应该在api之间保持一致. 例如, 上面的错误代码字段在每个API中都应该被称为“代码”, 而不是在一些api中使用“code”，在另一些api中使用“errorCode”.

可配置速率限制

Rate limits govern how accessible an API is by determining how many times a user can call it in a single unit of time. Rate limits that are too high can flood systems with an unmanageable number of requests that degrade performance, 而不合理的低速率限制可能导致用户系统中的挂起事务排队. 两者都导致了较差的DX. 在设计api时，最好考虑速率限制 调整 基于特定的业务案例和环境. 例如，大容量客户可能确实需要更频繁地调用api.

以最好地确定适当的速率限制, it is helpful to first group APIs into meaningful categories according to the frequency and volume with which they are called. 例如, APIs that configure primary customer data (profile/account creation) are called less frequently and can handle lower rate limits, 而事务api(“创建订单,“发送电子邮件”)被更频繁地调用, 要求更高的速率限制. 为不同的用例建立类别或层可以获得更可靠和可扩展的api. 有关明确定义的速率限制的示例，请参见 Slack的API文档.

全面的文档

文档是API的用户手册. 它清楚地向开发人员阐明了API的作用、如何使用以及期望从中得到什么. 好的文档写得很清楚, 易懂的语言, 详细且具有互动性, 并提供了大量的演示和代码片段，使集成更简单. 以这种方式, 它便于登机和快速到达第一问候世界(TTFHW)。, 这是一个重要的指标，表示开发人员能够多快地成功调用他们的第一个API.

文档应该清楚地标识API请求中的哪些字段是必需的，哪些是可选的, 以及这些字段的最小和最大长度和数据类型. 本质上, 它应该包括为消费开发者设定期望和消除障碍所必需的一切. 开发人员创建 数据库 他们系统中的模式, 例如, should not have to later adjust the length of columns in tables because the documentation did not specify the parameters.

API documentation can increase adoption not only by serving as a reliable reference for consuming developers but also by acting as a marketing tool for the API itself. 经常, 第一个遇到API文档的人是面向业务的涉众, 谁在产品评估的初始阶段浏览它. It should therefore not only include details about the API’s technical elements but should also clearly articulate the business use cases the API makes possible.

有很多 工具 可以帮助生成全面的API文档. 回顾高质量文档的示例，如 条纹的，也很有帮助.

将一切结合在一起

集成代表了一个包含许多组件的巨大领域, 但是理解一个好的API的核心原则是开发一个可靠的策略的基础. api远远不仅仅是系统连接器. They are the building blocks of expansive digital networks and the keys to opening up new revenue streams and releasing untapped value. 正因为如此，一个成功的产品 管理API策略 isn’t just about building products; it’s about building potential. An API product manager must adopt a platform mindset and prioritize the factors that will smooth adoption for the potential partners who can then take their API, 集成, 跟着它跑.