Get to Know Your User for a Better API

Transcript

1. Get to know your user for a better API | @ashmchang
2. Ashley Chang Product @ ReadMe @ashmchang | @ashmchang
3. The API Universe | @ashmchang
4. Why are we here? | @ashmchang
5. | @ashmchang
6. The average company spends 3-4 weeks writing & editing documentation. | @ashmchang
7. Documentation shouldn’t be so hard. | @ashmchang
8. Let’s fix the API Design Process | @ashmchang
9. This Talk 1. What’s a good API? 2. How we can change the API process to make our APIs better | @ashmchang
10. 1. What’s the goal of an API? | @ashmchang
11. Communicate | @ashmchang
12. A good API is empathetic to the people using it | @ashmchang
13. Example: Slack | @ashmchang
14. Example: Star Wars API | @ashmchang
15. ✨ MAGIC ✨ | @ashmchang
16. Example: Clearbit | @ashmchang
17. People want to use APIs (& things in general) that are easy to use. | @ashmchang
18. There are options Thanks, ProgrammableWeb! | @ashmchang
19. Your docs are your UI | @ashmchang
20. Your docs are your UI Your API is your UI | @ashmchang
21. 2. How we can change the process to make our APIs better | @ashmchang
22. Creating an API looks something like... 1) Users request an API 2) You decide its worth engineering time to make an API (but not that much time) 3) Find the simplest way to expose the necessary endpoints 4) Write some docs 5) ! ! ! | @ashmchang
23. Product > API > Users | @ashmchang
24. | @ashmchang
25. Scaling your API → API users increase → Types of users on your API increases → They need more help Instead of an easy win, time is sucked into supporting partners on your API | @ashmchang
26. | @ashmchang
27. Users > API <> Docs | @ashmchang
28. User Centered API Design | @ashmchang
29. User Centered Design Design based on an understanding of users, tasks, & environments | @ashmchang
30. Example: Foursquare | @ashmchang
31. Let’s take this for a spin → Start by getting to know our user → Expose endpoints in a way that makes sense for them → More time up front, less time writing docs & supporting users later | @ashmchang
32. How to get to know your users 1) Talk to users 2) Make it usable 3) Make it stick | @ashmchang
33. Why talk to users → Perspective. How you feel might not be how other people feel. → Refine the problem. A good solution comes from a clear understanding of what the problem is. → Insight. What workarounds have people created? How successful is your solution? Users are experts on the problem, not the solution | @ashmchang
34. Interview Plan → Goal: What are you trying to learn about? → Target Audience: Define your target audience → Hypothesis on the Audience’s Goal: How & why the audience is using your API. → 5 questions: These should evaluate if your hypothesis is right or wrong. They are starter questions. | @ashmchang
35. Tips → Record it, if possible (take good notes if not) → Make participants feel comfortable → Use active listening techniques to focus their thoughts without leading → Pay attention to body language → Let it be organic | @ashmchang
36. Reaching People → Talk to inbound people → Send out emails → Use pop-up options in the service → Rewards → Set up a qualifying survey | @ashmchang
37. Starter questions → How did you find our API? → What do you do at [their company]? → Who from your team spends the most time with our API? → Did you already use something that does the same thing? → Can you tell me about a specific time our API has helped your team? | @ashmchang
38. Why | @ashmchang
39. Goals You want to understand: → motivations → workflow → expectations (what do they see as a competitor) → their decision making power | @ashmchang
40. Make your research usable Synthesize it into something → Personas → Jobs to be done (JTBD) | @ashmchang
41. Make it stick → Make sure your persona/JTBD is referenced in every step of building your API → Try to see your API and docs from the user’s perspective → Bring actual users back in for every step of the process! | @ashmchang
42. In Summary → Get to know your user before you start building your API → Release endpoints, and APIs, that make sense for the way they will use it → Write fewer docs! → Win developer ! and build a strong dev community | @ashmchang
43. Let’s start building delightful APIs | @ashmchang
44. Thank you! | @ashmchang
45. @ashmchang | @ashmchang