Hemchander S Sr. Developer Advocate Pipedrive How can data-driven DevRel help identify gaps and enhance APIs? 

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Pipedrive - a CRM platform to grow your business The first Customer Relationship Management tool designed by salespeople, for salespeople. Learn more on our website! 

Pipedrive’s App Marketplace & Developer Platform Integrate, reach and expand 

Ecosystem Flywheel Integrate, reach and expand More Builders Partners, ISVs, Developers More Apps Integrations that solve product gaps & add value. More Customers High stickiness to the Product. Better lifetime value. 

Ecosystem accelerates the growth flywheel. APIs & Platforms are the enablers. 

The Challenge 🤩 Users have adopted the API over the years. Product First development vs. API First API developed on the go and ad-hoc from Product 😀 Key integrations are built generating value for customers. 😐 Unclear API functionality needs for Ecosystem users. 😶 Is API cost or profit for the company? 

Understanding that gaps exists Building a shared understanding Technical impact mapping Add business impact Double dimensional analysis Formulating the API impact grid Seeing the full picture: Bringing visibility to APIs as a product Overview: How did we tackle it? Mapping improvements and next steps 

Making the invisible APIs, being somewhat invisible products with a massive user base, play a crucial role in the success of businesses and ecosystems. 

Usage Over 50 billion API calls in total from integrations. APIs 245 API endpoints in total spread across over 35 API resources. Apps Around 440+ public apps across 15 different categories in Pipedrive Marketplace. Let’s imagine! So…what if 1 API request = 1 cricket ball? 

The Scale 50 Billion ≅ We could fill the Great Pyramid of Giza 5x over – and still have balls to spare. Activities API Contacts API Deals API 

The Scale 50 Billion ≅ We could fill the Great Pyramid of Giza 5x over – and still have balls to spare. Activities API 

At least 73% of the 100 largest SaaS companies offer an in-app marketplace to customers built on top of such APIs. 'Product Integrations and APIs at 400 SaaS Companies' Report[1] Pandium, 2020 

Shared understanding We discovered that there's plenty of data but not everyone is on the same page. 

Lack of data was not the real challenge Surprise, surprise Not everybody interprets the value of APIs the same way. Some practical challenges Cost and revenue motives of teams play an important role. Data accessibility can be easily overlooked. *The API *Infra *Product *Engineering *Sales *DevRel 

Lack of shared understanding & recognition of APIs as a product Clash of cost vs revenue initiatives 

Let's catalog Crucial but often overlooked - Cataloging and access to data sources. 

One-dimensional analysis: technical Despite its simplicity, this approach for analyzing and grouping observations has inherent limitations. 

Focusing solely on technical or business perspectives when examining APIs may not provide comprehensive insights. Looking at just one dimension? Might only reveal a partial view, making it difficult to assess the entire API. For instance… 

Let's take the case of forums Contact Forms Email PHP cURL API Token Rate Limit Deals API Moderation SDK / Tooling App UI Custom Fields *The graph represents topic clusters derived from the top 1000 discussions in the Pipedrive Developer Community. Friction around endpoints and features Technical gaps and feature requests Developer experience around tooling Easy to assess The business impact of such gaps. Customer and partner pain points Areas of improvement with the best ROI Hard to assess 

Double it and give it to the next person. Random Tik Tok wisdom (Ofc, I am kidding, but it does work) 

Double dimensions: business & technical To envision a complete picture, understanding both are key. 

Ways to incorporate the business aspect Identifying core action your users need to do (jobs) Understanding the processes they follow Examining customer journeys Analyzing the use cases they aim to solve 

High-level insights Mid-level classifications Low-level data 👥Issues around Custom Fields (forum) 🔧Workarounds by apps to store data (app reviews) 🔴Rate-limit and performance issue with overloaded endpoints (api consumption) Friction around storing structured information Lead scoring Activity tracking Automation Painting the complete picture Let's combine technical with the business 

Low-level Frictions and gaps manifest as issues, discussions or bad app reviews, etc. They also surface in quantitative data which indicates an area for improvement. Mid-level Groupings and patterns that show up in the data sources when looked at collectively. These patterns can originate from both qualitative and quantitative data sources. High-level Talks about the functionality provided by the product / needed by the customer. Another example Let's combine technical with the business High-level insights Mid-level classifications Low-level data 📣Pagination related issues (forum) 🚚Issues around filtering, batch creation, import (GitHub issues, API errors) 🔴Frequent 429 error code alerts for specific API resources (API consumption) Users struggle with bulk data-operations Lead generation Contact segmentation 3rd party data sync 

Meet the API Impact Grid Let’s combine both worlds using a 'linchpin'. 

What holds everything together? 

Apps = Linchpins Bringing everything together Apps connect low-level data with high-level insights. They exist to solve business problems via APIs. Studying apps based on the API footprint unlocks these insights, identifies gaps. 

Building the API Impact grid 1 Data gathering 2 Assessing DevX, friction 4 Figuring out the linchpin 5 Building the associations 3 Business area identification 6 Synthesis 

Data gathering 

Assess the DevX and friction Connecting the low-level with high-level By examining qualitative data sources related to API endpoints, we gain insight into the level of friction associated with each endpoint. This, when combined with quantitative sources, helps us identify existing technical gaps in our APIs. Make sure to have a common classification taxonomy across your qualitative data sources. Could be as simple as these 3: ● API resource ● Sub-area (aligned with API design principles) ● Feedback type (friction / gap) 

Business areas x Apps Offer customer / partner perspective The ultimate success for both product and DevRel teams lies in initiatives that not only address technical challenges but also effectively solve business problems. Since apps act as linchpins, selecting a handful of representative apps that correspond to a business area is a great way to start making these associations. 

APIs that fit the business need are crucial to partners and ecosystems. It’s the first and foremost need from API publishers. State of API Integration Report[2] Cloud Elements, 2021 

Putting it together 

Connecting the 'API' dots API usage / data 

Connecting the 'API' dots Linchpins API usage / data 

Connecting the 'API' dots Insights Linchpins API usage / data 

Connecting the 'API' dots Insights Combines the technical and business aspects into a unified view. Can be used to identify gaps and areas of improvement. Linchpins Apps act as a combiner since they exist to solve the business challenges while also making use of technical features. API usage / data Data sources pertaining to endpoints and their usage act as the low-level foundation. 

The Impact Grid 1 Associate Impact grid shows API endpoints' relevance to technical & business areas. 2 Assess Grid analysis helps assess current API usage state. 3 Action 🎬 Analysis identifies areas needing attention and improvement. 

The template 

Actionable derivatives For both DevRel and product 

Developer tooling Pipedrive API restructuring & improved Postman collection resulting in 10x adoption. Interactive code tutorials Use-case specific tutorials tailored to address common friction points & to attract ISVs. Change management Stricter checks, better API change planning & rollouts. Code / developer tooling Seamless interaction with the API, Simplifying integrating, and boosting developer productivity. Content Enhancing documentation for better API understanding and utilization. Self-serve at scale. Clear API Lifecycle Minimize disruption for API consumers. Less breaking changes. Solid understanding of the API influences the DevRel strategy Developer Relations perspective Enhancing the APIs 

Product ←> API Parity Targeted improvements for essential API resources are implemented, with the addition of endpoints enhancing functionality and coverage. API Design Guidelines Direct input to internal guidelines - bringings uniformity and predictability Reliable endpoints Business-critical endpoints are monitored, adhere to SLAs and have very minimal downtime. API Packaging Empowering App builders to effectively fill product gaps and monetize on top of that. API Design Ensuring an intuitive and well-structured API that follows industry best practices. API Performance Better response times with low latency. Less resource intensive endpoints. Fostering enhancements in crucial API product areas Product Perspective Enhancing the APIs 

10x in a year… 

…and meet some of the awesome members behind the APIs. 

Understanding that gaps exist Building a shared understanding Technical impact mapping Add business impact Double dimensional analysis Formulating the API impact grid Seeing the full picture: Bringing visibility to APIs as a product Quick Recap Mapping improvements and next steps 

Employ data analysis to uncover ecosystem users' needs and detect API product gaps. Key takeaways Catalogue all data, ensuring universal accessibility for comprehensive understanding. Identify your ecosystem's linchpin - for us, apps bridged technical and business perspectives. Incorporate a business perspective in your analysis; the API Impact Grid aids this approach. Engage with teams to grasp their cost/revenue objectives; iteratively improve the API. API Grid Template 

Thank you!