Designing APIs

In most organizations, the API program will be ongoing and involve numerous departments and employees, as well as a wide range of tools and resources. Maintaining a consistent design approach or method is one way to provide continuity amidst the chaos of constant change. If you train all of your developers to use the same design process, you ensure uniformity without stifling their individuality.

Additionally, a solid design process does not rely on a single technology stack or collection of tools. As a result, your API program can evolve over time depending on the power of consistent design methods, rather than a specific API format, protocol, or another technical component. In fact, having a solid design process in place makes it less of a hassle to update tools without introducing incompatible new implementations. Therefore, we should design tools to help make API software consistent and compatible.

When designing APIs, you will partner closely with your engineering...