scaling api design @restfest

© 2014 PayPal Inc. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary.

Scaling API Design

Jason Harmon, Head of API DesignSeptember 2014


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About meScaling API Design

Jason Harmon

• Leads API design at Paypal

• Design phase of the “PPaaS” aka “Paypal as a Service" program

• Engineering-wide initiative

• Collaborate on designs for all internal/external/partner/whatever APIs

• Maintain style/standards

• Stakeholder for internal developer portal & tools teams

• Internal API design training/evangelism

@jharmn

Jasonh-n-austin

© 2014 PayPal Inc. All rights reserved. 3

Let’s think bigWhat if your startup takes off?


Distributed architectureEveryone starts with a monolith


Portfolio is platform productThink in capabilities first


Respect customer languageThink about the big picture; nouns matter


Inverse Conway ManeuverMake your software look like your customers see you

“Organizations which design systems are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structures of

these organizations.”

Jason Harmon


Design firstRight after portfolio


Mock itBreak it before you build it


Design first: Parallelize


Design principlesSustainability

APIUX: http://apiux.com/2014/09/05/api-design-sustainability

http://apiux.com/2014/09/05/api-design-sustainability

http://apiux.com/2014/09/05/api-design-sustainability


Design principlesUsability

http://softexpert.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/52660486_6ca085f7a8.jpg?w=780


Design principlesScalability

https://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/5414982/il_fullxfull.191894533.jpg


Design principlesConsistency

http://minorcreations.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/one.png


EducationDecentralize through learning


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Thanks!

Jason Harmon

Head of API Design

Paypal

@jharmn

Jasonh-n-austin

Scaling API Design

scaling api design @restfest

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