How Companies adopt an API
Nina, a PM at a marketing startup, has a new feature idea but realizes it requires a large dataset that her company doesn’t currently have. Searching for a solution, she comes across an article about an API that could be exactly what she needs. Excited about the potential, she approaches Raj, the lead engineer on her team, to discuss next steps.
Raj tells Nina that he plans to dive deeper into the API and run some tests. To get started, he collaborates with Lan, a senior engineer on his team. Together, they set up a test app to explore the integration’s capabilities. After running a series of tests and reviewing the results, they return to Nina with their findings.
Raj and Lan update Nina, confirming that the integration meets most of her requirements. They also provide her with an estimate of the costs and the expected timeline for building a complete integration.
Next, Nina and Raj check in with the in-house security team and product counsel to get their take. This conversation isn’t as easy —security and legal have a long list of things that could go wrong.
Security and legal put their concerns in writing, and they join Nina and Raj to meet with Susan, the CEO. They present a report and share their recommendations, making sure Susan has everything she needs to make an informed decision.
Susan listens to everyone’s hopes and concerns. She wants to be sure she can give a clear “yes“ or “no“ answer.
After listening to everyone, Susan encourages Nina and Raj to go ahead with the integration. Susan says that the risks are manageable, and that she is in touch with leaders at other good companies using the API.
Carmen, Raj, and their team build out their test integration into a fully functional prototype, using dummy data provided from the API vendor. Now that everything is working, they can submit their application to the API vendor to access live data.
After a time, the API vendor responds they are satisfied with the application that Carmen and Raj sent in. The vendor grants an API key, and the integration is live! Carmen’s feature idea is a reality.
Both Nina's startup and the API vendor are now making more revenue, and are able to spend more time on what they do best. The end!