API Metrics for Product Managers | API Product Management

Summary

This script discusses the importance of tracking metrics for API success, distinguishing between business and internal APIs. For business APIs, which aim to generate revenue, metrics focus on business performance, growth, and actual API performance. Key metrics include daily usage, revenue per client, and error code breakdowns. Internal APIs, designed to solve internal problems and improve efficiency, prioritize performance metrics like response time and uptime, along with cost reduction metrics. The video invites viewers to contribute additional metrics and engage with the content.

Takeaways

• 📊 API metrics are crucial for tracking the success of APIs and can be categorized into business, growth, and performance metrics.
• 💼 Business APIs aim to generate revenue and grow adoption, focusing on metrics like daily usage, revenue per client (RPO), and top industries using the API.
• 🔍 Performance metrics for APIs include response time, uptime, request breakdowns, error code analysis, and requests per second (RPS) supported by the API.
• 📈 Growth metrics for APIs track adoption trends, new client acquisitions, and revenue changes over time.
• 🏢 Internal APIs are designed to solve internal problems, with a focus on improving efficiency and reducing costs, rather than revenue generation.
• 📉 For internal APIs, key metrics include response time, uptime, and the ability to handle high request volumes, reflecting the importance of reliability and efficiency.
• 🛠 Internal API metrics also consider the cost savings achieved by the API, such as human cost saved per API call and the cost per API call.
• 📝 The script suggests tracking the number of API calls made per day as part of the business metrics for internal APIs, indicating the volume of usage.
• 🔑 Understanding the specific goals of an API, whether business or internal, is essential for determining which metrics to track and prioritize.
• 💡 The script encourages feedback and suggestions for additional metrics to track, highlighting the importance of continuous improvement in API management.

Q & A

What are the key metrics to track for the success of APIs?

The key metrics to track for API success include business performance metrics, growth performance metrics (adoption), and actual performance metrics of the API itself.

How do business APIs differ from internal APIs in terms of goals and metrics?

Business APIs aim to make money by selling the APIs and growing adoption, focusing on metrics like revenue, RPO (Revenue Per Order), and customer industries. Internal APIs aim to solve internal problems, improve efficiency, and reduce costs, focusing on metrics like response time, uptime, and cost savings.

What are the business performance metrics to track for a business API?

For a business API, track daily usage, revenue, RPO (Revenue Per Order), percentage of product revenue from the API, top customers, and top industries consuming the API.

Why is the response time important for the performance metrics of an API?

Response time is crucial for API performance metrics as it directly impacts the user experience and the efficiency of processes that rely on the API.

What does RPO stand for and why is it significant in API metrics?

RPO stands for Revenue Per Order and is significant in API metrics because it helps understand the revenue generated per client, which is essential for prioritizing growth efforts and requirements.

How can the adoption matrix help in tracking the success of an API?

The adoption matrix helps by tracking API calls per day, week, and month to understand trends, new clients or users, and revenue changes, which are all critical for growth initiatives.

What are the performance metrics to consider for an internal API?

For internal APIs, performance metrics include response time, uptime, request per second (RPS), and breakdown of failure scenarios by category.

How do business metrics differ for internal APIs compared to business APIs?

For internal APIs, business metrics focus on reduced costs, such as human cost saved per API call and cost per API call, rather than revenue generation.

Why is uptime a critical metric for internal APIs?

Uptime is critical for internal APIs, especially for systems like order management, as it ensures the API is available 24/7 to support real-time operations without interruptions.

What is the significance of tracking the breakdown of failure scenarios by category for an API?

Tracking the breakdown of failure scenarios by category helps in debugging issues, understanding error patterns, and improving the overall reliability and stability of the API.

How can the metrics for an API help in prioritizing requirements and growth efforts?

Metrics help in prioritizing requirements and growth efforts by providing insights into which customers and industries are using the API most, the revenue it generates, and areas where improvements can lead to higher adoption and efficiency.