All API-to-API dependencies must be documented and tracked, with upstream and downstream impact analysis performed before changes are made, ensuring that teams understand the ripple effects of changes and can proactively notify dependent consumers.
API Dependencies Are Tracked and Managed
Policies
Dependency Management (Governance)
Require that every API declares the upstream services, libraries, and other APIs it depends on, and keeps that list current as part of its governance record. I care about this because APIs never st...
Change Management (Lifecycle)
Require that every change to a production API moves through a defined change management process that assesses impact, tracks dependencies, and communicates what is changing before it lands. I want ...
Breaking Changes (Lifecycle)
Require that breaking changes to a production API are identified, avoided where possible, and never shipped silently onto an existing version. I hold this line hard because a breaking change you di...
Experiences
Alignment
Achieving alignment between teams producing APIs and their consumers is a persistent challenge in API operations. Effective collaboration between business and technical stakeholders requires ongoin...
Change
Managing and effectively communicating changes across one or more APIs is a leading cause of instability and friction in enterprise operations. While these changes often surface in applications use...
Reliability
If an API isn’t reliable, consumers will eventually look for alternatives. Reliability starts with the platform and infrastructure where the API is deployed, but it also depends heavily on the pace...
Observability
Observability is the experience of being able to see what an API is actually doing in production. Logging, monitoring, analytics, and tracing turn an opaque running system into something teams can ...
Stability
Stability is the experience of being able to depend on an API not breaking underneath you. It is built on thoughtful versioning, backward compatibility, clear change communication, and honoring com...
Governance
Governance is the experience of keeping API operations consistent and aligned as they scale across teams and time. It is the discipline that connects strategy at the top to the rules being enforced...
