Technical Sessions and Exercises

Process overview

The approach to creating an enterprise-caliber API involves a set of well-defined process and roles. There are distinct steps that first identify desired capabilities and then progress to a complete solution. These phases require an in-depth understanding of the longer-term objectives, how best to establish a solid foundation, as well as foresight in allowing for growth, adaptability, and flexibility. There are general or overarching aspects that have a broad scope. This will include performance, security, utility, and technical conventions. There are also very nuanced and niche aspects that have a very limited focus. In this regard, there is a considerable impact on the later use, adoption, and lifecycle roadmap for future utility. Lastly, as expected with most software engineering or development projects, a formal iterative sequence will underly the delivery usually seen through a versioning methodology. In this breakout text, we will take look at the process drivers as whole but focus on the overarching design concern of what makes up API security.

The API development process is not detached from a standard software project approach. One key difference, however, is that the preliminary research and analysis may be centered around an existing offering or suite of solutions already in place. In many ways, this will greatly accelerate and support the initial efforts. Having an established reference point does introduce a special type of drawback and risk. The objectives and benefits of producing the API may require a great deal of translation from the current concept in order to fulfill the end-use goals. Security and related access requirements will undoubtedly align, but additional needs will present during the API design phase.

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