#podcast #technology #paypal #breakingchanges #postman #productmanager

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Deepa Goyal, Group Product Manager from PayPal recently, and discussing the world of API product management. I have been having to engage with Deepa as part of Paypal’s partnership with Postman, and after learning more about her view of API product management I knew I had to get her on Breaking Changes. Deepa came to PayPal via Twilio and possesses a very rich view of what API product managers need to be successful. Treating APIs as a product isn’t a new concept, but rarely do I see practitioners go as far as Deepa does when it comes to articulating what successful API product management actually looks like within operations.

I found it enlightening to hear about Deepa’s journey to being a product manager, and how little hands-on guidance exists out there today to help would-be API product managers along in their journey. Deepa shared with me how she made her way to Twilio, and then PayPal, learning along the way, but wishing she had more practical guidance when it came to monetizing your APIs, setting pricing, and other important details of operating public APIs. I like Deepa’s approach to researching solutions to the challenges she faced, and how she tapped into the expertise of other leading API producers from across the space. If Deepa didn’t have the solution, she was going to learn more about how many others were solving it, and craft just the right solution for her situation.

Deepa possesses a very sophisticated view of the multiple dimensions that exist when moving each API forward, and how this forward motion contributes to the overall maturity of an API. We shared opinions around the need for there to be a more standardized vocabulary for describing the maturity of our APIs, setting expectations with consumers but also being more honest with ourselves about how hardened our APIs actually are. Deepa felt that how we support our APIs and what we measure will vary depending on the maturity of the API. Having a shared language for discussing which part of the journey our APIs are in would go a long way towards getting API producers and consumers on the same page regarding where things are headed. I will be referencing Deepa’s thoughts on metrics, analytics, and API maturity for some time to come.

Like API product management, Deepa brought the conversation around to ensure we are generating business value, moving the needle forward by taking a common API metric, “Time to First API Call”, and evolving it to be “Time to First API Transaction”. Referring to how long it takes from moving a developer from discovering your API to not just making their first API call, but making their first API call that brought direct business value. I feel like API product managers are going to be that front-line of the world of technology, providing the essential feedback loop between a business and its mix of internal, partner, and 3rd party API consumers. Providing enterprise organizations with the forward motion they are looking for when it comes to their digital transformation, helping ensure their teams are as agile and nimble as they need to be, and allowing them to respond to whatever they face down the road.

Episode Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction
01:38 - Transition to product management.
03:56 - APIs as products.
09:01 - API analytics for product managers.
12:23 - Measuring API Discovery Metrics.
17:31 - Standardizing API Vocabulary.
23:34 - API Transaction Optimization.
24:43 - Meaningful API Metrics.
30:43 - Bridging the gap with API.
32:46 - Becoming an API Product Manager.
37:31 - Ideal video length on TikTok.
40:37 - APIs and reading disabilities.

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