Loke-Uei Tan (@lokeuei)Developer Relations

How to Run a Successful API Certification Program

Aug 2015

Certification refers to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review, education, assessment, or audit.

Software, App or Integration

API

WE <3 ALL

Quality?

County / Parish

State

Federal

City / Town

International

Government

Commerce

MPOS / POS

eComm

ERP Engines and DatabasesCalculation / Doc Management / Forms

AVALARA3rd Party Products

ENGINES & DATABASES

CONTENTBoundaries, Rules, Rates, Citations,

Exemptions, Licenses, Certificates, Forms, Products, UPC/HTC codes..

$

Platform

Payment

Determination Doc Mgmt Compliance

PRODUCTS400+ Connectors

to 3rd Partner Systems

API

Inconsistent Features

Inadequate Testing

Slow Response Times

Security Threats

Wrongly Set ExpectationsFinger Pointing

Delayed ImplementationAngry Customers

CancellationsNegative Word of Mouth

What can we do?

VerifiedSending & received calls as expectedVerified on the backendTestedDemonstrable Installation & setup functionsCertifiedPass a published criteria Expanded testsRequires more work

What do we test for?

FunctionalityBest PracticeInstallation

Setup & Configuration Documentation

Support Escalation Process

Is that all?

People

Recruit

Qualify

Sign

KickoffBuild & Certify

Go To Market

Ongoing

SupportBusiness

Development

Customer Support

Channel Development

Developer Relations

Automation

RobustSupport

Infrastructure

Other Hazards

Developer is :

Not WillingNot Committed

Low Priority

Developer Quits!

Ever Changing

Requirements

Recertification Process

API VersioningStick or Carrot?

Dealing with Scale

Testing ToolsTest HarnessAutomation

3x< Support

Cases> CustomersFaster Go-

Lives

Ensure ConsistencyGreat Marketing

ToolHappy Customers

@avadev