“We have everything in place, but API adoption is a struggle” said this API PM in our 1:1.
“We’re not sure where developers are getting stuck - what should we fix first?” he continued.
I checked out their dev portal and gave him some quick tips about usability and onboarding but in reality, I couldn’t tell where their users were getting stuck.
I’d have loved to see some data and analytics to start attacking the problem.
Instrumenting the funnel in your API Developer Portal is essential so you’re not placing random bets on the roadmap and flying blind.
By measuring every stage of your developers’ journey, you’ll be able to see how many pass through each gate and how quickly. And if you have proper product analytics in place, you’ll be able to slice and dice the data to pinpoint what to fix - and which users to talk to learn more,
Here’s what you should be tracking:
VISITORS How many are landing on your Dev Portal, ideally cohorted and segmented by UTM?
SIGNUPS What percentage of these and how quickly do they convert?
TTFHW When do they make that critical first API call? This means they figured out your docs and mechanics of your API and were able to get credentials.
TIME TO REALIZED VALUE Have they made more API calls? Have they made the right ones? Those that showcase what your product can achieve for them?
PAID CONVERSION If your API has paid tiers, how many and how quickly do they sign up for that?
EXPANSION Are they staying within their tier - or is their usage moving up and to the right? Which is what you should ultimately be striving for?
This is on top of the other API Metrics you should be tracking - see the picture below.
You can also download a hi-res printable PDF of API Metrics for Product Managers here: https://lnkd.in/gqXMrMRT