Pneumonia is won and I’m back in business although getting 100% in shape will most likely take couple of months. I was supposed to talk at the Platform Summit in Stockholm on coming Wednesday, but my doctor advised me not to travel yet. Blogging was not mentioned.

VPI - Value Proposition Interface

API canvas is product-centric. It’s a useful tool though. I’ve used it multiple times to clarify why we are building an API, what it requires as a product

Likewise other models such as VPI - Value Proposition Interface is more product focused and consumer (developer) is not the focus. Focus is still in the product. VPI approach is still fresh and I welcome the approach! The almost legendary description of VPI is:

Ultimately, the API is only about the interface to the value proposition, not to the application.

Based on my experience it’s not just enough. UIs have taken a giant leap forward when the focus was turned from technical details (techno-centric) and product to customers (customer-centric). Developer eXperience has become one the top items to measure API success according to State of API 2019 report.

Developer is in the origo

Economics of DX is developer-centric. Your primary customers (developers) are in the middle and they are wrapped around with data driven personas build from the characteristics of the developer or developers in the middle. Personas are created to have a shared understanding who are we are serving as API prodiver. Personas help to keep focus and share the image of primary customer among all the people involved in crafting, developing, marketing your API (product)…

According to Fagerholm and Münch “Developer experience as a concept that captures how developers think and feel about their activities within their working environments,with the assumption that an improvement of the developer experience has a positive impact on software development project outcomes.” The longer version of the definition can be found from Developer Experience: Concept and Definition.

I started to fit my thinking of the “DX wheel” to the existing information written about DX. Good theories are build upon existing information and provides some additional views or models which complement the previous information. First I drew (before pneumonia) the Developer eXperience wheel so that the DX defined by Fagerholm and Münch as initially in the middle.

Then I realised that what I’m discussing in the #100DaysDX and DX wheel is only a subsection of the three part pie defined by Fagerholm and Münch. After giving it a little thought I woud say that my DX wheel is about 1/3 of it. It’s about the development infrastructure (cognition). Fagerholm and Münch (2012) defined “development infrastructure (e.g. development and management tools, programming languages, libraries, platforms, frameworks, processes, and method”.

Eventually I added some formatting to the picture and it still looks butt ugly, but hey it’s there to help me gather my thoughts around the subject.

I have to admit that my mind has at this point turned towards the next PhD Thesis already. Thus the posts start to contain more and more academic and theoretic items and content. Besides things at Platform of Trust DX side and still cooking and it’s too early to reveal the gems from there.

Some more to read from 100 Days DX