Vishal SinghThe term ‘technology governance‘ often brings to mind bureaucratic hurdles that can frustrate even the most experienced developers. However, governance is becoming an essential strategy to manage technology sprawl, rising technical debt, and inconsistent development practices. Nowhere is this more crucial than in API design and development.
Atlassian’s Innovative API Governance
Atlassian’s R&D division has been pioneering internal API governance through their Extensibility Standards. This internal platform conducts automated conformance checks on new APIs, ensuring they meet established guidelines. I recently spoke with Dugald Morrow, Developer Advocate at Atlassian, about their progress in promoting standards for internal APIs. Morrow shared that while their efforts are ongoing, they have already seen promising results, such as fewer undesirable API changes and the development of an “ecosystem DNA.”
The State of API Management
A lack of API standards is a common issue across digital organizations today. “It’s a significant challenge,” says Morrow. Without alignment in it’s change management, negative downstream effects like broken integrations can occur. Before implementing a governance strategy, Atlassian faced frequent issues with siloed backend development. “Our R&D teams would often inadvertently break APIs, affecting both partners and customers,” Morrow explains. The root cause was independent operation by R&D teams, leading to missed steps. Recognizing the lack of standards as the core issue took time. “We knew change management was problematic, but identifying the absence of standards and tools as the root cause emerged gradually,” Morrow adds.
Introducing an API Governance Framework
To tackle these challenges, Atlassian developed its Extensibility Standards, documented internally and enforced automatically during development. This framework includes several components:
- Documentation: Extensibility Standards are documented at developer.atlassian.com, containing guides, rules, and definitions in structured JSON and YAML files.
- Editing Tools: A web app allows easy editing of standards with continuous integration for automatic documentation generation.
- Automated Checks: Using a Node/TypeScript report on rule conformance, the process employs a specification-driven approach to lint rules.
The platform also manages changelogs effectively. “CI processing builds reports on changelog health and identifies late announcements,” says Morrow. An internal tool previews changelogs before publication and assesses the impact of the backend changes. A major goal is providing actionable data. The team aims to streamline the API lifecycle and automate reporting for analysis during TechOps meetings.
Realizing the Benefits
Though early in its journey, Atlassian has already seen tangible benefits from enhanced API governance. One outcome is fewer regrettable API changes, reducing negative impacts on partners and customers. Collaboration has also improved. “There’s more ‘ecosystem DNA‘ in R&D teams due to practices like request for comments (RFC), encouraging engagement with partners during design,” says Morrow. Additionally, productivity gains are anticipated. “Overall productivity should improve with better tools and workflows,” Morrow notes. Developer productivity engineering is increasingly important in tech circles.
Lessons from Atlassian’s Strategy
What can other companies learn from Atlassian’s approach to this type of governance? Here are some insights:
- Bottom-Up Change: Involving developers early typically yields better results. “We’ve built necessary standards from the ground up,” says Morrow.
- Clear Rationale: Explaining the reasoning behind new rules helps with adoption.
- Effective Tooling: Providing tools for easy implementation and editing of rules is crucial.
- Automation: Atlassian’s automated approach streamlines rule enforcement and reporting.
Overall, adopting extensibility standards requires effort but offers significant rewards. “It’s challenging work, but our approach has been effective,” concludes Morrow.
The Growing Importance of API Governance
Atlassian’s experiment with API governance offers a compelling model for others to consider. While still evolving, their platform aims to foster collaboration across teams in managing the standards. With it’s proliferating across organizations and engineers juggling various lifecycle tools, more than just style guides are needed. Internal platforms like Atlassian’s can enforce and iterate standards, promoting consistency and a healthier development culture.
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prachi kothiyal
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