Good vs. Bad API Documentation: How API Documentation Drives Service Adoption

API documentation is almost always the defining reason an individual or organization decides to integrate with a 3rd-party service. Therefore, publishing good documentation is of paramount importance.

API documentation at its best is informational, educational, technical, and promotional. It's an opportunity to identify with users and prospects, and their use-cases.

Symptoms of bad (or not so good) API documentation are: low adoption, sporadic interaction, high error rates, etc., which may be the result of any one (or more) of a variety of causes such as inaccessibility, inconsistencies (in documentation), low informational content, low educational content, high jargon, and more.

Al Newkirk will share his insights from maintaining many many APIs and integrations, detailing the important considerations needed to launch a successful API product that will delight users and foster adoption.

OUR SPEAKER:
Al Newkirk is a software architect, engineer, and multidiscipline technology leader with years of experience in API engineering, microservices, and development operations. He specializes in helping companies design, develop and deploy scalable solutions using schema-driven API-first development, leveraging web standards and best practices.

A majority of his experience derives from helping clients transition from monolithic to microservice-oriented architectures. Whether it's a start-up or an enterprise, clean, efficient, and scalable architecture is imperative. Al has helped companies to systematically execute API engineering strategies without overspending the company's resources.

Al has worked in a variety of senior software engineering roles, for major tech companies and start-ups alike, helping them transition from monolith to service-oriented. He's witnessed what works, and what doesn't and understands what makes software development teams great and how to architect solutions that make software product development agile.

AGENDA (listed in Eastern Daylight Time)
7:00 to 7:10 - Social networking
7:10 to 7:15 - Announcements
7:15 to 7:45 - Presentation and Q&A
7:45 to 8:00 - Breakout rooms by meetup - Meet with your local meetup organizers and members to say hi to other people in your area!

SPONSORING MEETUPS:
The Quorum program brings together various local Write the Docs meetup chapters that are in a common time zone to provide quarterly super meetups over Zoom throughout the year. The following U.S. East Coast and Central meetups are sponsoring this Meetup event:

Philadelphia, PA (our host meetup!) - https://www.writethedocs.org/meetups/philly/
Atlanta, GA - https://www.meetup.com/Write-the-Docs-Atlanta/
Austin, TX - https://www.meetup.com/WriteTheDocs-ATX-Meetup/
Detroit, MI/Windsor, CAN - https://www.meetup.com/write-the-docs-detroit-windsor/
Florida - https://www.meetup.com/write-the-docs-florida/
New England - https://www.meetup.com/ne-write-the-docs/
Ottawa/Montreal, CAN - https://www.meetup.com/Write-The-Docs-YOW-Ottawa/
Washington, D.C. - https://www.meetup.com/Write-the-Docs-DC/

NOTE:
This meeting will be recorded. Also be advised that the Zoom room for this meeting is capped at 100 attendees. If more than 100 individuals RSVP for the event, only the first 100 attendees who enter the Zoom room will be able to attend.