Worst practices in API developer onboarding.

1. HOW TO MAKE SURE DEVELOPERS NEVER,
EVER USE YOUR API
A STUDY IN WORST PRACTICES
Carlo Longino
VP Developer Program Services
carlo@wip.org
February 10, 2015
Developer Evangelist Summit

2. About WIP Factory
• The first B2D marketing
agency
• Strategic consulting and
outreach services
• API providers, platform
vendors, device makers,
developer programs of all
stripes
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4. Onboarding
• The process of getting a developer to use your
product or service
• Post-awareness, exploration, getting started,
learning, going live, using your stuff
• Ask a dev: “Sounds like waterboarding”
– Because too often, it is

5. Why is it so important?
• It’s crucial to minimize the
hurdles/obstacles/friction between getting
started and going live
• This is where you will lose the most developers
from your program
• It’s also something you have a lot of control
over!

6. If you don’t want developers to use
your API….
Weed out the ones who aren’t that
interested by making them work really,
really hard.
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7. What does this API/product do?
• Don’t provide
context
• Don’t explain
things
• Force big
downloads with
unclear
outcomes
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8. How much does it cost to use?
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9. How do I use it?
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10. If you don’t want developers to use
your API….
Make it as slow as you can for them to
get started.
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11. Let the Lawyers Get in the Way
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12. Make Them Wait
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13. Ask For TONS of Info
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14. Make Things “Secure”
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15. Have A Painful Installation Process
• Crypto is GREAT!
• Complex required
folder structures are
AWESOME!
• Lots of big downloads
RULE!
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16. If you don’t want developers to use
your API….
Don’t bother with support and
communication.
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17. Documentation Is Overrated
• Use PDFs and other
non-searchable
formats (shout out to
Word .docs!)
• Hide everything
behind a login
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18. Don’t Respect Their Time
• Nobody wants to learn
by doing.
• Let’s read 100s of
pages instead!
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19. Don’t Worry About Responding
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20. Developers Loooooove Forums
• The clunkier the interface, the better!
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21. Don’t Go Where They Go
• Any committed developer
won’t just stick to the forums
they know and love.
• Right?
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22. © Wireless Industry Partnership Connector Inc.
INNOVATION
Starts with Developers
Let us Build your Developer Ecosystem
Strategy, Onboarding, Outreach, Events
Carlo Longino, VP of Developer Program Services
carlo@wip.org
Community: www.wip.org
Agency: www.wipfactory.com
Vancouver, Canada – Austin, USA – Barcelona, Spain