Building a Next Generation API Library.

Traditionally, an API Library is a simple catalogue of APIs used within an organization or product. At its core, it records the APIs and the systems they connect. A basic version might include metadata such as: • Authentication Type • Communication Pattern (Synchronous/Asynchronous) • HTTP Verb (GET, POST, PUT, etc.) • Other key characteristics Generally, this is in tabular form in Excel, MS List or similar which is extremely valuable as it serves as a useful lookup facility.

• Authentication Type
• Communication Pattern (Synchronous/Asynchronous)
• HTTP Verb (GET, POST, PUT, etc.)
• Other key characteristics

Generally, this is in tabular form in Excel, MS List or similar which is extremely valuable as it serves as a useful lookup facility.

Understanding System Dependencies

By the very nature of an API there are at least 2 systems concerns. Source and Target systems. If you’re using an integration platform or have a centralised authentication proxy, the number of systems involved increases.

This is when the traditional API Library as described in the first paragraph becomes a little unhinged; sure, you can extend the tabular form to include this information, but visualization becomes increasingly difficult the more that is added, especially when incorporating third party or vendor APIs.

Evolving to an encompassing API Library

The solution doesn't require abandoning your current approach; it just needs a smarter structure. By maintaining context specific catalogues (e.g., APIs, Systems) and linking them together via defined relationships, you gain a more scalable model.

This "separation of concerns" lets you maintain clarity while dependencies enable dynamic connections across your data.

Dynamic Visualizations & Office 365 Integration

Dependency & Relationship management offered through The Enterprise Modelling App provides a more powerful and flexible view of your entire integration landscape. You can also use these new features across multiple Office 365 applications to render content dynamically providing a quick and easy method of documentation generation and insights. Gone are the days of having multiple streams of documents all separately authored and all needing separate effort to maintain. By utilising a centralised repository to store your Systems, API and Dependencies in segregated but connected structure you can independently maintain each with ease giving departments/teams access to update. As this repository data changes and as you come to view the documentation again, now you can just hit the Refresh button to updates your documentation. Want a new document to encompass new APIs, create a new drawing, open a Custom stencil containing all your Systems, API, etc and drag and drop them to the diagramming canvas.

Dependency & Relationship management offered through The Enterprise Modelling App provides a more powerful and flexible view of your entire integration landscape.

You can also use these new features across multiple Office 365 applications to render content dynamically providing a quick and easy method of documentation generation and insights.

Gone are the days of having multiple streams of documents all separately authored and all needing separate effort to maintain.

By utilising a centralised repository to store your Systems, API and Dependencies in segregated but connected structure you can independently maintain each with ease giving departments/teams access to update.

As this repository data changes and as you come to view the documentation again, now you can just hit the Refresh button to updates your documentation.

Want a new document to encompass new APIs, create a new drawing, open a Custom stencil containing all your Systems, API, etc and drag and drop them to the diagramming canvas.

Extending the Catalogues & Catalogue Separation of Concern

With this modular approach, you can continuously expand the scope of your model. For example:

• System Catalogue: Add user counts, license types, architecture models, etc.
• API Catalogue: Add request/response payload structures, payload format (JSON, XML, CSV), API type (REST, SOAP, GraphQL), and more.
• Component/Framework Catalogue: Introduce new catalogues as needed and define relationships to systems and APIs.

This separation and extensibility not only keep things organized but also makes the model adaptable to changing requirements.

Impact and Risk Assessment

With a connected environment, you are now able to assess impact and risk too, such as effected systems if an API fails or if one of the connected systems is offline then which other systems are affected, etc.

This level of visibility is critical for operation resilience and change planning.

Looking ahead. KPIs and Continuous Improvement

If you track API health metrics like success/failure rates, you can enrich your catalogue with KPIs. By tying these into the broader system map, you create a powerful tool for monitoring, management, and continuous improvement.

Conclusion

Transforming a basic API Library into a connected, visual, and dynamic ecosystem unlocks powerful benefits, from better visibility and documentation to risk management and continuous improvement. With The Enterprise Modelling App, It’s not just an API Library; it’s an integration intelligence platform.