What are the metrics that DevRel, DevEx, and PMs should focus on? API usage metrics such as user count, API calls, and more are all good ones to start with.
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Developer experience. If you provide APIs or API-first products, you likely hear that term a lot. After all, you need developers for an API to succeed — and if they don’t have a great experience, they’ll move on.
Developer Experience (DevEx or DX) is an extension of user experience (UX) where the focus is on users impacted by the technical side of things — for example, tooling, languages, and workflows. But DevEx is far more than “UX for developers:” it means ensuring that developers can easily understand and leverage an API for their own applications and use cases. Great DevEx happens when you communicate with your developer users, understanding and meeting their needs directly. If you can win over developers, you can build a large and thriving ecosystem around your products.
Celebrated management consultant Peter Drucker may have said it best: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
Improving DevEx starts with metrics. You’ll want to measure the things that matter most to DevEx, avoiding vanity metrics and linking specific API transactions to business value. What matters most to you, however, depends on your role in improving DevEx.
There may be three distinct roles in your organization focused on DevEx: developer experience manager, developer relations professional, and API product manager. The concerns of each of these roles overlap, but they differ in focus. These distinct focuses will be represented in the metrics they care about most.
DevEx managers focus on the effectiveness of the APIs or API-first products developers use. They also look at ways to improve processes so that developers achieve success. The DevEx manager is responsible for running everything developers access and use — from the developer portal and documentation to code samples and SDKs.
DevEx managers make sure developers have a great experience with the tools and processes associated with the product. As such, the metrics they most care about include the following.
How long does it take a developer to start using the API once they complete the registration — hours, days, weeks? If a developer doesn’t integrate or activate promptly, it could indicate a problem. Perhaps your documentation is confusing, or you don’t have SDKs for popular languages. If a developer does not integrate or activate within a few days, a good DevEx manager will take notice.
