I recently discovered a podcast by the name of Coding over Cocktails, and they’ve done some excellent interviews with professionals in the field that specialize in API design. Evidently, the infrastructure of APIs are poorly maintenanced in many cases, as the importance of the practice has not yet hit the general understanding of how important they will come to be in future design strata. Matthew Reinbold, the interviewee on the episode titled The State of the API in 2021, asserted that there are a few key ways to see the “articulated vision” for how APIs interact and benefit future implementations of software.
Reinbold outlined the need to be able to articulate how technological modularity is a strategic boon to the industry. While at the moment API design is proverbially left on the cutting room floor, he stressed the growing importance of integrating the practice as a cornerstone of future project endeavors. Referencing the pandemic, he cites a slew of examples pertaining to the cultural shift in society and the changing needs of consumers. For example, if an API was properly implemented for a given company, they ended up being months ahead of other organizations who failed to recognize the importance of the practice. These cultural shifts like curbside pickup are now a staple in modern business practices, and are here to stay for good.
API implementation promotes independence for consumers and resiliency to change for businesses, but at the moment are a “it would be cool if we had that” type of implementation in most projects.
Reinbold goes on to say that work culture norms are the primary thing that has to change before executives see the potential gain from incorporating such software. Changes to management would undoubtedly be the primary driver, but Reinbold also stresses the agency that lower tier employees don’t think they have in the industry. He uses the comical and stereotypical image of a computer geek living in a basement, where all one has to do is “throw pizza and sugary drinks down the stairs and code comes out.” In reality however, Reinbold argues that younger workers or “new power” feel helpless in the face of their superiors, or “old power.” But the mantle of leading change, Reinbold states, is simply finding the correct skills and techniques to do things better, and to try and get one’s colleagues intrigued with the implementation. The dynamic between new and old power is irrelevant if genuinely good ideas and leadership are explored at all levels.
Either way, it was fascinating to hear about something we studied in class as the next step in tangibly improving our technology and quality of life.
Link – https://soundcloud.com/codingovercocktails/the-state-of-the-api-in-2021-with-matthew-reinbold
Dummies that Code 