Product Collective - 🔌 Connect for product superpowers

What Product Managers need to know about APIs

In the interconnected tech world, understanding APIs is crucial for Product Managers. Akshayaa Govindan emphasizes the role of APIs in delivering smooth user experiences. Erin Howell encourages PMs to approach technical aspects, like APIs, as standard product features. Olivia Califano showcases the "API as a Product" strategy, emphasizing its value in development. Ron A. points out the importance of PMs familiarizing themselves with tools like Postman API. Lastly, Richard Holmes demystifies 'webhooks' for PMs, bridging the technical knowledge gap.

A Product Manager’s guide to APIs. We live in a world where technology reigns and data presides at every corner. As users of many products, we’re no longer looking for the best product to get the job done, we’re now looking for the product that gets the job done AND works seamlessly with all other products we use. Therefore, it has become increasingly important to understand tools that simplify workflows and integrate components to provide a seamless user experience for our customers. Akshayaa Govindan explains what you need to know to work with your team to form these links and connections to simplify workflows via APIs.
(via Akshayaa Govindan) 

Demystifying APIs for Product Managers. When Erin Howell first started working with Enterprise customers, she was a bit intimidated because of their technical nature, but after a while she realized she could approach them with problem first thinking just like a PM would for any other feature. Erin knows lots of PMs feel similar trepidation about technical concepts so she summarized some of her learnings from working with APIs as a Product Manager.
(via Erin Howell) 

Continues below...

Walter Isaacson on Elon Musk

So, when Walter Isaacson writes an entire book about you… you know you’ve made it in the tech world. Not that there’s any question about whether or not Elon Musk has “made it”, but Issacson’s recent book profiling Musk has certainly been the talk in tech circles. Recently, Issacson was on the Geekwire podcast to talk about the book – and the conversation he had there certainly was a good one. If you don’t have time to listen, I’ll break it all down here…

Discussing the bromance-turned-business-dispute between Musk and Larry Page, it’s evident that in the world of tech, even friendships can get a tad... circuitous. The AI tension escalated when Google grabbed DeepMind, prompting Musk to team up with Sam Altman for OpenAI. But as with many collaborations in the tech world, differences emerged, and Musk, ever the entrepreneur, decided to tackle AI on his terms. Naturally, he's also keeping tabs on tech titans Google and Microsoft.

They also talk about Musk's new ownership of Twitter (whoops, I mean X). While the acquisition itself may have seemed a bit spontaneous, it’s possible that it could have been a calculated, strategic move – especially with Musk’s data accumulation strategies over the last decade with the various businesses he now owns. Turning our gaze upwards, SpaceX is Musk’s big ticket to interstellar fame – and Issacson also points out how Tesla's push into the electric vehicle frontier is emblematic of Musk’s drive, especially when the bigger players were still mapping out their EV strategies. On the AI front, Musk isn't only aiming for self-driving cars but is envisioning robots, like Optimus, to be future household names.

Isaacson doesn’t shy away from showing the multifaceted Musk. There's a genius undoubtedly, but one that's punctuated with unique quirks. Formed by a mix of childhood experiences and relentless ambition, Musk’s trajectory, like his rockets, knows no bounds—though occasionally… you know there’s going to be a lot of turbulence. 

All in all, it’s a good listen for anybody who’s curious about the man beyond the memes!

Implementing “APIs as a product” strategy: a real-time example. Olivia Califano focuses on API governance and developer tools, ensuring that teams are building with consistency and following good practices and standards. She primarily focuses on internal tooling to support Procore Technologies’ larger API strategy and external tools such as their API reference documentation and SDKs to help developers onboard. Olivia recently implemented the "API as a Product" strategy across her organization. Listen to this episode of the API Intersection podcast to get a front-row seat to what Olivia’s team has overcome, and where the API as Products strategy's early days led their team.
(via Stoplight (a SmartBear Company)) 

Postman API: What Product Managers need to understand. Software Product Managers drive products to provide business value. Relating solely to the business and functional requirements, and neglecting to understand the technology behind your product, puts you at a disadvantage. If your software product uses APIs, then it is likely that your developers use Postman API. Ron A. covers what Product Managers need to know about Postman and how to use it.
(via Product Coalition) 

Webhooks explained for Product Managers. You may have heard your engineers refer to webhooks during a discussion about an upcoming feature and wondered to yourself what your engineers are talking about. Technology skills for product managers aren’t essential, but they can certainly help make these discussions with your engineering teams easier. Richard Holmes delves into webhooks to figure out what they are, why they’re used and what you need to know as a non-engineer or as a product manager.
(via Department of Product)