How does a product manager help design an API?

This is likely a controversial take.

I've had my own experiences trying to design an API, but a designed 'API Engineer' ends up primarily driving the project.

On the surface, it seems like there's really no need for a product manager to be that involved.

The API is, largely, by the engineer, right?

As with all things, it depends on the domain, but the methods and content of the API still needs a product discipline.

Today we'll walk through what that is and use this to reverse-engineer APIs in terms of their design.

Where does one start?

The API is the product, and the product still needs a well-understand Persona.

For example, a front-end engineer may be familiar with GraphQL -- therefore, the design should begin with this end-point format in mind.

On the other hand, if the API is really meant to feed into a data pipeline, perhaps SQL is the primary query language.

Just like a more fleshed out product, the API still needs an understanding of the Persona: what is the goal's of the developer, their context, their environment.

What does the domain model require?

An API which is primarily an administrative function, such as enabling users or turning on and off features for a website building is going to be different from the APIs for a billing solution.

The domain functions