“API First” is something that often is mentioned when it comes to API strategy and other aspects of how to move to a more API-centric way of thinking in organizations. Oftentimes, “API First” is mentioned in the context of digital transformation initiatives and as one of the principles that should be applied as part of this initiative.
But what is “API First”? In reality, many organizations are not developing things from scratch, and when interpreted as “always designing the API before starting the implementation work,” this means that the reality of existing capabilities and the idea of developing APIs first seem to conflict.