kalilurrahman/kr-claudiator-skills/api-product-strategy

API FEATURE: An API endpoint that exposes internal functionality
  PM focus: Correct, documented, stable
  Success: Internal teams use it; external partners can integrate
 
API PRODUCT: The API is the core value proposition sold to developers
  PM focus: Developer experience, time-to-value, pricing, ecosystem
  Success: Developers build and ship products using your API
  Metrics: API revenue, developer NPS, time-to-first-call, integration health

## Stages of the Developer Journey
 
### 1. Discover (find the API)
Questions: "Does this solve my problem? Is it trustworthy?"
Channels: Documentation search, developer communities, word-of-mouth
Design for: Clear use cases; immediate "what can I build with this"
 
### 2. Evaluate (decide to try it)
Questions: "How hard is this? What does it cost? Will it scale?"
Materials: Quickstart in 5 minutes; sandbox; pricing page
Design for: Try before commitment; transparent pricing; confidence in reliability
 
### 3. Activate (first successful API call)
Questions: "Can I actually make this work?"
Support: SDKs; example code; interactive docs
Design for: Time-to-first-successful-call < 30 minutes
 
### 4. Build (integrate into their product)
Questions: "How do I handle [edge case]? What happens when it fails?"
Support: Full reference docs; error handling guide; webhooks; status page
Design for: Everything they need to ship to production
 
### 5. Grow (expand usage)
Questions: "How do I scale this? What else can I add?"
Support: Advanced guides; migration paths; volume pricing
Design for: Smooth scaling; no billing surprises; upgrade incentives
 
### 6. Advocate (recommend to others)
Questions: "Who else should use this?"
Design for: Amazing DX; developer community; referral programme

from dataclasses import dataclass
@dataclass
class APIProductMetrics:
    # Acquisition
    developer_signups_monthly: int
    signup_to_first_api_call_hours: float  # Activation time
    docs_satisfaction_nps: int             # Survey score
    # Activation
    pct_activated_7d: float   # % who make successful API call within 7 days
    time_to_first_call_minutes: float      # Median
    # Retention
    developer_churn_monthly: float
    api_uptime_pct: float
    p99_latency_ms: float
    # Revenue
    monthly_api_revenue: float
    arpu_developer: float
    revenue_per_api_call: float
    # Expansion
    avg_api_calls_per_developer_monthly: int
    developers_using_multiple_products: float
    # Net Promoter Score
    developer_nps: int

## Common API Pricing Structures
 
PER-CALL (usage-based)
  Example: $0.001 per API call after 10,000 free
  Pro: Low barrier; scales with value
  Con: Unpredictable for customers; finance teams dislike
 
PER-UNIT (resource-based)
  Example: Twilio — per SMS sent, per call minute
  Pro: Natural alignment with value delivered
  Con: Unit definition must be intuitive
 
TIERED (usage bands)
  Example: Starter: 50k calls/$99 | Growth: 500k/$499 | Enterprise: custom
  Pro: Predictable; easy to understand
  Con: Customers manage to tier boundaries; step-function risk
 
FLAT + OVERAGE
  Example: $299/month for 100k calls; $0.003/call after
  Pro: Predictable base; unlimited upside
  Con: Overage anxiety; customers underestimate usage
 
FREEMIUM → PAID
  Example: 10k calls/month free forever; paid above
  Pro: Low acquisition friction; generates pipeline
  Con: Free tier support cost; conversion rates low
 
## Choosing Your Model
  High-volume, predictable: Per-call or tiered
  Low-volume, high-value: Flat rate
  Developer acquisition priority: Freemium
  Enterprise-focused: Flat + custom enterprise contracts