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API vs App?

James Candy

January 07, 2021 14:20

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Hi all

How are others managing API modelling, particularly where both UIs and APIs exist for the same system? What we're increasingly seeing is a lot of duplication with both Application and Interface fact sheets being created to model the above, both built on the same IT Components - is there a better way?

A related question is where bespoke systems have been built purely to connect systems together - i.e. middleware providing integration capabilities. For me those are Interfaces consumed or offered by Apps - but that way of modelling brings gaps, e.g. we can't show the costs of the technologies the Interfaces are built on unless we also model that the Apps 'use' those Components (which isn't really true). It seems to me Interfaces should be able to allocate costs to apps the same way used components do? Realise LeanIX is not an Apptio-like cost modelling tool but such cost mapping as it does support seems to have gaps.

Interested to hear others' thoughts...

Thanks

James

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10 comments

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  Peter Roome March 18, 2022 19:27

  Hi James,

  For APIs that are part of the application, we do not model APIs separately from the UI.  That would mean that you'd probably want to link to the application's API documentation and define which API is being used by a particular integration.

  However, when we define an integration, the application endpoint using the API has an Endpoint Type field that can be used to indicate the application has an API endpoint.  For our in-house, enterprise APIs managed by our API gateway, we declare each API as an application and use them as endpoints for our integrations.

  Hope that helps.

  Peter

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  James Candy March 21, 2022 10:37

  Thanks Peter - i don't entirely follow the above, would you be amenable to an offline discussion?

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  Peter Roome March 21, 2022 14:11

  Hi James - Happy to talk.   Send me your e-mail and we can go from there.   - Peter

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  James Candy March 23, 2022 09:40

  Thanks Peter - you can get me at james.candy@landg.com

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  Eileen Dornan November 04, 2022 10:01

  Hi Peter Roome and James Candy did you arrive at a solution?  Would you be able to share?  I'm trying to model APIs/ endpoints at the moment and this would be very helpful!  Many thanks - Eileen

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  Vishal Saraf November 04, 2022 11:13

  Hi All, 

  We had similar questions when we started using LeanIX. 

  We are modelling APIs as IT Components under a separate Tech Category called "API". 

  These API IT Components then have relationships with Applications, Interfaces, User Groups etc. which are consuming or providing these APIs. Cost for Applications can be captured in the relationship between IT Component and App. 

  However I do see a gap wrt costs for interfaces. 

  BRgds, 

  Vishal 

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  Penhollow, Mike November 08, 2022 19:19

  I'd like to jump in on this discussion as well and hear how others are doing it.
  
  Right now we are modeling API's as Interfaces and Middleware as Applications and as IT Component/Software. 
  My concern with modeling API's as applications is the cost model associated with it as we could have hundreds of API's and your paying for the # of Application Fact sheets. 
  
   

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  Peter Roome November 08, 2022 20:38

  Penhollow, Mike, Vishal Saraf, James Candy, Eileen Dornan

  Is there any interest among this group to meet regularly (maybe quarterly) to discuss modeling in LeanIX?  Personally, I think it would be good to meet regularly to discuss issues we're facing with LeanIX and how to handle those.  That would include topics like how do model different architecture scenarios for example.

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  James Candy November 09, 2022 09:01

  i'd be very interested Peter - in answer to Eileen Dornan's question, no this is still an area where we have no single method that ideally meets all cases.

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  Vishal Saraf November 09, 2022 09:48

  Hi Peter,

  I think meeting up to bounce ideas would be great. I would be interested in that. There are a few other areas which we are sort of experimenting with in terms of trying to find an ideal way to model landscapes without killing ourselves by exploding the number of apps.