Former Nike and Walmart Engineer turned Influencer champions Postman for API tool consolidation

The API development challenges Jack experienced at Nike and Walmart were similar. Both enterprises had major disconnects between frontend and backend teams. Frontend teams struggled with slow API development and would often mock APIs themselves, while backend teams independently built APIs based on their own ideal vision.

The lack of visibility and persistent silos between teams led to friction and duplication of work. With teams falling out of sync, API changes were not reflected across the stack, causing delivery cycle delays and derailing deadlines. Information was distributed across Jira, Confluence, and Google Docs. The tool sprawl made it difficult to discover or communicate API specifications.

Hour-long conversation battles were commonplace, where teams struggled to establish API needs. This led to frontend teams building Backend for Frontend (BFF) solutions to meet their requirements, which resulted in latency, increased DevOps overheads, additional costs and the burden of ongoing maintenance. In short, it was a daily grind exacerbated by API chaos.

The Postman API Platform is the answer to the enterprise pain points Jack experienced at Nike and Walmart. As an Influencer, he champions using Postman's collaboration features along with an API-first approach.

“Postman is a critical part of the API development pipeline with a deep understanding of API mechanics. It's essential in an API-first world where collaboration isn't optional but a necessity.”

Jack Herrington, YouTube Creator, Blue Collar Coder

Postman enables teams to discuss and review API specifications independently using one platform. APIs and documentation can be kept in sync with features like the API Builder or Spec Hub, minimizing errors and duplication. API design, development and delivery can be brought into one flow for a full-lifecycle experience.

With Postman, backend teams can build an API, working in parallel with frontend teams that build matching UIs. This alignment is achieved by shared visibility of the same specification, allowing API development to move faster. Workspaces can keep APIs, collections, environments and documentation in one place. Teams can share specifications directly, which is a huge benefit to API discoverability and streamlines iteration. Comments, activity feeds and integrated notifications allow everyone to be kept up-to-date on changes in real time.

Mock servers allow a frontend team to mock specifications before backend teams fully develop an API. Mocking combined with collaboration ensures that the frontend team can adapt quickly when a backend API change occurs, preventing any issues when the two are fully integrated.

API reuse is seamless because mock APIs align with released versions. Built-in version control and changelogs can reduce risk by making it easier to track or revert changes.

Open standard support, including OpenAPI, GraphQL and gRPC, facilitates the effortless integration of specifications. Postman's high-quality features improve communication at the code level and reduce friction across workflows.

Through his tutorials, Jack enables developers worldwide to experience the benefits of the Postman API Platform while using an API-first approach. He highlights how Postman improves collaboration, speeds up development, and helps teams ship fast and ship often.

By using Postman as a shared platform for the entire API lifecycle, rework can be reduced, API discoverability improved, and teams from product and engineering to DevOps and QA aligned more closely. Getting everyone closer to being 200 OK.