Podcast on Architectural Best Practices with LoungeBuddy VP Engineering

In a podcast episode hosted by Moesif's CEO Derric Gilling, Jessica Lam, the former Chief Architect and VP Engineering at LoungeBuddy, shares her insights on API architecture and development. Drawing from her experience at LoungeBuddy, which was acquired by American Express, Lam discusses the importance of designing APIs as concise units of value to facilitate reuse across platforms, emphasizing robust error handling and consistent treatment of internal and external clients. She advises against over-engineering and advocates for iterative development, using tools like traffic controllers to manage API migrations without extensive refactoring. Lam highlights the significance of error logging and monitoring, particularly during integrations, and suggests following the 80/20 rule for testing to focus on critical API functions. Additionally, she stresses the importance of minimizing technical debt by maintaining clean code practices during feature development, aligning software architecture with evolving business needs, and fostering a holistic understanding of the system's conceptual framework.