Vanity Metrics for APIs vs Tracking Business Value From API Transactions

API product managers aim to enhance developer experience by ensuring quick startup, consistent behavior, easy error troubleshooting, and alignment with software engineering and business needs. Many organizations attempt to build their own API tracking systems, but often fall into the trap of tracking incorrect metrics, which leads to misinterpretations of API performance. Common pitfalls include repurposing website analytics for APIs, which can result in misleading vanity metrics that do not accurately reflect API success or developer experience. Instead of focusing on superficial metrics, organizations should track actionable metrics like time-to-first-successful-call and customer retention to better understand API usage and business value. Tools like Moesif can offer deeper insights into API interactions, aiding in product development by providing detailed analytics that improve customer experience and align with business goals. Transitioning from internal analytics tools to specialized solutions like Moesif can optimize API performance tracking and help avoid the resource-intensive challenges of building and maintaining custom analytics tools.