MuleSoft Catalyst — Evaluate and Build Supporting tech
And so we come to the section of the Centre for Enablement Playbook where we need to talk about Evaluating and Build Supporting Tech. This is the third element of the Define Integration and Automation Programmes and draws us closer to the end of Assess Integration Capabilities step. As a reminder of where we are I have shown the playbook diagram again so you can follow where we are in our journey.
Evaluate and Build Supporting Tech has four steps as shown below and covers not only the MuleSoft AnyPoint platform but also the supporting technology that will be required to operate the whole capability plus the measurement, principles and policies that will contribute to the running of the capability as a whole.
Evaluate and Build Supporting Tech
Assemble (buy/build) full API lifecycle management platform/tools
At this stage the budget that has been identified for the implementation of the capability will be called into action, at least on the detailed planning side. If we assume that MuleSoft AnyPoint platform has been selected as the Management platform for the API capability, which would seem like a reasonable assumption at this time, then we need to determine at this stage what other tools may be required.
Initial examination should focus on the MuleSoft Platform itself. While the initial platform is available there are also additional elements such as AnyPoint MQ which is used as a cloud messaging service that enables advanced asynchronous messaging between applications. There will also need to be an assessment of the initial number of vCores required to build the service at the start.
In addition to the MuleSoft platform you will also need to acquire and implement a development pipeline which may include tools such as Azure DevOps, GitHub, Jenkins, Maven to mention but a few. Use of tools will need to be carefully selected taking into account capability, staffing, training and enterprise direction not to mentions budget available for tools and staffing.
Of course, every development team will require a tool for requirement gathering, documentation and management. If you are working within an Agile workflow, then this tool is likely to be Atlassian JIRA / Confluence. You will need a JIRA administrator in order to configure JIRA to match your required workflow. If JIRA has one great strength and one great weakness, then it’s just how configurable the tool is. Configure it correctly and it will serve you well but configure it badly and you are in for a very rough ride.
Selection of the tools you will use needs careful consideration in terms of both capability and affordability. Each organisation must make its own decisions based on its individual set of constraints.
Establish API architecture
API’s serve as the link between the user, the organisation in enterprise terms and the technology being used by the organisation. Given this link the following elements need to be considered when establishing the API Architecture.
API’s design should always align with your business goals. Carefully consider the usage of each API and think abouts its ability to be reused across the organisation. API’s should never be confused with point-to-point interfaces. Get this wrong and you are defeating one of the major goals that MuleSoft’s three-layer architecture provides.
Take into account the availability and management of business resources in terms of both organisation and technology.
Always ask yourself, who is the target audience for this API? Who will be using the API?
Ensure that your architecture makes your API’s available, visible and known across the whole organisation. All members of the organisation that have any relationship with data and the use of data should have the API ‘library’ in their minds as the first port of call when looking at any development.
Commence KPI capture, consolidation, and dashboards
In order to show benefits and progress accomplished by the C4E it is vital to establish agreed KPI’s with both the organisational management but also with supporting services, teams and functions. How these KPI’s are collected, the cadence for data collection and the presentation of the KPI data in dashboards and wider communications, where applicable, can allow people to get on board with the progress being incrementally delivered and maintained by the capability.
Activate security best practices
It is incredibly important to establish a good working relationship with your security team, not only in establishing the security policies that the C4E must govern but also to earn the trust that the C4E will ensure that the security policies will be vigorously applied but also that all other aspects of security will be given the importance that they is required and deserved in order to comply with local, industry and legal requirements.
