API Governance

An API still needs clear ownership after it passes design review and ships. Six months after an orders API launches, a partner might be using an undocumented route, the owning team may have reorganized, and an old version may remain reachable through a second hostname. Without ongoing ownership and decision rules, nobody may be sure who can approve a breaking change or remove the obsolete deployment.

API governance makes those responsibilities explicit. It defines who owns an API, which decisions require evidence, and how commitments remain enforceable throughout its life.

This chapter explains how to build that structure without turning every routine change into a central approval request.