4 Tools For Improving Developer Experience | Dreamfactory

by Spencer Nguyen • March 9, 2022

Some developers improving the developer experience

Developers spend a lot of time worrying about UX (user experience). After all, UX is a major factor in why clients choose you to develop applications. However, DX (developer experience) is a lesser-known and incredibly important aspect of software development. Here are four ways that you as a business owner or as a developer can start improving the developer experience.

1. Improving Developer Experience: Low-Code and No-Code

Using low-code and no-code to simplify development workflows is a relatively new means of improving the developer experience. You can build many apps without using any complex programming languages.

A low-code development environment provides drag-and-drop interfaces for creating apps. Not only does this speed up development, but it also reduces the potential for costly and time-consuming errors. Many low-code development platforms and tools provide extensive SDKs.

Low-code, unlike exclusively no-code platforms, allows for the use of languages like Java, Python, etc. as needed to further extend the functionality of the application. Such an ecosystem allows for flexibility and ease of use. Low-code development is around half as fast as coding by hand and requires considerably less education/expertise.

2. Managed APIs

Many developers use third-party APIs as development tools or to increase functionality within their applications. Unfortunately, this comes with a risk. API security is one of the top worries for many companies, and roughly two-thirds of companies are forced to delay app deployment due to security concerns. In particular, open-source APIs present serious risks.

API management platforms take care of security monitoring and testing while providing a great developer experience. They are comprehensive solutions for developers to get a fuller view of any third-party APIs and to generate APIs with greater ease, thereby providing a great developer experience. What are some of the other benefits?

Automation. They also facilitate automation, offering development tools that help you optimize the entire application lifecycle.

Templates. These allow you to save time on formatting while simultaneously ensuring the end-user has a positive experience.

Compliance. API management guarantees compliance with common data security standards like PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).

Centralization. While companies utilize a great variety of APIs, API management platforms provide an API gateway so that you can centralize access and security.

Easy Configurations. Many platforms provide built-in configurations for every imaginable purpose.

Metrics. Some API management platforms focus on providing metrics to help track performance. Others have built-in compatibility with a variety of data analytics tools.

DreamFactory allows programmers to automate secure REST API creation without code. With standardized and fully documented APIs, you can make collaboration much easier. DreamFactory focuses on security and compliance to help you address the primary concern of API management without the need for additional services.

3. Microservices Architectures

You may wonder, is a microservice-based architecture a key for improving developer experience? The truth is that microservices can either severely debilitate or facilitate a good developer experience. It will depend on your API ecosystem since different microservices rely on different APIs.

The principle of a microservices architecture is to break an application down into individual services and make it much simpler to manage. Changes can be made individually to one service rather than to the entire codebase as with a monolithic architecture. DevOps relies on continuous integration (CI) for easier testing. Microservices facilitate independent development and testing of different services, making CI much faster and easier and improving developer experience. SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) platforms commonly rely on microservices for this reason.

Product development that relies on microservices, instead of monolithic software architecture, has several advantages for DevOps, but to reap the benefits, developers should keep some things in mind.

Standardize languages, communication, and access. Otherwise, scaling your services and collaborating will be much more difficult. Again, API management through a platform like DreamFactory is one of the best ways to do this.

Optimize communication between microservices. This is an important aspect of promoting a positive developer experience and enhancing collaboration.

Take advantage of scalability and agility. Microservices increase your ability to provide services at scale and make changes as necessary with a minimum of downtime.

Software engineering that relies on microservices can improve DX, but you should implement this architecture with care.

4. Developer Experience Engineers

Lastly, improving developer experience becomes much easier through hiring a developer experience engineer (DXE). Development teams can rely on the DXE to ensure efficient software delivery with a minimum of pain points.

Developer experience engineers have many roles, which include advocating for developers and doing whatever it takes to achieve good DX, like joining in product development to help optimize the process. Other team members can work hand in hand with a DXE for faster development. A developer experience engineer can also act as a liaison, making sure the team members have the tools they need to succeed.

Improving developer experience results in improved user experience as well. That is why you should prioritize DX for Rest API creation. DreamFactory provides the best developer experience and excellent API security so that you can focus on other aspects of product development.

Working to improve DX will help throughout the development lifecycle and in your business. These four tools will help you do just that.

Getting Started with DreamFactory

Developing APIs can be a complex, time consuming, and expensive process. It also exposes businesses to a number of risks including consistency, quality, and developer resourcing. DreamFactory is a REST API generation tool for 20+ databases and a range of other data sources. It gives you the ability to generate secure and fully documented APIs in a matter of minutes. Ready to get started?