Collaboration Workflow

This guide outlines the recommended workflow for API collaboration in Apidog, from initial design through deployment.

Workflow Overview

The following workflow ensures smooth collaboration between API designers, developers, and QA engineers:

1. Draft API Documentation

API designers create initial API documentation in Apidog, defining endpoints, parameters, schemas, and expected responses.

2. Collaborative Review

Front-end and back-end developers work together to review and enhance the documentation, ensuring alignment on:

API use cases and requirements

Request/response structures

Data models and schemas

Error handling

3. Development Kickoff with Mock Data

Front-end developers can start development immediately using automatically generated mock data based on API documentation in Apidog.

Benefits:

No manual mock rule creation required

Parallel development without waiting for backend completion

Realistic data structures for testing

4. Debugging with API Use Cases

Back-end developers debug APIs during development using predefined use cases.

Completion criteria:

All use cases pass debugging successfully

Any changes made during development automatically update the API specification

Ensures timely and cost-effective API maintenance

5. Saving Endpoint Cases

Once debugging is complete, back-end developers save successful requests as endpoint cases for:

Future testing

Documentation of working examples

QA reference

6. API Testing

QA engineers test APIs directly using predefined endpoint cases, ensuring:

Functional correctness

Expected response formats

Error handling

Edge cases

7. Integration Testing

After all APIs are developed, QA engineers (or back-end developers) utilize the test collection feature to conduct comprehensive multi-API integration testing.

Purpose:

Verify the smooth functioning of the API calling process

Test end-to-end workflows

Validate data flow between endpoints

8. Joint Debugging

When both front-end and back-end development is finished:

Front-end developers switch from mock data to real data

Both teams verify the integration works as expected

Follow API specifications meticulously to ensure compatibility

Benefits of This Workflow

Benefit	Description
Parallel Development	Front-end and back-end teams work simultaneously
Reduced Errors	Specification-driven development minimizes miscommunication
Faster Iteration	Automatic mock data and specification updates speed up development
Better Testing	Predefined cases and integration tests ensure quality
Clear Documentation	Living documentation stays in sync with implementation

Collaboration Workflow

Workflow Overview#

1. Draft API Documentation#

2. Collaborative Review#

3. Development Kickoff with Mock Data#

4. Debugging with API Use Cases#

5. Saving Endpoint Cases#

6. API Testing#

7. Integration Testing#

8. Joint Debugging#

Benefits of This Workflow#