API design review

For product teams about to expose a new REST surface to partners or mobile squads — or teams stuck in endless contract debates before sprint one.

Who this is for

Backend leads at South African fintech, logistics, and health platforms who already have a draft OpenAPI (or Postman collection) but need an independent reader before legal and partners sign off. Typical size: 25–120 operations across 8–30 resources.

Result you receive

A PDF report (usually 18–35 pages) with severity-tagged findings, annotated excerpts from your contract, and suggested rewrites for the worst inconsistencies. We also supply a one-page changelog template for breaking vs additive changes.

Included

• Kickoff call (60 minutes) to learn consumer types, auth model, and release cadence
• Review of OpenAPI 3.x or equivalent, including examples and error schemas
• Consistency pass: naming, pagination, filtering, idempotency keys, and date formats
• Written findings with remediation effort estimates (hours, not story points)
• 90-minute readout with your engineers; recording optional on your infrastructure

Excluded

• Penetration testing or infrastructure hardening
• Writing production code in your repository
• Load testing unless added as a separate implementation review

Provider & process

Led by Thabo Molefe, principal reviewer at API Vertex, with support from a contract analyst who maintains the finding taxonomy. Work is asynchronous over five business days after materials arrive; readout slots are offered in SAST-friendly hours.

Timeline

Standard turnaround: five business days from signed scope and received artifacts. Rush (three days) is available when the calendar allows — see rates.

Delivery

Remote by default. On-site readout at 25 Jan Smuts Avenue,Sandton,Gauteng,2196 can be arranged for Sandton clients without changing the core deliverable.

Preparation

Send OpenAPI files, example requests/responses, and a short note on known pain points (mobile timeouts, partner complaints, etc.). Redact secrets; we do not need production credentials for design review.

Pricing basis

Fixed fee from ZAR 48 000 for up to 80 operations; larger surfaces quoted after a 20-minute scoping call. A 40% deposit confirms the calendar slot.

Next step

Request a design review or read engagement stages for the full sequence.