🔗 PM Tech Interview: Explain APIs to a Non-Tech Person

Hey Impactful PM! It’s Aneesha 👋 

Whether you're just starting out or deep in the world of product management, being able to break down complex ideas into simple, relatable terms is such an important skill. So, let's dive into this and I'll show you how to make APIs sound as easy as using a remote control! 📺

Let’s make tech talk a little less intimidating, shall we? 🚀

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PM Tech Interview: Explain APIs to a Non-tech Person

Before I start, let me tell you, this question is similar to “How would you explain the concept of APIs to a 5-year-old?”. The approach you will use will be the same as what I will explain further.

Interviewer: "How would you explain the concept of an API to someone who is not familiar with technology? Before we dive into that, can you briefly describe what you understand by the term 'API'?"

Candidate (Aneesha): "Sure! API stands for Application Programming Interface. At its core, an API allows different software applications to communicate with each other. But to break it down for someone who isn't familiar with technology, I'd compare it to something more relatable."

Interviewer: "That sounds like a good start. Let’s go with that analogy approach. How would you explain it to someone who might not know much about tech?"

Candidate (Aneesha): "Alright, imagine you’re at a restaurant. You sit down at a table, look through the menu, and decide what you want to eat. But instead of going to the kitchen and making the meal yourself, you place your order with a waiter. The waiter then takes your order to the kitchen, where the chefs prepare your meal. Once it’s ready, the waiter brings the food back to you.

In this analogy, you (the customer) are like one software application, and the kitchen is another software application or a service. The waiter acts as the API. Just like the waiter, the API takes your request (which in this case could be to retrieve data, process information, or trigger some action), delivers it to the appropriate service, and then brings back the response.

The key thing here is that you don’t need to know how the kitchen works to enjoy your meal. Similarly, with APIs, the end user doesn’t need to know the complexities of the software system to interact with it. The API handles all the communication and makes the process seamless."

Interviewer: "That’s a clear and simple analogy. But what if someone asks why we even need APIs? How would you explain the importance of APIs in the tech world?"

Candidate (Aneesha): "Great question! Let’s take an example that most people can relate to: booking a flight online. When you search for flights on a travel website, you’re not actually visiting every airline’s website to see what flights they offer. Instead, the travel site uses APIs to pull data from all those airlines into one place.

APIs allow different systems to work together seamlessly. They enable apps to access services and data from other software systems without needing to know the intricate details of how those systems work. In our flight booking example, the travel website uses APIs to communicate with the airlines' databases, retrieve flight options, and then display them to you.

Without APIs, this kind of integration wouldn’t be possible, and we’d have a much harder time accessing information across different platforms.

APIs also help with innovation. By using APIs, developers can build new tools, apps, or services on top of existing ones. For example, if you’ve ever used an app that shows Google Maps inside it, that’s an API at work.

Google provides an API that allows other apps to use its map data, which means developers don’t have to create their own mapping tool from scratch—they can build on what already exists and add their unique features."

Interviewer: "I like that analogy! It makes the concept very relatable. Now, let’s take this a step further. How would you explain the role of APIs in everyday apps that non-tech people use, like social media or online shopping?"

Candidate (Aneesha): "Let’s use social media as an example. When you post a picture on Instagram, that’s not the only thing happening behind the scenes. Instagram might be using APIs to store your photo in a cloud storage service, to analyze the image for certain content, or even to connect with other social media platforms if you choose to share your post on Facebook or Twitter.

Each of these actions—storing the image, analyzing it, and sharing it—might involve different systems. But APIs make it possible for Instagram to communicate with all these systems without you even realizing it. The process feels seamless because the API is doing all the heavy lifting behind the scenes.

Similarly, in online shopping, when you check out and pay for your items, APIs are at work. They might be used to calculate shipping costs, process payments through a payment gateway, and even update the inventory system to reflect the sale. APIs enable all these different systems to work together smoothly, ensuring that your shopping experience is quick and hassle-free.

APIs are what allow our favorite apps and websites to be as functional and integrated as they are. They create the connections that make everything work together, often without us even knowing it’s happening."

Interviewer: "That’s a fantastic breakdown. So, to sum it all up, how would you encapsulate the importance of APIs in today’s digital landscape?"

Candidate (Aneesha): "In a nutshell, APIs are the unsung heroes of the digital world. They’re what allow different software systems to communicate and work together, making our apps, websites, and online services more powerful and user-friendly.

APIs drive innovation by enabling developers to build on top of existing systems, create new integrations, and offer more functionality without having to reinvent the wheel.

They’re the connectors that make the complex, interconnected world of technology run smoothly, allowing us to enjoy all the digital conveniences we often take for granted."

Interviewer: "That was a great explanation, Aneesha! I can see how you’d be able to communicate complex ideas in a way that’s easy to understand. Thank you for walking us through that."

Candidate (Aneesha): "Thank you! I’m glad I could make it clear. It’s all about finding the right analogy and breaking down the concept into familiar terms."

With this approach, you would demonstrate an ability to break down complex technical concepts into simple, relatable terms that anyone can understand, using analogies and real-world examples to illustrate her points.

This is crucial in product management, where communication with non-technical stakeholders is often a key part of the job.

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Cya!
Aneesha ❤️ 

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• Areesha Shaikh

• Aneesha S

• Twice the Impact PM