Case Study: Simplifying API Integration to Enhance Developer Experience for Hubtel

Hubtel is Ghana's leading digital payment services provider, ranked as the fastest-growing company in Ghana and 30th fastest-growing in Africa. Our goal is to empower businesses by providing seamless tools to engage in the digital economy.

One of our key initiatives was to enhance our developer experience by simplifying the API integration process. My role was to create the strategic direction for migrating our existing 20+ PDF documentations to a modern, digital developer portal, improving access to critical information without requiring login to the merchant dashboard.

tldr; As the senior product designer, I led the product direction to create an ecosystem of tools that improved the developer experience by making API integration faster, clearer, and more accessible.

Role

Lead UX Designer

Duration

June 2023 - Now

Developers Portal

Visit

Problem

Hubtel had over 20 PDF documents serving as the primary source of API documentation. These resources were cumbersome to navigate, requiring developers to log in to the merchant dashboard to retrieve critical information. This slowed down integration processes and contributed to developer frustration. The need for a streamlined, centralized, and easily accessible API documentation platform was clear.

Research & Planning

We gathered feedback from our developer community, focusing on pain points in the legacy system. The two primary issues identified were difficult credential management and unclear documentation. This initial research helped shape our goals: simplify the API integration process, improve documentation clarity and structure, and eliminate the dependency on the merchant dashboard for accessing key developer tools.

Planning

Identified pain points from developer feedback, focusing on areas that required immediate improvement.

Design & Development

Working with a cross-functional team, we redesigned the portal, focusing on enhancing the user interface and creating well-structured, easy-to-understand documentation. We implemented login access for both personal and business users, streamlined API workflows, and integrated an AI-based help system.

Landing page

The redesigned landing page offers tailored experiences for both personal and business users, with clear navigation.

Landing page

Login options tailored for both Personal and Business users, providing a customized experience based on user needs and preferences.

Landing page

Centralized access to all APIs, allowing developers to quickly browse, test, and integrate the services they need with minimal effort.

Testing & Iteration

We invited a select group of developers to join a closed beta testing phase through our Slack channels. Their valuable feedback played a key role in refining the final product, leading to clearer documentation, improved portal navigation, and enhanced AI-generated responses for better accuracy and relevance.

Outcome

The revamped developer portal significantly enhanced the overall developer experience, leading to faster onboarding, clearer documentation, and improved user satisfaction.

  • Clear, structured API documentation
  • Faster access to API credentials
  • Enhanced UI for both beginner and experienced developers
  • Integration of Merchant Dashboard access for developers only
  • AI-powered assistance for developer queries

The updated Hubtel developer portal demonstrates our commitment to enhancing the developer experience by providing tools that streamline the API integration process. This upgrade has empowered developers to integrate faster, be more productive, and innovate with ease, furthering Hubtel's mission of simplifying digital commerce for all.

Next Steps

While the initial release has been successful, we have identified several areas for future enhancement:

  • Interactive API Playground: Implement an interactive environment where developers can test API endpoints directly within the documentation.
  • SDK Development: Create official SDKs for popular programming languages to further simplify integration.
  • Community Features: Add a developer forum and contribution system for community-driven improvements to documentation and code samples.
  • Analytics Dashboard: Introduce detailed API usage analytics and performance monitoring tools for developers.
  • Enhanced AI Assistant: Expand the AI help system to provide more context-aware suggestions and troubleshooting assistance.