API stability for SaaS teams
I help SaaS teams fix slow, unreliable APIs without rewriting everything.
Improve performance, reduce incidents, and ship faster with a practical approach to API diagnosis, stabilisation, and technical decision-making.
This site used to lead with what I know. It now leads with the expensive problems I help teams solve: unstable APIs, risky releases, slow debugging, and delivery systems that create more noise than momentum.
Steve McDougall
Technical director, educator, and API problem-solver
What I help fix
- Slow endpoints and unclear performance bottlenecks
- Brittle integrations and unreliable API behaviour
- Teams stuck between firefighting, rewrites, and guesswork
Why teams trust me
15+ years in software, 50K+ developers reached through teaching, and practical experience helping engineering organisations improve systems, standards, and delivery habits.
- 15+
- years solving messy software problems
- 50K+
- developers reached through articles and technical education
- 30+
- talks and workshops delivered internationally
From frontline systems thinking to leading engineering teams under real delivery pressure.
Authority built on practical writing, talks, and hands-on delivery work.
Helping teams make better API, architecture, and enablement decisions.
Problem awareness
Your API is probably slowing the team down in more ways than one.
When the platform is unreliable, the damage is not just technical. Engineers lose confidence, product work slows down, and delivery becomes dominated by caution and context switching.
You are firefighting instead of building
Latency spikes, brittle integrations, and unclear ownership keep dragging engineers back into incident mode.
Your team does not trust the system
Every release feels risky because API behaviour is inconsistent, debugging is slow, and the root causes stay murky.
The rewrite feels bigger than the fix
You know the platform needs attention, but replacing everything would slow delivery even more.
The framework
I use an API Stability Framework built around diagnose, stabilise, and scale.
The goal is not consulting theatre. It is to get clear on what is actually broken, fix the highest-leverage issues first, and leave the team with better habits than it had before.
See how the work is structuredStep 01
Diagnose
Map the hotspots, instrumentation gaps, and reliability failures that are actually costing you time.
Step 02
Stabilise
Fix the riskiest endpoints, contracts, and operational bottlenecks first so the team can breathe again.
Step 03
Scale
Leave behind patterns, guardrails, and decision-making habits the team can keep using without me in the room.
Trust and proof
The trust layer is already here. It just needed to point at outcomes.
The writing, talks, and open-source work matter because they are downstream of real delivery work, real systems, and the decisions that teams struggle to make under pressure.
Proof without fluff
Evidence from the work behind the writing
- Led engineering organisations and education initiatives reaching 50,000+ developers.
- Delivered talks and workshops across 30+ events on APIs, architecture, and developer enablement.
- Supported teams that needed clearer standards, calmer delivery, and stronger technical direction.
Decision-ready teams
If the problem is already expensive, we should make the next decision easier.
Start with a focused conversation about what is breaking, what it is costing, and whether an audit or hands-on fix is the right move.
Trusted by teams
“Steve is one of the most thorough and thoughtful educators I've seen. He puts in a ton of effort and it clearly shows.”
Aaron Francis
Founder, Try Hard Studios
Trusted by teams
“Steve is the teacher you wish you had in school. He’s informative, entertaining, and passionate about what he does. I’m always excited to see more of Steve’s content!”
Alex Six
Senior Software Engineer, Zillow
Trusted by teams
“To me, there's one word that comes to mind: 'passion'. There are only a handful of people with the same passion for programming as Steve.”
Brent Roose
Developer Advocate, JetBrains
Trusted by teams
“Steve is a great developer with a wealth of knowledge that has contributed to many projects we have. His passion for API means we benefit from his aim for the best.”
Chris Miller
Team Lead, PHP Architect
Services
Three ways to work together, without bloated consulting packages.
The offers are intentionally simple: diagnose the problem, fix the right things, or stay involved as a trusted technical advisor.
API Audit
A focused investigation into the performance, reliability, and design issues slowing your team down.
You leave with a clear action plan, prioritised fixes, and a faster route to stability.
Best for teams who know something is wrong but need a precise diagnosis before committing effort.
See details →Performance & Reliability Fixes
Hands-on work to remove bottlenecks, reduce avoidable incidents, and make delivery feel calmer.
You get meaningful improvements without a costly full rewrite or months of vague discovery.
Best for SaaS teams that need execution, not another slide deck.
See details →Ongoing Advisory
Strategic technical support for leaders and senior engineers making difficult API and architecture decisions.
You get sharper technical calls, stronger standards, and a trusted external perspective.
Best for teams navigating growth, ownership changes, or persistent delivery friction.
See details →Content as a growth engine
The writing now has jobs to do: attract the right traffic, build trust, and show how I solve the problem.
Not every article should just be a thought. Some should help people discover the problem, some should sharpen authority, and some should bridge directly into the solution.
Problem-led
Discovery content that helps teams name the bottleneck before they start searching for a fix.
Built for SEO, discovery, and problem awareness.
Explore the content layer →Opinion-led
Clear points of view on delivery, architecture, and engineering habits that build trust fast.
Built for authority, differentiation, and trust.
Explore the content layer →Solution-led
Practical breakdowns of how I diagnose, stabilise, and improve API systems without drama.
Built for conversion and commercial intent.
Explore the content layer →Lead capture
Get the API Reliability Checklist and turn scattered debugging into a repeatable review.
Use the resources hub to spot common failure points, tighten API contracts, and give your team a more structured starting point before problems spiral.
Final CTA
Ready to stop losing time to API instability?
Send a little context on the team, the symptoms, and what good looks like. I will tell you whether an audit, a fix sprint, or ongoing advisory is the right next step.