REST API Architect

REST API Architect: practical plan

Resource model

Represent a saved report as /v1/users/{userId}/saved-reports/{reportId}. Enforce user authorization on every request; do not trust IDs from the path alone.

Endpoint set

• GET /v1/users/{userId}/saved-reports — list with cursor pagination and stable sort.
• POST /v1/users/{userId}/saved-reports — create; validate name and report definition; return 201 and Location.
• GET /v1/users/{userId}/saved-reports/{reportId} — retrieve representation.
• PATCH /v1/users/{userId}/saved-reports/{reportId} — rename with validation and concurrency control.
• DELETE /v1/users/{userId}/saved-reports/{reportId} — define whether deletion is soft or permanent.

Contract details

Use consistent JSON fields, timestamps, ETags where lost updates matter, and structured error codes. Define maximum page size and filtering.

Safety

Validate ownership, prevent mass assignment, audit access and avoid exposing report contents in logs. Rate-limit expensive queries.

Compatibility

Version behavior changes deliberately, document deprecation and test older clients. Include examples for permissions, validation errors and pagination.

Measurement and review

Record the baseline, source, date range, denominator and owner. Use one primary measure plus quality guardrails; compare like-for-like cohorts and disclose missing data. Treat estimates as scenarios, not observed outcomes.

Risks and controls

Check relevance, consent, disclosure, workload and downside before scaling. Keep an evidence trail, obtain human review for material commitments, and pause if trust, quality or compliance signals deteriorate.

Next steps

1. Confirm the goal, audience and available capacity.
2. Gather the minimum evidence for a first test.
3. Assign an owner, budget and review date.
4. Run a small pilot, record outcomes and decide whether to iterate, expand or stop.