# Introduction

## adidas General API Guidelines

In the scope of a company, organization or team, the document known as guidelines is a set of best practices or hints provided by a group of subject matter experts in that particular technology. The most important aspects of it:

* Help to create a standardized way of completing specific tasks, making outcome more predictable and alike
* Help to identify do's and dont's with regards to a specific technology or tool
* Help to avoid gotchas or problems related with company specifics
* Gather the knowledge of several Subject Matter Experts and prevent others for falling in frequent caveats or mistakes

This is a set of general rules and recommendations that have to be followed along the entire API lifecycle of any API regardless of its type.

**Note** In any case, the content in the guidelines should be taken as recommendations, not something that needs to be done in a mandatory way.