Planning an API integration
Before asking for a quote, define the business event that should move between systems and the evidence that it arrived correctly. A working connection is only one part of a dependable integration.
Start with one complete workflow
Choose a specific event, such as an approved request creating a record in another system. Identify who starts it, the destination, the expected result and the person responsible when it fails. Start with a bounded workflow before connecting every department.
Decide which system owns the data
List the records and fields that move, their stable identifiers and the source of truth for each field. Agree how updates, deletions and conflicting changes are handled. A field mapping should include required values, formats and time zones, not just matching column names.
Check access and interface constraints
Confirm available API documentation, test environments, authentication, permissions, rate limits and platform licensing. If an API is unavailable, a scheduled export may be appropriate. Document its freshness, format, delivery method and what happens when a file is missing or changes shape.
Design for partial failure
Agree timeout and retry behaviour, duplicate detection, reconciliation and a way to replay failed work safely. Retrying a create request can produce duplicates unless the receiving system or integration can identify work already completed. Decide what operators can see without exposing credentials or sensitive payloads.
Define what acceptance looks like
Test the normal flow, an expired credential, an unavailable destination, a duplicate event and an invalid record. Agree measurable targets for the actual environment instead of promising a universal response time. Include deployment, rollback, monitoring and ownership in the handover.
Bring these to a discovery session
Bring a workflow example, system inventory, API or export documentation, sample records with sensitive data removed, volume estimates and the people who own each system. The output should be a scoped integration plan, assumptions, acceptance criteria and a first delivery phase.
Further reading: Microsoft Learn · Retry pattern