Define the contract before the connection
Specify request and response shapes, identifiers, authentication, rate limits, and source-of-truth rules. Decide how the workflow behaves when a provider returns stale, partial, or conflicting data.
- ✓ System and credential inventory
- ✓ Versioned data contracts
- ✓ Timeout, retry, and duplicate handling
Make failures recoverable
Use traceable runs and actionable error states. Separate a retryable transport problem from a business rule rejection so operators can recover without repeating an expensive action.
- ✓ Document the evidence and owner behind each decision.
- ✓ Agree acceptance criteria before implementation begins.
Scope and delivery decisions
Provider permissions, quotas, and paid services are discovery dependencies and must be approved before implementation.
- ✓ Confirm system access, dependencies, and data handling during discovery.
- ✓ Receive a scoped recommendation with responsibilities and verification steps.