Connecting two systems can sound like a single task, but the business questions often matter as much as the technical connection. What information moves, when does it move and which system decides what is correct? During discovery, make those expectations visible before a proposal reduces the whole requirement to the phrase integrates with our existing software.
Draw the business exchange
A hypothetical Mackay equipment supplier might want confirmed orders from its quoting tool to appear in a job-planning system. Identify the event that starts the exchange and the information needed at the receiving end. Does the planning team need every draft quote or only accepted work? Does an amendment create a new record or change the existing one? Describe the business behaviour first so a technical specialist can investigate the appropriate connection with a clear purpose.
Choose the authoritative information
Decide which system is the source for each important fact. Customer contact details may be maintained in one place while scheduling dates belong elsewhere. Avoid assuming that both systems should update every field in both directions. Conflicting changes need a business rule, not just a connection. Use a small sample exchange to expose differences in terminology and structure. One tool's order may correspond to several work items in the other, which changes the scope substantially.
Clarify timing and exceptions
Ask how current the receiving system needs to be for staff to make a useful decision. Immediate updates and occasional imports support different workflows. Also describe what staff should do when a record cannot be matched or required information is absent. The tradeoff is between automation and coordination complexity. A controlled manual handover may be sufficient for an early release, provided its limits and owner are explicit and the team does not mistake it for a finished automatic connection.
Commission evidence before promises
Have the delivery team verify the relevant product capabilities and constraints using current official documentation or a targeted experiment. Product names alone do not establish what a particular account or workflow can support. Your next scoping step is an exchange specification naming the trigger, fields, source of truth, timing and exception owner. Ask the supplier to separate demonstrated capabilities from assumptions, then use that evidence to decide how much connection work belongs in the first release.
Planning checklist
- Define the trigger and information exchanged.
- Choose a source for each important fact.
- Verify capabilities before committing to the connection.