Vendor and Third-Party Integration | Track APIs
Manage third-party integrations with structured planning. GitScrum tracks vendor dependencies, API blockers, and external coordination across teams.
9 min read
Third-party integrations add complexity and dependencies. GitScrum helps teams plan integration work, manage vendor relationships, and track external dependencies.
Integration Planning
Integration Assessment
INTEGRATION EVALUATION:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ BEFORE STARTING INTEGRATION: │
│ │
│ VENDOR ASSESSMENT: │
│ ☐ API documentation quality? │
│ ☐ Sandbox/test environment available? │
│ ☐ Support responsiveness? │
│ ☐ SLA and uptime history? │
│ ☐ Breaking changes history? │
│ ☐ Client libraries available? │
│ │
│ TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT: │
│ ☐ Authentication method (OAuth, API key, etc.) │
│ ☐ Rate limits and quotas? │
│ ☐ Data format (REST, GraphQL, SOAP)? │
│ ☐ Webhook support? │
│ ☐ Idempotency support? │
│ │
│ RISK ASSESSMENT: │
│ ☐ What if vendor goes down? │
│ ☐ What if API changes? │
│ ☐ What if rate limited? │
│ ☐ Data privacy implications? │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ ASSESSMENT TASK: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ INT-001: Evaluate Stripe Integration ││
│ │ ││
│ │ Purpose: Payment processing ││
│ │ ││
│ │ Findings: ││
│ │ ✅ Excellent documentation ││
│ │ ✅ Test mode with realistic behavior ││
│ │ ✅ Official SDKs for our stack ││
│ │ ⚠️ Webhook verification required ││
│ │ ⚠️ PCI compliance considerations ││
│ │ ││
│ │ Estimate: 2-3 weeks for full integration ││
│ │ Risk: Low (mature API, good support) ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Integration Epic
INTEGRATION WORK BREAKDOWN:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ INTEGRATION EPIC: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ INT-010: Stripe Payment Integration ││
│ │ ││
│ │ Goal: Accept credit card payments ││
│ │ Vendor: Stripe ││
│ │ Timeline: Sprint 5-6 ││
│ │ ││
│ │ SETUP: ││
│ │ ├── INT-011: Stripe account setup ││
│ │ ├── INT-012: API key management ││
│ │ └── INT-013: Webhook endpoint setup ││
│ │ ││
│ │ CORE INTEGRATION: ││
│ │ ├── INT-014: Payment intent creation ││
│ │ ├── INT-015: Checkout flow ││
│ │ ├── INT-016: Payment confirmation ││
│ │ └── INT-017: Refund handling ││
│ │ ││
│ │ RELIABILITY: ││
│ │ ├── INT-018: Error handling ││
│ │ ├── INT-019: Retry logic ││
│ │ ├── INT-020: Webhook verification ││
│ │ └── INT-021: Idempotency ││
│ │ ││
│ │ MONITORING: ││
│ │ ├── INT-022: Payment metrics ││
│ │ ├── INT-023: Failure alerting ││
│ │ └── INT-024: Reconciliation ││
│ │ ││
│ │ TESTING: ││
│ │ ├── INT-025: Test mode verification ││
│ │ └── INT-026: Edge case testing ││
│ │ ││
│ │ DOCUMENTATION: ││
│ │ └── INT-027: Integration documentation ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Vendor Dependencies
Tracking External Blockers
VENDOR DEPENDENCY MANAGEMENT:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ BLOCKED BY VENDOR: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ 🔴 INT-014: Payment intent creation ││
│ │ ││
│ │ Status: BLOCKED ││
│ │ Blocker: Awaiting API credentials from vendor ││
│ │ Requested: Jan 10 ││
│ │ Expected: Jan 15 (per vendor) ││
│ │ Escalation: Jan 17 if not received ││
│ │ ││
│ │ Vendor contact: support@stripe.com ││
│ │ Ticket: #12345 ││
│ │ ││
│ │ WHILE BLOCKED: ││
│ │ • Mock API responses for dev ││
│ │ • Complete UI work ││
│ │ • Write tests with mocked responses ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ DEPENDENCY TRACKING: │
│ │
│ External dependency board: │
│ │
│ REQUESTED PENDING RECEIVED ISSUE │
│ ───────── ──────── ──────── ───── │
│ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ │
│ │API Keys│ │Sandbox │ │
│ │Stripe │ │Access │ │
│ └────────┘ │Payment │ │
│ │Provider│ │
│ └────────┘ │
│ │
│ Set due dates and escalation triggers │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Error Handling
Robust Integration
INTEGRATION ERROR HANDLING:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ ERROR HANDLING TASK: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ INT-018: Stripe error handling ││
│ │ ││
│ │ HANDLE THESE SCENARIOS: ││
│ │ ││
│ │ API ERRORS: ││
│ │ ☐ Invalid API key → Alert, don't retry ││
│ │ ☐ Invalid request → Log, return user error ││
│ │ ☐ Card declined → Return specific message ││
│ │ ││
│ │ NETWORK ERRORS: ││
│ │ ☐ Timeout → Retry with backoff ││
│ │ ☐ Connection failed → Retry, then fail ││
│ │ ☐ Rate limited → Respect retry-after header ││
│ │ ││
│ │ WEBHOOK ERRORS: ││
│ │ ☐ Invalid signature → Log, return 400 ││
│ │ ☐ Processing failed → Return 500, Stripe retries ││
│ │ ☐ Duplicate event → Idempotent handling ││
│ │ ││
│ │ RETRY STRATEGY: ││
│ │ Max retries: 3 ││
│ │ Backoff: Exponential (1s, 2s, 4s) ││
│ │ Timeout: 30 seconds per request ││
│ │ ││
│ │ CIRCUIT BREAKER: ││
│ │ If > 50% failures in 1 minute → Open circuit ││
│ │ Retry after: 30 seconds ││
│ │ Alert: Immediately on circuit open ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Testing Integrations
Integration Testing
INTEGRATION TESTING APPROACH:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ TESTING LAYERS: │
│ │
│ UNIT TESTS (Mock external API): │
│ • Test our code logic │
│ • Mock API responses │
│ • Fast, reliable │
│ │
│ INTEGRATION TESTS (Sandbox/test mode): │
│ • Real API calls to test environment │
│ • Verify actual behavior │
│ • Run in CI pipeline │
│ │
│ E2E TESTS (Test environment): │
│ • Full user flow │
│ • Real payment flow (test cards) │
│ • Pre-release validation │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ TESTING TASK: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ INT-025: Stripe test mode verification ││
│ │ ││
│ │ TEST SCENARIOS: ││
│ │ ☐ Successful payment (test card 4242...) ││
│ │ ☐ Declined card (test card 4000...) ││
│ │ ☐ 3D Secure required ││
│ │ ☐ Insufficient funds ││
│ │ ☐ Expired card ││
│ │ ☐ Processing error ││
│ │ ☐ Refund flow ││
│ │ ☐ Partial refund ││
│ │ ☐ Webhook delivery ││
│ │ ☐ Webhook retry ││
│ │ ││
│ │ EDGE CASES: ││
│ │ ☐ Double submission ││
│ │ ☐ Timeout during payment ││
│ │ ☐ Currency conversion ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Monitoring
Integration Monitoring
MONITORING SETUP:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ INTEGRATION METRICS: │
│ │
│ AVAILABILITY: │
│ • API success rate (target: 99.9%) │
│ • Webhook delivery rate │
│ • Circuit breaker status │
│ │
│ PERFORMANCE: │
│ • API latency (p50, p95, p99) │
│ • Timeout rate │
│ • Queue depth (if async) │
│ │
│ BUSINESS: │
│ • Payment success rate │
│ • Failed payment reasons │
│ • Revenue processed │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ MONITORING TASK: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ INT-022: Payment metrics dashboard ││
│ │ ││
│ │ DASHBOARD PANELS: ││
│ │ ☐ Payment attempts vs success ││
│ │ ☐ Failure breakdown by reason ││
│ │ ☐ API latency over time ││
│ │ ☐ Webhook processing time ││
│ │ ☐ Daily/weekly revenue ││
│ │ ││
│ │ ALERTS: ││
│ │ ☐ Payment success rate < 95% ││
│ │ ☐ API latency p99 > 5s ││
│ │ ☐ Webhook queue backing up ││
│ │ ☐ Circuit breaker opened ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Documentation
Integration Documentation
INTEGRATION DOCUMENTATION:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ DOCUMENTATION TASK: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ INT-027: Stripe integration documentation ││
│ │ ││
│ │ SECTIONS: ││
│ │ ││
│ │ OVERVIEW: ││
│ │ ☐ What the integration does ││
│ │ ☐ Data flow diagram ││
│ │ ☐ Key components ││
│ │ ││
│ │ CONFIGURATION: ││
│ │ ☐ Environment variables needed ││
│ │ ☐ How to get API keys ││
│ │ ☐ Webhook setup ││
│ │ ││
│ │ OPERATIONS: ││
│ │ ☐ How to test locally ││
│ │ ☐ How to debug issues ││
│ │ ☐ Common error scenarios ││
│ │ ☐ How to process refunds ││
│ │ ││
│ │ RUNBOOK: ││
│ │ ☐ Payment failures investigation ││
│ │ ☐ Webhook issues ││
│ │ ☐ Reconciliation process ││
│ │ ││
│ │ VENDOR CONTACTS: ││
│ │ ☐ Support channels ││
│ │ ☐ Account manager ││
│ │ ☐ Escalation path ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘