Third-party interface documentation and integration layers
Key Takeaway
Place each integration in the layer that matches its job. Salesforce Canvas works at the user interface layer to bring a third-party web app's screens into Salesforce. In MuleSoft API-led connectivity, business rules that combine back-end data go in a Process API that reads from System APIs.
When a Salesforce solution such as Agentforce Manufacturing connects to third-party systems, the technical design document must explain how each connection works and why it was chosen. A common way to evaluate integration options is the layer approach. It sorts each integration by the part of the system it touches, then checks the integration against the requirements. The design also shows how components talk to each other, how errors and security are handled, and why each major decision was made.
The layer approach
The layer approach evaluates integration patterns along four dimensions. You compare each dimension against the integration requirements to pick the best solution.
- Layers: the types of tasks in a system.
- Volume: how much data is synced and transformed between systems.
- Timing: whether communication is synchronous or asynchronous.
- Direction: which system starts the interaction.