Planning Salesforce Integrations with Milestones PM+ Projects

Problem:

There’s a lot to consider when preparing to connect an external/third-party system within Salesforce. The integration must not only meet current needs but also be future-proof and ready to adapt. Affecting multiple departments with various different use cases, the best way to ensure no one and nothing is overlooked is by laying out a clear and thorough strategy.

Solution:

What better way to manage a Salesforce integration than with a project plan directly in Salesforce! Milestones PM+ projects can serve as a roadmap proposal as well as a real-time update solution with a custom dashboard.

An example framework may look like:

Integration Planning Project

• Gather Requirements, “From all departments”

  • Interviews
  • Survey feedback
  • All possible use cases

• Initial Documentation

  • Gap analysis, “current vs. future state”
  • Impact analysis
  • Risk management strategy

• Integration Approach, “Decide on how project will be carried out”

  • Patterns: data, process, virtual
  • Types: push; pull
    • consider Salesforce governance and API limits
  • Point-to-point vs. Middleware
    • AppExchange assessment
  • Data handling: storage; security; sync frequency

• Supplementary Documentation

  • Use-Case Approach matrix
  • Systems Diagram, “visualization of integration set-up”
  • Data and process integrity checklist
    • QA
    • SIT (System Integration Test)
    • UAT

• Stakeholder Collaboration

  • Proposed solution and changes required
  • Roadmap/timeline
    • RASCI matrix
    • Skills and allocation
    • Task assignments
  • Secure approval and budget

Task subcomponents can be added as To-Do List items which in turn, as they’re checked off, have the option to update the Task’s completion percentage.