1. Name the pain
Before you pick a new tool, write one sentence about the repetitive task you want to kill. If it does not fit in one sentence, you still lack context.
2. Source and destination
List system A (where the data is born) and system B (where it has to land). If there are more than two hops, draw it on paper.
3. Frequency and volume
Every minute, every day, once per order? That decides whether a webhook, a nightly batch, or a queue is enough.
4. Contracts and errors
Agree what happens when a required field fails: retry, human alert, or a log entry. Without that, the integration "works" until the first edge case.
5. A small test
One end-to-end flow with real data beats ten meetings. At Bazan we usually propose a tight pilot before opening the scope.