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Integration Decision Guides

Interactive flowcharts to help you choose the right integration pattern, middleware approach, migration strategy, and authentication method. Use these decision trees when designing your CTA review board solution.

1. Choosing an Integration Pattern

flowchart TD
    A[Start: Need to integrate systems] --> B{Real-time sync required?}
    B -- Yes --> C{Bidirectional sync?}
    B -- No --> D{Volume > 50K records?}
    C -- Yes --> E[Platform Events + CDC\nEvent-driven bidirectional sync]
    C -- No --> F{Latency tolerance < 2s?}
    F -- Yes --> G[REST API\nSynchronous callout]
    F -- No --> H[Platform Events\nAsync fire-and-forget]
    D -- Yes --> I[Bulk API 2.0\nAsync batch processing]
    D -- No --> J{Complex orchestration needed?}
    J -- Yes --> K[MuleSoft / iPaaS\nOrchestration layer]
    J -- No --> L[REST API or SOAP\nPoint-to-point integration]

2. Choosing a Middleware Approach

flowchart TD
    A[Start: Middleware decision] --> B{Multiple external systems?}
    B -- Yes --> C{Enterprise scale + complex transforms?}
    B -- No --> D{Complex transformations needed?}
    C -- Yes --> E[MuleSoft Anypoint\nEnterprise iPaaS]
    C -- No --> F{Budget for middleware?}
    F -- Yes --> G[Boomi or similar iPaaS\nMid-tier option]
    F -- No --> H[Apex Callouts\nDirect point-to-point]
    D -- Yes --> I{On-premise systems involved?}
    D -- No --> J[Apex Callouts\nSimple REST/SOAP]
    I -- Yes --> K[MuleSoft with On-Prem Agent\nor Hybrid connectivity]
    I -- No --> L[Heroku or custom middleware\nCloud-native option]

3. Data Migration Strategy

flowchart TD
    A[Start: Data migration needed] --> B{Volume > 5M records?}
    B -- Yes --> C{Complex transformations required?}
    B -- No --> D{Ongoing sync after migration?}
    C -- Yes --> E[ETL Tool: Talend / Informatica\nFull transformation pipeline]
    C -- No --> F[Bulk API 2.0 + Data Loader\nHigh-volume direct load]
    D -- Yes --> G{Real-time sync needed?}
    D -- No --> H[Data Loader or MigrationTool\nOne-time batch load]
    G -- Yes --> I[CDC + MuleSoft streaming\nNote: Heroku Connect is being sunset]
    G -- No --> J[Scheduled Bulk API sync\nDelta migration pattern]

4. Authentication Pattern Selection

flowchart TD
    A[Start: Authentication design] --> B{System-to-system integration?}
    B -- Yes --> C{Salesforce org to Salesforce org?}
    B -- No --> D{User-context required?}
    C -- Yes --> E[Named Credentials + JWT\nServerless OAuth flow]
    C -- No --> F[Connected App + Client Credentials\nOAuth 2.0 client credentials flow]
    D -- Yes --> G{Web application?}
    D -- No --> H[Device Flow\nHeadless / IoT auth]
    G -- Yes --> I[Web Server Flow\nAuthorization code grant]
    G -- No --> J{User-agent app?}
    J -- Yes --> K[User-Agent Flow\nDEPRECATED - use Authorization Code with PKCE instead]
    J -- No --> L[SAML Assertion Flow\nEnterprise SSO integration]

How to Use These Flowcharts

  1. Start at the top of each flowchart with the decision node
  2. Follow the Yes/No branches based on your specific scenario
  3. Note the justification for each recommendation — the CTA board expects you to explain why you chose a pattern, not just what you chose
  4. Consider trade-offs at each decision point — multiple paths may be valid; pick the best fit and justify it