Accelerated Integration: How We Met Our Deadline Ahead of Schedule.
Tags: acceleratedintegration, teamwork, rapiddevelopment, deadlinedriven
Published: 2024-06-28 16:37:54

**Introduction**: This story or blog is about an Journey of an Integration project. I am sure that today everyone is aware about Integration. What it is? right? But still, let me highlight the thing what is an Integration. In simple words or for better understanding, Integration is nothing but an communication or passing data between two systems through one communication channel.  
Similarly as mentioned in above definition, we had one project to integrate Salesforce with WordPress. I won't provide you the details about project itself - thats a story for another time. 

In today's world of technology, things can change very quickly. Recently, we faced a big challenge: the deadline of our ongoing project was moved up. Earlier it was different and based on that deadline the progress is going on, however suddenly it gets changed from Client's end. With this change, we found that we don't have much time to complete our tasks. Our tasks was to integrate Salesforce with WordPress. In short its a two way integration, it means data will flow from Salesforce to WordPress and vice versa, both are the crucial systems for client.  

The project was going smooth but suddenly we came in trouble, I am not even aware about How to handle this situation. It was very challenging and tough situation for us. I had reached out to our Manager and then after discussion, revising next flow and current state of project we got more resources for that project and target to achieve the end goal. You might think this resolve our issue, that we got resource we can complete the project and meet the deadline, but its not so easy! here! "actually problem starts"... The project was partially build and we got new resource working on that project. Our main aim to meet the deadline, but now with new resources challenge is increased "to make each team member productive from day one." Here's how we did it!


**The Challenge**
Our project was originally planned and to be completed in several months. This actually gives us enough time to carefully perform development and complete integration between Salesforce and WordPress. However, suddenly the deadlines was changed, we had to deliver the project much sooner than expected.   
 
**Solution**
**Expanding the Team**
Our first step was to bring in new resources or team members. This wasn't just about having more hands on deck; it was about having right skills and ensuring everyone could hit the ground running. Everyone is much focused and with confident; as all team members are important and valuable asset for us. 

**_How we achieved the speed, lets read below_**

**Getteing Everyone Up to Speed**
To make sure each and every team member should be productive from day one joined the team, we took several steps as below.

- **Clear Communication:** We make sure that everyone should understand the project flow, project goals, their roles and important one that is new timeline. This actually helped to align everone's efforts. 

- **Design Diagram:** We have prepared Architectural design diagram of project, and that was iterated to small unit level as well. Once member joined we are providing that diagram and explaining project over it. It actually helps team member lot rather than reading project documentations. 

- **Mentorship Communication:** We paired new team member with experienced one, experienced one means the person working since long on that project. This not only worked with quick learning but also build a collaborative team culture. 

- **DSM:** Everyone is aware about DSM. We also held daily standup meetings to track the progress and address any issue immediately. This kept everyone one the same page and also allowed for quick adjustments. This also gives us clear picture about today's output.

- **Daily Check-in/Unit testing:**
We also have implemented an unit test case suite in Postman, once we made check in any code over test environment we are running our test suite. It gives clear idea about everything going over production server is errorless.

**- Reporting:** Each day, we are reporting back to our stakeholders, detailing the tasks we had completed. This ensures transparency and kept everyone informed about our progress.

**The Outcome / Result:**
By focusing on above key areas, we turned a potential crises into a success story. The expanded team worked efficiently, confidently and we met the new deadline without compromising on quality. The integration of WooCommerce and Salesforce was completed smoothly. 

**What we learned:**
Below are some key takeaway from this experience: 

1. **Become Flexible:** Being able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances crucial.
2. **Teamwork:** A well coordinated team can achieve great results, even under pressure.
3. **Preparation:** Having a solid onboarding process can make a big difference in how quickly new team members become productinve.
4. **Communication:** Regular updates and clear communication are vital to keep the project on track.

Accelerated Integration is challenging, but with right approach, its possible to turn it into an opportunity for success. By expanding our team, ensuring everyone was productive from the start, and maintaining clear communication through daily reports, we were able to meet our tight deadlines and deliver high-quality integration of Salesforce and WordPress.