Full Glossary

Integration

1. A specific server environment.

As a server environment, integration is meant as a location in which code from multiple developers is combined and tested. This is sometimes synonymous with a testing environment, though integration servers tend to see a lot of new code.

2. The process of combining disparate systems at the code level.

Integrating software means taking disparate systems work together at some level. For instance, the process of allowing your CMS to push data into your new release management system would be to “integrate” the two systems.

Related Chapter Sections:

  • The Costs of Integration

    Chapter 14: Know Your Integrations

    Integrations can introduce a serious layer of uncertainty, and with that uncertainty comes a cost in time and budget.

  • Determining if Integration Is Necessary

    Chapter 14: Know Your Integrations

    Of course, even with all of the different factors that go into integrating an external system into your website, there's one major question that comes up every time: does this even need to be integrated?

  • What Is an Integration?

    Chapter 14: Know Your Integrations

    First, let's summarize what we're even talking about — an integration is where the site joins with external systems. It's when two systems have to talk to each other in some way.

  • Balancing Front-End and Back-End

    Chapter 19: Implement the Design

    Front-end development requires some knowledge of how code is managed. This is called dev-ops.

  • The Selection Funnel

    Chapter 16: Select a Content Management System

    A funnel is a handy metaphor. With CMS selection, the selection funnel is just two or three steps. You’re going to start wide, asking vendors to provide general information about their systems, then you’ll eliminate some of them and narrow the group.

  • Inputs and Outputs

    Chapter 18: Select an Integration Partner

    Inputs and outputs for Chapter 18: Select an Integration Partner.

  • Inputs and Outputs

    Chapter 16: Select a Content Management System

    Inputs and outputs for Chapter 16: Select a Content Management System.

  • Inputs and Outputs

    Chapter 14: Know Your Integrations

    Inputs and outputs for Chapter 14: Know Your Integrations.

  • Deployment

    Chapter 22: Test and Launch the Site

    It's time to launch the site. With all that we've done up to this point, this should actually be one of the least stressful parts of the project.

  • The Challenges of Integration

    Chapter 14: Know Your Integrations

    Much like your group project at school, integrations can be fraught with peril. Here, we'll outline the challenges of integrating various systems.

  • The Site Itself: Adjustments to Your Big Investment

    Chapter 24: Maintain and Improve

    Beyond maintaining content, you'll also find yourself maintaining the site itself — the integrations, the next-phase updates, and the content management system in general.

  • The Stack Model

    Chapter 2: Set Your Expectations

    Every website has layers — whether those layers relate to technology or people —and determining which layers will be a part of a project is important. We outline what those layers might be in this section.

  • Inflection Points

    Chapter 2: Set Your Expectations

    You can have it fast, cheap, or good, and every project gets to pick two. These are inflection points, and they begin to dictate overall scope.

  • The Functional Question

    Chapter 21: Migrate and Populate the Content

    How will functional or logical aspects of the content work in the new CMS?

  • Pricing

    Chapter 18: Select an Integration Partner

    Pricing your project and working with an integration partner is a balancing act between having the freedom to scope and the need for solid numbers.

  • Other Development Tasks

    Chapter 20: Implement the Back-End Functionality

    Beyond the main back-end development tasks there's quite a few other details to be handled.

  • The Strategic Project Plan

    Chapter 4: Create a Project Plan

    The strategic project plan is documentation of expectations and high-level requirements of the site, which may also include elements of the operational plan — how the project will be set up and organized.

  • Planning the Content Model

    Chapter 11: Model Your Content

    A content model is all about connecting objects and defining fields. Here, we'll start looking at what that means for you content and your system.

  • Building the Web Project Team

    Chapter 3: Form Your Project Team

    While the stakeholders drive high-level business decisions, the web project team is tasked with making the web project a reality.