1. Scope and prepare (30–60 minutes)
Write down exactly what the app needs to do and what data it must read or write. Treat each permission as a risk: can the feature work with read-only access, a subset of fields, or a single webhook instead of full API access?
Create a named integration account (or private app) and a short runbook that records who approved access, the vendor contact, and expiry/rotation dates. If you want help aligning fields or permissions in Fareham, see CRM & marketing data optimisation (Fareham).
Platform note: prefer a dedicated integration user rather than reusing a human account — HubSpot supports Private Apps/OAuth scopes, and in Salesforce use a connected app + a named integration user with a narrow profile.
2. Lock down access and data (a focused checklist)
- Give minimum scopes: restrict to only the objects and fields needed; deny delete or export unless strictly required.
- Create test or sandbox records and tag them (integration_source=test) so automations ignore them.
- Add lightweight provenance fields (integration_source, integration_id, integration_last_synced) so later you can filter, audit, or rollback records.
- Pause or gate automations that would act on integration writes — use a 'do_not_automate' flag or a conditional check until testing completes.
- Check consent and compliance: confirm vendor DPA, data subprocessors, location of hosting (UK/EU preferred), and that marketing opt-ins are respected for any email contacts.
Quick platform hints: HubSpot scopes are granular — only grant the contact/CRM scopes you need; in Marketo/Pardot and Salesforce favour an integration user with a dedicated permission set rather than broad admin rights.
3. Test, monitor and a simple revoke/incident plan (30–90 minutes)
Run a short smoke test: use the named integration to create, update and (where allowed) read a test record; verify provenance fields, that no unexpected fields changed, and that automations stayed paused. Keep a short checklist of three smoke assertions (create, update, no automation trigger) and tick them each time a vendor changes the integration.
Set basic monitoring: a daily automated delta export (or a saved CRM list) showing records changed by the integration, and a simple alert if changes exceed a small threshold. Prepare a one‑page revoke plan: who pauses the integration, who rotates credentials, how to restore a snapshot, and who notifies customers if personal data is affected.
If you'd rather hand this to someone local, Optira can run the afternoon checklist with your team and leave you a concise runbook and revoke plan.