You ever build an integration that works perfectly..
…and then the business touches it?
Yeah.
It’s like baking a beautiful cake, putting it on the table, and someone walks in and goes:
“Love it. Can we make it gluten-free, sugar-free, and also… add a live CRM sync?”
And then the cake catches fire.
If you’ve ever launched an integration that looked amazing in testing, but quietly died in production—welcome. You’re not alone. You’re not “bad at tech.”
You’re just experiencing real life.
And real life is where integrations go to cry.
Let’s talk about why most integrations break after they “work”.
The Moment It Breaks (Is Always the Same)
It starts small.
A teammate says:
“Hey… the lead didn’t come through.”
You check the logs. It says “Success 
”.
But the CRM is empty.
Then comes the second message:
“Actually… we got it. But it’s missing the phone number.”
Then the third:
“There are 4 copies of the same lead.”
Then the fourth:
“Why did this lead go to the wrong dealer in another state?”
Then suddenly your “simple integration” is now a full-time job.
If this feels familiar, let me label it for you:
It feels like integrations work… until they meet humans, real data, and real business rules.
Exactly.
The Real Reason Integrations Break
Most integrations don’t break because of “bad code.”
They break because they’re built for the happy path.
But production is basically a chaos simulator.
In real life:
- fields are missing
- data formats change without warning
- automations trigger twice
- teams update forms mid-campaign
- tokens expire at 2am on a Sunday
- someone adds one more step in Zapier and now nobody knows what’s happening
And nobody tells you any of it.
Not because they’re careless.
Because to them… it’s “just a small change.”
The 5 Classic Integration Breakdowns (That Always Happen)
1) Missing Fields: “Everything came through… except the important part 😐”
This one is elite.
The lead comes through, but it’s missing:
- phone number
- postcode
- vehicle model
- consent flag
- email address (yes, I’ve seen it)
And then Sales says:
“Why are the leads so low quality?”
Meanwhile you’re staring at the form like:
“BECAUSE THE FIELD DOESN’T EXIST ANYMORE, DAVID.”
Missing fields happen because:
-
- the form changed
- naming changed (e.g.
mobilebecomesphone) - mapping broke quietly
- the field exists… but only sometimes
Better calibrated question
“How would you like the system to behave when a required field is missing?”
Because “just make it work” is not a strategy.
That question forces alignment without sounding defensive.
2) Duplicate Leads: “The same person is now 6 people.”
This happens when:
- people submit forms twice (because the page lagged)
- Meta sends retries
- the automation runs again when a record updates
- the integration has no dedupe rules
And then the dealership says:
“We called them 3 times. They’re annoyed.”
Of course they are 😭
What’s really happening:
Your integration is faithfully syncing everything… including duplicates.
A robot doing exactly what it’s told is still a disaster.
“What counts as the same lead for your business — email, phone, or both?”
Now you’re not “guessing logic.”
You’re building the business rule.
3) Wrong Dealer Routing: “Congrats! You sent a Sydney lead to Perth.”
This is the one that makes teams lose trust instantly.
The lead arrived… but went to the wrong destination.
Wrong dealer routing happens because:
- postcode mapping is incomplete
- routing rules were hardcoded
- someone changed the territory rules
- the integration doesn’t understand exceptions
And the worst part?
Nobody notices until a customer complains.
Then suddenly it’s not “a small issue.”
It’s “the system is unreliable.”
“It sounds like getting routing wrong feels worse than missing the lead completely.”
Because yes.
That’s exactly how stakeholders feel.
Then follow with:
“What’s the risk tolerance here — would you rather pause leads if routing is uncertain, or send them somewhere safe?”
Now you’re solving the real fear: lost revenue + angry customers.
4) Zapier Spaghetti: “It worked… until we added ONE more Zap.”
This is where things get spicy 🌶️
At first, Zapier is amazing.
It’s quick.
It’s easy.
You feel productive.
You get that sweet dopamine hit from turning a toggle on.
Then 3 months later…
Nobody knows:
- what triggers what
- what happens first
- where the data transforms
- what breaks when you edit a step
It becomes a plate of spaghetti where every noodle is on fire.
Zapier spaghetti happens when:
- workflows are built by multiple people
- no one documents
- “quick fixes” stack up
- there’s no single source of truth
Them: “It’s too hard to debug.”
You: “Too hard to debug?”
And then you wait.
They’ll tell you the real problem:
- no visibility
- no ownership
- too many moving parts
- too risky to change anything
5) Token Expiry: “It ran fine for 30 days… and then died silently.”
This one is sneaky because everything looks fine.
Until it doesn’t.
Token expiry happens with:
- Meta
- CRMs
- Email platforms
- basically anything OAuth
And the scary part?
It often fails with no obvious alert.
So you discover it 2 weeks later when someone says:
“Why are we not getting leads?”
Or calibrated question to protect your sanity:
“How quickly do you want to know when an integration stops working — instantly, daily, or weekly?”
Because if the expectation is “real-time monitoring”…
then the system needs real monitoring.
Not vibes.
The Real Truth: Integrations Don’t Break. Assumptions Break.
Most integrations are built with invisible assumptions like:
- “the field names won’t change”
- “users won’t create duplicates”
- “routing rules are stable”
- “nobody will edit the workflow”
- “tokens won’t expire randomly”
- “logs = truth”
And production comes in like:
“Cute assumption.”
Then breaks everything.
So What Actually Works?
Not just “building integrations”.
Building integration systems that expect mess.
That means:
√ validation rules
√ dedupe logic
√ routing that can handle exceptions
√ observability (alerts + logs that make sense)
√ token refresh management
√ change-proof mappings
√ fewer brittle tools glued together blindly
Or in plain English:
Less duct tape. More structure.
A Final Thought (Before Your Next Integration)
If you’re thinking:
“Ugh, why does this always happen to me?”
Let me label that:
It feels like you did everything right… but the integration still doesn’t behave.
That’s normal.
Because integration isn’t a one-time build.
It’s a living system—connected to messy data, fast marketing changes, and people who will always want “just one more field.”
So the better question isn’t:
“Will it break?”
It’s:
“When it breaks, will we know fast, fix it fast, and trust it again?”
That’s the real difference between an integration and a platform.