I’ve found that building rules systems that are accessible by middle managers of various departments to be good at keeping the inevitable complexity of business logic away from the codebase itself, as well as in one place.
Before:
FooBarMeeting’s integration team has started their testing with our API and the registration endpoint is broken. Looking back through my notes, I was under the impression we’d sorted out their registration requirements six months ago for their last event. We would really appreciate a notice prior to any large changes to these systems so we can prepare. Can I can get an update on this ASAP? Their next event is in three weeks and they’re kind of freaking out!
After:
Hey! Just wanted to put something on your radar. FooBarMeeting’s next event is about two months out, so I was going through my prep checklist and spot checking their registration rules. For their last event, we added a new rule that would stop users from registering if they hadn’t completed the disclaimer form (reference ID is 52d7517d-d6a9-4a3c-b28d-68bfd9b2a643). I saw you left a note on it that it would break once they launch their v3 Compliance API, which they say is happening in a couple weeks. I have a follow up with them on Tuesday, so I’ve for details on what breaking changes they expect. I’ll get you the info when I have it. Are you good to get me an estimate for the next sprint once they do?