Audience
- Developers beginning to connect web services and business applications.
- Analysts or automation specialists working with API-based integrations.
- Technical project staff who need to specify integration requirements clearly.
AI & technology
APIs & Integrations
Learn how software systems exchange information and how to connect them reliably.
Learning with a practical purpose.
Learn how applications exchange information and how to design integrations that remain understandable when things go wrong. This module starts with the structure of an HTTP request and develops towards a small service connecting two business systems. You will work with data contracts, credentials, validation and the practical consequences of repeated or unsuccessful requests.
The project follows a customer enquiry between an intake application and a CRM-style service. You will map fields, handle pagination, process events and test recovery from failures. Throughout the module, the focus is on reliable boundaries: knowing what a system promises, what it is allowed to access and how both sides recognise a successful outcome.
Live onlineTeaching through Kent Business College, UK
2 hoursOne live session each teaching week
14 sessionsA semester for each module
28 live hoursPer module, plus independent study
The outline below is a 14-session online module, with one two-hour live session each teaching week. Reading weeks, breaks and additional activities follow the agreed cohort calendar. The cohort syllabus, full route, dates, fees, independent study and assessment requirements are confirmed before enrolment.
Who this module is designed for.
Starting knowledge and preparation
- Basic Python or JavaScript, including variables and functions.
- Confidence working with simple data tables and application forms.
- No prior experience building a production API is required.
What you will work towards.
- Read and construct HTTP requests using methods, headers and structured bodies.
- Design and document a small API with explicit validation and error responses.
- Use credentials appropriately and distinguish authentication from authorisation.
- Implement pagination, webhooks and safe handling of repeated requests.
- Test and document an integration so another developer can operate and extend it.
Explore the 14-session learning plan.
Explore the focus and practical output of each teaching session. Open individual sessions below, or expand the complete plan.
Session 01 Systems, interfaces and integration needs
Map an enquiry journey across applications and identify the information and actions each interface must support.
Practical output: An integration brief and system map.
Session 02 HTTP requests and responses
Inspect methods, paths, headers and status codes through practical requests to a controlled teaching service.
Practical output: An annotated request-and-response collection.
Session 03 JSON and data contracts
Define field names, types and required values, then identify mismatches between two applications’ records.
Practical output: A data contract and field-mapping table.
Session 04 Reading API documentation
Use a service description to construct valid requests and recognise limits, optional parameters and error conventions.
Practical output: A documented integration test collection.
Session 05 Authentication and authorisation
Explore credential use and permission checks, keeping secret values out of browser code and shared examples.
Practical output: An access model and credential-handling plan.
Session 06 Designing a small resource API
Specify create, read and update operations with clear validation and predictable response structures.
Practical output: An API specification and example payloads.
Session 07 Implementing endpoints and validation
Build a small service and test both valid inputs and requests that must be rejected.
Practical output: A working validated API.
Session 08 Pagination, filtering and data volume
Retrieve records in manageable batches and define stable behaviour for searching and ordering results.
Practical output: A paginated integration routine.
Session 09 Webhooks and event-driven updates
Receive an event, validate its origin and content, and distinguish acceptance from completion of downstream processing.
Practical output: A controlled webhook handler.
Session 10 Retries and idempotent behaviour
Simulate timeouts and repeated requests, then prevent duplicate records or repeated consequential actions.
Practical output: A retry and duplication test report.
Session 11 Rate limits and dependency failures
Handle throttling and unavailable services with sensible delays, clear errors and a recoverable workflow.
Practical output: A failure-handling strategy.
Session 12 Testing, logs and interface changes
Add integration tests and useful diagnostic records, then plan how a changed contract would be introduced.
Practical output: A test suite and change-management note.
Session 13 Enquiry-to-CRM integration workshop
Connect intake, validation and CRM updates into an end-to-end workflow with a visible processing outcome.
Practical output: A complete business integration.
Session 14 Demonstration and developer handover
Demonstrate normal and failed requests and explain how a colleague can configure, test and support the service.
Practical output: An API handover pack and final review.
Apply the learning
A reliable enquiry-to-CRM integration
Create a small intake API and connect it to a controlled CRM-style destination. Validate incoming records, map the data and expose a clear result. Include a duplicate submission and an unavailable destination in your demonstration so that the reliability of the integration is visible, not merely asserted.
Your project evidence can include
- An API specification and request examples.
- A working service and integration routine.
- Automated checks, failure tests and a support guide.
Use anonymised, public or suitable synthetic material where workplace information is confidential. The issued assessment brief confirms the required evidence.
Assessment, feedback and certification.
- Exercises assess request construction, contract interpretation and validation behaviour.
- The project is reviewed through successful, invalid, repeated and failed requests.
- A handover discussion checks access decisions, observability and the proposed treatment of interface changes.
Teaching and the relevant course certificate are provided through Kent Business College in the UK. Completion requirements are set out in the module information; attendance alone should not be assumed to meet every assessment requirement.
Questions worth asking.
Do I need to be an experienced developer?
Basic coding is enough to begin. The module develops API concepts step by step, but you should be comfortable editing and running small programs.
Will this help with automation tools?
Yes. Understanding requests, credentials and data contracts helps you use visual automation platforms and diagnose integrations that do not behave as expected.
Are real customer accounts needed?
No. The core project uses controlled teaching services or test accounts. Production access is unnecessary for demonstrating the required skills.