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Date:               June 8, 2011

Last Updated: May 7, 2012

Contributors:          


Table Of Contents


Introduction

This document describes the Connector API.  This document assumes you know what the Connector is and does not include an overview of it (please see “Connector – Overview.pdf”)

 

Important

This document describes the Connector API which is used for INCOMING data.  That is data that is coming from your platform and going to other platforms, via the Connector. If the integration agreement that you have decided upon with InTouch is only for outgoing data (that is, your system only receives data) then this document does not apply. Please see the companion document "Connector 3rd Party Integration Guide" for details on receiving data.

 

Notes

  • Currently (April 2012) there is no security (i.e. username/password) on the web service calls made to the Connector. This will obviously change soon but for now it is simply ‘security through obscurity’ in the sense that the GUIDs provide a level of security because they effectively cannot be guessed
  • Currently (April 2012) SSL/HTTPS does not exist on the Connector web service API calls.  This will be added in the next release of the Connector
  • A Java library is available to communicate with Connector to ease your development should you be a Java shop
  • Our QA environment which you can use to develop against is http://qa.intouchfollowup.com/connector/api/2011-11/user.  Note that before actual web service calls can be made, work must be done by InTouch in order to make it aware of your platform

General Info

The Connector is built on the concept of one fitness club (i.e. one physical location) belonging to one client.  One client may have many clubs (i.e. a 10 location chain).  All of the entities that the Connector works with (prospects, members, staff, lead sources) must belong to one client, and one club within that client.  It is important to note that all communication with the Connector is done using the IDs from YOUR SYSTEM.  While you can track the GUIDs that the Connector returns to you, you should not communicate with the Connector using these GUIDs.  Think of this way, when you make a call to the Connector you are saying: I am 'PROVIDER X', here is a prospect record that has the ID 123456 in my system, and it belongs to club 123 within the client 456.

All calls made to the Connector must include

  • Provider ID - Each 3rd party integrating with the Connector will be given a unique ID which identifies you
  • Client ID - As this is a multi-tenant system all requests must include the client ID.  
  • Club ID - Each entity must belong to a club and as such the club ID is required
  • Record ID - The ID within your system that you are working with

Web Service API Calls

  • Users (prospects and members) - the Connector has one call to save all types of users (i.e. both prospects and members). There is a user_type field which is used to differentiate between the two.
  • Staff
  • Lead sources

Working With User Records

URL: http://<domain>/connector/api/2011-11/user

Fields:

Name

Description

Details

<firstname>

First name

  • Mandatory
  • TBD - Restrictions (max length, etc..)

<lastname>

Last name

  • Mandatory
  • TBD - Restrictions (max length, etc..)

<userStatus>

The status of the user

  • Mandatory
  • Must be ‘ACTIVE’ or ‘INACTIVE’

<userType>

The type of the user

  • Mandatory
  • Must be ‘PROSPECT’ or ‘MEMBER’

<birthdate>

Date of birth

  • Must be yyyy-mm-dd format

<gender>

Gender

  • Must be ‘M’ or ‘F’

<address1>               

First address field

  • TBD - Restrictions (max length, etc..)

<address2>

Second address field (not supported in InTouch)

  • TBD - Restrictions (max length, etc..)
  • Note: Currently InTouch only has one address field

<city>

City

  • TBD - Restrictions (max length, etc..)

<zipcode>

Zip Code or Postal Code

  • TBD - Restrictions (max length, etc..)

<state>

State or Province

  • TBD - Restrictions (max length, etc..)

<country>

Country (2 digit ISO code)

<mobile>

Mobile number

  • TBD - Restrictions (max length, etc..)

<email>

Email address

  • TBD - Restrictions (max length, etc..)

<homePhone>

Home phone number

  • TBD - Restrictions (max length, etc..)

<workPhone>

Work phone number

  • TBD - Restrictions (max length, etc..)

<company>

Company

  • TBD - Restrictions (max length, etc..)
Fetching User Records

Fetching a user record simply requires two attributes included in a GET call to the user web service. Example:

Request using GET
http://<domain>/connector/api/2011-11/user?provider=PROVIDER_ID?client_id=xxxx&club_id=xxxx&recordID=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx
Response
<user>
   <providerInfo>
      <identifier>PROVIDER_ID</identifier>
      <clientID>xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx</clientID>
      <clubID>xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx</clubID>
      <recordID>xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx</recordID>
   </providerInfo>
   <userInfo>
      <firstname>Foo</firstname>
      <lastname>Bar</lastname>
      <birthdate>1972-03-12</birthdate>
      <gender>M</gender>
      <userStatus>ACTIVE</userStatus>
      <userType>PROSPECT</userType>
      <address1>1234 Fake St</address1>
      <address2>Apartment 1a</address2>
      <city>Spuzzum</city>
      <zipcode>12345</zipcode>
      <state>WA</state>
      <country>US</country>
      <mobile>555-555-5555</mobile>
      <email>foo@bar.com</email>
      <homePhone>555-666-6666</homePhone>
      <workPhone>555-777-7777</workPhone>
      <company>Acme Widgets</company>
      <createdBy>INTOUCH</createdBy>
      <createdDate>2012-04-10T04:11:07.023Z</createdDate>
      <modifiedBy>INTOUCH</modifiedBy>
      <modifiedDate>2012-04-10T04:11:07.023Z</modifiedDate>
   </userInfo>
</user>
Saving User Records

Here is a sample piece of XML which should be POST’ed to the user web service

Request
<user>
   <providerInfo>
      <identifier>PROVIDER_ID</identifier>
      <clientID>xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx</clientID>
      <clubID>xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx</clubID>
      <recordID>xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx</recordID>
   </ providerInfo >
   <userInfo>
      <firstname>Foo</firstname>
      <lastname>Bar</lastname>
      <userStatus>ACTIVE</userStatus>
      <userType>PROSPECT</userType>
   </userInfo>
</user>
Details
  • The <user> tag needs to wrap the entire record
  • Note: Though shown as GUID/UUIDs, the values for the IDs (identifiers) can effectively be anything; it does not have to be a real GUID/UUID.
    • Reminder: The value of the <recordID> tag is YOUR identifier.  ALL communication with the Connector is done using your identifier.
  • The <providerInfo>tag provides all the information necessary for Connector to process the record. This includes
    • <clientID>: The ID number of the client for this user record in the source provider (i.e. your system)
    • <clubID>: The ID number of the location for this user record in the source provider.
    • <recordID>: The ID number of the user in the source provider
    • <identifier>: This is a set identifier which will be used to know who sent the record (i.e. the provider). This value will be given to you and must be sent for every web service call
  • The <userInfo> tag provides all the details for the actual user. Please see the user fields table for full details.

Result

The following XML is returned from a save call

Response
<response xmlns="http://www.intouchfollowup.com/api/2011-11">
   <uuid>xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx</uuid>
</response>

The return value contains a <response> element which contains the UUID of the record within the Connector.  Note: Though you may save this ID in your system it is not necessary as all communication with the Connector is done using your own identifiers

Saving Lead Data

For prospects, the Connector allows you to pass in a lead (aka opportunity) owner, as well as a lead source.  The request looks like

<user>
   <providerInfo ... snipped for brevity />
   <userInfo ... snipped for brevity />
   <leadInfo>
      <leadSource>FACEBOOK</leadSource>
      <ownerID>6b85b27e-5028-4b23-a1e2-f3aa5bf3909b</ownerID>
   </leadInfo>
</user>
  • Note that the <leadInfo> section is optional, and that the <leadSource> and <ownerID> fields can either both be set, or just one of them can be set.  If your system does not support staff, or lead sources, then these can be ignored
  • The ID values for the staff owner and lead source are again, the ID values from your system.
Staff Are Users Too

The Connector supports the saving of staff as well.  The staff web service has a different URL but is syntactically identical to the user web service with the exception that the <userType> element must be STAFF.

Staff Web Service URL
http://<domain>/connector/api/2011-11/staff

Synchronizing Staff

When a new client is launched on the Connector, it is more than likely that they have been using one or more of the systems being integrated for awhile.  This means that each system may already have staff in it.  This presents a problem for systems that support assigning a staff owner to a prospect or a member.  The question is, how do we synchronize the staff list so that the staff in system A are mapped to the staff in system B.  Note that the Connector does not attempt to create staff in any remote system. It only tries to associate existing staff records with each.  The reason for this is the complexity, overhead, and restrictions surrounding staff.  For example, in most system the process of creating staff is not simple and requires setting attributes that the Connector knows nothing about (for example, roles or permissions)

The Connector attempts to associate existing staff records as follows:

  • Your API MUST provide a call to get a list of staff. If your system does not provide this call, we cannot support staff synchronization with your system
  • The Connector will make a call to fetch the list of all staff, and then attempt to make a match on the email address.
    • Note: If your system provides the ability to look for a specific staff by email address then we can use that as well
  • If the Connector cannot make a match on email address, then the look up fails.  At this point, any leads created that are assigned to the failed staff will be sent to your system with no staff assigned.  Your system must be able to handle receiving leads that do not have an owner and assign them correctly as you desire
  • If the Connector can make a match on the email address, then the staff synchronization is complete, and prospect records can be sent to your system with the correct staff ID

Lead Sources

The Connector supports lead sources as well.  

Lead Web Service URL
http://<domain>/connector/api/2011-11/leadsource
Synchronizing Lead Sources

Synchronizing lead sources is very similar to synchronizing staff except if there is the ability to create a lead source, the Connector will use it.

  • Your API must provide a call to get a list of lead sources. 
    • If this is not provided, and only a create call is provided, then InTouch will need to be considered the 'master' of the lead source list and all lead sources will be defined there and sent to your system
  • The Connector will make a call to fetch the list of all lead sources, and then attempt to make a match on the lead source name
    • Note: The comparison will be case in-sensitive.
  • If the Connector cannot make a match on name, then the look up fails.  
    • If your API provides a method to create a lead source, the Connector will then make a call to create the lead source in your system
    • If your API does not provide a method to create a lead source, then any leads created that are assigned to that failed lead source will be sent to your system with no lead source assigned.  Your system must be able to handle receiving leads that do not have a lead source
Save Lead Source
Request
<leadSource>
   <providerInfo>
      <identifier>PROVIDER_ID</identifier>
      <clientID>xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx</clientID>
      <clubID>xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx</clubID>
      <recordID>xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx</recordID>
   </providerInfo>
   <leadInfo>
      <name>Facebook</name>
      <active>true</active>
   </leadInfo>
</leadSource>
Response
<response xmlns="http://www.intouchfollowup.com/api/2011-11">
   <uuid>cf912bbd-7d10-41a5-b37e-1e11beff4e0c</uuid>
</response>
Fetch Single Lead Source
Request
http://<domain>/connector/api/2011-11/leadsource?provider=INTOUCH&client_id=1111&club_id=11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111&identifier=FACEBOOK
Response
<leadSource>
   <providerInfo>
      <identifier>INTOUCH</identifier>
      <clientID>1111</clientID>
      <clubID>11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111</clubID>
      <recordID>FACEBOOK</recordID>
   </providerInfo>
   <leadInfo>
      <createdBy>INTOUCH</createdBy>
      <createdDate>2012-04-17T21:58:47.758Z</createdDate>
      <modifiedBy>INTOUCH</modifiedBy>
      <modifiedDate>2012-04-17T21:59:29.673Z</modifiedDate>
      <name>Facebook</name>
      <active>true</active>
   </leadInfo>
</leadSource>
Fetch Lead Sources
Sample URL
http://<domain>/connector/api/2011-11/leadsource?provider=INTOUCH&client_id=1111&club_id=11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111
Response
 <leadSources>
   <leadSource>
      <createdBy>INTOUCH</createdBy>
      <createdDate>2012-04-17T21:58:47.758Z</createdDate>
      <modifiedBy>INTOUCH</modifiedBy>
      <modifiedDate>2012-04-17T21:59:29.673Z</modifiedDate>
      <name>Facebook</name>
      <active>true</active>
   </leadSource>
   <leadSource>
      <createdBy>INTOUCH</createdBy>
      <createdDate>2012-04-17T21:58:47.758Z</createdDate>
      <modifiedBy>INTOUCH</modifiedBy>
      <modifiedDate>2012-04-17T21:59:29.673Z</modifiedDate>
      <name>Corporate</name>
      <active>true</active>
   </leadSource>
</leadSources>
Errors

The Connector is build using ReSTful style web services, which is simply regular old HTTP. This means that if you make a request to fetch a user and that user isn’t found you will actually get an HTTP response status of 404 'Not Found'.  Similarly, if any type of error occurrs in the backend, an HTTP response code in the 400-599 range will be returned (these are the error codes).

In regards to real errors: from a high level this type of error should be returned depending on what has happened

Sample error XML
<error xmlns="http://www.intouchfollowup.com/api/2011-11">
   <reason>UNKNOWN</reason>
   <errorUUID>cecfeef8-24ef-4107-8d8b-534ce6a999b8</errorUUID>
   <message>additional error details</message>
</error>
Details
  • <reason>: will be an identifier that will try to narrow down the type of error. Will show ‘UNKNOWN’ if the error type isn’t known. Current examples are: ‘VALIDATION’, ‘DATABASE’
  • <errorUUID>: This is a regular old UUID which you can pass on to InTouch support which will simply let us have an easy way to find the error in the Connector logs
  • <message>: the actual details of the error. Note that currently this is just the stack trace from the real error in the backend so some errors might be cryptic
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