Documentation

Scoping a Partner Integration

Every TruModule build is scoped before it's built. Scoping produces the Technical Scope of Work (TSOW), the document that defines what's being built, within the four-phase lifecycle below.

This is a generalized description of TruRating's process, not a specific partner's document. Your Solutions Architect (SA) will work through the real one with you.

The four phases

1. Initial engagement

What happens: Your SA learns your product and target devices; you learn what integrating TruRating actually involves. The goal is a shared, high-level picture of what the build will look like before anyone commits to detail.

What it produces: An informal shared understanding, sometimes a short outline proposal if it helps with internal estimating on either side.

2. Scope & agreement

What happens: The integration is defined in full: which devices, which trigger point(s), how much POS/basket data, how activation and merchant enablement will work. This is the phase that matters most to get right; everything downstream is measured against it.

What it produces: The Technical Scope of Work (TSOW), signed off by both sides.

3. Build

What happens: You build against the agreed TSOW. TruRating stays involved: reviewing UX/screen flows, joining status calls, flagging issues early rather than at the end.

What it produces: The working build itself, plus an early informal review (a "shakedown") before formal testing starts.

4. Post-build & accreditation

What happens: TruRating (and/or you, under TruRating's guidance) run structured test scripts against the build, confirm coverage of all agreed functionality, and formally accredit the result.

What it produces: Test results, an accredited build, and the operational documentation described in Getting Started with a Build.

No build should be treated as production-ready until the relevant TSOW scope has been agreed and accreditation has been completed, with SA involvement throughout. Retrofitting scope after the build has started is far more expensive than agreeing it up front.

What a TSOW actually covers

The TSOW is the single source of truth both sides build and test against. It typically defines:

  • Coverage: which of your products, platforms, and device models are in scope, and whether the build is intended to cover your full range or a specific subset.
  • Triggers: which customer-journey trigger point(s) are supported (see TruModule Specification, partner sign-in required), and whether that varies by vertical or device.
  • Data: how much POS/basket data will be sent, and whether TruTrace (partner sign-in required) card-hash data is included. More data generally means richer analytics for the end merchant, so this should be confirmed during scoping where relevant.
  • Activation & enablement: how a merchant outlet gets turned on, and how much manual effort that requires from the merchant versus being automatic.
  • Identifiers: how PID/MID/TID will be assigned and managed within your platform (see TruModule Specification).
  • Accreditation approach: which of the options in Getting Started with a Build will be used to validate the finished build.

Any change of scope during the build is reflected as a TSOW update, not a side conversation. If the document doesn't say it, it isn't in scope yet.

What counts as "non-standard"

The standard is: TruModule built as a core part of your product, not a bolt-on service, covering your device range, using one or more of the standard trigger points, with TruRating's standard screen designs. Every TSOW is measured against that. A build is treated as non-standard when it departs from it, for example:

  • a request to deviate meaningfully from TruRating's standard screen designs or customer flow
  • a deployment model other than the standard cloud TruService integration (see TruService Specification, partner sign-in required)
  • integration depth that falls short of core-product-level (for example, an add-on module rather than native integration)

None of these rule a build out, but none are the SA's call alone: each needs sign-off from the wider TruRating business before the TSOW is finalized. Raise anything unusual with your SA in phase 1.

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