Name the specific remaining technical issue, use the ongoing form if the work continues, and introduce the vendor as a "with" counterpart -- never as the object being fixed.
Three rules combining at once
Vendor and integration updates are one of the most common workplace uses of "iron out," and they combine several rules simultaneously: a specific object (the actual technical issue, not "stuff"), truthful aspect (don't claim completion early), and correct counterpart placement (the vendor collaborates on the fix, they aren't the thing being fixed).
"The integration broadly works, and we're still ironing out two retry-flow issues with the vendor team."
"The integration is working, and we're still ironing out two data-sync timing issues this week."
What getting it right avoids
Getting this combination right avoids two failures simultaneously. First, it avoids falsely claiming the integration is fully working when specific issues remain -- the ongoing form ("we're still ironing out") keeps the update honest while progress continues. Second, it avoids blaming the vendor by naming them as the object instead of the specific issue -- "iron out the vendor" reads as an attack on the relationship, where "iron out the retry-flow issues with the vendor" keeps the tone collaborative and accurate at the same time.
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Start with what already works ("the integration broadly works"), name the specific remaining technical issue, use "with" to bring in the vendor as a partner in the fix, and choose the ongoing or completed form based on where things actually stand. That order -- context, object, counterpart, aspect -- turns a one-line status note into something a stakeholder can actually act on, without sounding either alarmist or falsely reassuring.
Practice scenarios
Practice using "iron out" in situations like:
- writing a weekly integration status update while a vendor fix is still in progress
- keeping a vendor relationship collaborative instead of adversarial in a status note
- naming a specific technical issue instead of a vague "vendor stuff"
Useful practice phrases:
- "The integration broadly works, and we're still ironing out two retry-flow issues with the vendor."
- "We're not there yet -- two data-sync timing issues remain with the vendor this week."
- "Let's iron out the delivery issues with the vendor, not iron out the vendor."
A vendor update should name the issue, not the vendor, as the thing being fixed.
Get the object, the counterpart, and the aspect right, and the update reads as accurate and collaborative at once.
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