diff --git a/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/PublisherAnnotationPostProcessor.java b/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/PublisherAnnotationPostProcessor.java
index 9dfd7d7940..5a1aded5b8 100644
--- a/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/PublisherAnnotationPostProcessor.java
+++ b/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/PublisherAnnotationPostProcessor.java
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ public class PublisherAnnotationPostProcessor implements BeanPostProcessor, Bean
 
 
 	public void setBeanClassLoader(ClassLoader beanClassLoader) {
+		Assert.notNull(beanClassLoader, "beanClassLoader must not be null");
 		this.beanClassLoader = beanClassLoader;
 	}
 
diff --git a/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/SubscriberAnnotationPostProcessor.java b/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/SubscriberAnnotationPostProcessor.java
index cf90f9090d..5fd760657a 100644
--- a/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/SubscriberAnnotationPostProcessor.java
+++ b/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/SubscriberAnnotationPostProcessor.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import java.lang.reflect.Method;
 
 import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
 import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
+
 import org.springframework.aop.framework.Advised;
 import org.springframework.beans.BeansException;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.config.BeanPostProcessor;
diff --git a/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/AbstractChannelAdapter.java b/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/AbstractChannelAdapter.java
index ce069de5ad..0127e0c352 100644
--- a/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/AbstractChannelAdapter.java
+++ b/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/AbstractChannelAdapter.java
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractChannelAdapter implements MessageChannel, Initiali
 			return this.sendObject(source);
 		}
 		catch (Exception e) {
-			throw new MessageHandlingException("Failed to send message to target", e);
+			throw new MessageHandlingException("failed to send message", e);
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/annotation/AnnotationHandlerCreator.java b/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/annotation/AnnotationHandlerCreator.java
index 5a7ac09dc8..7189c24ece 100644
--- a/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/annotation/AnnotationHandlerCreator.java
+++ b/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/annotation/AnnotationHandlerCreator.java
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@ import java.lang.reflect.Method;
 import org.springframework.integration.handler.MessageHandler;
 
 /**
+ * A strategy for programmatically creating a {@link MessageHandler} based on
+ * metadata provided by an annotation.
+ * 
  * @author Mark Fisher
  */
 public interface AnnotationHandlerCreator {
diff --git a/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/annotation/DefaultAnnotationHandlerCreator.java b/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/annotation/DefaultAnnotationHandlerCreator.java
index 4f6dfceade..aa4cdcc306 100644
--- a/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/annotation/DefaultAnnotationHandlerCreator.java
+++ b/spring-eai-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/annotation/DefaultAnnotationHandlerCreator.java
@@ -25,6 +25,11 @@ import org.springframework.integration.endpoint.MessageHandlerAdapter;
 import org.springframework.integration.handler.MessageHandler;
 
 /**
+ * Default implementation of the handler creator strategy that creates a
+ * {@link MessageHandlerAdapter} for the provided object and method. This
+ * version does not even consider the annotation itself. It does however
+ * respect an {@link Order} annotation if present.
+ * 
  * @author Mark Fisher
  */
 public class DefaultAnnotationHandlerCreator implements AnnotationHandlerCreator {