As the Salesforce economy continues to grow rapidly, there's never been a better time to build a Salesforce-based career. Architects and architect-related skills are in higher demand than ever.

The Salesforce Certified Technical Architect credential is ranked as one of the Top Enterprise Architect Certifications in the industry. Just run a quick search on the web for job postings and you'll have no doubt about the value of this prestigious certificate. The very limited number of CTAs around the world gives an even more satisfying feeling of joining the club to the newly certified CTAs.

With such rapid growth of the Salesforce ecosystem, the borders between traditional roles in some workplaces are blurring. And with that, the value of having people with that special talent to link between the different teams becomes vital. Technical architects are not afraid to dig deep into business challenges, asking tough questions to reveal the real business value behind a particular requirement. They like to get to the bottom of things, and roll up their sleeves when necessary to try things out in order to select the right solution approach that serves the current and future potential requirements. They do not hesitate to jump into conversations with the development teams to give guidance and best practices, and then work with the project management team to prepare that cutting-edge presentation for the stakeholders.

As a CTA, you are expected to rely on your broad knowledge across multiple technologies and your deep expertise of the Salesforce Platform to design secure, high-performance systems that maximize the potential of the Salesforce Platform. You must then combine this with an excellent set of soft skills to help you socialize and defend the proposed solution.

The candidate should be able to demonstrate deep knowledge and experience in the following areas:

• 5+ years of implementation experience, including development, across the full software development life cycle. Although having hands-on development skills is not mandatory, those who had the chance to code would normally develop a sense of what would normally work for a software solution, which can help with logically selecting and justifying a particular solution.
• 3+ years of experience in an architect role, which includes experience across the entire spectrum of architecture activities. This includes, but is not limited to, designing data models, integration interfaces, and end-to-end solutions; communicating and socializing a solution; and having deep hands-on experience with the platform's capabilities and potential solution trade-offs.
• 2+ years of experience on the Lightning Platform, with at least one of those in a lead architect role, implementing Salesforce applications and technologies.
• Has held a technical architect role on multiple complex deployments, or has gained equivalent knowledge through participation and exposure to these types of projects.
• Experience guiding a development team on the appropriate use of platform technology.
• The ability to identify and mitigate technical risks across the architecture, which normally comes with experience.
• Exposure to globalization considerations on a project. Projects with globalization requirements come with a particular set of challenges. Having a practical understanding of the platform's capabilities is key.
• Experience with object-oriented design patterns. Although a CTA is not necessarily expected to write code, understanding object-oriented design patterns and principles creates a more rounded architect who is more capable of explaining how a particular module would work.
• Awareness of platform-specific design patterns and limits. In order to pass the CTA review board, it is strongly recommended that they have hands-on experience with the different platform functionalities.
• Experience developing code on the Force.com platform, as well as an understanding of limitations and associated challenges, even if they're not necessarily doing hands-on coding.
• Ability to identify development-related risks, considerations, and limits for the platform.
• Experience with multiple development languages (for example, .NET, Java, or Ruby) and design frameworks. This would largely help when designing an integrated solution. Understanding what is possible and what is likely not is the key.
• Experience with common integration patterns; experience with integration on the Salesforce Platform. Any hands-on experience here is a massive plus.
• An understanding of and the ability to architect a solution to address security complexities, mechanisms, and capabilities on the Lightning Platform as part of a functional security model.
• An understanding of and the ability to design an identity and access management strategy as part of an end-to-end solution.
• An understanding of data migration considerations, design trade-offs, and common ETL tools.
• Awareness of large data volume (LDV) considerations, risks, and mitigation strategies.
• Awareness of general mobile solutions and architectures and an understanding of on-platform mobile solutions and considerations.
• Experience with project and development life cycle methodologies.

Now that we know what the CTA profile is, let's get to know the review board.

This section is mainly meant for those who are targeting the CTA exam. In order to pass the exam, you would need to set a review board with three CTA judges. You will receive a hypothetical scenario and have a limited amount of time to solve it and craft an end-to-end presentation, explaining the different elements of your solution and how you would solve the identified requirements in your scenario. The judges will then ask questions about your solution and challenge it. You are expected to justify, defend, and – if needed – change your solution accordingly.

The following are some more details about the exam:

• Exam prerequisites: The Salesforce Certified Application Architect credential and Salesforce Certified System Architect credential.
• Format: The candidate will review and solve a hypothetical scenario and then present this to a panel of three CTA judges. The presentation is followed by a question and answer session with the judges.
• Time allotted to complete the exam:

  180 minutes for scenario review and solution preparation

  45 minutes for scenario presentation

  40 minutes for scenario Q&A session

An exam facilitator and proctor will be onsite during the exam (or will join virtually if the exam is being executed virtually).

The following materials are provided to the candidate at the review board (onsite). No other materials are allowed. If the exam is onsite, you will need the following:

• A computer with PowerPoint, Word, and Excel (or Keynote, Pages, and Numbers for Mac)
• Flipchart paper
• Blank paper – for candidate notes only
• Pens, highlighters, and markers
• A timer

If the exam is virtual, you will need the following: A computer with PowerPoint, Word, and Excel (or Keynote, Pages, and Numbers for Mac) that the candidate can access via remote desktop.

You can deliver your artifacts/diagrams using one or more of the following tools:

• PowerPoint presentations
• Flipcharts
• Whiteboard (This is not transportable. Remember that you will normally create the solution and artifact in one room and then present it in another.)
• A combination of these

There is no right tool. You need to build your own habits and plans and use whatever works best for you.

Now that you have learned the review board exam's structure, let's find out how it's related to the day-to-day life of a Salesforce Architect.

In addition to the significant career boost, there are several other reasons to learn how to design secure, high-performance technical solutions on the Salesforce Platform in the same way it's expected from a CTA. During the review board exam, you are expected to perform certain activities and think in a particular way. This should not be thought of as activities required to pass the exam but more of best practices that an architect is expected to follow in order to produce a solution that delivers value and has fewer implementation risks.

Regardless of whether you are targeting the CTA credential or not, as an architect, you will find that you can apply the knowledge in this book to your day-to-day activities. Actually, the best way to get hands-on experience with all the required domain knowledge is by following these simple steps:

1. Apply the methodology explained in this book – or your own variation of it – to your day-to-day activities. Put it in action, and you will notice that it becomes second nature after some time. This makes it easier to set and pass the review board exam. Let's put it this way: if you are practicing this day in and day out, you will be actually preparing for the review board exam during your normal working hours.
2. Set up playground environments to try things out by hand. As an architect, it is crucial to have practical experience with the different elements and technologies that form your solution. This is particularly true while working with the Salesforce Platform, considering all the flexibility it has and how it lets you easily sign up for a virtually unlimited number of developer environments. Nothing beats hands-on experience. So, the next time you are investigating how a particular Single Sign-On (SSO) flow works, don't just read about it: set up a playground environment and closely observe how the systems are interacting with each other. Make this one of your day-to-day activities while assessing different potential solutions for a given business challenge.
3. Make yourself familiar with the activity of documenting design decisions. While working on a Salesforce implementation project, you will come across endless cases where there is more than one potential solution. Make yourself familiar with the structured way of documenting the details of each option, as well as its pros and cons. This activity has several benefits in that it helps you organize your thoughts by putting them on paper and sharing them with others. This increases the potential of selecting the right solution/approach. Moreover, it helps you clearly communicate the different options that are available to the project's architecture board and stakeholders. And on top of that, it helps you document your solution – something that your project sponsor will love you for. This is another example of a daily activity that can significantly help you prepare for the review board. Although you might not document the different solutions and tradeoffs in the same thorough way you do in real life, the principle of identifying different approaches, trade-offs, compromises, risks, and rationally justifying a particular solution is exactly what you are expected to do during the review board.

These are not skills that you should learn and master just for the sake of passing the review board; these are valuable skills and practices that you should make part of your daily routine. And when you do so, you will find out that you are getting closer and closer to becoming ready for the review board exam. The CTA certificate will simply become the cherry on top of the cake, an assertion that you possess all the required skills and that you know how to put them all into action.

Understanding the nature of the review board exam will help you prepare for it, and will prove to be particularly valuable during the presentation stage:

• You will be requested to create an end-to-end solution and communicate it back to the judges. To do so, you will need to create a set of artifacts that will help you tell the solution as an engaging story. Your presentation should be executed in a way that will catch your audience's attention. Once you start the presentation, try to forget that you are in an exam room in front of judges; imagine yourself setting in front of a group of execs and CXOs from the company mentioned in the scenario. Forget for a moment that these judges work for Salesforce; put yourself in the right mood and mindset to present your solution to these client execs, who have solid technical knowledge about the platform and want to understand how you are planning to use it in order to solve their problems.
• The exam itself is a point collection exercise. You get points for identifying any solution requirements in the scenario. Every point counts. Some requirements are easy to spot and solve. For example, you might come across a security requirement that you can simply solve using field-level security settings. Don't overlook that or drop it from the solution story that you are going to tell. You might simply lose an easy point. However, during the Q&A stage, the judges will try to question you about the requirements that you didn't cover during the presentation. This will give you a second chance to cover them. Keep in mind that you have a limited time during the Q&A, and if you have many unidentified or non-solutioned requirements, then you could run out of time before you can cover all of them. This means losing valuable points that could be the difference between passing and failing.
• I have met many CTA candidates who dreaded the Q&A stage and I've always tried to explain that this stage should be considered as their friend, their opportunity to close some gaps caused by leaving things out, and an opportunity to express their knowledge, skills, and experience to some of the finest technical architects in the world. It is a time that the candidate should be looking forward to rather than fearing. It is true that you will be challenged and your knowledge will be put to the test, but this is exactly the moment where you can show the judges that you belong to the club – that you have got what it takes to join the very exclusive club of CTAs. You have to stay focused and be precise with your answers, and avoid wasting unnecessary time in describing things over and over again. Remember that the Q&A stage is your friend; you should try to make the most out of the available time. It is surprisingly similar to real-life presentations; the presenter will feel relieved when the audience starts to ask questions and the conversation becomes two-way instead of one-way.
• During the presentation, the judges might decide to change one of the requirements to check your ability to adjust quickly and get to the solution on the fly. Don't get nervous because of that, or automatically assume that they are doing so because you made a mistake somewhere. It is a part of the test.
• During the presentation (or the Q&A), you may figure out that you have made a mistake and decide to adjust. This is not a disaster. Don't lose your focus; the judges will also appreciate how you handle such difficult situations professionally and how you recover and get back on track. If you make a mistake, admit it professionally, explain the reason behind your early decision, and correct it. Also, explain in short how you would have handled such a requirement in a real-life project. However, keep in mind that if you make multiple mistakes, the likelihood of you passing will reduce.
• The judges are there to ensure that you have what it takes to create secure, scalable solutions based on the Salesforce Platform. It is good to let them know what you are thinking about and how you are making your decisions. This will help them understand your logic and therefore better understand the reasons behind making a decision that creates a sub-optimal solution. If you have valid reasoning and sound logic, then this will normally be taken into consideration. Most, if not all, of the scenarios you will be presented with can be solved in multiple ways. There is no one solution. The key thing to keep in mind is that your solution must be based on the right considerations and logic. This is a major skill that a CTA must have: the ability to think of the holistic solution, identify potential solutions, and rationally select a suitable one.
• Your proposed solution should be the best one you can think of from a technical perspective. You should not assume there are challenges that have not been mentioned directly or indirectly in the scenario. As an example, don't select a sub-optimal solution because you are worried about budgeting challenges that the client might have - only do this if that was mentioned in the scenario itself.
• Finally, always keep in mind that your given solutions must be presented based on the given requirements. Don't simply give a dry solution as if you are answering an exam on paper. Remember that you are supposed to be presenting to the CXOs of the client company and tie your solution to a requirement. This will attract the audience and make the overall picture much clearer. We will come across several examples of this during later chapters in this book.

Now that you understand the nature of the review board exam, let's move on and explore the artifacts you need to create in order to get solutions for the hypothetical scenario.