Tips for Development Lifecycle and Deployment Architect
I’ve been studying for the Development Lifecycle and Deployment Architect certification for a while. As mentioned in a previous article, Salesforce change management/DevOps is a hot topic and I have been through different types of development/deployment management myself. Thus it seemed proper to study on a relatable certification.
There were not much resources available for the certification as this is relatively new architect exam, so I thought I could share my experience for anyone preparing for it.
Salesforce Certification — Online Exam Overview
Just couple of things to remember if you are taking online proctored certification exam:
- Make sure to install the Sentinel program and complete biometric profile before the exam schedule. If there’s any question or issue with the program, contact the Kryterion support immediately. I had an issue with the program couple years back, and the Kryterion tech support was very timely and helpful.
- Built in webcam is sufficient — this is fairly new after the global pandemic. Previously you needed an extra webcam that shows around the exam area, which is not required anymore.
- No paper or books around exam area. I suggest turning off your phone as well.
Study Materials
Salesforce Exam Guide
Same as any other exam, the official exam guide is very helpful understanding the goal of the certificate. As for the Development Lifecycle and Deployment Architect certification, you need to understand various aspects of Salesforce development and deployment on a high level but you are not required to know/understand actually setting up the environments/process or writing scripts.
Exam Outline provided in the exam guide was the most helpful resource to me to get a list of items that I didn’t clearly understand and needed more studying. I already had experience that covers majority of the study topic (Application Lifecycle Management model and SCRUM, Salesforce development models and usage of sandbox, Salesforce CLI/SFDX with package-based development, etc.). Certain topics outside my own study and experience I had to learn from Trailhead modules.
[Trailmix] Architect Journey: Development Lifecycle and Architect
This collection of Modules/Trails and links are very useful learning the topics covered by the exam. Go through the trail — either skim through the unit if discussed topic is familiar or study the unit and resource links thoroughly if the discussed topic is new/unfamiliar to you.
And.. your own experience
I was lucky to experience all the different types of Salesforce development and deployment methods during my work experience so far. But also, I built my own packages and pipelines and scripts as a personal project (ex. my previous article on packaging).
Exam Questionnaires
I can’t say for sure, but I’m guessing the questionnaires were 70% from the Trailmix and 25% from Salesforce DevOps related experience, and the other 5% from general Salesforce experience.
Keep in mind that provided example questionnaires below are not the exact questions, but are reconstructed from my memory to provide examples on each sections. And of course, just like any other Salesforce Certified Architect exams, there could be multiple ‘technically’ correct answers and you’ll need to pick the one that makes most sense in a business way. (ex. Hire a consulting firm to perform a code security review vs. implementing code analysis check on PR)
Application Lifecycle Management (8%)
Saw a handful of SCRUM and Agile related questions (Process and Roles, and how each component in agile process can be used). If you have been a part of Agile and SCRUM projects, it wouldn’t be too hard to find a correct answer.
- A project is getting affected by multiple stakeholders to set a priority. What should an architect suggest?
Planning (13%)
Understanding Salesforce Release and related risks when combined with (potentially multiple) development pipeline are asked. Also, when there are multiple LOBs (Line of Businesses) are present in one org, you are asked to suggest an appropriate governance framework.
- When there are a mix of preview and non-preview sandboxes that are a part of development pipeline, what should an architect suggest?
System Design (15%)
Some agile tool related questions to support the development process were asked in the exam. Also suggesting correct sandbox strategy based on the scenario (multiple project streams, training requirements…), either combined with the development pipeline or not, considering the refresh timeframe and live data availability is asked.
- What should an architect suggest for CTO to follow the progress and easily see the work estimates of an offshore development team?
Building (14%)
Questions on this section asks the source control related strategies. Along with the branching and versioning, there were questions about suggesting use of peer reviews and automated processes based on given problem scenario.
Also, based on a given customer scenario (multi-org, multiple development stream, incorporating a new team…) you are asked to suggest a proper development model.
There was a couple of questions related to difference between usage of Sandbox vs. Scratch org, and how to configure them properly.
- When there are multiple development teams with their own release pipelines working in a single org, which branching strategy an architect should suggest?
Deploying (14%)
Understanding the difference between deployment types (Change set, Org-dependent, Package-based) and knowing the pros on utilizing package-based deployment model is important.
Also questions related to pre/post deployment steps are asked: what can be done automatically utilizing Metadata API and Tooling API, and what needs to be manually managed
- There are configuration sObject records required for deployment of a new feature, and the client want to make it a part of their continuous deployment process. What solution should an architect suggest?
Testing (13%)
There was only a few questions related to technical details of testing (Lightning testing and Jest, Usage of Mock in testing), and majority was about finding testing method on a higher level based on a given scenario.
- It was found that a UAT data with external ID gets mixed up with production external IDs after a sandbox refresh. Which solution should an architect suggest?
Releasing (13%)
There were a couple of questions specific to ISV (ex. In which environment can you create a managed package) but mostly on when should a managed/unmanaged/unlocked packages should be used and considerations for each types.
- The client has multiple salesforce org in each region due to regulations, but would like to keep the core business logic the same and enable each region to make appropriate changes. Which strategy should an architect suggest?
Operating (10%)
The risk, effect, and suggested follow up tasks of making changes directly in prod are asked, either due to a SEV0* incident that needs an immediate fix or to simplify process on unimpactful metadata. Also, multi-org scenarios are asked to suggest appropriate common release artifact or data management.
- A sev0 incident has been reported and an admin was approved to create a new picklist field and change a page layout. What should an architect suggest?
Thanks for reading and hope this article was helpful preparing for your next certificate! Good luck on the next exam 🐱🏍
*Incident Severity Level. More on this link
