What This Book Covers

Chapter 1, Starting Your Journey as a CTA, provides general information about the book and the certificate. You will cover what the profile of a typical CTA is, how that is related to the day-to-day activities of a Salesforce Architect, and why understanding the way CTAs think is essential, even for senior architects who are not necessarily targeting the CTA certificate. This chapter also provides details about the review board exam setup, whether physical or virtual.

Chapter 2, Core Architectural Concepts: Data Life Cycle, explores the core architectural skills related to data that an architect needs to master. Part of that knowledge is platform-agnostic, although other parts are particularly important for Salesforce Architects. These skills will be used intensively in later parts of this book and during the review board itself.

Chapter 3, Core Architectural Concepts: Integration and Cryptography, explores the core architectural skills related to both integration and cryptography that an architect needs to master. Part of that knowledge is platform-agnostic, although other parts are particularly important for Salesforce Architects. These skills will be used intensively in later parts of this book and during the review board itself.

Chapter 4, Core Architectural Concepts: Identity and Access Management, explores the core architectural skills related to Identity and Access Management (IAM) that an architect needs to master. Part of that knowledge is platform-agnostic, although other parts are particularly important for Salesforce Architects. These skills will be used intensively in later parts of this book and, of course, during the review board itself.

Chapter 5, Developing a Scalable System Architecture, provides an in-depth review of some of the trickiest system architecture areas, such as determining the right selection of systems that forms the overall solution, including both on- and off-platform components, taking into consideration the platform’s capabilities, constraints, and limits. This knowledge will be enhanced further using a mini hypothetical scenario.

Chapter 6, Formulating a Secure Architecture in Salesforce, provides an in-depth review of some of the trickiest areas in security, such as understanding the declarative platform security features and how they can be used to meet record-level visibility and security requirements. This knowledge will be enhanced further using a mini hypothetical scenario.

Chapter 7, Designing a Scalable Salesforce Data Architecture, provides an in-depth review of some of the trickiest areas in data, such as designing the right data migration strategy and tools, along with the different considerations the architect needs to keep in mind. This knowledge will be enhanced further using a mini hypothetical scenario.

Chapter 8, Creating a Lean Solution Architecture, provides an in-depth review of some of the trickiest areas in solution architecture, such as selecting the appropriate combination of declarative and programmatic functionality to fulfill a particular requirement. This knowledge will be enhanced further using a mini hypothetical scenario.

Chapter 9, Forging an Integrated Solution, provides an in-depth review of some of the trickiest areas in integration, such as rationally selecting the appropriate technology used to integrate with external systems, considering the platform’s capabilities and limitations. This knowledge will be enhanced further using a mini hypothetical scenario.

Chapter 10, Development Life Cycle and Deployment Planning, provides an in-depth review of some of the trickiest areas in the development life cycle and deployment planning, such as the ability to recommend a suitable comprehensive test strategy and mitigate the different project risks. This knowledge will be enhanced further using a mini hypothetical scenario.

Chapter 11, Communicating and Socializing Your Solution, provides an in-depth review of some of the trickiest communication areas. This includes explaining a crucial set of soft skills that an architect needs to master in order to present an end-to-end solution to the review board judges or, in real life, to internal or external clients. This includes the articulation of the benefits, limitations, considerations, and design choices behind a proposed solution architecture in a justified and rational manner and being prepared to handle objections and adjust on the fly. This knowledge will be enhanced further using a mini hypothetical scenario.

Chapter 12, Practice the Review Board: First Mock, puts all the knowledge and skills covered in the previous chapters into action. You will be introduced to your first full hypothetical scenario. You will solve it step-by-step, beginning with identifying requirements, creating a draft solution, and combining all the elements to present an effective solution to the judges or, in real life, internal or external clients.

Chapter 13, Present and Defend: First Mock, puts all the knowledge and skills covered in the previous chapters into action. You will continue with the previous chapter’s hypothetical scenario and use the draft solution to create a refined end-to-end solution and presentation. You will get hands-on experience by following a step-by-step guide where the solution is reviewed, adjusted if needed, and the artifacts’ final versions are created. You will then use all that to present an effective solution to the judges or, in real life, internal or external clients.

Chapter 14, Practice the Review Board: Second Mock, puts all the knowledge and skills covered in the previous chapters into action. You will be introduced to your second full hypothetical scenario. You will solve it step by step, beginning with identifying the requirement, creating a draft solution, and combining all the elements to present an effective solution to the judges or, in real life, internal or external clients.

Chapter 15, Present and Defend: Second Mock, puts all the knowledge and skills covered in the previous chapters into action. You will continue with the previous chapter’s hypothetical scenario and use the draft solution to create a refined end-to-end solution and presentation. You will get hands-on experience by following a step-by-step guide where the solution is reviewed, adjusted if needed, and the artifacts’ final versions are created. You will then use all of that to present an effective strategy to the judges or, in real life, internal or external clients.

Appendix, Tips and Tricks, and the Way Forward, provides a collection of tips and tricks to help the candidate on the day of the review, starting with best practices to follow during the presentation, followed by tips regarding time management. The chapter highlights different strategies used by other CTAs to pass the review board exam and provides a set of suggested activities that a candidate who is preparing for the review board should consider, including how to prepare for the last mile, what resources and groups are available in terms of getting support, and how to get into the right mindset on the day of the review board exam.