Pass the Salesforce Application Architect Data-Architect Questions and answers with CertsForce

 To improve data quality and avoid data skew, the data architect should create a picklist field with values sorted alphabetically for tracking shipping status on opportunity. A picklist field ensures that only valid values are entered and prevents typos or variations in spelling. Sorting the values alphabetically makes it easier for users to find and select the correct value. Data skew occurs when a large number of records are owned by a single user or have a single value for a field. Creating a picklist field with a limited number of values does not cause data skew, as long as the distribution of values is balanced and not skewed towards one value.

Using an indexed data field with bounded data filters can improve the report performance by making the query more selective and reducing the number of records to scan. Using formula fields to surface information from related entities on the report can also enhance the report performance by avoiding joins and complex calculations

The correct answer is A, D, and E. The data architect should consider these three factors when evaluating the need for Salesforce Connect: You want real-time access to the latest data from other systems, you have a large amount of data that you don’t want to copy into your Salesforce org, and you need to small amounts of external data at any one time. These factors indicate that Salesforce Connect is a suitable solution for creating a connected experience in Salesforce without importing inventory data from a cloud database. Salesforce Connect allows Salesforce to access external data via OData or custom adapters without storing it in Salesforce, which reduces storage costs and ensures data freshness. Salesforce Connect also supports pagination and caching to optimize performance when accessing small amounts of external data at any one time. Option B is incorrect because if you have a large amount of data and would like to copy subsets of it into Salesforce, you may not need Salesforce Connect but rather use other tools such as Data Loader or API integration. Option C is incorrect because if you need to expose data via a virtual private connection, you may not need Salesforce Connect but rather use other tools such as VPN or VPC peering.

According to the official Salesforce guide1, big objects are designed to store and manage massive data volumes within Salesforce without affecting performance. They can be queried by using Async SOQL or standard SOQL, and they can be accessed by using Apex, Visualforce, Lightning components, or APIs. Big objects are ideal for storing data that is used for analytics or reporting purposes, such as the reward program data. Option A is the correct answer because it allows NTO to create a custom big object in Salesforce that can store the reward program data and make it available for consumption by Einstein Analytics and Discovery. Option B is incorrect because Einstein cannot connect directly to the point of sales system to capture the reward program data. Option C is incorrect because Einstein Analytics does not support creating big objects. Option D is incorrect because custom objects are not suitable for storing large volumes of data.

Doing client-side validation of phone number and email field formats and preferring picklist form fields over free text fields, where possible, are two techniques that will help maintain a high level of data quality when designing forms that create Lead records in Salesforce using the REST API. Client-side validation can ensure that the input data is in the correct format and prevent errors or invalid values from being submitted. Picklist form fields can provide a predefined set of values for the users to choose from and avoid typos or inconsistencies in the data.

Enabling “Set Audit Fields” allows the user loading the data to set the value of the standard CreatedDate field to match the original date from the legacy system. This is a one-time permission that can be revoked after the migration is completed. The other options would either not work or require additional customization

The best solution to store historical cases for 10 years for audit purpose is to use a custom Big object to store archived case data. Big objects are a type of custom object that can store massive amounts of data on the Salesforce platform without affecting performance or storage limits. They also support point-and-click tools, triggers, and Apex code. Big objects can be used for archiving historical data that needs to be retained for compliance or analytics purposes3. Archiving case data using Salesforce Archiving process is not a good option because it only supports archiving cases that are closed for more than one year, and it does not allow customizing the archival criteria or accessing the archived data via Apex or APIs4. Purchasing more data storage to support case object is expensive and may impact performance. Using a custom object to store archived case data is not scalable and may consume a lot of storage space.

Creating a unique global customer ID for each customer and storing that in all systems for referential identity (option A), investing in a data duplicate tool to de-dupe and merge duplicate records across all systems (option C), and creating a customer master database external to Salesforce as a system of truth and syncing the customer data with all systems (option E) are the three options that a data architect should perform to resolve the issues with the customer data. Option A ensures that each customer can be uniquely identified across different systems, option C eliminates duplicate records and improves data quality, and option E provides a consistent and reliable source of customer data for all systems. Using Salesforce CDC to sync customer data across all systems (option B) is not a good option, as it does not address the duplication or inconsistency issues. Duplicating customer records across the system and providing a two-way sync of data between the systems (option D) is also not a good option, as it may create more confusion and conflicts with customer data.

Lightning Platform Plus is the license type that best fits UC’s requirements, as it allows up to 50 custom objects and 40,000 API calls per user per 24-hour period4. Service Cloud does not provide enough custom objects or API calls. Lightning Platform Start only allows up to 10 custom objects and 5,000 API calls per user per 24-hour period. Lightning External Apps Start is for external users and does not provide enough API calls.

Integrating Salesforce with ERP and making ERP the system of truth (option B) and implementing a de-dupe solution and establishing account ownership in Salesforce (option D) are the two solutions that a data architect should recommend to resolve the complaints. Option B ensures that account data is consistent and accurate across both systems, while option D prevents duplicate records and clarifies who owns each account in Salesforce. Building a nightly batch job to de-dupe data and merge account records (option A) is not a good solution, as it does not address the root cause of the duplication and may result in data loss or conflicts. Building a nightly sync job from ERP to Salesforce (option C) is also not sufficient, as it does not prevent duplication or establish ownership in Salesforce.