The Salesforce Architect exams each come with a resource guide, which includes helpful links for each section of the exam. I have found those incredibly useful in my study. Resource guides don’t currently exist for the standard exams, so I have compiled content into a series of resource guides. This is the Platform Developer I resource guide.
The Platform Developer I certification focuses on your knowledge of development within the Salesforce platform. This includes Apex, Visualforce, and Lightning components. A background in MVC (model, view, controller) architecture is a huge benefit, but not required. You won’t be asked to write any code, but you will want to understand limits and best practices within the platform. For example, if you are shown a section of code that has a query within a FOR loop, you should know why that is a bad practice, and what potential issues you could see.
Understanding the Tests
As I mentioned in a previous post, understanding the intention and structure of the exams is key to passing. Salesforce provides a study guide for every certification test. In those guides, they provide a breakdown of the different sections and their relative weight. Take note of those while studying.
Breakdown
Topic | Weighting | # of Questions |
Logic and Process Automation | 46% | 28 |
Data Modeling and Management | 12% | 7 |
Testing | 12% | 7 |
Salesforce Fundamentals | 10% | 6 |
User Interface | 10% | 6 |
Debug and Deployment Tools | 10% | 6 |
For this exam, you can see one section carries the majority of the weight. So that section is make-or-break for this certification. Under the ‘Logic and Process Automation’ section, the first 3 bullet points are:
- Describe how to programmatically access and utilize the object schema.
- Describe the capabilities and use cases for formula fields.
- Describe the capabilities and use cases for roll-up summary fields.
Looking at those, you can see that you need to understand some general Salesforce functionality. Formula and roll-up summary fields are not development related, but need to be understood in order to accurately make recommendations and changes within Salesforce. If a roll-up summary field can be used instead of a trigger, you should recommend that. But in order to make that recommendation, you need to know the capabilities and limits of that field type.
Resources
LOGIC AND PROCESS AUTOMATION – 46%
- Describe how to programmatically access and utilize the object schema.
- Describe the capabilities and use cases for formula fields.
- Describe the capabilities and use cases for roll-up summary fields.
- Describe the capabilities of the declarative process automation features.
- Describe when to use declarative automation features vs. Apex classes and triggers.
- Describe how to declare variables and constants in Apex and how to assign values using expressions.
- Describe the primitive and complex Apex data types and when to use them.
- Describe how to use and apply Apex control flow statements.
- Describe how to write and when to use Apex classes and interfaces.
- Describe how to use basic SOSL, SOQL, and DML statements when working with objects in Apex.
- Describe the basic patterns used in triggers and classes to process data efficiently.
- Describe when to use and how to write triggers.
- Describe the implications of governor limits on Apex transactions.
- Describe the relationship between Apex transactions, the save order of execution, and the potential for recursion and/or cascading.
- Describe how to implement exception handling in Apex.
- Describe how to write Visualforce controllers.
- Create & Use Controllers (Trailhead)
- Describe when and how to use standard Visualforce controllers vs. Apex custom controllers and controller extensions.
- Describe the programmatic techniques to prevent security vulnerabilities in Apex and Visualforce.
- Describe how Apex impacts the ability to make declarative changes.
- Not a good article here, but the idea of this is that code = technical debt.
- Failing Unit Tests in Production will block deployments.
- Any API Name referenced in code (Object, Field, etc.) cannot be changed.
- Triggers can interact poorly with Rollup Summary Fields, Formulas, Process Builder, etc. It doesn’t prevent you from making the changes, but it can cause issues, broken or unexpected results, etc.
- Not a good article here, but the idea of this is that code = technical debt.
DATA MODELING AND MANAGEMENT – 12%
- Given a set of requirements, determine the appropriate data model.
- Describe the capabilities of the various relationship types and the implications of each on record access, user interface (UI), and object-oriented programming.
- Data Modeling (Trailhead)
- Relationships Among Objects
- Describe the impact of schema design and modifications on Apex Development.
- Describe how to visualize and create entity relationships.
- Work with Schema Builder (Trailhead)
- Describe the options for and considerations when importing and exporting data into development environments.
- Import Data Unit (Trailhead)
TESTING – 12%
- Describe the testing framework and requirements for deployment.
- Describe how to write unit tests for triggers, controllers, and classes.
- Describe when and how to use various sources of test data.
- Describe how to execute one or multiple test classes.
- Describe the differences between invoking Apex in execute anonymous vs. unit tests.
SALESFORCE FUNDAMENTALS – 10%
- Describe the considerations when developing in a multi-tenant environment.
- Describe how the Salesforce platform features map to the MVC pattern.
- Describe the capabilities of the core CRM objects in the Salesforce schema.
- Identify the common scenarios for extending an application’s capabilities using the AppExchange.
- AppExchange Basics (Trailhead)
- Identify common use cases for declarative customization of the Lightning Platform, and customization and features of the Heroku platform.
USER INTERFACE – 10%
- Describe how to display Salesforce data using a Visualforce page.
- Describe the types of web content that can be incorporated into Visualforce pages.
- Introduction to Visualforce (4th paragraph)
- Describe how to incorporate Visualforce pages into Lightning Platform applications.
- Describe the benefits of the Lightning Component framework.
- Describe the resources that can be contained in a Lightning Component.
DEBUG AND DEPLOYMENT TOOLS – 10%
- Describe how to monitor and access various types of debug logs.
- Describe the capabilities and security implications of the Developer Console, Workbench, and Force.com IDE.
- Describe the different processes for deploying metadata and business data.
- Deployment Tool Options (Trailhead)
- Describe how the different environments are used in the development and deployment process.
Ready for the Exam?
Book your exam now, even before you start studying. There’s no better way to drive you to study than booking your exam.
For the Platform Developer I exam, I highly recommend hands-on time working with code. Trailhead is indispensible for this. Not only will it prepare you for the exam, but it will set you up with valuable skills. When studying, pay attention to limits and numbers. When an article calls out a 50 query limit, take note to remember that. Those kinds of limits will likely appear in the exam somewhere.
If you have questions during your exam preparation, please feel free to reach out. I’ll do my best to respond with some help and guidance.
Thanks Chris.
Super useful! Thanks for sharing your helpulf resources. I will keep on practicing as I am just starting with Apex
Hi Chris,
I am wondering if i should go through sub topics of the above resources, for example SQL has
more than 10 sub- topics ? should i go through them as well ?
Yes, I recommend going through the sub-topics as well to ensure you understand all the nuances of each topic. Best of luck on your exam!
Hi Chris,
I was curious, did you pass on your first try Platform Developer I? Did you have coding experience prior?
I did pass Platform Developer I on the first try, but I have failed plenty of other certs. I had just over a year of experience in Salesforce development, and about 5 years of general development experience when I took the exam. I recommend about 6-12 months working with Apex before attempting the exam.
Hi Chris,
First of all i would like to thank and let you know that i went through these documents along with Trailhead and pass it alhamdollah
wish u a very great day 🙂
Congratulations! It’s a big achievement to pass this certification.
Hey, thank you very much for this guide. I just took the exam today and passed! really helpful!
That’s fantastic! Congratulations!!
Hi Chris,
Very nice guide. I wish I had found this guide earlier. I have been working with sf for 2 years now and I’m going to take the exam in 2 weeks. I am not at all self-confident heheh. I have 0 problems in questions related with code but other theorical questions…I’m f***** I hope this guide could help me with that.
Have a nice day