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 II resource guide.
The Platform Developer II certification focuses on your ability to design, develop, test, and deploy programmatic solutions that are maintainable and re-usable and follow design patterns and object-oriented programming best practices. This certification comes in two parts; a multiple choice exam, and a series of Trailhead superbadges.
Due to the combination of a test with real world coding, this is one of my favorite exams. It requires much more time to achieve, but is a good indicator of your capabilities. This post covers the multiple choice exam.
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 | 33% | 20 |
User Interface | 20% | 12 |
Testing | 12% | 7 |
Integration | 11% | 7 |
Data Modeling and Management | 7% | 4 |
Performance | 7% | 4 |
Salesforce Fundamentals | 5% | 3 |
Debug and Deployment Tools | 5% | 3 |
For this exam, I recommend tackling the Trailhead badges first. I will be reviewing those in a later article. Once you have completed those badges, take a few hours to study through the resources on this page to ensure you understand all of the topics that will be covered.
Resources
LOGIC AND PROCESS AUTOMATION – 33%
- Given a scenario, describe the implications of the order of execution of a record save.
- Describe the interactions between Visualforce/Apex with Flow/Process Builder.
- Given a scenario, identify the optimal programmatic or declarative solution.
- Given a scenario, debug unexpected behavior due to save execution order.
- Describe the Apex features available for error handling and maintaining transactional integrity.
- Identify potential issues with inefficient code and mitigation techniques to avoid exceeding governor limits.
- Describe the data return types for SOQL and SOSL queries and their impact on variable assignment.
- Describe the options, best practices, and use cases for asynchronous execution.
- Given a scenario, identify the appropriate dynamic Apex feature.
- Given a scenario, describe when and how to use Apex managed sharing.
- Describe the use cases for the various authentication techniques.
USER INTERFACE – 20%
- Given a scenario, describe how to use a standard set controller.
- Describe the considerations when creating custom controllers and controller extensions.
- Describe the techniques for using Visualforce to perform actions and partial page refresh.
- Describe the messaging techniques and best practices when displaying errors in user interfaces.
- Describe techniques to maximize code re-use with Visualforce.
- Describe use cases for JavaScript in a Visualforce page.
- Given a set of requirements, describe the process for designing Lightning components.
- Lightning Component Basics (Trailhead)
TESTING – 12%
- Describe the best practices for unit testing in Apex.
- Describe how to apply different techniques to create test data and responses.
- Describe the implications of testing Visualforce controllers and controller extensions.
- Describe various ways to execute tests and specify test execution options.
INTEGRATION – 11%
- Describe how to expose Apex classes as SOAP and REST web services.
- Describe how to use system classes to integrate with SOAP- or REST- based web services.
- Describe when and how to use metadata, streaming, and Analytics API to enhance Apex and Visualforce solutions.
DATA MODELING AND MANAGEMENT – 7%
- Describe how to design code that accommodates multi-language, multi-currency, multi-locale considerations.
- Describe the implications of compound data types in Apex programming.
- Describe the use cases for and benefits of external IDs.
- Identify use cases for different types of custom metadata and custom settings, and describe how to implement solutions for those use cases.
- Custom Metadata (Trailhead)
- Custom Settings
PERFORMANCE – 7%
- Describe the common performance issues for user interfaces and the techniques to mitigate them.
- Developer Best Practices Checklist
- This is a really helpful development item. I recommend everyone read through and download this, as it has benefits far beyond this exam.
- Developer Best Practices Checklist
- Describe the considerations for query performance.
SALESFORCE FUNDAMENTALS – 5%
- Describe the capabilities of base-system objects such as sharing objects, history objects, metadata objects, multi-currency, and Chatter objects.
- Describe the different capabilities of and use cases for the various Salesforce development platforms (Heroku, Fuel, Lightning Platform).
DEBUG AND DEPLOYMENT TOOLS – 5%
- Given a scenario, identify the appropriate tool to analyze application performance profiles and troubleshoot data and performance issues.
- Given a scenario, identify the appropriate deployment tool.
- Salesforce Development Tools
- For this section, read the tool descriptions to understand their intentions and strengths. (ANT Migration tool vs. Data Loader, which use cases for which tools?)
- Salesforce Development Tools
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 II exam, I highly recommend beginning with the Trailhead superbadges. The prerequisite modules will give you hands-on experience and are the best way to learn. I completed the first three superbadges before I took my multiple choice exam. I took the exam before the final superbadge, so you could do the same.
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.
Chris –
Thanks for putting this together. I’m using the focusonforce material to prepare for this. I’ve already completed the 4 superbadges and have completed the entire trailmix for PD2. I’m getting close to pulling the trigger on the test. I’ve been studying all the guides and notes I can scrape from the various blogs.
Check out my Trailhead Leaderboard if you get a chance.
https://trailhead-leaderboard-developer-edition.na35.force.com/
Thanks!
The FocusonForce material is another great resource. And if you have already completed the superbadges, you should be in a really good position for the exam. Best of luck!
Took test and failed on Oct 11.
Reviewed weak areas and retook on Oct 27 and Passed!
MCR
Congratulations! It’s a tough test, but that makes it more rewarding when you do pass.
Congratulations for this article!
In how many weeks should I schedule the proctored exam, considering that I am working full time?
I passed the PDI at the end of December 2018, and I have a couple of years of experience with declarative and code.
Thank you!
I usually recommend 4-6 weeks of preparation for the exam. If you have experience, the exam isn’t terribly difficult. So even working full-time, 4-6 weeks should be enough to prepare. Best of luck!
I am studying for the PD2 Exam (the superbadges took me about 40-50 hrs). Is it worth it? We would like to know by what percentage did your salary increase within 6 months following the certification? Thank you.
The superbadges are a much larger investment in time than the PD2 exam. If you’ve gotten this far, I would recommend getting the certification.
For me, this one didn’t increase my salary, but I was moving into a different role. For others that I know, it was good for between 3%-10% raises. Some people use this extra certification to move to new companies, which often means more significant increases.
Best of luck!
How much lightning components/programming knowledge is required for this exam.
Thanks
There is some Lightning component knowledge required for the exam, but not a large amount. The exam has more on best practices and Apex. To complete the Superbadges for the full certification, there is a lot of Lightning development required.
Hi Chris,
I am planning to take PD2, I had a doubt that if I complete superbadges before registering for the exam in my developer org and then register and complete the MCQ exam, will my super badges still be considered?
Thanks for reaching out. Salesforce doesn’t require one before the other. Most people do the superbadges first to prepare, then take the exam after, but that isn’t required. I took the exam before doing the superbadges, and it wasn’t an issue.
Best of luck on the exam and the badges!
Hey Chris – Thanks a lot for posting the excellent information for each and every topic. I just focussed on your website and spent 6 hours of proper study and with my experience, I have cleared the PD2 exam today!
Thanks good to hear. Congratulations on passing the exam! That’s a big accomplishment!
I did it! Thank you very much!
It was my second attempt at PD II exam and this time I felt much more confident than first time.
Percentage of topics were changed, but main areas won’t. This links are still valid and very useful.
Questions are more and more about lightning solutions than 2 years ago.
Artur,
How many questions require lightning knowledge (LWC and Aura).
Thanks