Salesforce Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

Salesforce Architecture Practice Guiding Principles​ 1

Importance of Setting Up Architecture Governance in Salesforce Practice for Enterprise
Companies​ 1
Defining an architecture framework for a Salesforce practice​ 5
Detailed breakdown of tools and technologies for Salesforce architecture framework:​ 7
Aligning Salesforce architecture with enterprise architecture (EA) Pillars​ 11
Guiding principles for Salesforce architecture​ 16
Tools and rules you should use to implement each guiding principle​ 21
About Author​ 26

Importance of Setting Up Architecture Governance in Salesforce

Practice for Enterprise Companies
Architecture governance is critical in Salesforce practice, especially in enterprise companies, to
ensure that implementations align with business goals, adhere to technical standards, and
maintain system integrity. Here's why architecture governance is essential:

1. Alignment with Business Objectives

●​ Why Important: Ensures Salesforce solutions deliver measurable business value and
support strategic goals.
●​ Key Benefits:
○​ Helps align Salesforce initiatives with enterprise-wide priorities like customer
experience, revenue growth, or operational efficiency.
○​ Ensures consistent delivery of capabilities across departments.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

2. Ensures Consistency and Standardization

●​ Why Important: Promotes uniformity in design, development, and integration across

Salesforce projects.
●​ Key Benefits:
○​ Standardizes processes, naming conventions, and development practices.
○​ Reduces complexity by using reusable components and templates.
○​ Facilitates knowledge transfer and reduces onboarding time for new team
members.

3. Enhances Security and Compliance

●​ Why Important: Enterprise companies deal with sensitive data and must comply with
stringent regulations.
●​ Key Benefits:
○​ Enforces best practices for data security, privacy, and access control.
○​ Ensures adherence to legal and regulatory requirements like GDPR, HIPAA,
CCPA, and SOX.
○​ Reduces risks related to data breaches and unauthorized access.

4. Improves System Scalability and Performance

●​ Why Important: Ensures the Salesforce platform can handle growing data volumes,
user bases, and integrations.
●​ Key Benefits:
○​ Avoids bottlenecks by planning for scalability from the outset.
○​ Improves system performance and reliability, especially during peak usage.
○​ Reduces technical debt by following scalable design principles.

5. Promotes Efficient Resource Utilization

●​ Why Important: Prevents redundant work and optimizes team efforts.

●​ Key Benefits:
○​ Avoids duplication of effort by encouraging reusable solutions.
○​ Optimizes licensing and infrastructure costs by monitoring usage and eliminating
inefficiencies.
○​ Enables better allocation of IT resources to high-priority projects.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

6. Facilitates Seamless Integration

●​ Why Important: Enterprise systems often require Salesforce to integrate with multiple
platforms (ERP, HR, marketing, etc.).
●​ Key Benefits:
○​ Ensures integration patterns are consistent, robust, and scalable.
○​ Reduces the risk of failed integrations and data silos.
○​ Promotes API-first and middleware-driven integration strategies.

7. Enhances Change Management

●​ Why Important: Enterprises require structured processes for managing updates and
changes.
●​ Key Benefits:
○​ Establishes clear approval workflows for configuration and development
changes.
○​ Minimizes disruptions during releases through proper version control and testing.
○​ Improves stakeholder communication and alignment during project lifecycles.

8. Enables Better Risk Management

●​ Why Important: Governance identifies and mitigates risks proactively.

●​ Key Benefits:
○​ Anticipates potential challenges like data loss, performance issues, or
compliance breaches.
○​ Implements risk mitigation strategies such as failover systems and error-handling
frameworks.
○​ Ensures business continuity and disaster recovery plans are in place.

9. Supports Continuous Improvement

●​ Why Important: Governance establishes processes for ongoing evaluation and

enhancement.
●​ Key Benefits:
○​ Uses metrics and KPIs to measure the effectiveness of Salesforce
implementations.
○​ Identifies areas for optimization and innovation, such as AI adoption or
automation.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 ○​ Ensures alignment with Salesforce’s continuous upgrades (three releases per
year).

10. Strengthens Collaboration and Decision-Making

●​ Why Important: Governance fosters better communication and accountability across

teams.
●​ Key Benefits:
○​ Facilitates collaboration between business, IT, and external partners.
○​ Ensures decisions are made based on well-defined principles and frameworks.
○​ Encourages transparency and stakeholder buy-in for major initiatives.

Key Components of Architecture Governance in Salesforce

1.​ Governance Framework:

○​ Define roles, responsibilities, and decision-making processes.
○​ Establish a Center of Excellence (CoE) to oversee governance.
2.​ Policies and Standards:
○​ Create guidelines for development, integration, security, and data management.
○​ Use tools like Salesforce Shield and Health Check for compliance.
3.​ Processes:
○​ Implement CI/CD pipelines and regular code reviews.
○​ Define processes for change management, release management, and incident
response.
4.​ Monitoring and Auditing:
○​ Use tools like Salesforce Optimizer and Event Monitoring for continuous
assessment.
○​ Schedule regular audits to ensure adherence to governance policies.
5.​ Training and Enablement:
○​ Provide training on governance policies to admins, developers, and business
users.
○​ Use Trailhead and internal knowledge-sharing platforms.

Conclusion

Architecture governance is vital for enterprise companies to maximize the value of their
Salesforce investments while minimizing risks and inefficiencies. It ensures that Salesforce
implementations remain scalable, secure, and aligned with organizational goals, enabling
enterprises to adapt to changing needs and maintain a competitive edge.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

Defining an architecture framework for a Salesforce practice involves creating a structured
approach to delivering solutions that align with business needs while leveraging Salesforce's
capabilities. Below are steps and components to establish such a framework:

Defining an architecture framework for a Salesforce practice

1. Define Vision and Goals

●​ Vision: Clearly articulate the purpose of the Salesforce practice (e.g., driving customer
success, enabling digital transformation).
●​ Goals: Define measurable objectives such as improving time-to-market for solutions,
maintaining high data quality, or achieving specific revenue targets through Salesforce
implementations.

2. Key Pillars of the Framework

a. Governance and Compliance

●​ Establish governance structures for:

○​ Data Management: Ensure high-quality, compliant, and secure data practices.
○​ Development Standards: Use best practices for coding, naming conventions,
and reviews.
○​ Sandbox and Release Management: Define policies for managing
environments.
○​ Security: Align with Salesforce Shield and Identity features to ensure
compliance.

b. Technology Enablement

●​ Define Salesforce core and peripheral systems for:

○​ Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, CPQ, and Marketing Cloud.
○​ Integrations: Middleware (e.g., Mulesoft, Talend) and APIs for system
connectivity.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 ○​ Extensions: Custom solutions using Apex, Lightning Web Components (LWC),
and AppExchange apps.

c. Business Process Alignment

●​ Collaborate with stakeholders to document processes like Lead-to-Cash,

Quote-to-Order, or Case Resolution.
●​ Map these to Salesforce capabilities to minimize customizations.

d. Agile Delivery and Methodology

●​ Use Agile frameworks (Scrum, SAFe) for iterative and incremental delivery.
●​ Define sprint structures and release cadences tailored to Salesforce.

3. Reference Architecture

●​ Core Layers:
1.​ Data Layer:
■​ Use Salesforce Data Cloud for customer 360 views.
■​ Employ objects, relationships, and Big Objects for large-scale data.
2.​ Integration Layer:
■​ Real-time APIs, bulk data integrations, and event-driven architectures
using Platform Events.
3.​ Application Layer:
■​ Leverage Salesforce standard functionalities and extend with LWCs,
Flows, and Einstein for AI-driven features.
4.​ Experience Layer:
■​ Use Lightning Experience, Experience Cloud (portals), and mobile
applications.

4. Operational Excellence

●​ Monitoring: Use Salesforce Health Check, Event Monitoring, and AppExchange tools.
●​ Automation: Implement CI/CD with DevOps tools (Gearset, Copado).
●​ Training: Regular enablement for teams via Trailhead or certifications.

5. Strategic Roadmap

●​ Define short, medium, and long-term strategies to expand capabilities:

○​ Short-term: Enable core functionality and quick wins.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 ○​ Medium-term: Introduce advanced features like CPQ, Marketing Cloud, or
Einstein AI.
○​ Long-term: Explore innovations like generative AI, hyperautomation, and
predictive analytics.

6. Create Templates and Guidelines

●​ Develop reusable assets:

○​ Design templates (ERDs, data models).
○​ Solution architecture documents (TDDs, HLDs, LLDs).
○​ Checklists for data migration, integrations, and go-live readiness.

7. Establish a Center of Excellence (CoE)

●​ Roles in CoE:
○​ Architects: Define technical standards and design solutions.
○​ Developers: Implement features.
○​ Admins: Manage configuration and operational tasks.
○​ Product Owners: Ensure alignment with business goals.

8. Evaluation and Continuous Improvement

●​ Regularly assess the framework using KPIs such as:

○​ Delivery speed and quality.
○​ User adoption rates.
○​ ROI and business impact metrics

Detailed breakdown of tools and technologies for Salesforce

architecture framework:

1. Governance and Compliance

Tools and Technologies:

●​ Salesforce Shield:

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 ○​ Encryption, Event Monitoring, Field Audit Trail for compliance and security.
●​ Health Check:
○​ Assess and manage org security.
●​ SOX Compliance Tools:
○​ External tools like OwnBackup for backup and restore.
●​ Static Code Analysis:
○​ Tools like PMD or Checkmarx to ensure code quality and security.
●​ Access Management:
○​ Salesforce Identity for SSO, MFA, and role-based access control.

2. Technology Enablement

Tools and Technologies:

Salesforce Core Tools:

●​ Salesforce Platform:
○​ Apex, Lightning Web Components (LWC), and Flow Builder for process
automation.
●​ AppExchange:
○​ Prebuilt solutions like Conga for document generation or DocuSign for
e-signatures.

Integration:

●​ Mulesoft:
○​ Comprehensive API-led connectivity.
●​ Platform Events:
○​ Event-driven architecture for real-time updates.
●​ ETL Tools:
○​ Talend, Informatica, or Salesforce Data Loader for data integration and migration.

AI/Analytics:

●​ Einstein:
○​ Einstein Bots for chat, Einstein Prediction Builder for analytics, and Einstein
Discovery for AI insights.
●​ Tableau:
○​ Advanced analytics and visualization.

Extensions:

●​ Custom Development:
○​ Salesforce CLI, Visual Studio Code with Salesforce extensions for development.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

3. Business Process Alignment

Tools and Technologies:

●​ Process Mapping:
○​ Lucidchart, Miro, or Visio for documenting processes.
●​ Journey Building:
○​ Marketing Cloud Journey Builder for customer journeys.
●​ Approval Processes:
○​ Salesforce Flow for automating approval steps.

4. Agile Delivery and Methodology

Tools and Technologies:

●​ Project Management:
○​ Jira, Asana, or Trello for sprint management.
●​ Version Control:
○​ Git, GitHub, Bitbucket for managing code versions.
●​ Salesforce DevOps:
○​ Gearset, Copado, or Autorabit for CI/CD and environment management.

5. Reference Architecture

Tools and Technologies:

●​ Data Layer:
○​ Salesforce Data Cloud: Unified customer profiles.
○​ Big Objects: For handling large data sets.
●​ Integration Layer:
○​ Mulesoft, Boomi, or AWS Lambda for API and middleware solutions.
○​ Salesforce Connect for real-time data integration.
●​ Application Layer:
○​ Salesforce Platform (Apex, LWCs, Flows).
○​ AppExchange apps for extended capabilities.
●​ Experience Layer:
○​ Lightning App Builder for custom UI.
○​ Experience Cloud for portals and communities.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

6. Operational Excellence

Tools and Technologies:

●​ Monitoring and Logging:

○​ Salesforce Shield Event Monitoring for activity tracking.
○​ External tools: Splunk, New Relic, or Datadog for performance monitoring.
●​ Automation:
○​ CI/CD tools: Gearset, Copado.
○​ Salesforce CLI for command-line automation.
●​ Training and Enablement:
○​ Salesforce Trailhead.
○​ LMS platforms like Docebo or Skilljar for custom training modules.

7. Strategic Roadmap

Tools and Technologies:

●​ Roadmap Tools:
○​ Aha!, ProductPlan, or Roadmunk for strategy mapping.
●​ Innovation Platforms:
○​ Salesforce Labs (on AppExchange) for emerging tools.
○​ OpenAI or custom generative AI integrations for innovation.

8. Templates and Guidelines

Tools and Technologies:

●​ Design Templates:
○​ Lucidchart or Draw.io for architecture diagrams.
●​ Code Repositories:
○​ GitHub, Bitbucket for storing reusable code.
●​ Knowledge Repositories:
○​ Confluence, Notion, or SharePoint for documentation and knowledge
management.

9. Center of Excellence (CoE)

Tools and Technologies:

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 ●​ Collaboration Tools:
○​ Slack, Microsoft Teams for team communication.
●​ Knowledge Management:
○​ Trailhead, Confluence, and internal playbooks.
●​ Performance Tracking:
○​ OKR tools like Ally.io or 15Five for tracking team outcomes.

10. Evaluation and Continuous Improvement

Tools and Technologies:

●​ Feedback Tools:
○​ Survey tools like Qualtrics or Salesforce Surveys.
●​ KPI Dashboards:
○​ Tableau CRM or standard Salesforce reports for tracking metrics

Aligning Salesforce architecture with enterprise architecture (EA)

Pillars​

Aligning Salesforce architecture with enterprise architecture (EA) pillars ensures Salesforce
solutions integrate seamlessly into the broader enterprise IT ecosystem. Here's how Salesforce
can align with the primary EA pillars:

1. Business Architecture

Alignment Strategy:

●​ Understand Business Capabilities:

○​ Map Salesforce features (e.g., Sales Cloud for Lead-to-Cash, Service Cloud for
Case Management) to the organization’s business capabilities.
●​ Business Process Standardization:
○​ Use Salesforce tools like Flow, Process Builder, and Approval Processes to
enforce standard workflows across departments.
●​ Customer-Centric Design:
○​ Utilize Salesforce Data Cloud for a 360-degree customer view, ensuring
alignment with customer-focused business strategies.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 ●​ Scalability:
○​ Design solutions that scale with business growth, such as handling larger user
bases or expanding to new geographies.

Tools:

●​ Salesforce Clouds: Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, CPQ.

●​ Process Mapping: Lucidchart, Visio for aligning Salesforce workflows to enterprise
business processes.

2. Data Architecture

Alignment Strategy:

●​ Unified Data Strategy:

○​ Integrate Salesforce data with enterprise data platforms (e.g., data lakes,
warehouses).
●​ Data Governance:
○​ Implement Salesforce Shield and Data Cloud for secure and compliant data
management.
●​ Master Data Management (MDM):
○​ Sync Salesforce with MDM platforms (e.g., Informatica, Reltio) for consistent
customer and product data across systems.
●​ Big Data Handling:
○​ Use Salesforce Big Objects for high-volume, operational data.

Tools:

●​ ETL Tools: Talend, Informatica for syncing data between Salesforce and enterprise
systems.
●​ Integration Tools: Mulesoft, Boomi, or AWS Glue for data orchestration.
●​ Data Visualization: Tableau CRM for insights.

3. Application Architecture

Alignment Strategy:

●​ Modular Design:
○​ Use reusable components (e.g., LWCs) and Apex classes to align with enterprise
application modularity.
●​ Integration with Enterprise Systems:
○​ Connect Salesforce to ERP, HR, and legacy systems via APIs or middleware.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 ●​ Omnichannel Enablement:
○​ Ensure Salesforce is part of the omnichannel strategy, providing a consistent
experience across web, mobile, and in-person channels.
●​ Compliance with Standards:
○​ Follow architecture principles like 12-factor app methodology for custom
Salesforce applications.

Tools:

●​ Custom Development: Apex, LWCs.

●​ Integration Middleware: Mulesoft, Apigee for API-led connectivity.
●​ App Exchange: Extend functionality with prebuilt apps.

4. Technology Architecture

Alignment Strategy:

●​ Scalability:
○​ Leverage Salesforce’s multitenant cloud infrastructure for high availability and
scalability.
●​ Resilience and Performance:
○​ Use caching, asynchronous processing (e.g., Platform Events, Future methods)
to improve performance.
●​ Standardized Tools:
○​ Integrate Salesforce CLI, VS Code, and CI/CD pipelines to align with enterprise
DevOps practices.
●​ Cloud-Native:
○​ Ensure Salesforce is part of the organization's hybrid/multi-cloud strategy by
integrating with AWS, Azure, or GCP.

Tools:

●​ DevOps: Gearset, Copado for continuous delivery.

●​ Monitoring: Splunk, New Relic for application performance monitoring.

5. Security Architecture

Alignment Strategy:

●​ Identity Management:
○​ Integrate Salesforce Identity with enterprise SSO and MFA systems.
●​ Data Security:

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 ○​ Use Salesforce Shield for encryption, field-level security, and auditing.
●​ Role-Based Access Control:
○​ Align Salesforce profiles and roles with enterprise-wide access control policies.
●​ Compliance:
○​ Design Salesforce solutions to adhere to GDPR, HIPAA, and other regulatory
standards.

Tools:

●​ Access Control: Okta, PingIdentity for SSO and role management.

●​ Audit and Monitoring: Salesforce Shield Event Monitoring.
●​ Encryption: Salesforce Platform Encryption.

6. Integration Architecture

Alignment Strategy:

●​ API-Led Connectivity:
○​ Use Mulesoft for reusable APIs that integrate Salesforce with the enterprise
service bus (ESB).
●​ Real-Time Integrations:
○​ Leverage Platform Events for real-time updates between Salesforce and other
systems.
●​ Batch Processing:
○​ Use Salesforce Bulk API for large-scale data integrations.
●​ Standardized Patterns:
○​ Follow enterprise patterns like request-response, pub-sub, and event-driven
integrations.

Tools:

●​ Integration Middleware: Mulesoft, Boomi, or Talend.

●​ APIs: Salesforce REST/SOAP APIs.
●​ Event Streaming: Platform Events, Change Data Capture (CDC).

7. Deployment and Operations Architecture

Alignment Strategy:

●​ Continuous Deployment:
○​ Implement CI/CD pipelines to ensure smooth and reliable Salesforce
deployments.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 ●​ Environment Management:
○​ Use Salesforce sandboxes and scratch orgs to align with enterprise DevOps
environments.
●​ Monitoring:
○​ Ensure that Salesforce performance and availability metrics are monitored
alongside other enterprise systems.
●​ Incident Management:
○​ Integrate Salesforce with enterprise ITSM tools like ServiceNow.

Tools:

●​ CI/CD: Gearset, Copado.

●​ Monitoring: Datadog, Splunk.
●​ ITSM: ServiceNow integration.

8. Governance and Compliance

Alignment Strategy:

●​ Enterprise Governance Alignment:

○​ Align Salesforce governance (data, security, and process) with enterprise
governance frameworks like TOGAF or COBIT.
●​ Auditability:
○​ Use Salesforce Shield and Event Monitoring for traceability and compliance.
●​ Enterprise-Wide Compliance:
○​ Sync Salesforce policies with organizational compliance standards like GDPR,
HIPAA.

Tools:

●​ Governance Tools: Salesforce Shield, Salesforce Health Check.

●​ Compliance Monitoring: External tools like FairWarning for audit management.

Conclusion

Salesforce aligns with enterprise architecture pillars by leveraging its flexibility, scalability, and
extensive ecosystem of tools and APIs. The key is to map Salesforce capabilities to enterprise
needs, using middleware, data governance, and DevOps tools to ensure seamless integration
and alignment.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

Guiding principles for Salesforce architecture

Guiding principles for Salesforce architecture establish a foundation for creating scalable,
secure, and aligned solutions. These principles ensure that solutions meet business goals while
adhering to technical best practices. Below are key guiding principles:

1. Business Alignment

●​ Focus on Value Creation:

○​ Align architecture decisions with business outcomes, such as increasing
efficiency, enhancing customer experience, and driving revenue.
●​ Customer-Centric Design:
○​ Prioritize solutions that deliver a 360-degree view of the customer and optimize
their journey.
●​ Agility and Adaptability:
○​ Design solutions that can quickly respond to changing business needs and scale
as the organization grows.

2. Simplicity and Usability

●​ Minimize Complexity:
○​ Favor declarative solutions (e.g., Flows, Validation Rules) over custom code
when possible to simplify maintenance.
●​ User Experience First:
○​ Ensure intuitive designs using Lightning Experience, Lightning Web Components
(LWC), and Experience Cloud to deliver consistent and user-friendly interfaces.
●​ Standardization:
○​ Adopt Salesforce's out-of-the-box capabilities to reduce customization and
ensure ease of upgrades.

3. Scalability and Performance

●​ Scalable Design:

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 ○​ Use data architecture patterns that support large datasets, such as leveraging
Big Objects or external data storage.
●​ Efficient Processing:
○​ Optimize performance by designing efficient data models, limiting synchronous
processing, and using asynchronous Apex methods.
●​ Future-Proofing:
○​ Plan for growth by implementing solutions that scale with user and data volume.

4. Security and Compliance

●​ Zero Trust Model:

○​ Apply role-based access controls, data encryption, and multi-factor authentication
(MFA) to secure data and applications.
●​ Data Privacy and Compliance:
○​ Ensure solutions comply with regulations like GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and SOX.
●​ Secure Integration:
○​ Use secure protocols for data exchange (e.g., OAuth, TLS) and manage API
access with IP restrictions and connected apps.

5. Modularity and Reusability

●​ Component-Based Architecture:
○​ Use Lightning Web Components (LWCs) and Apex classes for modular
development.
●​ Reusable Assets:
○​ Create reusable declarative templates, components, and integration patterns to
accelerate delivery and standardize solutions.
●​ Separation of Concerns:
○​ Isolate logic, presentation, and data layers for maintainability and flexibility.

6. Data Integrity and Quality

●​ Single Source of Truth:

○​ Use Salesforce as a unified repository for customer data while integrating
seamlessly with other systems of record.
●​ Data Validation and Governance:
○​ Implement data validation rules, deduplication, and Master Data Management
(MDM) to maintain data integrity.
●​ Data Accessibility:

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 ○​ Ensure that data is easily accessible to the right users while enforcing strict
controls to prevent unauthorized access.

7. Integration and Interoperability

●​ API-First Strategy:
○​ Design integrations with a focus on reusable APIs (REST, SOAP, GraphQL).
●​ Real-Time and Event-Driven Architecture:
○​ Use Platform Events, Change Data Capture (CDC), and Mulesoft for real-time
integrations.
●​ Middleware for Flexibility:
○​ Employ middleware tools like Mulesoft, Boomi, or Talend to manage complex
integrations.

8. Governance and Maintainability

●​ Defined Development Standards:

○​ Use coding standards, naming conventions, and automated tools like PMD for
code analysis.
●​ Continuous Monitoring and Improvement:
○​ Leverage tools like Salesforce Shield and Event Monitoring to track system
health and usage.
●​ DevOps Enablement:
○​ Implement CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Gearset, Copado) for version control and
automated deployments.
●​ Change Management:
○​ Establish governance for sandbox environments, release cycles, and stakeholder
approvals.

9. Innovation and Evolution

●​ Leverage Emerging Technologies:

○​ Adopt Salesforce innovations like Einstein (AI), Data Cloud (CRM analytics), and
generative AI capabilities to stay competitive.
●​ Adapt to Upgrades:
○​ Ensure solutions align with Salesforce's three major releases per year, taking
advantage of new features.
●​ Cloud-Native Strategy:

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 ○​ Align with Salesforce's cloud-first approach for agility and reduced infrastructure
management.

10. Collaboration and Transparency

●​ Stakeholder Involvement:
○​ Engage business and IT stakeholders in architecture decisions to ensure
alignment.
●​ Documentation and Knowledge Sharing:
○​ Maintain comprehensive documentation of architecture, data models, and
integrations for knowledge transfer and operational continuity.
●​ Cross-Functional Teams:
○​ Foster collaboration between developers, architects, admins, and business
analysts.

11. Performance and Resilience

●​ Optimize for Performance:

○​ Design for efficient use of resources, such as optimizing SOQL queries and
reducing governor limit usage.
●​ Fault Tolerance:
○​ Build resilience through error handling, retry mechanisms, and backup strategies.
●​ Monitoring and Alerting:
○​ Use tools like Splunk, New Relic, or Salesforce Shield for real-time monitoring
and alerting.

12. Cost Optimization

●​ Efficient Resource Utilization:

○​ Use Salesforce features judiciously to avoid unnecessary licensing costs.
●​ Maximize ROI:
○​ Prioritize projects and solutions that deliver measurable business value.
●​ AppExchange Utilization:
○​ Evaluate AppExchange solutions for cost-effective extensions before building
custom solutions.

Summary Table of Principles:

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 Principle Focus Area

Business Alignment Value creation, customer-centric design, scalability.

Simplicity Minimize complexity, standardization, user experience.

Scalability Design for growth, performance optimization.

Security Role-based access, compliance, data privacy.

Modularity Reusable components, separation of concerns.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 Data Integrity Quality, single source of truth, accessibility.

Integration API-first, middleware, real-time events.

Governance Standards, monitoring, change management.

Innovation AI, upgrades, cloud-native strategy.

Collaboration Stakeholder involvement, cross-functional teams,

transparency.

Resilience Fault tolerance, performance, monitoring.

Cost Optimization Efficient resource use, ROI, leveraging AppExchange.

Would you like further clarification or examples for any specific principle?

Tools and rules you should use to implement each guiding

principle

Here’s a breakdown of the tools and rules you should use to implement each guiding principle
effectively:

1. Business Alignment

Tools:

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 ●​ Salesforce Clouds:
○​ Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, CPQ for core business processes.
●​ Process Mapping Tools:
○​ Lucidchart, Visio, or Miro to document and analyze workflows.
●​ Analytics:
○​ Tableau CRM (Salesforce Einstein Analytics) to align metrics with business
goals.

Rules:

1.​ Map every Salesforce feature or customization to a specific business objective.

2.​ Maintain continuous stakeholder engagement to ensure alignment with changing needs.
3.​ Regularly assess ROI for implemented solutions.

2. Simplicity and Usability

Tools:

●​ Declarative Tools:
○​ Salesforce Flow, Process Builder, and Validation Rules for simple automation.
●​ Design Tools:
○​ Lightning App Builder for creating user-friendly pages.

Rules:

1.​ Prioritize declarative (clicks-not-code) solutions over custom code.

2.​ Use Lightning Design System (SLDS) for consistency in UI/UX.
3.​ Test all solutions with end-users to ensure usability.

3. Scalability and Performance

Tools:

●​ Performance Monitoring:
○​ Salesforce Optimizer for performance recommendations.
○​ Tools like New Relic, Splunk for real-time monitoring.
●​ Scalability Features:
○​ Big Objects for large data sets.
○​ Platform Events for asynchronous processing.

Rules:

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

 1.​ Avoid hard limits in design; plan for data and user growth.
2.​ Optimize SOQL queries to reduce governor limit consumption.
3.​ Use asynchronous Apex methods for long-running processes.

4. Security and Compliance

Tools:

●​ Salesforce Shield:
○​ Event Monitoring, Encryption, Field Audit Trail.
●​ Access Management:
○​ Salesforce Identity for SSO, MFA.
○​ Okta or PingIdentity for enterprise-wide SSO.
●​ Compliance Monitoring:
○​ FairWarning for data security and compliance auditing.

Rules:

1.​ Implement role-based access control (RBAC) aligned with the principle of least privilege.
2.​ Encrypt sensitive fields and data in transit and at rest.
3.​ Ensure solutions comply with regulatory frameworks like GDPR, HIPAA.

5. Modularity and Reusability

Tools:

●​ Development Tools:
○​ Lightning Web Components (LWC) for modular development.
○​ Apex Classes for reusable logic.
●​ Reusable Templates:
○​ Salesforce CLI to create reusable templates and configurations.

Rules:

1.​ Use a component-based architecture for custom development.

2.​ Isolate logic in Apex classes and avoid hardcoding values.
3.​ Store reusable configurations in custom metadata or custom settings.

6. Data Integrity and Quality

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

Tools:

●​ Data Quality Tools:

○​ Duplicate Management, Data.com (for enriching data).
○​ Mulesoft or Informatica for Master Data Management (MDM).
●​ Validation:
○​ Validation Rules and Required Fields in Salesforce.

Rules:

1.​ Validate data at the point of entry using validation rules.

2.​ Regularly audit and clean up duplicate and outdated data.
3.​ Use an MDM solution to ensure data consistency across systems.

7. Integration and Interoperability

Tools:

●​ Middleware:
○​ Mulesoft, Boomi, or Talend for integrating Salesforce with other systems.
●​ APIs:
○​ Salesforce REST and SOAP APIs, GraphQL for building integrations.
●​ Event Streaming:
○​ Platform Events, Change Data Capture (CDC) for real-time updates.

Rules:

1.​ Use an API-first strategy with reusable, well-documented APIs.

2.​ Design integrations to handle errors gracefully.
3.​ Avoid point-to-point integrations; use middleware for scalability.

8. Governance and Maintainability

Tools:

●​ DevOps:
○​ Gearset, Copado for CI/CD and release management.
●​ Monitoring:
○​ Salesforce Optimizer, Shield Event Monitoring.
●​ Code Quality Tools:
○​ PMD, Checkmarx for static code analysis.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

Rules:

1.​ Establish coding standards and enforce them with code reviews.
2.​ Use CI/CD pipelines for automated deployments.
3.​ Regularly review and update documentation for processes and solutions.

9. Innovation and Evolution

Tools:

●​ AI Features:
○​ Salesforce Einstein for predictive analytics and bots.
○​ OpenAI or similar for generative AI integrations.
●​ Emerging Tech:
○​ Salesforce Labs (on AppExchange) for early access to innovative tools.
●​ Training Platforms:
○​ Trailhead for continuous learning.

Rules:

1.​ Regularly explore new Salesforce releases and evaluate their applicability.
2.​ Use sandboxes to test innovative features before production rollout.
3.​ Incorporate feedback loops to evolve solutions based on user needs.

10. Collaboration and Transparency

Tools:

●​ Collaboration Tools:
○​ Slack (Salesforce-native integration), Microsoft Teams for communication.
●​ Documentation:
○​ Confluence, Notion for knowledge sharing.
●​ Feedback Tools:
○​ Salesforce Surveys for collecting stakeholder and user input.

Rules:

1.​ Maintain clear documentation of solutions, configurations, and processes.

2.​ Use collaborative planning tools to involve all stakeholders.
3.​ Conduct regular retrospectives to improve collaboration.

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

11. Performance and Resilience

Tools:

●​ Performance Testing:
○​ Salesforce Optimizer, LoadRunner for load testing.
●​ Monitoring:
○​ Splunk, New Relic for performance metrics.
●​ Error Handling:
○​ Apex Exception Framework for custom error handling.

Rules:

1.​ Design solutions to handle peak loads and unexpected failures.

2.​ Implement retry mechanisms for critical processes.
3.​ Monitor system health proactively and address issues before they escalate.

12. Cost Optimization

Tools:

●​ Usage Analysis:
○​ Salesforce License Management App (LMA) for tracking licenses.
●​ Automation:
○​ Flows and Process Builder to reduce reliance on manual work.
●​ Cost-Benefit Tools:
○​ Tableau for analyzing the ROI of Salesforce implementations.

Rules:

1.​ Avoid over-customization; use AppExchange apps where feasible.

2.​ Regularly audit licenses and deactivate unused ones.
3.​ Design for efficiency to reduce operational costs.

About Author

Srini Pusuluri - M.Tech IIT Kharagpur India

FMR Distinguished Scientist in Indian Space and Defence, Salesforce CRM and AI Architect

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles

Senior Salesforce (SFDC), AI, and CRM Program Architect, highly skilled in integrating
cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and customer relationship management
(CRM) platforms. With over 20 years of IT experience (including 12 years in CRM/Salesforce
and 5 years in AI), the author is a recognized leader in designing and delivering innovative AI
and CRM solutions across industries. They have extensive expertise in security, multi-org
setups, data integration, design patterns, DevOps, and AI strategy, and hold 20 Salesforce
and 5 AI certifications.

Feel free to reachout me for any AI/CRM free suggestions

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pusulurisrinivasa/

SFDC Architecture Practice Guiding Principles