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As one of the youngest people to take the architect track at Destination Success 2017, I found myself wondering “How did I, a relative Salesforce novice, end up in this room full of experienced Salesforce architects?”
My Salesforce certification journey began at the end of 2014. I had just graduated and started my career as a data integration specialist within ABSI in Belgium. I immediately I found myself part of a large Salesforce implementation project—talk about jumping in the deep end! My main tasks were to combine communities with both the Service and Sales Clouds, as well as integrating and migrating external applications.
During this project, I quickly came to appreciate the endless possibilities Salesforce had to offer in terms of integration. As I explored the platform, I started to understand more about what needed to be done, why we were doing things in certain ways, and how I could improve the project. By taking time during less busy moments to experiment with the platform, reading all the documentation that I could get my hands on, and by learning about the features and concepts we were employing, when the project came to a close I found myself Integration Architecture Designer certified—result!
I then became more involved in the Salesforce data model. By learning which processes needed to be launched during data manipulation, combined with change requests using the point-and-click interface, I found I had—almost accidentally—made an excellent start to my Salesforce Administrator certification prep. By the end of 2016, I was 2x certified.
Time went on, and I became more involved in the development lifecycle, discovering how deployments were rolled out, and how more and more applications with Salesforce dependencies needed to be integrated.
When I was given the opportunity to attend Destination Success 2017 with four of my colleagues, I don't think I fully realized how life-changing the architect track would be. We spent the week learning the detailed ins and outs of Salesforce at the highest level, with access to Salesforce experts, to learn how they approached certain challenges. I also couldn't pass up the chance to add to my certification portfolio. The result? Two new certifications! Data Architecture & Management Designer and Development Lifecycle & Deployment Designer. The event, for me, was definitely a success.
So, what was my secret? How did I actually learn about the Salesforce platform and the related complex topics to kick-start my Certified Technical Architect (CTA) journey? Two words: Trailhead and My Team (OK, so actually three words).
Firstly, Trailhead. What can I say—it is simply one of the best tools out there. A learning platform that has grown over time from trails on basic Apex and administrative tasks to fully detailed technical modules covering subjects such as security, integration, deployments, the different cloud products, and so much more. The topics are covered in an in-depth and humorous way, with detailed explanations combined with hands-on tasks to build your experience.
Secondly, my team. I'm lucky to work with a bunch of people who truly value individual growth. My colleagues always take the time to explain the “why and how” of their methods. For me, this is the most effective way to learn best practices.
I've also found that a good way to improve your skills is to get time on small R&D tasks. This is the perfect opportunity to test out concepts or new features that might be beneficial for future projects; for example, the duplicate management feature and how you can use it to automate the de-duplication of certain records.
Am I just starting out on my CTA journey? Yes, I am. But I'm proud of my progress so far. I will keep on following this path and challenge myself to keep growing, all the while working alongside new customers looking to improve their businesses through Salesforce. I would advise any newbies out there to take me up on the challenge: Who will become the youngest CTA? You'll need:
The next steps for me? My current project workload combined with the new Designer cert promotion (buy two get two free, no less!) means my time is focused on building out my designer cert portfolio. I'll then turn my attention to Platform Developer I and Platform App Builder towards the end of the year.
To be honest, what's more rewarding than seeing all pieces fall into place? To see how all those hours of hard work begin to make sense? And to see the successes start rolling in? That's where I am right now, and that's what rocks my Salesforce world!
Tim's certifications:
Salesforce Certified Integration Architecture Designer April 7, 2016
Salesforce Certified Administrator November 29, 2016
Salesforce Certified Data Architecture & Management Designer March 6, 2017
Salesforce Certified Development Lifecycle & Deployment Designer March 10, 2017
If you have been inspired by Tim's story and want to explore the Architect Journey for yourself, learn more and take advantage of the current ”Buy Two Get Two FREE” Architect Designer certification promotion today!
