SF-Data-Arch Practice Test 4 — 25 Questions

Question 1

A Salesforce architect is migrating 1 million Case records with related Case Comments from a legacy system. The legacy system stores comments in a separate table linked by a legacy Case ID. The architect plans to use the Bulk API to load Cases first, then load Case Comments in a second pass. During the test, the architect realizes that the legacy Case ID is not stored in Salesforce after the first load, making it impossible to link comments to the correct Cases. What should the architect have done to enable this relationship?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Create a custom external ID field on the Case object to store the legacy Case ID, populate it during the Case load, and then use that field to relate Case Comments during the second load.. To link Case Comments to Cases in a two-pass migration, the architect must store the legacy Case ID on the Case record as an external ID. This allows the second load to use that external ID to look up the parent Case and correctly associate comments. Without it, the relationship cannot be established, leading to orphaned comments.

Answer

Export the Salesforce Case IDs after the first load, map them back to the legacy Case IDs in the source system, and then load Comments with the new Salesforce IDs.

Answer

Load Cases and Case Comments simultaneously using a single Bulk API job with nested JSON to preserve relationships.

Answer

Use the Salesforce Data Loader's 'Insert' operation for Cases and then use 'Update' for Comments, relying on Salesforce's automatic relationship matching.

Question 2

A Salesforce data architect is migrating 500,000 Lead records from a legacy system. The legacy data contains a field 'Lead_Status' with values such as 'New', 'Working', 'Qualified', 'Unqualified'. Salesforce's Lead Status picklist has values: 'Open - Not Contacted', 'Working - Contacted', 'Closed - Converted', 'Closed - Not Converted'. The architect needs to map the legacy values to the Salesforce picklist values. Which approach should be used to ensure a successful migration?

Accepted Answer

Use an ETL tool to map legacy values to the corresponding Salesforce picklist values before loading.. Mapping legacy values to the standard Salesforce picklist values must occur before loading to avoid errors and ensure data consistency. An ETL tool provides the necessary transformation capabilities. Other options either avoid the mapping, cause load failures, or alter the Salesforce schema unnecessarily.

Answer

Load the legacy values as-is and then run a batch Apex job to update the Lead Status field.

Answer

Create a custom field to store the legacy Lead Status and leave the standard Lead Status blank.

Answer

Modify the Salesforce Lead Status picklist to include the legacy values.

Question 3

A Salesforce data architect is preparing to migrate 5 million Account records from a legacy CRM. The legacy system has a field 'Legacy_Owner__c' that contains the email address of the account owner. During migration, the architect must ensure that the ownership is assigned to the correct active Salesforce User. Which approach should be used to map the legacy owner email to the Salesforce User ID?

Accepted Answer

Create a custom field on Account to store the legacy owner email, then use a post-load process or Data Loader to update OwnerId based on a User lookup.. To map legacy owner emails to Salesforce User IDs, the architect should first load Accounts with the legacy email stored in a custom field. Then, using a lookup or ETL transformation, the correct User IDs can be determined and applied to the OwnerId field. This two-step process avoids errors and ensures accurate ownership assignment.

Answer

Load the email addresses into the OwnerId field directly; Salesforce will automatically resolve them to User IDs.

Answer

Use the Data Loader's 'Bulk API' with the 'Assignment Rule' option enabled to automatically assign owners based on email.

Answer

Load the legacy owner email into the Account Owner field using the 'External ID' feature of the User object.

Question 4

A nonprofit needs to record donations. Each donation is made by exactly one donor Account, and the organization wants a Donor's lifetime giving total displayed on the Account record itself, updated automatically whenever a Donation is created or edited. What should the architect configure?

Accepted Answer

A roll-up summary field on Account that sums the Amount field of related Donation records, with Donation in a Master-Detail relationship to Account.. Roll-up summary fields exist to aggregate values from detail records onto a master record. With Donation in a Master-Detail relationship to Account, the architect can create a roll-up summary field on Account that sums the Amount field of all related donations. The total updates automatically on insert, update, and delete, with no code and no scheduled job.

Answer

A trigger on Donation that posts the Amount to a custom field on Account using an aggregate SOQL query.

Answer

A scheduled Flow that runs nightly to query all Donations and update a numeric field on each Account.

Answer

A cross-object formula field on Account that sums the Amount field of all related Donation records.

Question 5

A financial services firm stores portfolio holdings in a custom object with 4 million records. Analysts frequently filter holdings by Account and by a calculated risk score derived from multiple fields on the holding record. The architect wants to minimize query time when users filter by risk score in list views and reports. Which approach should the architect take?

Accepted Answer

Create a numeric custom field to store the risk score, populate it via a before-save record-triggered flow, and request a custom index on that field.. To filter efficiently on a computed value at scale, the value must be stored in a field that can carry a custom index. A before-save record-triggered flow updates the stored field without extra DML, and a custom index lets list views and reports filter on it quickly. Formula fields, roll-up summaries, and Big Objects cannot provide indexed filtering on a per-record calculated score.

Answer

Create a formula field for the risk score and rely on Salesforce to index it automatically for filtering.

Answer

Create a roll-up summary field on a parent object to calculate the risk score and filter on the parent.

Answer

Enable Big Object storage for the holdings and query it with SOQL to improve filter performance.

Question 6

Cloud Kicks is ingesting 20 million Account records nightly from an external ERP into Salesforce using the Bulk API 2.0. The ERP also updates existing records. During testing, the data architect observes that some records are duplicated because the external system's unique identifier is not enforced in Salesforce. Which solution should the architect implement to prevent duplicates during the nightly load?

Accepted Answer

Create a unique External ID field on Account and use the upsert operation with that field as the external ID.. An External ID field with the unique attribute allows Salesforce to reliably match incoming records to existing ones during an upsert. This prevents duplicates by updating matched records and inserting only new ones. Bulk API 2.0 supports upsert with an external ID, making it the most efficient and scalable solution for nightly loads of millions of records while maintaining data integrity.

Answer

Schedule a nightly batch Apex job that deletes duplicates after the load completes.

Answer

Enable duplicate rules with a matching rule on the ERP identifier field and set the action to Block.

Answer

Use a before-insert trigger to query for existing records and update them if found, otherwise insert.

Question 7

Northern Trail Outfitters uses Salesforce as its system of entry for accounts and has a legacy ERP that remains the system of record for billing. The data architect must ensure that when an account's billing address changes in Salesforce, the ERP is updated within near real time, and when the ERP changes a credit limit, Salesforce reflects it within the same window. No middleware is currently in place. Which approach should the architect recommend?

Accepted Answer

Implement a bidirectional integration using Platform Events and Change Data Capture, with an external subscriber handling ERP writes and publishing ERP changes back as Platform Events.. Near real time bidirectional synchronization between Salesforce and an ERP without middleware is best achieved with Salesforce's native eventing: Change Data Capture streams Salesforce record changes, and Platform Events can carry ERP changes back. This decouples systems, preserves throughput, and supports the required latency. Batch or synchronous dual-write approaches either miss the latency target or create fragile coupling that undermines master data consistency.

Answer

Create a duplicate of each account in the ERP as an external object and use Apex triggers to write to both systems on every account save.

Answer

Schedule a nightly Apex batch job that exports updated accounts to CSV and the ERP imports them, with a reciprocal nightly import.

Answer

Configure Salesforce Connect with an OData adapter so Salesforce reads ERP billing records live and the ERP reads Salesforce accounts live.

Question 8

A data architect needs to ensure that when a user updates a field on a custom object, a related record on another object is automatically updated to reflect the change. The architect wants to avoid writing code. Which declarative feature should be used?

Accepted Answer

Record-Triggered Flow with an Update Records element. Record-Triggered Flows are the declarative tool of choice for automating updates to related records. They can be configured to run before or after a record is saved, and they can update records on the same object or related objects. They support both master-detail and lookup relationships, and they do not require code. This makes them ideal for the scenario where a related record needs to be updated when a field changes.

Answer

Workflow Rule with a Field Update

Answer

Process Builder with an Update Records action

Answer

Apex Trigger with a future method

Question 9

Universal Containers has a custom object Order__c with 10 million records. The object has a lookup relationship to Account. A data architect needs to create a report that shows the total order amount per account for the last fiscal year. The report must be accessible to 500 users and should load in under 10 seconds. Which solution should the architect recommend?

Accepted Answer

Create a custom object to store aggregated order totals per account, populate it nightly using Batch Apex, and build a report on that object.. Pre-aggregating data into a custom object via Batch Apex provides a performant and scalable solution for reporting on large data volumes. The report then queries a small, indexed dataset, ensuring fast load times for many users. This pattern is commonly recommended for large-scale aggregations that cannot be efficiently handled by standard reports or real-time queries.

Answer

Create a report using a custom report type with a cross filter on Order__c and summarize by Account.

Answer

Create a roll-up summary field on Account that sums Order__c amounts for the last fiscal year, and use it in a report.

Answer

Create a Lightning Web Component that queries Order__c using SOQL with GROUP BY Account and displays the results.

Question 10

A data architect at a global manufacturer is defining the match strategy for a new MDM hub. Legal names vary widely across regions, so the architect needs a technique that will correctly link records such as 'Acme Corp.' and 'Acme Corporation Ltd.' even though the strings differ. Which matching approach best satisfies this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Probabilistic (fuzzy) matching using token-based similarity scoring with a configurable match threshold.. The requirement is about linking records whose names differ lexically but refer to the same real-world entity. Deterministic rules and identifier-only matching both fail when the input strings vary, while blocking is a performance layer rather than a matching algorithm. Probabilistic scoring with a tunable threshold is the standard MDM technique for this kind of fuzzy corporate-name reconciliation.

Answer

Deterministic matching on the exact normalized Account Name field using a case-insensitive comparison.

Answer

Blocking on the first three characters of the account name followed by exact comparison of the remaining characters.

Answer

Matching on the external ERP customer number only, ignoring name fields entirely during the match.

Question 11

A Salesforce org has a custom object Log__c with 5 million records. The object has a lookup to Case. Users report that when they view a Case record, the related list of Log__c records takes a long time to load. The data architect decides to create a custom index on the Case lookup field. After the index is created, performance improves. Which statement best explains why the index improved performance?

Accepted Answer

The index allows the related list query to use an index to quickly retrieve Log__c records for the specific Case.. The related list on Case queries Log__c records filtered by the Case lookup. This filter is highly selective because it returns only records for one Case. Creating a custom index on the lookup field allows the query optimizer to use the index, avoiding a full table scan. Thus, the index directly improves the performance of the related list query.

Answer

The index reduces the number of records that need to be queried by pre-filtering the Log__c object.

Answer

The index enables the related list to be loaded from a cache instead of the database.

Answer

The index sorts the Log__c records by Case, which speeds up the display order in the related list.

Question 12

A data architect is migrating 10 million Case records and their related Case Comments from a legacy system to Salesforce Service Cloud. The legacy system stores Case Comments in a separate table with a foreign key to the Case. The architect plans to use Bulk API 2.0 for the migration. What is the most critical consideration for maintaining referential integrity between Cases and Case Comments during the load?

Accepted Answer

Load Cases first, then load Case Comments with the correct ParentId referencing the Salesforce Case ID.. Referential integrity requires that parent records exist before children. Therefore, Cases must be loaded first, and their Salesforce IDs captured to populate the ParentId on Case Comments. Using an External ID on Case can facilitate mapping. Parallel loading or relying solely on External IDs without loading Cases first would fail.

Answer

Load Cases and Case Comments simultaneously using parallel processing to save time.

Answer

Disable validation rules on Case Comments to avoid errors during the load.

Answer

Use an External ID field on Case Comments to link to the legacy Case ID without loading Cases first.

Question 13

A multinational Salesforce org must ensure that records created in the EU region are stored and processed only within EU-approved infrastructure, while global reporting aggregates anonymized metrics. Which governance control should the architect prioritize to satisfy data residency?

Accepted Answer

Deploy the EU data in a Salesforce instance hosted in the EU region and restrict cross-region data flows through integration and sharing design. Data residency requires the records to physically reside and be processed in the approved region, and only anonymized aggregates to cross borders for reporting. Hosting EU data in an EU-region instance with controlled cross-region flows achieves that. Encryption key custody, sharing rules, and authentication each improve security but do not govern the location of storage or processing.

Answer

Configure Shield Platform Encryption with a tenant secret held by the EU legal entity

Answer

Apply record-level sharing rules that limit EU records to EU-based users

Answer

Enable Multi-Factor Authentication for all EU users to protect access to regulated records

Question 14

A healthcare provider's Salesforce org uses a custom object 'Care_Plan__c' with a Lookup to 'Patient__c'. Compliance now requires that a Care Plan cannot exist without a Patient, that the Patient record cannot be deleted while Care Plans reference it, and that each Care Plan should inherit the Patient's sharing settings. The team also needs a roll-up summary of active Care Plans on the Patient record. Which relationship change should the architect recommend?

Accepted Answer

Convert the Lookup on Care_Plan__c to a Master-Detail relationship with Patient__c as the master.. A Master-Detail relationship is the platform feature that natively enforces a required parent, prevents deletion of referenced parents, inherits the parent's sharing model, and supports roll-up summary fields. Converting the existing Lookup satisfies all compliance and reporting needs with declarative configuration rather than custom automation.

Answer

Create a Junction object between Patient__c and Care_Plan__c to enforce the dependency.

Answer

Change Care_Plan__c to a hierarchical relationship on Patient__c so deletion cascades from the parent.

Answer

Keep the Lookup and add a validation rule plus a Flow that prevents Patient deletion and writes sharing manually.

Question 15

An architect is designing a schema for a logistics org where each 'Shipment__c' record can be linked to many 'Carrier__c' records, and each Carrier can serve many Shipments. The business also needs to store the negotiated 'Rate__c' and 'Effective_Date__c' specific to each Shipment-Carrier pairing, and report on those values. Which data modeling approach should the architect use?

Accepted Answer

Create a Junction object 'Shipment_Carrier__c' with two Master-Detail relationships to Shipment__c and Carrier__c, plus Rate__c and Effective_Date__c fields.. The many-to-many requirement with attributes unique to each pairing is the textbook case for a Junction object built from two Master-Detail relationships. Placing Rate__c and Effective_Date__c on the junction keeps pairing-specific data normalized and reportable, and the master-detail links provide integrity and roll-up options.

Answer

Create a self-referencing Lookup on Carrier__c that points to Shipment__c and use related lists for reporting.

Answer

Create two Lookup fields on Shipment__c, one to Carrier__c and one to a Rate__c object.

Answer

Use a single Lookup from Shipment__c to Carrier__c and store multiple carrier IDs in a long text field.

Question 16

A data architect needs to migrate 500,000 Account records from a legacy system into Salesforce. The legacy system uses a 15-digit alphanumeric string as the unique identifier. The architect must ensure that future updates can match existing Accounts without creating duplicates. Which field configuration should be used on the Account object to support this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Create a custom Text field of length 15 and make it an External ID.. To support upsert and prevent duplicates, the legacy identifier must be stored in a field marked as an External ID. A custom Text field of sufficient length, designated as External ID, allows the Data Loader or Bulk API to match existing records based on that field. This is the standard pattern for integrating external systems and maintaining data integrity.

Answer

Create a custom Text field of length 15 and use it as the Salesforce Record ID.

Answer

Use the standard Account Number field and set it as an External ID.

Answer

Create a custom Text field of length 15 and mark it as Unique.

Question 17

Universal Containers is building a Data Governance program for its Salesforce org. The governance lead wants a single authoritative reference that defines every custom object and field, its business definition, data owner, allowed values, and system of record. Which artifact should the architect recommend as the foundation?

Accepted Answer

A Data Dictionary maintained as a versioned document and published to all stakeholders. The requirement is one authoritative reference covering field definitions, ownership, allowed values, and system of record. A Data Dictionary is precisely that artifact and is the standard foundation for a Data Governance program. ERDs, audit retention policies, and migration mappings each serve narrower technical purposes and cannot substitute for a maintained catalog of business and technical metadata.

Answer

A Data Loader field-mapping spreadsheet used for the most recent migration

Answer

An Entity Relationship Diagram showing all object relationships and cardinalities

Answer

A Field Audit Trail retention policy configured on all custom objects

Question 18

A financial services company is migrating 5 million Account records from a legacy CRM to Salesforce. The legacy system has a field 'AnnualRevenue' stored as a string with currency symbols and commas (e.g., '$1,234,567.89'). The target Salesforce field is a Currency field with 2 decimal places. During a test load of 100,000 records using the Bulk API, the architect receives errors indicating 'Invalid currency format'. What is the most efficient way to resolve this before the full migration?

Accepted Answer

Pre-process the source data using an ETL tool or script to remove non-numeric characters and convert the string to a decimal number before loading.. The Bulk API rejects records with non-numeric characters in Currency fields. Pre-processing the source data to remove symbols and commas and convert to decimal is the most efficient solution. It ensures data conforms to Salesforce's expected format, preventing load errors and maintaining data integrity without compromising field types or requiring post-load fixes.

Answer

Modify the Salesforce field type to Text to accept the legacy format, then create a formula field to display the numeric value.

Answer

Use Data Loader's 'Transform' feature to strip currency symbols and commas before loading.

Answer

Load the data as-is and then use a scheduled Apex job to clean up the values after import.

Question 19

A data architect is implementing a data governance strategy for a Salesforce org with multiple business units. The requirement is to ensure that data stewards can define and enforce data quality rules centrally, and that users are alerted when they attempt to save records that violate these rules. Which feature should be used?

Accepted Answer

Validation Rules. Validation Rules are the standard Salesforce feature to enforce data quality at the point of record save. They can be defined centrally and apply to all users, ensuring consistent data governance. They alert users with custom error messages when rules are violated. Duplicate Rules are for duplicates only, Workflow Rules do not block saves, and the Data Quality Dashboard is not a real-time enforcement tool.

Answer

Workflow Rules

Answer

Lightning Data Quality Dashboard

Answer

Duplicate Rules

Question 20

A healthcare company needs to store patient consent records that must be retained for ten years and are rarely accessed after the first year. The records include sensitive data and must be queryable by compliance officers using standard reports. Which storage strategy should the architect recommend?

Accepted Answer

Create a Big Object to store consent records and use Async SOQL or a custom index to query them for compliance reporting.. Big Objects are the Salesforce-native option for retaining large volumes of rarely accessed data for long periods while keeping it queryable. They do not consume standard data storage and support indexes for compliance queries. Standard custom objects, external warehouses, and field history tracking cannot simultaneously satisfy long-term retention and native reporting requirements.

Answer

Archive consent records to an external data warehouse and delete them from Salesforce after one year.

Answer

Store all consent records as standard custom object records and rely on Salesforce's default data retention.

Answer

Store consent records in a custom object with field history tracking enabled and purge old records annually.