SF-Data-Arch Data Modeling and Database Design Practice Test 2 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A Data Architect is defining the data lifecycle for a large org. Which THREE practices should be used to manage data growth and storage costs?

Accepted Answer

Implement a data archival strategy using Big Objects.. Data lifecycle management is crucial for maintaining platform performance and containing storage costs. By moving inactive data to external storage, utilizing standard platform tools for archival, and cleaning up unused objects or fields, an architect prevents the database from becoming bloated. These actions keep the primary production database lean, ensuring that query performance remains high and that the organization stays within the contractual storage limits provided by Salesforce.

Answer

Delete all records older than one year immediately.

Answer

Move all data to Salesforce Files to save space.

Question 2

A company is experiencing 'Locking' errors during massive batch updates on the Opportunity object. What is the most likely cause related to the data model?

Accepted Answer

Master-Detail relationships causing parent record locks.. Record locking in Salesforce often stems from the parent-child relationship architecture. If the Opportunity object is the parent in many Master-Detail relationships, any update to an Opportunity triggers a cascade of locks on all related child records. This is a common bottleneck in high-volume environments. By evaluating the relationship types and distributing records, the architect can minimize the extent of the locks, ensuring that batch jobs complete without encountering record contention.

Answer

Excessive use of custom indexes on the Opportunity object.

Answer

The use of 'Person Accounts' in the org.

Answer

The org is exceeding its daily API limit.

Question 3

Which design pattern should an architect use to represent a 'State Machine' in Salesforce, where an object transitions through specific stages in a strict order?

Accepted Answer

Implement a Picklist for the Stage field and use Validation Rules.. A state machine ensures data integrity by enforcing a valid sequence of events. Using a Picklist for the 'Stage' and a custom object to store the validation logic or transition history is the recommended approach. This allows the architect to enforce business rules via Validation Rules or Flow, ensuring that records cannot skip steps or enter invalid states, which is critical for maintaining consistency in complex business processes.

Answer

Use a series of custom checkboxes for each stage.

Answer

Use a Multi-select picklist to track historical stages.

Answer

Use the 'Stage' field on the Opportunity object only.

Question 4

A client is consolidating data from multiple legacy systems into Salesforce. Which THREE data modeling activities are essential for maintaining 'Data Quality' during this process?

Accepted Answer

Create a mapping document to reconcile legacy and Salesforce fields.. Data consolidation requires rigorous cleansing and mapping to prevent the 'Garbage In, Garbage Out' phenomenon. By implementing data validation rules, using a centralized Data Governance framework to define 'Master Data', and creating a cross-reference mapping table for legacy IDs, an architect ensures that the new Salesforce environment is accurate and trustworthy. These steps are fundamental for successful digital transformation and long-term user adoption of the new CRM platform.

Answer

Use a single 'Global' object to store all legacy data.

Answer

Import all data as text fields to avoid validation errors.

Question 5

Universal Containers needs to track multiple addresses for a single Account record. Which data modeling approach ensures data integrity while minimizing the risk of hitting the 25-relationship limit for Lookup filters?

Accepted Answer

Create a custom Address object with a Master-Detail relationship to Account.. Using a custom object related to the Account via a Master-Detail relationship allows for robust data management and rollup summary capabilities. This approach is superior to adding multiple fields on the Account object, which leads to sparse data and poor reporting. It also avoids hitting Lookup filter limits by centralizing relationship logic in a child object, facilitating cleaner data governance and scalability for future address-based requirements.

Answer

Add 10 separate address fields directly on the Account object.

Answer

Use a custom field with a delimited string to store JSON-formatted addresses.

Answer

Configure a Lookup relationship on the Account pointing to a custom Address object.

Question 6

A data architect is designing a schema to support a high-volume B2C customer portal. They must ensure that the User object does not experience data skew. Which strategy is most effective for maintaining performance?

Accepted Answer

Implement Person Accounts to handle the B2C data model requirements.. Data skew occurs when a large number of records are associated with a single parent, leading to record locking during updates. By distributing relationships across different objects or using a junction object approach, the architect balances the load. This design pattern is critical for high-volume Salesforce implementations where transactional throughput and concurrent record access are vital for maintaining system performance and avoiding deployment bottlenecks during heavy usage cycles.

Answer

Map all millions of B2C contacts to a single 'General' Account record.

Answer

Create a custom object for every single user login attempt.

Answer

Use a text field to store user IDs instead of a Lookup relationship.

Question 7

An organization is migrating legacy data into Salesforce. Which TWO factors should be evaluated to determine the appropriate batch size during data loading to avoid system performance degradation?

Accepted Answer

The number of active automations (Triggers, Flows, Validation Rules).. Evaluating batch size is critical for balancing data throughput and system stability. Large batches increase the risk of row-level locks, while small batches cause excessive overhead. Architects must consider these factors to ensure that data migrations are successful without negatively impacting production users or triggering complex validation logic that could lead to widespread record failures during the ingestion phase of a deployment.

Answer

The total number of custom fields on the target object.

Answer

The availability of external integration endpoints.

Answer

The total number of users logged into the organization.

Question 8

A firm wants to implement a multi-currency solution. The data model requires that historical exchange rates are stored accurately for every closed Opportunity. What is the most robust way to ensure historical data integrity?

Accepted Answer

Use a flow to update the Opportunity currency daily.. Standard Salesforce currency features automatically update historical data when exchange rates change. To maintain a static snapshot of the value at the time of the transaction, the architect must create a custom field to store the exchange rate at the point of closure. This ensures historical auditability and accurate reporting, which is a key requirement for financial compliance in complex global organizations.

Answer

Enable 'Advanced Currency Management' in the organization.

Answer

Create a formula field to calculate the conversion rate dynamically.

Answer

Restrict currency updates using a Validation Rule.

Question 9

Which THREE factors should be considered when choosing between a custom object and a standard object for a new data requirement?

Accepted Answer

Availability of native platform features like lead conversion or case assignment.. Selecting between standard and custom objects requires evaluating existing functionality, organizational complexity, and long-term maintenance. Standard objects come with built-in features, while custom objects offer total flexibility. Architects must balance these trade-offs to ensure that the chosen model supports current business processes while minimizing unnecessary development debt and ensuring a consistent user experience across the Salesforce platform for all business units.

Answer

Total storage capacity remaining in the organization.

Answer

The number of total fields allowed per object.

Question 10

Refer to the exhibit. A company uses this JSON-based policy for handling sensitive data. Which platform feature should the architect implement to enforce this at the field level?

Accepted Answer

Implement Shield Platform Encryption.. To enforce granular field-level security and access, Salesforce provides Platform Encryption and Field-Level Security. In this scenario, Shield Platform Encryption provides the best layer of protection by encrypting data at rest and in transit, while Field-Level Security limits visibility to authorized profiles. These tools are the foundation of data security architecture, ensuring sensitive PII is protected against unauthorized access and accidental exposure in the user interface.

Answer

Use a Validation Rule to block edits.

Answer

Create a custom Apex Trigger to hide data.

Answer

Configure an Org-Wide Default for the object.

Question 11

A health services company wants to store each patient's insurance policy details on the Account record. Every Account has exactly one active policy, and no two Accounts may ever share the same policy number. The policy number must be searchable, and its uniqueness must be enforced by the platform without manual validation code. Which data modeling approach should the architect recommend?

Accepted Answer

Create a custom object for Policy and establish a Master-Detail relationship from Policy to Account, then mark the policy number field as Unique.. The requirement pairs a strict one-to-one cardinality with platform-enforced uniqueness on the policy number. A Master-Detail relationship from Policy to Account enforces that each Policy has exactly one master Account and inherits sharing and ownership from it, while the Unique attribute on the policy number field guarantees no duplicate policy numbers can be saved. Together these two declarative features satisfy the requirement without validation code.

Answer

Create a Lookup relationship from Account to a Policy custom object and enforce uniqueness with a duplicate rule.

Answer

Create a custom object for Policy and establish a one-to-one Lookup relationship from Policy to Account, then mark the policy number field as Unique.

Answer

Create a custom field on Account with the Unique attribute enabled and store the policy number directly on the Account.

Question 12

An architect is designing a data model for a global sales organization that must support hierarchical territory rollups, cross-object formula references, and strict record-level access control. Which TWO characteristics are true of Master-Detail relationships that the architect must account for in this design? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

A roll-up summary field on the master can aggregate numeric, count, and certain formula values from related detail records.. Master-Detail relationships enforce tight coupling: the detail inherits sharing from the master, and roll-up summary fields on the master aggregate child data. Both behaviors are essential when building hierarchical territory models with enforced access control. The detail cannot have an independent organization-wide default, and reparenting is restricted when roll-up summaries exist, so the architect must plan the model around these constraints.

Answer

The detail object can have its own independent organization-wide default separate from the master object.

Answer

A detail record can be reparented to a different master record without any restriction.

Answer

A Lookup relationship can be converted into a Master-Detail relationship at any time regardless of existing data.

Question 13

A Salesforce architect is reviewing a data model where a custom object Order__c has a Lookup relationship to Account and a Master-Detail relationship to Contract. The architect must decide which fields can be used in a roll-up summary field on Account. Which two statements are true? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

A roll-up summary field can be created on Contract to sum a numeric field on Order__c because Order__c has a Master-Detail to Contract.. Roll-up summary fields are available only on the parent of a Master-Detail relationship, so Contract can roll up Order__c values and can apply filter criteria. Account cannot roll up Order__c because the relationship is a Lookup, and Order__c cannot roll up Account because it is the child. Converting the Master-Detail to a Lookup would remove existing roll-ups.

Answer

A roll-up summary field can be created on Account to count Order__c records because Order__c has a Lookup to Account.

Answer

A roll-up summary field on Contract can count Order__c records even if the Master-Detail relationship is later converted to a Lookup.

Answer

The Order__c object can have a roll-up summary field that aggregates data from Account.

Question 14

A Salesforce architect is designing a data model for a custom object 'Project__c' that requires a field to store a monetary value with 8 digits to the left of the decimal and 2 digits to the right. The field must be available for roll-up summaries and should not allow negative values. Which field type and configuration should be used?

Accepted Answer

Currency field with length 10, decimal places 2, and set to not allow negative. A Currency field with the specified length and decimal places meets all requirements: it stores monetary values with 8 digits left and 2 right, supports roll-up summaries when used in a master-detail relationship, and can be configured to disallow negative values. The other options either lack roll-up summary support, are not stored fields, or are not numeric.

Answer

Text field with a validation rule to enforce numeric format

Answer

Number field with length 10, decimal places 2, and set to not allow negative

Answer

Formula field returning a Currency value with 8 digits left and 2 right

Question 15

A financial services firm stores account balances in a custom object with millions of records. Analysts frequently query balances by a combination of Region and FiscalQuarter. The architect notices that these queries are slow and that the platform reports they are not selective. Which action should the architect take to improve query performance?

Accepted Answer

Create a custom index on the Region and FiscalQuarter fields so the query optimizer can use the index to reduce the number of records scanned.. Non-selective SOQL queries on large objects scan excessive rows and trigger performance warnings. Salesforce allows custom indexes on fields that are frequently used as filters, and when the filter values are selective enough the optimizer uses the index to reduce the scanned row count. Creating an index on the frequently filtered Region and FiscalQuarter fields directly improves the selectivity of the analyst queries.

Answer

Create a report that pre-aggregates the balances and schedule it to run hourly so analysts view the report instead of querying the object.

Answer

Enable Big Object storage for the balance object so that queries are distributed across multiple nodes.

Answer

Convert the Region and FiscalQuarter fields to formula fields so the platform can compute them at query time.