SF-Data-Arch Salesforce Data Management Practice Test 4 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Refer to the exhibit. An architect is reviewing a JSON configuration for a data load into a Big Object. Which statement correctly describes a requirement for successfully loading data into this specific object type?

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

Accepted Answer

All fields defined in the Big Object's index must be present in the CSV.. Big Objects are designed for massive data storage but have unique requirements compared to standard objects. When inserting data into a Big Object, the CSV file must include all fields that are defined in the Big Object's custom index. This index is required for querying and uniquely identifying records within the Big Object store.

Answer

The Bulk API 2.0 must be used as it is the only API supporting Big Objects.

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Triggers on the Big Object will execute for each record inserted.

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The operation must be set to 'upsert' to avoid duplicate index entries.

Question 2

Universal Containers needs to access real-time order data stored in an external legacy ERP system within Salesforce without storing the data locally. Which Salesforce feature is most appropriate for this data management requirement?

Accepted Answer

Salesforce Connect using an OData adapter.. Salesforce Connect allows for the integration of external data sources via OData or custom adapters, exposing external data as External Objects. This allows users to view and interact with the data in real-time within Salesforce without the storage costs or synchronization issues associated with physically importing the data.

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Bulk API 2.0 with a scheduled middleware sync.

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Change Data Capture (CDC) to monitor ERP updates.

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Apex Callouts to a REST endpoint on the ERP.

Question 3

Universal Containers uses a Big Object named 'Log__b' to store audit trails. They need to generate a report that aggregates this data weekly for compliance. Standard SOQL queries are failing due to the volume of records. What should the architect recommend?

Accepted Answer

Use CRM Analytics (formerly Tableau CRM) to ingest and aggregate the data.. Big Objects are optimized for massive scale but do not support standard SOQL features like aggregate functions or complex filtering over large sets. Async SOQL was the historical solution, but it has been retired. The modern recommendation is to use CRM Analytics or external reporting tools to process Big Object data.

Answer

Use a Skinny Table on the Big Object to improve query performance.

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Create a Summary Report in Salesforce and schedule it for weekly delivery.

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Write an Apex batch job to query the Big Object using the 'GROUP BY' clause.

Question 4

A healthcare company must retain patient interaction records for 10 years for regulatory compliance. However, records older than 2 years are rarely accessed and are causing performance issues in the live Org. Which TWO strategies should an architect recommend?

Accepted Answer

Archive records older than 2 years into a Big Object.. Managing Large Data Volumes (LDV) requires moving infrequently accessed data out of the primary transactional tables. Moving data to Big Objects keeps it within the Salesforce ecosystem at a lower cost, while off-platform archiving to a data warehouse provides maximum performance and long-term storage flexibility.

Answer

Use a Skinny Table to store records older than 2 years.

Answer

Implement a nightly batch job to delete records older than 2 years.

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Move historical records to a separate 'Archive' custom object within Salesforce.

Question 5

Refer to the exhibit. An architect is using the Salesforce CLI to perform a high-volume data upsert. What is the significance of the '-i Legacy_ID__c' parameter in this command?

Accepted Answer

It defines the custom External ID field used to match existing records.. When performing an upsert operation via the Bulk API (or CLI), the system needs a way to determine if a record already exists or if a new one should be created. The '-i' parameter specifies the External ID field that the system will use as the unique key for this matching process.

Answer

It specifies the internal Salesforce ID field for the upsert.

Answer

It indicates the field that should be used as the primary index for PK Chunking.

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It tells the CLI to ignore all records that have a null value in that field.

Question 6

Universal Containers needs to provide a Full Sandbox for testing, but they must ensure that sensitive customer data like Social Security Numbers and Credit Card details are not visible to developers. Which solution is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Implement Salesforce Data Mask to anonymize data during refresh.. Data Masking is a specific security process used to anonymize or pseudonymize sensitive data when it is copied from a production environment to a sandbox. Salesforce Data Mask allows administrators to mask sensitive data automatically during the sandbox refresh process, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations.

Answer

Use a Partial Copy Sandbox and exclude the sensitive objects.

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Encrypt the fields in Production using Shield Platform Encryption.

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Write a post-copy Apex script to delete sensitive field values.

Question 7

Universal Containers is classifying their data based on sensitivity levels (e.g., Public, Internal, Confidential, Restricted). Which Salesforce feature allows them to record this classification directly on the field definition?

Accepted Answer

Data Classification Metadata fields.. Salesforce provides built-in Data Classification fields for every custom and standard field. This allows organizations to track the Data Owner, Field Usage, Data Sensitivity, and Compliance Categorization directly in the metadata, which is essential for data governance and regulatory compliance reporting.

Answer

Field-Level Security (FLS) settings.

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Shield Platform Encryption.

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Custom Metadata Types.

Question 8

A Data Architect is tasked with cleaning up duplicate records in a large Salesforce organization. The duplicates have been identified across multiple objects. What is the most effective approach to maintain data integrity during this process?

Accepted Answer

Merge duplicate records using the native Salesforce Merge feature.. Using Duplicate Management rules alongside the Data Import Wizard or API-based deletion is the standard approach. By identifying duplicates through native features and merging them, the architect preserves related records (like child objects) that would otherwise be deleted during a manual record deletion. This ensures that the parent-child relationships remain intact, preventing data orphans and maintaining the overall integrity of the relational database structure.

Answer

Use Data Loader to export all records, delete them from Salesforce, and re-import unique records.

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Delete records using a hard-delete command to ensure they are permanently removed.

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Update the records to a dummy state and hide them from all user profiles.

Question 9

When designing a large-scale data architecture, what is the primary consideration regarding the 'Skinny Table' feature in Salesforce?

Accepted Answer

They should be requested through Salesforce Support for specific performance needs.. Skinny tables are used to optimize read-only performance for reports and list views by denormalizing data into a single table. They are highly effective for performance, but they are maintenance-intensive because they require Salesforce Support to enable and update. They are not a general-purpose solution for transactional data; rather, they are a performance-tuning tool meant for specific, high-volume reporting needs that cannot be satisfied by standard indexes alone.

Answer

They automatically update whenever a record is modified by a user.

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They are best used to improve write performance for high-volume transactions.

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They allow for unlimited columns and data types in the table structure.

Question 10

Refer to the exhibit. An integration user is encountering record locking errors during high-volume data updates. What is the most effective technical solution to resolve this contention?

Accepted Answer

Group records by parent ID before processing to ensure serialization.. Record locking in Salesforce often occurs when multiple processes or threads attempt to update the same parent record or records with common children. To resolve this, the integration process should be serialized or partitioned to group related records together. By ensuring that transactions affecting the same parent record are processed sequentially in the same thread, the architecture prevents the 'Unable to lock row' errors, enhancing overall stability and throughput.

Answer

Increase the number of threads in the integration to process records faster.

Answer

Change the record ownership to a generic user account to avoid user locks.

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Disable the 'User Audit' tracking on the affected object.

Question 11

A Data Architect is designing a strategy to manage 'soft-deleted' data in a Salesforce instance. The requirement is to maintain data for seven years, but only show active records in standard views. What is the most recommended approach?

Accepted Answer

Use an 'Active' checkbox and filtered list views to hide inactive records.. Using a combination of a status field and optimized list views/reports provides a flexible, low-impact solution. By setting an 'IsActive' flag, data remains available for historical reporting and audits without cluttering the UI for operational users. This pattern is easily scalable and avoids the complexities of moving data to external systems or utilizing custom objects, while adhering to organizational data retention policies without compromising standard Salesforce object relationships.

Answer

Use the 'Archive' custom object to store all inactive records.

Answer

Create a daily batch job that deletes records older than one year.

Answer

Change the sharing settings to 'Private' for all inactive records.

Question 12

A company is experiencing slow performance on reports that join multiple objects with millions of records. What architectural change should the Data Architect propose first to improve report performance?

Accepted Answer

Request custom indexes for the fields used in report filters.. Indexing is the most fundamental way to improve database performance for filtering and joining large datasets. In Salesforce, ensuring that fields used in report filters and custom indexes are properly configured is the first step. If standard indexing is insufficient, the architect may consider custom indexes or denormalizing the data model. This approach is far less intrusive and more cost-effective than re-architecting the entire data model or moving data to an external warehouse.

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Switch to an external reporting tool like Tableau or Power BI.

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Force all users to use the Reporting Snapshot feature instead of live reports.

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Convert all report types to be 'Joined Reports' to reduce data loads.

Question 13

A Data Architect needs to implement a field-level security strategy where PII is visible only to the 'HR' profile. However, other profiles need to run reports on the account data without seeing the PII. What is the correct way to handle this?

Accepted Answer

Apply field-level security to the PII field for all profiles except HR.. Field-level security (FLS) is the primary method for controlling access to specific fields. By defining FLS for the HR profile and restricting access for others, the architect ensures data privacy. When users without access run reports, Salesforce automatically hides the field, preventing unauthorized viewing while allowing them to report on other non-sensitive data. This approach is the native, secure way to manage field visibility without complex custom components or data splitting strategies.

Answer

Create two separate objects and use a lookup relationship to link them.

Answer

Implement a custom Lightning component to mask the field data.

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Use an Apex trigger to clear the field value if the user is not in the HR profile.

Question 14

When evaluating external data integration, which THREE architectural patterns should a Data Architect consider to minimize the impact on Salesforce governor limits?

Accepted Answer

Use Salesforce Connect to access external data without importing it.. To keep Salesforce performant, architects must offload heavy processing. Integrating with an middleware, using asynchronous patterns, and leveraging external objects (Salesforce Connect) are all strategies to avoid hitting governor limits. These methods decouple the heavy lifting from the Salesforce transaction, allowing the platform to remain responsive while the external system handles the data processing, aggregation, or long-term storage, keeping the overall architecture lean and within prescribed operational constraints.

Answer

Perform all data transformations using Apex inside the Salesforce transaction.

Answer

Increase the batch size limit by contacting Salesforce Support.

Question 15

A Data Architect is designing a disaster recovery plan. Which data elements must be explicitly backed up outside of Salesforce to ensure business continuity?

Accepted Answer

System Metadata, Custom Settings, and complex relational data.. While Salesforce provides high availability, it does not provide a point-in-time restore for individual records or deleted data if the retention period has passed. Metadata, custom settings, and high-value transactional data must be exported and stored off-platform. This strategy ensures that if a catastrophic deletion occurs or if there is a need to revert to a specific state, the organization can reconstruct its configuration and data without relying solely on the platform's standard capabilities.

Answer

Standard Account and Contact records, as they are managed by Salesforce.

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Chatter posts and historical activity logs for all users.

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All temporary batch job execution logs.