SF-Data-Arch Data Migration Practice Test 3 — 15 Questions

Question 1

What is the main advantage of using an ETL tool rather than the standard Salesforce Data Loader for a large-scale enterprise migration?

Accepted Answer

It provides visual workflow orchestration and error handling.. Enterprise ETL tools provide advanced capabilities such as graphical orchestration, error logging, automated retry logic, and seamless connectivity to heterogeneous data sources. While Data Loader is sufficient for simple, smaller loads, ETL tools allow architects to manage complex migration workflows, parallel jobs, and sophisticated data transformations across multiple systems, which is required for large-scale enterprise integration projects.

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It is always free to use.

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It bypasses Salesforce security controls.

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It allows direct database access to the Salesforce backend.

Question 2

During a migration, you discover that the source system has a different date format than the required ISO 8601 format for Salesforce. What is the most efficient way to handle this?

Accepted Answer

Transform the data using an ETL tool or script before loading it into Salesforce.. Data transformation should ideally occur in the ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) layer before the data reaches Salesforce. By formatting dates during the extraction or transformation process, you ensure that the data conforms to Salesforce requirements before it hits the API. This is more scalable than attempting to force Salesforce to interpret varying formats, which can lead to data loss or import errors during the ingestion process.

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Use an Apex trigger to format the dates after the records are inserted.

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Update the Salesforce field type to 'Text' to accommodate any date format.

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Manually update the records in the Salesforce UI after the migration completes.

Question 3

When migrating data to Salesforce, which TWO strategies help ensure successful relationship mapping between parent and child objects?

Accepted Answer

Use External IDs to map the relationship between parent and child.. Mapping relationships is the hardest part of data migration. Using external IDs for lookups ensures that child records are connected to the correct parent regardless of the internal Salesforce ID. Furthermore, performing the load in a specific sequence (parents first, then children) eliminates 'missing parent' errors. These two strategies ensure that relational integrity is preserved from the legacy system without relying on fragile multi-step manual work or custom post-load reconciliation scripts.

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Load child records first, then use Apex to link parents.

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Query the Salesforce internal IDs after the load to update the child records.

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Only migrate parent objects to ensure no orphan records exist.

Question 4

You are migrating records that contain multi-select picklist values. What is the key consideration for mapping this data from a legacy system?

Accepted Answer

The values must be formatted as a semi-colon separated string.. Multi-select picklists are stored as semi-colon separated strings in Salesforce. When migrating, the source data must be transformed to match this specific delimiter format. Failure to use the exact semi-colon separator, or including values that are not currently defined in the Salesforce picklist configuration, will result in import errors. It is essential to sanitize and format these values in the ETL layer before the load.

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The values must be separated by commas in the source file.

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Each value must be imported as a separate child record.

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The picklist must be converted to a custom object before loading.

Question 5

What is the primary benefit of performing a data cleansing exercise before initiating a migration to Salesforce?

Accepted Answer

It prevents the migration of invalid or duplicate data into the new system.. Data cleansing is the process of detecting and correcting corrupt or inaccurate records. Doing this before migration is vital because it prevents the 'garbage in, garbage out' syndrome. High-quality data ensures that the new system is reliable from day one, improves user adoption, and prevents the need for costly post-migration data remediation projects which are significantly more complex once the data is integrated into existing business logic.

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It eliminates the need for field mapping in the ETL process.

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It ensures that the target Salesforce Org meets storage limits.

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It automatically adjusts the Salesforce schema to fit the legacy data.

Question 6

During a migration, you encounter an error stating that the record exceeds the maximum character limit for a field. What is the most robust way to handle this?

Accepted Answer

Evaluate the data and request business approval for truncation or re-mapping.. Truncating data without business approval is a data integrity risk. The architect should analyze the source data to determine why it exceeds the limit and work with stakeholders to either shorten the source text, map it to a larger field, or confirm if truncation is acceptable. Simply truncating in the ETL layer may result in the loss of critical information, which can lead to compliance or business issues down the line.

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Automatically truncate the text in the ETL process to fit the limit.

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Increase the Salesforce field length to the maximum possible.

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Skip the records that exceed the character limit.

Question 7

A data architect is migrating 50 million records into a custom object. To ensure optimal performance and avoid hitting governor limits, which strategy should be implemented during the initial data load?

Accepted Answer

Leverage Bulk API 2.0 and disable non-essential automation, triggers, and validation rules.. Utilizing the Bulk API 2.0 with serial mode for initial loads minimizes contention on shared resources and prevents record locking errors during high-volume inserts. Designing around index selectivity and disabling unnecessary automation like workflow rules or triggers before loading is crucial for performance. This approach ensures data integrity while drastically reducing the time required to complete the migration compared to standard synchronous API methods.

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Enable all existing triggers and validation rules to ensure data quality immediately upon insertion.

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Use the SOAP API to perform synchronous inserts for real-time validation feedback.

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Increase the batch size to the maximum allowed limit for standard REST API calls.

Question 8

A company is migrating legacy account data into Salesforce. They need to map legacy system primary keys to a new custom field to support future integrations. What is the recommended approach to ensure this field supports efficient data retrieval?

Accepted Answer

Configure the custom field as an External ID with unique constraints enabled.. Marking the custom external ID field as 'Unique' and 'External ID' ensures Salesforce automatically indexes the column. This indexing is critical for upsert operations, as it allows the platform to quickly match existing records without performing a full table scan. Proper schema design during migration prevents long-term performance degradation and simplifies the maintenance of relational integrity across interconnected systems.

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Create a standard text field and create a custom index request through Salesforce Support.

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Use a custom field without the External ID attribute and perform lookups via SOQL.

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Store the legacy primary key in the standard Name field for each account.

Question 9

Refer to the exhibit. During a high-volume migration, the team encounters the provided error frequently. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Multiple threads are updating child records that share the same parent account.. The 'UNABLE_TO_LOCK_ROW' error indicates that multiple threads or processes are attempting to update the same record or its parent records simultaneously. In data migration, this usually happens when records sharing the same parent are processed in parallel. By reordering the data or reducing the concurrency in the bulk load, architects can prevent these deadlocks and ensure successful completion without constant retries or system instability.

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The batch size is too small, causing excessive commits to the database.

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The API user does not have sufficient permissions to modify the account records.

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The Salesforce database is experiencing a scheduled maintenance window.

Question 10

When planning a large data migration, which TWO tasks are essential to perform before the data load? (Choose two)

Accepted Answer

Deactivate all triggers, workflow rules, and flows that could interfere with the load.. Preparing the environment by deactivating automation and establishing a clean mapping strategy are foundational steps. Deactivating automation prevents unintended side effects and performance bottlenecks during the load. A robust mapping strategy, including data cleansing and validation, ensures the migration follows business requirements. These steps minimize downtime and reduce the risk of data corruption, ensuring the system remains performant and the data remains high quality post-migration.

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Increase the Salesforce API limit for the specific migration user.

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Delete all existing records in the environment to ensure a fresh start.

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Enable the 'Parallelize' setting on all user profiles.

Question 11

A healthcare provider is migrating 8 million legacy Patient_Visit__c records into Salesforce. Each visit references a legacy numeric provider code, and the legacy system does not expose a stable unique identifier for each provider. The Salesforce Provider__c object already has a custom external ID field named Legacy_Provider_Code__c that is populated. The architect wants to load visits without first exporting provider Salesforce IDs. Which approach should be used?

Accepted Answer

Load Patient_Visit__c records with a lookup field populated by the legacy provider code, relying on the external ID field to resolve the relationship during the load.. Relationship fields can be populated with an external ID value when the target object has that field marked as an external ID, letting Salesforce match and set the lookup during the load. Because Provider__c already has Legacy_Provider_Code__c configured as an external ID and populated, the visit load can reference the provider by that code directly, eliminating a separate ID export and join step and keeping the migration efficient at scale.

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Create a junction object between Provider__c and Patient_Visit__c, load the junction records with both legacy codes, and let Salesforce infer the lookups.

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Load Patient_Visit__c records into a staging custom object, then use a scheduled Apex job to copy each legacy provider code into a text field and later reconcile manually.

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Export all Provider__c records with their Salesforce IDs, VLOOKUP the IDs into the visit file, then load visits with the 18-character Salesforce ID in the lookup field.

Question 12

A data architect is migrating 4 million legacy Customer__c records into Salesforce using the Bulk API. The source system exports a CSV with a column 'Legacy_Id__c' that must remain unique and searchable for downstream integrations. After the initial load, the architect notices duplicate Customer__c records were created because the External ID field was not marked as unique. Which Salesforce field configuration should have been applied to Legacy_Id__c to prevent duplicates during upsert?

Accepted Answer

Mark the field as an External ID and select 'Unique' in the field definition.. An External ID field with the Unique attribute is the correct mechanism for upsert matching and duplicate prevention. When the Bulk API processes an upsert, it uses the External ID to determine whether to insert or update. Without the Unique constraint, Salesforce cannot reliably match records, and duplicate Legacy_Id__c values can result in multiple Customer__c records.

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Set the field type to Text (Encrypted) and enable 'Do Not Track History'.

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Create a validation rule that compares Legacy_Id__c to existing records.

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Enable 'Required' on the field and use Data Loader's 'Insert' operation instead of 'Upsert'.

Question 13

A data architect is migrating 8 million Contact records from a legacy CRM into Salesforce Sales Cloud. The legacy system stores phone numbers as free-text strings in multiple formats (e.g., '(415) 555-1212', '415.555.1212', '4155551212'). After migration, users must be able to search for Contacts by phone number and have the numbers display consistently. Which approach should the architect use to ensure phone numbers are searchable and standardized?

Accepted Answer

Pre-process the legacy data in the ETL layer to normalize all phone numbers to a single format, then load them into the standard Phone field.. Normalizing phone numbers during the ETL process before loading them into the standard Phone field ensures that all values conform to one format. This makes the standard field's search indexing effective and provides consistent display without custom code. The other options either leave inconsistent data at rest or rely on features that do not automatically normalize free-text input.

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Store the original free-text phone numbers in a Text field and create a formula field that formats the number for display.

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Store phone numbers in the standard Phone field and rely on Salesforce's automatic normalization and search indexing.

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Create a custom Text field with a validation rule that enforces a specific phone number format, and load the raw values.

Question 14

A data architect is migrating 12 million Opportunity records into a new Salesforce org. The legacy system uses a custom 'Opportunity_Key__c' that must be populated for integration purposes. During a test load using the Bulk API in parallel mode, the team observes that some records fail with 'UNABLE_TO_LOCK_ROW' errors. What is the most likely cause of these errors?

Accepted Answer

Multiple batches in parallel are attempting to update the same parent Account records, causing row-level lock contention.. UNABLE_TO_LOCK_ROW errors during parallel Bulk API loads typically occur when concurrent batches attempt to update child records that reference the same parent records. Salesforce locks parent records to enforce referential integrity, and simultaneous access causes contention. Reducing parallelism or serializing the load for affected objects resolves the issue.

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The custom 'Opportunity_Key__c' field is not marked as an external ID, preventing proper indexing and causing locks.

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The parallel mode uses a single batch that is too large, exceeding the record lock timeout threshold.

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The Bulk API parallel mode exceeds the daily API request limit, causing lock contention.

Question 15

A Salesforce architect is migrating 2 million legacy Contact records into a new Salesforce org. The legacy system does not have email addresses for 40% of the contacts, but Salesforce's standard Email field is not required. During a test load of 10,000 records using the Bulk API in serial mode, the load succeeds but the architect notices that duplicate contacts are being created because the legacy system reused a 'legacy_id__c' external ID field for different contacts across regions. What should the architect do to prevent duplicate creation during the full migration?

Accepted Answer

Create a new unique external ID field by concatenating region and legacy_id, populate it in the source data, and use it as the external ID for upsert operations.. The duplicate creation is due to the external ID field not being unique across regions. The correct solution is to create a new composite external ID that combines region and legacy ID, ensuring uniqueness. This allows upsert operations to correctly identify records and prevent duplicates, while the original legacy ID can be retained for audit purposes.

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Set the legacy_id__c field as unique in Salesforce and retry the load; Salesforce will automatically reject duplicate external IDs.

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Enable the 'Prevent Duplicates' setting on the Contact object and use Data Loader's deduplication feature before loading.

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Use the Bulk API in parallel mode with a batch size of 1 to ensure each record is processed individually and duplicates are avoided.