SF-Data-Arch Data Migration Practice Test 4 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A healthcare company is migrating 4 million Patient__c records from a legacy system into Salesforce. The legacy extract includes a field named 'last_modified' that is populated for 99.8% of records, but the remaining 0.2% have a null value. The target external ID field requires a unique, non-null value. What should the data architect do to ensure a successful migration?

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

Accepted Answer

Generate a synthetic unique value for the records with null last_modified by using the legacy primary key concatenated with a timestamp, and map that to the external ID field.. The external ID field must contain a unique, non-null value for every record to support upsert and maintain data integrity. Generating a synthetic value from the legacy primary key and a timestamp ensures uniqueness and populates the field for the 0.2% of records with missing last_modified. This avoids data loss and meets the field constraint without modifying the source system or relaxing the Salesforce field definition.

Answer

Set the external ID field to allow nulls in the field definition, then migrate the records with null values as-is.

Answer

Use the standard Salesforce Data Loader's 'Insert' operation instead of 'Upsert' to bypass the external ID requirement.

Answer

Exclude the 0.2% of records with null last_modified from the migration and document them as exceptions for manual entry later.

Question 2

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 3

A financial services firm is migrating 10 million transaction records into a custom object Transaction__c. The legacy system uses a composite key of AccountNumber and TransactionDate to uniquely identify transactions. The target Salesforce org has a unique external ID field Transaction_Key__c. The architect needs to ensure that re-running the migration does not create duplicate records and that updates to existing transactions are applied. Which approach should be used?

Accepted Answer

Populate Transaction_Key__c with the concatenation of AccountNumber and TransactionDate, then use the Data Loader's Upsert operation with Transaction_Key__c as the external ID field.. Concatenating the composite key into the external ID field and using Upsert allows the migration to match existing records by that key. Upsert updates existing records and inserts new ones, preventing duplicates. This is the most efficient and standard method for handling composite keys in large migrations, as it leverages Salesforce's built-in matching and bulk processing capabilities without custom code.

Answer

Create a custom Apex trigger to check for existing transactions before insert and update them if found.

Answer

Use the Data Loader's Update operation with a SOQL query to fetch existing records and match them by AccountNumber and TransactionDate.

Answer

Use the Data Loader's Insert operation and rely on Salesforce's duplicate rules to prevent duplicates.

Question 4

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?

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 5

A multinational corporation is migrating 2 million Account records and 5 million Contact records from a legacy CRM into Salesforce. The legacy system stores the Account's legacy ID on the Contact record as a foreign key. The target Salesforce org uses an external ID field on Account called Legacy_ID__c. What is the most efficient way to associate Contacts with their Accounts during the migration?

Accepted Answer

Migrate Accounts first, then migrate Contacts with a lookup to Account using the Legacy_ID__c field as the external ID in the Account relationship field.. Migrating Accounts first and then using the external ID field Legacy_ID__c in the Contact's Account lookup field allows Salesforce to automatically resolve the relationship. This is the most efficient method because it leverages built-in external ID resolution during data load, eliminating the need for post-migration updates or complex Apex jobs. It ensures referential integrity and scales well for large data volumes.

Answer

Migrate Contacts first with a placeholder Account, then migrate Accounts and update Contacts via a batch Apex job.

Answer

Export the Salesforce Account record IDs after migration, then use those IDs to update the Contact records in the legacy system before migrating Contacts.

Answer

Use the Data Loader's 'Insert' operation for Contacts and rely on Salesforce's auto-association feature to link Contacts to Accounts based on matching names.

Question 6

A Salesforce data architect is migrating 100,000 Opportunity records from a legacy system. The legacy data includes a custom field 'Legacy_Region__c' that must be mapped to a new picklist field 'Region__c' in Salesforce. The picklist values in Salesforce are: 'North America', 'Europe', 'Asia', 'Latin America'. The legacy data uses values like 'NA', 'EU', 'APAC', 'LATAM'. What is the most efficient way to transform the data during migration?

Accepted Answer

Perform the transformation in an ETL tool before loading the data.. The most efficient way to transform legacy values to match Salesforce picklist values is to perform the transformation in an ETL tool before loading. This avoids load errors and ensures data quality. Formula fields, post-load updates, and workflow rules are either not possible or inefficient for this purpose.

Answer

Load the legacy values as-is and then use Data Loader to update the picklist values.

Answer

Use a formula field in Salesforce to convert the legacy values after loading.

Answer

Create a workflow rule to update the picklist field based on the legacy field.

Question 7

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 8

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 9

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 10

A data architect is migrating 20 million Case records from a legacy system into Salesforce. The legacy system has a 'Case_Status__c' field that must map to the standard Case Status picklist. The legacy values include 'Open', 'Closed', 'Escalated', 'Pending', and 'Resolved'. The Salesforce Case Status picklist contains 'New', 'Working', 'Escalated', 'Closed', and 'Pending'. The architect needs to ensure that the migration does not fail due to picklist value mismatches. Which approach should be taken?

Accepted Answer

Use an ETL transformation to map 'Open' to 'New' and 'Resolved' to 'Closed' before loading the data.. The architect should use an ETL transformation to map legacy picklist values to valid Salesforce values before loading. Mapping 'Open' to 'New' and 'Resolved' to 'Closed' ensures the data conforms to the standard Case Status picklist, preventing load failures and maintaining data integrity. This approach is scalable for 20 million records.

Answer

Load the legacy values as-is into a custom text field and create a formula field to display the mapped Salesforce status.

Answer

Disable picklist validation on the Case Status field during the migration and re-enable it afterward.

Answer

Add the missing legacy values ('Open' and 'Resolved') to the Salesforce Case Status picklist before the migration.

Question 11

A data architect is preparing to migrate 20 million Opportunity records from a legacy CRM into Salesforce. The source data includes Opportunities with related OpportunityLineItem records and historical StageName values. The architect must ensure that the migration preserves data integrity and avoids common Bulk API pitfalls. Which TWO actions should the architect take before initiating the load? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Load Opportunity records first, then load OpportunityLineItem records using the parent Opportunity's External ID to establish the relationship.. Loading parents before children using an External ID preserves referential integrity, and marking the External ID as Unique supports upsert and prevents duplicates. Together, these actions address the core data integrity concerns for a large Opportunity migration with related line items.

Answer

Disable all validation rules, workflow rules, and triggers on Opportunity during the load to improve performance.

Answer

Set the Batch Size to 1 record to avoid governor limit issues and ensure maximum error isolation.

Answer

Enable AllOrNone on all Bulk API batches to guarantee that no partial data is committed if a single record fails.

Question 12

A Salesforce architect is planning a migration of 2 million custom object records from a legacy Oracle database. The legacy system has a field 'Status' with values like 'Active', 'Inactive', 'Pending', and 'Archived'. In Salesforce, the Status field is a picklist with values 'Active', 'Inactive', and 'Pending' only. The architect needs to migrate the data while preserving as much information as possible and ensuring data quality. Which two actions should the architect take? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Create a custom text field to store the original legacy status value for audit purposes, in addition to mapping to the picklist.. The architect should map the unsupported 'Archived' value to a valid picklist value like 'Inactive' to maintain data integrity and avoid load failures. Additionally, storing the original legacy status in a separate text field preserves the exact source information for auditing. This combination ensures data quality, traceability, and compliance with Salesforce picklist constraints.

Answer

Add 'Archived' as a new picklist value in Salesforce to accommodate the legacy data without transformation.

Answer

Use a validation rule to prevent 'Archived' from being loaded, and manually update those records after migration.

Answer

Exclude records with 'Archived' status from the migration to avoid picklist conflicts.

Question 13

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 14

A data architect is migrating 500,000 records into a custom object that has a validation rule requiring the 'Status__c' field to be either 'Active' or 'Inactive'. The legacy data contains some records with a blank Status__c. The architect needs to ensure the migration succeeds without modifying the validation rule. What should be done?

Accepted Answer

Transform the legacy data by setting a default value of 'Inactive' for any records with a blank Status__c before loading.. The validation rule requires Status__c to be 'Active' or 'Inactive'. The most straightforward solution is to transform the legacy data by setting a default value of 'Inactive' for blank entries. This ensures all records pass validation without altering the validation rule or adding custom code. Data transformation during migration is a best practice to meet target system requirements and maintain data integrity.

Answer

Temporarily deactivate the validation rule during the data load, then reactivate it afterward.

Answer

Load the records with blank Status__c using the Data Loader's 'Bulk' mode, which bypasses validation rules.

Answer

Create a before insert trigger to set a default value for Status__c when it is blank.

Question 15

A data architect is migrating 30 million Opportunity records into Salesforce. The legacy system has a 'Close_Date__c' field that is a date, but some records have invalid dates such as '0000-00-00' or future dates beyond 2099. The Salesforce Opportunity Close Date field is a standard Date field. The architect must ensure the migration does not fail due to these invalid dates. Which approach should be used?

Accepted Answer

Load the invalid dates as NULL and log the affected records for manual review after the migration.. The architect should set invalid dates to NULL and log the affected records for post-migration review. Salesforce Date fields accept NULL values, so this prevents load failures. Logging allows for manual correction later, ensuring data quality without blocking the migration. This approach is scalable for 30 million records and maintains the integrity of the standard Close Date field.

Answer

Convert the invalid dates to a default date such as '1900-01-01' to maintain a non-null value.

Answer

Create a custom text field to store the original date string and load it alongside the standard Close Date field, leaving Close Date blank for invalid records.

Answer

Use the Data Loader's 'Allow Field Truncation' option to bypass date validation and load the invalid dates as-is.