SF-Data-Arch Large Data Volume Considerations Practice Question
What is the recommended approach to manage 'Skinny Tables' in an environment with Large Data Volumes?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates frequently view Skinny Tables as a general performance optimization for all objects. They fail to consider the high maintenance cost and the restriction that they are only for specific scenarios.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Request them only for high-read-volume objects where performance is critical.
Skinny tables are a specialized feature used to improve performance by flattening data structures to avoid joins. They should only be used when standard indexing is insufficient for performance. Because they require Salesforce Support to maintain and are automatically synchronized, they are a powerful but rigid tool that should be applied sparingly to the most critical, high-read-volume scenarios only, to avoid unnecessary maintenance overhead.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable skinny tables for every object with more than 1 million records.
Why it's wrong here
Enabling skinny tables for all large objects is excessive and unnecessary. They introduce complexity and maintenance overhead. They should be used selectively for objects where query performance remains unacceptable after traditional indexing and database optimization strategies have already been exhausted, rather than as a default standard.
- ✓
Request them only for high-read-volume objects where performance is critical.
Why this is correct
Skinny tables are designed to solve specific performance issues by reducing join complexity. Because they are maintained by Salesforce Support, they add administrative overhead. They are best reserved for core objects where read performance is the primary bottleneck and standard indexing cannot provide the necessary speed.
- ✗
Manually update skinny tables using DML statements in Apex.
Why it's wrong here
Skinny tables are read-only to users and developers; they are synchronized automatically by the Salesforce platform when the base table is updated. Manually attempting to modify or insert into a skinny table is not possible and demonstrates a misunderstanding of how the platform maintains data consistency.
- ✗
Always include every field of the object in the skinny table.
Why it's wrong here
Including every field defeats the purpose of a skinny table, which is to minimize the row width and increase the number of rows that fit into a data block. A properly designed skinny table should only include the fields necessary for the specific performance-sensitive queries that require optimization.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every SF-Data-Arch question from scratch — 222 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Salesforce exam blueprint
This SF-Data-Arch practice question is part of Courseiva's free Salesforce certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SF-Data-Arch exam.