SF-Data-Arch Master Data Management Practice Question
Why should an organization perform 'Data Cleansing' before migrating data into a master record system?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume data cleansing can happen post-migration inside Salesforce via reports and workflows, ignoring the risk of corrupting master data systems upfront.
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
✓
To remove inconsistencies and ensure data accuracy in the destination system.
Data cleansing identifies and fixes errors such as duplicates, invalid formats, and incomplete fields before they are propagated into a new system. If dirty data is ingested, it corrupts the new MDM environment, rendering reports unreliable and forcing developers to build complex, expensive workarounds. Cleaning first ensures the initial state of the master system is pristine, providing a reliable foundation for all future business operations and data-driven decisions.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
To increase the total number of records in the Salesforce database.
Why it's wrong here
Data cleansing often reduces the number of records by merging duplicates. The goal of MDM is not to increase the volume of records, but to increase the quality and reliability of the data, ensuring that the CRM contains a concise, accurate set of entities rather than a bloated, inaccurate one.
- ✓
To remove inconsistencies and ensure data accuracy in the destination system.
Why this is correct
Cleansing resolves formatting issues, removes duplicates, and standardizes values. By pre-cleaning, the organization ensures that the target system starts with high-quality data. This prevents downstream system issues and ensures that the golden records created within the MDM system are based on accurate, trustworthy, and consistent information.
- ✗
To eliminate the need for any future data governance or stewardship.
Why it's wrong here
Data governance is an ongoing process, not a one-time migration activity. Even with clean data, new errors can be introduced through user input or system integration over time. Therefore, cleansing does not remove the need for long-term stewardship; it only establishes a baseline of quality that must be maintained.
- ✗
To minimize the Salesforce storage cost by deleting all inactive customer accounts.
Why it's wrong here
While cleansing might involve archiving inactive accounts, storage cost optimization is not the primary purpose of data cleansing. The goal is to improve data quality and usability, not to manage infrastructure costs, which are typically addressed through record archiving policies or database management strategies, not data cleansing activities.
About these practice questions
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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.