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Exam Information
Official specifications published by Salesforce
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Skills this practice test covers
- Design a Salesforce data model that scales and still respects the org's security and sharing model.
- Prevent data skew that causes record locking and slow sharing calculations.
- Decide when big objects fit better than standard or custom objects.
- Plan archiving, purging and virtualized data for orgs with large data volumes.
- Speed up large data loads and check data quality at load time.
- Set survivorship rules that pick the winning attributes for a golden record.
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Plat-Arch-201 exam content
6 domains · 20 topics · 134 of 361 questions are written for Plat-Arch-201
Data Modeling/Database Design25%35 questions
This domain is about choosing objects, fields and relationships for the Customer 360 Platform. Candidates also plan for metadata, big objects and data skew, because a weak model gets slower as the org grows.
Skills tested
- Compare objects, fields and relationship types for a given business need.
- Recommend a scalable model that keeps the current security and sharing model intact.
- Capture business and technical metadata with a business dictionary, data lineage and data classification.
- Weigh the pros and cons of big objects against standard and custom objects.
- Avoid record locking and sharing calculation issues caused by data skew.
Questions by topic
- Given a scenario, recommend approaches and techniques to design a scalable data model that obeys the current security and sharing model.4
- Compare and contrast the different reasons for implementing big objects versus standard/custom objects within a production instance12
- Compare and contrast various techniques and considerations for designing a data model for the Customer 360 Platform (for example, objects, fields & relationships, object features).13
- Given a customer scenario, recommend approaches and techniques to avoid data skew (record locking, sharing calculation issues, and excessive child to parent relationships).4
- Compare and contrast various techniques, approaches and considerations for capturing and managing business and technical metadata (for example, business dictionary, data lineage, taxonomy2
Master Data Management5%9 questions
Master data management decides which source holds the trusted version of each customer. Candidates compare MDM implementation styles and set the rules that build one golden record from several systems.
Skills tested
- Compare MDM implementation styles and their trade-offs.
- Set data survivorship rules, thresholds and weights to pick winning attributes.
- Establish a system of truth for the customer domain in a single org.
- Keep customer reference data and metadata so every value stays traceable.
Questions by topic
- Compare and contrast the various techniques, approaches and considerations for implementing master data management (MDM) Solutions (for example, MDM implementation styles6
- Given a customer scenario, recommend approaches and techniques for consolidating data attributes from multiple sources. Discuss criteria and methodology for picking the winning attributes.2
- Given a customer scenario, recommend and use techniques for establishing a "golden record" or "system of truth" for the customer domain in a single org.1
Salesforce Data Management25%26 questions
This domain covers how data lives inside Salesforce day to day. Candidates pick license types, keep data consistent, and show one view of the customer across several systems or Salesforce instances.
Skills tested
- Recommend a combination of Salesforce license types that gives access to the right objects.
- Choose techniques that make sure data is persisted in a consistent manner.
- Represent a single view of the customer when several systems hold customer data.
- Design how to consolidate or share data from multiple Salesforce instances.
Questions by topic
- Given a customer scenario, recommend appropriate combination of Salesforce license types to effectively leverage standard and custom objects to meet business needs.5
- Given a customer scenario, recommend techniques to ensure data is persisted in a consistent manner.10
- Given a customer scenario, recommend a design to effectively consolidate and/or leverage data from multiple Salesforce instances.6
- Given a scenario with multiple systems of interaction, describe techniques to represent a single view of the customer on the Salesforce Platform.5
Data Governance10%14 questions
Data governance sets who owns data and how it is protected. Candidates design a data model that supports GDPR and plan an enterprise data governance program.
Skills tested
- Design a GDPR-compliant data model for personal and sensitive information.
- Identify and classify personal data so the right protection applies.
- Compare approaches for setting up an enterprise data governance program.
Questions by topic
- Given a customer scenario, recommend an approach for designing a General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant data model. Discuss the various options to identify, classify8
- Compare and contrast various approaches and considerations for designing and implementing an enterprise data governance program.6
Large Data Volume Considerations20%26 questions
Large data volumes change how queries, sharing and storage behave. Candidates design for LDV, plan archiving and purging, and decide when data should stay outside Salesforce as virtualized data.
Skills tested
- Design a data model that keeps performance acceptable as record counts grow.
- Recommend an archiving and purging plan that matches the customer's storage needs.
- Decide when to use virtualized data and describe the options.
Questions by topic
- Given a customer scenario, design a data model that scales considering LDV and solution performance.15
- Given a customer scenario, decide when to use virtualized data and describe virtualized data options.7
- Given a customer scenario, recommend a data archiving and purging plan that is optimal for the customer's data storage management needs.4
Data Migration15%24 questions
This domain covers moving data into and out of Salesforce. Candidates protect data quality at load time, tune the performance of large loads, and choose a method for exporting data.
Skills tested
- Recommend checks that keep data quality high while records load.
- Compare techniques that improve performance when migrating LDVs into Salesforce.
- Choose a data export method and explain its limits.
Questions by topic
- Compare and contrast various techniques for improving performance when migrating LDVs into Salesforce.15
- Compare and contrast various techniques and considerations for exporting data from Salesforce.5
- Given a customer scenario, recommend appropriate techniques and methods for ensuring high data quality at load time.4
Requirements
- No formal prerequisites: anyone can book the exam.
- Recommended: the Platform App Builder, Platform Developer I and Platform Developer II certifications.
- Recommended: two to three years of Salesforce experience.
- Recommended: five or more years supporting or implementing data-centric solutions.
About the Plat-Arch-201 exam
Plat-Arch-201 checks whether an architect can design how data is stored, shared, loaded and governed on Salesforce. Most questions describe a customer and ask for the best design choice, often a trade-off between speed, storage and data quality. Data model design and data management carry the most weight, and large data volume (LDV) work comes next. Passing earns the Salesforce Certified Platform Data Architect certification, one of the credentials on the Salesforce architect track.
The PlanetCert practice test spends most of its questions on data model design, large data volumes and data persistence, which matches the official weights. Each explanation says why the chosen design works and why the other options fail, for example why one parent record with too many child records slows updates. Study Mode suits the scenario-heavy LDV and migration domains, where each detail in the question matters. Brainy AI Assistant can compare big objects with custom objects for a given case, or explain how an MDM implementation style changes the golden record.
How to earn the certification
- Earns
- Salesforce Certified Platform Data ArchitectIntermediate
The certification stays active with a yearly maintenance module on Trailhead.
- Before
- CRT-402 Salesforce Certified Platform App Builder
Recommended first. It covers the objects, fields and relationships that the data model questions build on.
- Plat-Dev-201 Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I
Recommended first. It adds the developer view of data access and platform limits.
- Plat-Dev-301 Salesforce Certified Platform Developer II
Also recommended by Salesforce for data architect candidates.
- CRT-402 Salesforce Certified Platform App Builder
- After
- App-Arch-301 Salesforce Certified Application Architect
A next architect credential on the Salesforce track, built on data and sharing skills.
- Arch-302 B2C Solution Architect
A next step for architects who design customer data across several Salesforce clouds.
- CTA-Exam Technical Architect
The top of the Salesforce architect track, which expects data architecture skills.
- App-Arch-301 Salesforce Certified Application Architect
How to prepare for Plat-Arch-201
- 1
Map the six domains first
Data Modeling/Database Design and Salesforce Data Management carry the most weight. Plan the most study time there, then Large Data Volume Considerations.
- 2
Build a skewed test org
In a Developer Edition org, put many child records under one parent and update them. Watch for record locking, and compare the result with a balanced design.
- 3
Load data at scale
Load a large file into a custom object, then export it again. Note what slows the load and which checks catch bad data before it lands.
- 4
Write survivorship rules on paper
Take two sources with conflicting customer values. Decide which values win, and write the rule that builds the golden record.
- 5
Finish with the practice test
Run the Plat-Arch-201 practice test by domain in Study Mode and read every explanation. Then take one full run in Timed Mode, and ask Brainy AI Assistant about each design trade-off that was missed.
Start a timed Plat-Arch-201run
Who Plat-Arch-201 is for
- Data architects who design Salesforce data models for large or growing orgs.
- Salesforce consultants who lead data migrations and multi-org consolidations.
- Architects working toward Salesforce Certified Application Architect or Technical Architect.
Typical job titles: Salesforce data architect · Salesforce solution architect · Salesforce technical architect · Data migration consultant · Master data management specialist
Plat-Arch-201 glossary
16 terms from the exam objectives and the vendor's official material, each defined in a sentence.
- big objects
- Salesforce objects built to store a very large number of records, with fewer features than standard or custom objects.
- business dictionary
- A shared list of business terms and their meanings, so every team reads the data the same way.
- canonical modeling
- Designing one common data format that all connected systems map their own data to.
- Customer 360 Platform
- The Salesforce platform that holds the objects, fields and relationships a data architect designs.
- data classification
- Labeling data by type or sensitivity, such as personal or confidential, so the right rules apply to it.
- data lineage
- A record of where a piece of data came from and how it changed on its way into the system.
- data skew
- An uneven spread of records, such as one parent with a very large number of children, that slows updates and sharing.
- data survivorship rules
- Rules that decide which source's value wins when several systems hold different values for one field.
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- The European Union law that sets how personal data must be collected, stored and protected.
- golden record
- The single, trusted version of a customer record built from the best values in all sources.
- hierarchy management
- Keeping parent and child links between records, such as a company and its branches, correct over time.
- LDV
- Large data volume: an org or object with so many records that design choices start to affect speed.
- master data management (MDM)
- The practice of keeping one trusted, consistent version of key data, such as customers, across many systems.
- record locking
- A lock Salesforce puts on a record while a related record is saved, which can make parallel updates fail.
- system of truth
- The system that is accepted as the correct source for a given set of data.
- virtualized data
- Data that stays in an outside system and is shown in Salesforce on demand instead of being copied in.
Related practice tests
- ADM-201Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator
- PLAT-101Salesforce Certified Platform Foundations
- ADM-211Administration Essentials for Experienced Admin
- AP-202B2B Commerce for Developers Accredited Professional
- Comm-Dev-101B2C Commerce Cloud Developer