Salesforce is one of the most traditional CRM and marketing automation practices in the world and, appropriately, has a means of skilled professionals competing for the best job roles and obligations. The Salesforce Platform Developer-I certification has been around since 2015 and has grown in popularity year on year. This certification is the foundational credential for any Salesforce Developer to showcase the candidate’s knowledge on fundamental programmatic capabilities – in other words, building custom applications on the Lightning Platform. Let us just tell you, the Salesforce Platform Developer I certification is intended for individuals who have skills, knowledge, and background experience in building custom applications on the Lightning Platform.
Also, the Salesforce Platform Developer-I credential encompasses the basic programmatic abilities of the Lightning Platform to make custom business logic and interfaces to extend Salesforce practicing Visualforce, Apex, and basic Lightning Components. Further, to get this credential, an aspirant must successfully clear the Salesforce Platform Developer I exam. This exam is also a requirement for the Salesforce Platform Developer II Multiple Choice exam. Further, let us explain what’s an ideal candidate looks like!
Who’s the Ideal Candidate?
- Firstly, the candidate must have one to two years of expertise in the development field that must be needed in any development field.
- Then, they must have a precise and fundamental knowledge of Apex and Visiualforce has claimed.
- Next, if the candidate is an experienced developer, then they must go through sample questions from different sites and start operating on them for peculiar preparation.
About Salesforce Platform Developer-I Exam
The Salesforce Platform Developer I exam is meant for a candidate who has knowledge and experience in developing and deploying basic business logic and user interfaces utilizing the programmatic capabilities of the Lightning Platform, incorporating a practical application of the abilities and concepts. Further, the Lightning Platform is a developer platform that combines into Salesforce and provides the candidate to create custom applications to bring new functionality to the Salesforce platform. For your information, developing the Salesforce platform in Lightning relies on a programming language that is very similar to Java, to add extra functionality to Lightning components. Let us get to the format of the exam!
Exam Format
- The Salesforce Platform Developer I exam Questions are in multiple-choice/multiple-select format.
- Further, the cost of the Salesforce examination is USD 200, plus applicable taxes as required per local law.
- In addition, the passing score of the examination is 65% and also, you will be getting 105 minutes to finish the exam.
- However, it can be taken as a Proctored exam delivered onsite at a testing center or in an online proctored environment.
Concern Areas
This is to help candidates prepare for the exam by identifying specific content within each topic that may be tested. Further, there are 5 domains in this exam-
1. Developer Fundamentals: 23%
- Understand multi-tenant concepts and design frameworks, such as MVC architecture and Lightning Component Framework. (Salesforce Documentation: Introduction to the Salesforce Lightning Design System, Lightning Component Framework)
- Given a scenario, identify common use cases and best practices for declarative versus programmatic customizations, including governor limits, formula fields, and roll-up summaries. (Salesforce Documentation: Identify Tools to Build Your App, Review Salesforce Fundamentals)
- Given a scenario, determine, create, and access the appropriate data model including objects, fields, relationships, and external IDs.
- Given a scenario, identify the options and considerations when importing and exporting data into development environments.
2. Process Automation and Logic: 30%
- Identify the capabilities of the declarative process automation features. (Salesforce Documentation: Automate Your Business Processes)
- Declare variables, constants, methods, and use modifiers and Apex interfaces. (Salesforce Documentation: Create an Apex Class, Interfaces)
- Given a scenario, use and apply Apex control flow statements.
- Given a scenario, write SOSL, SOQL, and DML statements in Apex. (Salesforce Documentation: SOQL and SOSL Queries)
- Given a scenario, follow best practices to write Apex classes and triggers.
- Given a scenario, identify the implications of governor limits on Apex transactions. (Salesforce Documentation: Apex Governor Limits)
- Describe the relationship between Apex transactions, the save order of execution, and the potential for recursion and/or cascading. (Salesforce Documentation: Apex Transactions)
- Implement exception handling in Apex, including custom exceptions as needed. (Salesforce Documentation: Exceptions in Apex, Exception Handling)
- Given a scenario, use declarative functionality and Apex together to automate business logic.
3. User Interface: 25%
- Given a scenario, display content or modify Salesforce data using a Visualforce page and the appropriate controllers or extensions as needed. (Salesforce Documentation: Create & Edit Visualforce Pages, Custom Controllers and Controller Extensions)
- Describe the Lightning Component framework, its benefits, and the types of content that can be contained in a Lightning web component.
- Given a scenario, prevent user interface and data access security vulnerabilities. (Salesforce Documentation: Security Guidelines for Apex and Visualforce Development)
- Given a scenario, display and use a custom user interface components, including Lightning Components, Flow, and Visualforce.
- Describe the use cases and best practices for Lightning Web Component events.
- Given a scenario, implement Apex to work with various types of page components, including Lightning Components, Flow, Next Best Actions, etc. (Salesforce Documentation: Visualforce Components, apex: page, Einstein Next Best Action)
4. Testing, Debugging, and Deployment: 22%
- Write and execute tests for triggers, controllers, classes, flows, and processes using various sources of test data. (Salesforce Documentation: Test Apex Triggers, Testing Custom Controllers and Controller Extensions, Test a Flow, Run Unit Test Methods)
- Given a scenario, know how and when to use the Salesforce Developer tools such as Salesforce DX, Salesforce CLI, and Developer Console.
- Describe how to approach debugging system issues and monitoring flows, processes, and asynchronous and batch jobs, etc. (Salesforce Documentation: Review Debugging and Deployment)
- Describe the environments, requirements, and processes for deploying code and associated configurations.
How do you pass the Salesforce Platform Developer-I Exam?
Whether you’re preparing for the Olympic gold medal or just attempting to pass a Salesforce Platform Developer-I exam, it’s important to talk to people who’ve done it before. So, these tips come from specialists especially for you. So, get started:
Set a date
Nothing motivates considerably like a deadline. So if the candidate is serious about examining for and passing the Salesforce Platform Developer-I Exam, don’t wait another minute. Register today and start preparing yourself to pass it.
Setting a date also helps the candidate to build their study schedule out, so they know when they have time to study and what they need to study in order to qualify for the test. If the aspirants are not sure what material they need to study yet, that’s okay, we’ll cover that in a minute.
Take a look at the required skills and knowledge!
Must-known Skills!
The aspirant must:
- First of all, has familiarity with object-oriented languages such as Apex, Java, JavaScript, C#, and Ruby.
- Also, has knowledge of data-driven applications and relational databases.
- Has involvement with Model View Controller (MVC) architecture and component-based architecture.
- Further, knows the abilities of the core objects in the Salesforce schema.
- Then, knows the inclinations and use cases for formula fields and roll-up summary fields.
- Is intimate with and capable to leverage relevant declarative capabilities of the platform, where appropriate.
- In addition, knows when to practice declarative vs. programmatic methods.
- Knows when to use the Lightning Process Builder vs. an Apex trigger.
- Moreover, is familiar with the basics of the Lightning framework.
- Additionally, can use the significant programmatic capabilities of the Lightning Platform to develop custom interfaces to extend Salesforce capabilities and develop custom business logic.
- Can extend the Lightning Platform using Apex, Visualforce, and basic Lightning Components.
- Lastly, is familiar with the development lifecycle from development to testing and has knowledge of the available environments.
Some Learning Resources
We have curated the following learning resources. Take a look at them.
Review the Exam Objectives– The first step should be reviewing the exam objectives. Before you begin with the preparation for the certification exam, make sure you are up to date with all exam info. Because certification exams keep on updating with new technology coming every day. So, your first step should be the Official website of Salesforce and view and match if you and the website are on the same page. If not, then make sure you’re equipped with all the new exam info that is out there. Also, objectives play an important role, so follow this step successfully.
Salesforce Study Guide– The next step is to refer to the Salesforce Platform Developer-I Study Guide. You will find the study guide for the Salesforce Pardot Specialist exam at the official website of Salesforce. As mentioned earlier, the Exam Outline is the most important part of any certification exam. You can easily locate the exam outline in the study guide as well. Also, make sure to view if there are any important notices, you must be updated on any new changes.
Salesforce Platform Developer-I Trailhead- Trailhead is the most important aspect of your preparation guide when it comes to Salesforce. Trailheads, indeed, are very helpful and useful resources for preparing for such an exam. With Trailhead, you can review online Documentation, Tip Sheets, and User Guides, search for the topics listed in the Exam Outline section of this guide, and study the information related to those topics. Refer to the following:
Build Applications Programmatically on the Salesforce Platform (DEX450)
Certification Preparation for Platform Developer I (CRT 450)
Prepare for Your Salesforce Platform Developer I Credential
Salesforce Training– Taking some hands-on experience is the most significant experience for the exams like Salesforce Platform Developer-I. Training Course is your key to successfully pass the exam. You can easily get acquainted with training courses for the same. Salesforce offers the candidate quite a few options to choose from. We at Testprep training highly recommend training courses. The understanding here is not one-dimensional but rather viewing a problem from every angle possible.
Refer Online Tutorials– Salesforce Platform Developer-I Online Tutorial enhances your knowledge and provides a depth understanding of the exam concepts. Additionally, they also cover exam details and policies. Nonetheless, these online tutorials provide and in-depth information related to the examination.
Join a Study Group– For passing the Salesforce Platform Developer-I exam, the candidate needs to get and share knowledge. So, we are suggesting you join some study where you can discuss the concepts with the people who have the same goal. This will lead the candidate throughout their preparation.
Practice Test– The most important step is to try your hands on the practice test. Salesforce Platform Developer-I Practice Tests are the one which ensures the candidate about their preparation. There are many practice tests available on the internet nowadays, the candidate can choose whichever they want. The practice test is very beneficial in preparing for the Salesforce Pardot Specialist exam. So, Start Preparing Now!
