Salesforce.com Certified Technical Architect
Review Board Candidate Instructions
Spring ‘13
0
Salesforce.com Certified Technical Architect Review Board Candidate Instructions
Contents
SECTION 1. OVERVIEW OF THE REVIEW BOARD COMPONENT..............................................................................................................2
SECTION 2. REVIEW BOARD SESSION AGENDA .........................................................................................................................................2
SECTION 3. REVIEW BOARD STRUCTURE....................................................................................................................................................2
SECTION 4. HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO INSTRUCTIONS............................................................................................................................2
SECTION 5. CUSTOMER CASE STUDY INSTRUCTIONS ...............................................................................................................................3
SECTION 6. EXAM RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................................................5
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Salesforce.com Certified Technical Architect Review Board Candidate Instructions
Section 1. Overview of the Review Board Component
The third and final step to earning the Salesforce.com Certified Technical Architect credential is to present
the technical architecture for a hypothetical scenario and a customer case study to a panel of review board
members and respond to questions related to the solutions in an interview-style format.
This document is designed to provide information about the review board process, logistics, requirements,
and guidelines for the customer case study and hypothetical scenario presentations.
Section 2. Review Board Session Agenda
Each review board session will adhere to the following agenda.
Session Component
Description
Length
Check-in and Hypothetical
Scenario Instructions
Upon arrival, the candidate will check into a
proctored environment and receive a hypothetical
scenario, instructions, and presentation preparation
aids (salesforce.com issued computer, paper, pen).
5 minutes
Hypothetical Scenario
Preparation
The candidate will:
• Review the hypothetical scenario instructions.
• Design a high-level solution.
• Document the high-level solution.
75 minutes
Break
Location
Proctored Room
10 minutes
Hypothetical Scenario
Presentation
The candidate will present the high-level solution
for the hypothetical scenario to the review board
members.
30 minutes
Review Board
Presentation Room
Hypothetical Scenario
Question & Answer (Q &A )
The question and answer (Q & A) discussion,
conducted in an interview-style format, is based on
the candidate's high-level solution for the
hypothetical scenario.
30 minutes
Review Board
Presentation Room
Break
15 minutes
Customer Case Study
Presentation
The candidate will present the customer case study
to the review board members.
30 minutes
Review Board
Presentation Room
Customer Case Study
Question & Answer (Q & A)
The question and answer (Q & A) discussion is
focused on the candidate's customer case study
presentation.
45 minutes
Review Board
Presentation Room
Conclusion
Candidate exits review board.
Section 3. Review Board Structure
The review board exam is a four hour scheduled session that takes place in a conference room with a large
table, a projection screen, and a white board. The review board consists of a minimum of five technical
architecture experts with experience on the Force.com platform. Review board members are members of
the Salesforce.com Certified Community and are employed by salesforce.com or certified partner
organizations. Review board members are trained in interviewing and evaluating candidates in a fair,
effective, and consistent manner. Review board members are not allowed to answer individual inquiries
from candidates.
The review board sessions are moderated by a facilitator. The facilitator will begin each phase of the
review board session and indicate the time that each phase will end. The candidate is responsible for
ensuring that presentations are completed in the allotted time. If a candidate does not complete the
presentations within the allotted time, the candidate will be stopped and the next phase of the review board
session will begin. Not completing a presentation could adversely affect a candidate’s score.
Section 4. Hypothetical Scenario Instructions
Upon arrival to the testing location, the candidate will be checked into a proctored environment and given a
hypothetical scenario and instructions. The candidate will have one hour and fifteen minutes (75
minutes) to read, evaluate, and document a high-level architectural solution for the hypothetical scenario.
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Salesforce.com Certified Technical Architect Review Board Candidate Instructions
The candidate should target the presentation to a technical Information Technology (IT) architecture
audience, familiar with the requirements outlined in the scenario. In cases where requirements are not
explicitly stated for the scenario, the candidate should use his or her best judgment and make appropriate
assumptions based on the information provided. The candidate should indicate to the review board any
assumptions that were made when designing the proposed solution. The candidate will not have an
opportunity to ask clarifying questions related to the hypothetical scenario.
The candidate will be provided with a salesforce.com issued laptop equipped with Microsoft Office 2007
Visio, PowerPoint, and Word, along with paper, pens, markers and highlighters. The candidate will not
have access to outside resources, Internet, or mobile devices when preparing the hypothetical scenario
presentation. No hard-copy or online materials may be referenced unless provided by the proctor. The
proctored room will be equipped with a projector, a flipchart, and a whiteboard.
The candidate will be evaluated on his or her ability to assess the scenario requirements, design a solution,
communicate the proposed architecture, and justify the design decisions. The candidate will not be
evaluated on the tools used for the presentation.
The candidate will have 30 minutes to present the high-level solution to the review board members,
without interruption. The candidate will be strictly held to the 30 minute time limit for the presentation.
The hypothetical scenario presentation will be followed by 30 minutes of questions from the review board
members regarding the proposed solution.
Section 5. Customer Case Study Instructions
The goal of the customer case study is to evaluate the candidate's experience leading a complex technical
project and to determine if the candidate has sufficient expertise in guiding customers to a satisfactory
solution. The candidate must demonstrate his or her expertise by presenting a recent, real-world customer
engagement where he or she was responsible for architecting and delivering a Force.com platform solution
that may include Salesforce applications or external systems.
General Requirements and Logistics:
In advance of the scheduled review board session, the candidate must prepare a presentation of the
customer case study. The candidate will create the presentation at his or her own pace, using his or her own
tools and materials. The candidate must create the presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint and include at
least one high-level diagram outlining the solution architecture (e.g., architect landscape diagram) and one
detailed diagram (e.g., class diagram/interaction diagram) to communicate the overall architecture. The
candidate should target the presentation to an audience comprised of technical architecture peers familiar
with the Force.com platform.
During the board review session, the candidate will be given 30 minutes to present the customer case study
to the review board members, without interruption. The candidate will be strictly held to the 30 minute
time limit for the presentation. The case study presentation will be followed by 45 minutes of questions
from the review board members regarding the solution, approach, and alternatives considered.
The candidate will deliver the PowerPoint presentation to the review board members using the
salesforce.com issued laptop provided. The candidate will not have access to outside resources, Internet, or
mobile devices when delivering the presentation to the review board. The candidate may reference hardcopy notes prepared in advance during the case study presentation.
The candidate’s name, company name, and company logo must not be included in the presentation.
Customer confidential information must not be included in the presentation. The candidate must have
approval to share any customer information included in the presentation. Presentation materials will be
reviewed by the Certification team prior to presentation to the review board members and sent back to the
candidate if any confidential information is shared.
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Salesforce.com Certified Technical Architect Review Board Candidate Instructions
Salesforce.com Certification will provide candidates with a consent form to be signed by the customer.
NOTE: It is the candidate’s responsibility to obtain customer consent to use the case study for the stated
purpose of certification and to ensure that the case study presentation does not include any confidential
customer or project information.
If permission is denied, the candidate will be asked to propose another customer project and resubmit it for
use in the review board case study presentation.
The candidate will be required to submit the customer case study presentation and customer consent form
in electronic format via email to [email protected] at least five business days prior to the
scheduled review board session. Failure to send the documents on time may result in exam cancellation.
Project Criteria
The project selected for the customer case study presentation should be sufficiently complex and should
include the project attributes listed in the presentation topics below.
Presentation Topics:
The customer case study presentation should describe the complete technical solution architecture and how
it was designed and delivered to the customer. Candidates should present what occurred in the actual
project and may include lessons learned and reflections on the project’s architecture, governance, and
delivery.
Candidates must present the following information:

Business goals, challenges, and project stakeholders

Architectural assessment and the approach used to conduct it

Solution designed and the alternatives considered

One to two architecturally significant use cases, outlining which requirements were handled
declaratively, which were handled programmatically, and the trade-offs evaluated

Security requirements, considerations, and platform security features used in the solution

How the solution was designed for scalability, performance, ease of maintenance, and reusability; the
trade-offs evaluated; and the impact on the design patterns applied to the solution
Candidates should be prepared to respond to questions by the review board members regarding all of these
topics. The candidate should also be prepared to respond to questions related to the additional topics listed
below.

Process and tools used to ensure requirements traceability

Overall testing strategy and testing performed to address potential risk areas

Deployment strategy and platform considerations

Source control management throughout a solution lifecycle

Impact of the governance model on solution delivery

Impact of the technical architecture on the change management process
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Salesforce.com Certified Technical Architect Review Board Candidate Instructions
Section 6. Exam Results
Candidate’s hypothetical scenario and customer case study presentations and responses to questions related
to the solution will be evaluated by a panel of technical architecture experts, discussed in a group format,
and scored against a standardized set of criteria. Candidates will be evaluated on their knowledge and
experience with platform architecture, security, application design patterns, integration patterns,
development lifecycle, and deployment planning. Candidates will also be evaluated on their
communication skills and ability to articulate and justify design decisions.
The Salesforce.com Certified Technical Architect credential will be granted to a candidate upon successful
completion of the review board component of the exam. Candidates will receive exam results via e-mail
within four weeks of their review board presentation.
All review board decisions are final. However, if a candidate does not successfully pass the review board
component of the exam, he or she may re-attempt the review board component as long as he or she
continues to meet the prerequisites.
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Certified Technical Architect Review Board Candidate Instructions_SP13_2013-05-09