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New Salesforce Admin Exam (Updated for 2021 Syllabus)

The Salesforce Admin exam will be changing on June 23, 2021. While it may look like there were many changes, actually more than 90% of the topics you need to be knowledgeable in are the same as in the previous exam outline. 

So what is changing?

For starters, the number of exam sections have been reduced from 12 to 7. Previous sections were either moved or renamed as shown below.

PREVIOUS SECTIONS

STATUS

Activity Management and Collaboration

Moved to : Productivity and Collaboration

Analytics—Reports and Dashboards

Moved to : Data and Analytics Management

AppExchange

Moved to : Productivity and Collaboration

Data Management

Moved to : Data and Analytics Management

Desktop and Mobile Administration

Moved to : Productivity and Collaboration

Organizational Setup

Moved to : Configuration and Setup

Sales and Marketing Applications

Sales and Marketing Applications

Security and Access

Moved to : Configuration and Setup

Service and Support Applications

Service and Support Applications

Standard and Custom Objects

Renamed to : Object Manager and Lightning App Builder

User Setup

Moved to : Configuration and Setup

Workflow/Process Automation

Workflow/Process Automation

Additionally, 3 of the current exam sections remain the same and 4 new sections have been added:

CURRENT SECTIONS

STATUS

Configuration and Setup: 20%

NEW

Data and Analytics Management: 14%

NEW

Object Manager and Lightning App Builder: 20%

NEW

Productivity and Collaboration: 7%

NEW

Sales and Marketing Applications: 12%

Existing

Service and Support Applications: 11%

Existing

Workflow/Process Automation: 16%

Existing

Detailed objectives have also been reduced from 34 to 26. 16 detailed objectives remain the same, whereas the remaining 10 only had some modifications in the descriptions.

If you've already booked your exam and have been studying using the previous exam outline, no need to worry! The area to focus on is the new detailed objective to be added to the Workflow/Process Automation section: Describe capabilities and use cases for Flow.

Also take note that three detailed objectives from the current exam outline have been retired, so you do not need to study those.

1 new detailed objective has been added to the new exam outline:

  • Workflow/Process Automation: Describe capabilities and use cases for Flow.

3 detailed objectives from the current exam outline have been removed, namely:

  • Describe the capability of Salesforce Content.
  • Describe the capabilities of Salesforce Knowledge.
  • Describe the capabilities of the Salesforce Communities

The updated exam outline consists of a total of 26 detailed objectives (Click on each section to view):

Configuration and Setup: 20% (6)

  • Describe the information found in the company settings (For example: company settings fiscal year, business hours, currency management, default settings). 
  • Distinguish and understand the administration of declarative configuration of the User Interface. (For example: UI settings, app menu, list views, global actions, Lightning App Builder).
  • Given a scenario, demonstrate the proper setup and maintenance of users.
  • Explain the various organization Security Controls. (For example: Setup Audit Trail, Login Hours, Session Settings)
  • Given a user request scenario, apply the appropriate security controls based on the features and capabilities of the Salesforce sharing model. (For example: public groups, org wide default, sharing: roles, subordinates, hierarchy, report and dashboard folders)
  • Given a scenario, determine the appropriate use of a custom profile or permission set using the various profile settings and permissions.

Object Manager and Lightning App Builder: 20% (3)

  • Describe the standard object architecture and relationship model. (For example: standard object, parent/child, master detail/lookup/junction relationships, and record types.)
  • Explain how to create, delete, and customize fields and page layouts on standard and custom objects, and know the implications of deleting fields. 
  • Given a scenario, determine how to create and assign page layouts, record types and business processes for custom and standard objects.

Sales and Marketing Applications: 12% (3)

  • Given a scenario, identify the capabilities and implications of the sales process. (For example: sales process, opportunity, path, and forecast impact.)
  • Given a scenario, apply the appropriate sales productivity features using opportunity tools. (For example: dashboards, lead scoring, Einstein opportunity scoring, and home page assistant.)
  • Describe the capabilities of lead automation tools and campaign management. (For example: leads, lead convert, lead assignment rules, campaign and campaign members.) 

Service and Support Applications: 11% (2)

  • Describe the capabilities of case management. (For example: case, case assignment rules, and queues.)
  • Given a scenario, identify how to automate case management. (For example: support process, case auto-response rules, and case escalation.)

Productivity and Collaboration: 7% (4)

  • Describe the capabilities of activity management.
  • Describe the features of Chatter.
  • Describe the capabilities of Salesforce Mobile App.
  • Identify use cases for AppExchange applications.

Data and Analytics Management: 14% (5)

  • Describe the considerations when importing, updating, transferring, mass deleting, exporting and backing up data.
  • Describe the capabilities and implications of data validation tools.
  • Describe the options available when creating or customizing a report or report type.
  • Describe the impact of the sharing model on reports.
  • Describe the options available when creating and modifying dashboards (e.g., dashboard components, data sources, chart types, Subscribing, running user).

Workflow/Process Automation: 16% (3)

  • Given a scenario, identify the appropriate automation solution based on the capabilities of the tool.
  • Describe capabilities and use cases for Flow.
  • Describe capabilities and use cases for the approval process.

IN SUMMARY:

  • 1 new detailed objective
  • 16 detailed objectives remained exactly the same 
  • 10 detailed objectives were modified, most with small modifications 
  • 3 detailed objectives will be retired

As always, we continually monitor the exam outlines for changes. When we find a change we get to work and update our study guides and practice exams as soon as possible.

We hope you find this information useful. Should you have questions or clarifications, don't hesitate to drop us a comment below. 

Good luck!

Comments

  1. Otto

    I have studied the old outline and want to write the Admin exam after the 23rd…will this mean that I am only 90% prepared for this exam?

    1. Brenden Smothers

      I did. It weighted my test based on these topics, but I was using the old material to study…It’s pretty unfortunate but I think my org will pay for another attempt.

  4. Jasmeet kaur

    Hi,
    I want to confirm whether section vise practice test will update as per new changes. If so, by when can i expect new lessons here on focusonforce.
    Thanks.

    1. Rielle G. Focus Team

      Hi Jasmeet, the updates to our practice exams and study guide pages have been implemented. It’s now aligned to the new exam guide that will take effect in a few hours (exactly: June 23, 2021 at 6 am Pacific daylight time)

  5. Anuradha Hiremath

    According to the new Exam outline given above, will the Certification Exam and passing score still be the same or changed? he test consists of 60 multiple-choice questions, which means you must get at least 39 correct to pass. I am going to give the exam after June 23rd.

  6. Sam St Michael

    I have been scheduled to test on the 23rd, long before knowing the changes happening. So, either I pass or fail. Not sure if anything has changed to lock me out of testing on the 23rd. Hope to pass to get into the HOH fellowship that’s coming up.

  8. Saima Karim

    My exam is on June 23rd .but I’m practice with old outline at this stage what should I do?

    1. Rielle G. Focus Team

      Hi Saima, SF announced that the changes to the exam outline will happen on June 23, 2021 at 6 am Pacific daylight time. If your exam is after that, it will now follow the new exam outline, but if your exam is before that, it would still follow the existing exam guide.

      What we recommend for test-takers of exams after the update has been effective is to check out the new exam guide here: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/help?article=Salesforce-Certified-Administrator-New-Exam-Guide for additional resources on how to study for the Administrator exam.

      We also published a blog post that provides a summary of the changes: https://focusonforce.com/certification/salesforce-admin-exam-update-june-2021/

  9. Otto

    I have six months of full time study to become a SF Certified Application Architect.
    Question 1: Will six months be sufficient to complete these coures…
    Certified Data Architecture and Management Designer
    Certified Sharing and Visibility Designer
    Certified Platform Developer I
    Certified Platform App Builder
    Question 2: Will SF issue me with a seperate certificate to state that I am now an SF Application Architect?

    1. Belle

      Hi, Otto! Thanks for taking the time to share your comment. Realistically speaking, you need at least 6 months of coding experience to confidently pass Platform Developer I. In addition, you must also have a strong foundation in Salesforce configuration. If you already have that amount of experience and foundation, then it would be easier for you to pass Platform App Builder and PD I within the first month. Certified Data Architecture and Management Designer and Certified Sharing and Visibility Designer cert preparation could take at least a month or two once you passed App Builder and Platform Developer I (PD I). You might want to consider these while planning for your certification schedules.

      Yes, you will need to take another accreditation to become a Certified Application Architect – it is a separate credential.

      APPLICATION ARCHITECT
      https://trailhead.salesforce.com/credentials/applicationarchitect

      1. Otto

        Thank you Belle for the information…much appreciated. It seems as if the Application Architect Credential will be issued automatically after completion of these certs…The Salesforce Application Architect credential will be granted after all four prerequisites have been successfully completed.