The Salesforce Platform App Builder Certification is the certification that demonstrates that you are able to declaratively customize the standard applications or declaratively build a totally custom application.

'Declaratively' is a term that Salesforce uses to distinguish between building application using 'point and click' and 'programmatic' meaning using Visualforce and Apex coding.

The Platform App Builder certification does not require detailed knowledge and skills of programming, but it does require knowing when it is appropriate or necessary to use coding to achieve an objective. Once you have achieved this certification, you will be a Certified Platform App Builder.

This guide will explain everything you need to think about if you’re interested in becoming Platform App Builder certified and the core topics of the exam.

In Platform Platform App Builder, there are 9 topics covered. The topic with the highest weighting is Logic and Process Automation.  As it is weighted at 27%, this is an area that you must focus on to do well in the exam. 

The following are the core topic areas of the Salesforce Platform App Builder certification and what you’re expected to know:

Salesforce Fundamentals

In this section, you need to be familiar with the capabilities of the base system objects and know the capabilities and use cases for declarative customization solutions versus programmatic . You should also know the use cases for using an AppExchange app.

Data Modeling and Management

The Data Modeling and Management topic has the second largest weighting in the exam, so you should spend time to be familiar with topic objectives. In order to pass the data modeling and management section of the Platform App Builder certification exam, you must be familiar with a variety of topics related to data management. These topics include being able to determine the appropriate data model given a scenario, the different relationship types and implications of selecting one on the user interface, reporting and record access. You should be familiar with the use cases and capabilities of external objects and when it is appropriate to use them as part of your data model design. In order to work visually with the data model, you should know the capabilities of the schema builder. Finally you should be familiar with the options for importing and exporting data into and out of Salesforce. 

Security

As part of declaratively building or customizing an application, you must always keep in mind the appropriate level of object, record and field access for different types of users. The security section will present scenarios and you will need to determine the appropriate access and sharing solution, using features such as profile object access, permission sets, role hierarchy, sharing rules, manual sharing and field level security.  

Business Logic and Process Automation

The Business Logic and Process Automation topic is the highest weighted section at 27% so you should make sure that you are very familiar with all of the topic objectives. This topic requires you to know how to apply business logic to your application, using record types, formula fields, validation rules and roll-up summary fields. You also need to understand the capabilities and use cases for the various automation tools, including approval processes, workflow, visual workflow and process builder. Finally you should understand the potential for field updates to cause recursion. Recursion is a valid programming technique, used when a method calls itself to solve a complex problem, however it can cause a problem in Salesforce, if an update on one field triggers an update on another field which causes an update back on the first field, resulting in a recursive loop.  

Social

The social section has the lowest weighting of 3%, so you should only expect 1 or 2 questions on this topic. Salesforce can connect social profiles to leads, person and business accounts and contacts. It currently can connect profiles from Twitter, Facebook, Klout and Youtube. You should be aware of the social capabilities in the desktop site vs the Sales App and the role the Administrator has in enabling and options for controlling the feature.  

Salesforce also offers Social Customer Service, which allows creation of cases, contacts and leads from Social Media Posts. You need to be aware of the capabilities and use cases for Social Customer service. 

User Interface

In the User Interface section, you need to understand how to declaratively customize the user interface and when and how to use custom buttons, links and actions. You should also be familiar with how Lightning Components can be incorporated into an application. 

Reporting

The reporting section has a low weighting of 5%, so you can expect to only get a few questions on this topic, relating to the capabilities of standard vs custom report types, report formats and dashboards.

Mobile

In the Mobile section you need to know the various options and how to declaratively customize the Salesforce mobile App. Global actions, object specific actions and action layouts are options that can be included in the Salesforce mobile App user interface, you need to be able to determine which option is appropriate given a particular scenario.

App Development

In this section, you need to be familiar with the options and best practices for deploying an application from a sandbox through to production. This includes understanding the different types of sandboxes and when it is appropriate to use each type. It is important to understand the capabilities and role of unmanaged packages in app development and deployment. Change sets are one way of deploying metadata from a sandbox, you will need to understand the capabilities and use cases. 

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To prepare successfully for the Platform App Builder certification exam, we recommend to work through our Platform App Builder Study Guide and Platform App Builder Practice Exams.