Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer Interview Questions

Interview preparation is just as crucial as exam preparation. As a result, preparing for an interview necessitates far more practice and confidence than studying for any other exam. You must make the finest first impression possible. So, in order to aid our applicants in their interview preparation, we have done our best to provide you with the greatest and most expert-revised interview questions. Furthermore, we have covered all levels of questions from basic to intermediate to advanced. So, we strongly advise applicants to prepare with the best and attain the best results. But first, let’s take an overview of the Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer exam.

Advanced Interview Questions

What are some of the most common integration patterns you have used with Salesforce?

Some common integration patterns that can be used with Salesforce include:

1. Point-to-point integration: This pattern involves connecting two systems directly to each other, without the use of an intermediary. This can be useful for simple integrations, but can become complex if multiple systems need to be integrated.
2. File-based integration: This pattern involves the use of flat files, such as CSV or Excel, to transfer data between systems. This can be useful for large data transfers, but can be less reliable and more difficult to troubleshoot than other integration patterns.
3. Batch integration: This pattern involves the use of batch jobs to transfer data between systems. Batch jobs can be scheduled to run at specific intervals, and can be useful for large data transfers or when real-time data transfer is not required.
4. Service-oriented architecture (SOA) integration: This pattern involves the use of web services, such as SOAP or REST, to transfer data between systems. This can be useful for real-time data transfer and integration with systems that do not have a direct connection.
5. Cloud-based integration: This pattern involves the use of cloud-based integration platforms, such as Boomi, MuleSoft, or Jitterbit, to connect Salesforce with other systems. This can be useful for complex integrations and for organizations that do not have the resources to build their own integration solutions.

It’s important to note that the best integration pattern depends on the specific requirements of the project, and the most appropriate pattern should be chosen based on the complexity, volume of data, and real-time requirement of the integration.

How do you ensure data security and compliance when integrating Salesforce with other systems?

There are several steps you can take to ensure data security and compliance when integrating Salesforce with other systems:

1. Use secure protocols: Use secure protocols such as HTTPS and SFTP to transfer data between Salesforce and other systems.
2. Use encryption: Encrypt sensitive data both at rest and in transit to protect it from unauthorized access.
3. Use secure authentication: Use secure authentication methods such as Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and Single Sign-On (SSO) to control access to Salesforce and other systems.
4. Regularly review and audit: Regularly review and audit your integration to ensure compliance with industry regulations and best practices.
5. Limit access to data: Limit access to sensitive data to only those who need it.
6. Use Salesforce’s built-in security features: Salesforce provides a set of security features, like sharing rules, field-level security and record-level security, that you should use to ensure that the data is only accessible by the right people.
7. Stay up-to-date with Salesforce’s security updates and releases.
8. Always backup your data, it can be useful in case of any unfortunate events.
9. Consider hiring a third-party expert to conduct a security audit or penetration test to identify and address any potential vulnerabilities in your integration.

What are the steps to troubleshoot a Salesforce integration issue.

There are several steps you can take to troubleshoot a Salesforce integration issue:

1. Check the integration logs: Salesforce maintains logs of all integration activities, check for any error messages or warning in the log, it can give you an idea of where the issue might be coming from.
2. Test the integration: Test the integration by running a test transaction to see if it is working as expected.
3. Check for any updates/patch: Check if any updates or patches have been released that might be causing the integration issue.
4. Check the integration settings: Verify that the integration settings are correct, such as the endpoint URL, username, and password.
5. Check for any server-side issues: Check if there are any server-side issues such as network connectivity or server downtime.
6. Check for any code-level issues: Check if there are any code-level issues such as syntax errors or logic issues.
7. Check Salesforce’s trust status: check if your Salesforce instance is in a “Sandbox” or “Production” mode, this can affect the integration.
8. Check for any recent changes in Salesforce: Check if there are any recent changes made in Salesforce that might be causing the integration issue, such as new fields or objects.
9. Check for any recent changes in the system you are integrating with: Check if there are any recent changes made in the system you are integrating with that might be causing the integration issue.
10. Consult Salesforce’s documentation and community for any known issues or solutions.
11. If you are still unable to find the issue, consider reaching out to Salesforce support or a Salesforce consultant for assistance.

How do you approach designing an integration between Salesforce and another system?

When designing an integration between Salesforce and another system, there are several key steps to consider:

1. Understand the requirements: Understand the requirements for the integration, such as what data needs to be transferred, how often the data needs to be updated, and what the expected outcome of the integration is.
2. Identify the systems: Identify the systems that will be involved in the integration, such as Salesforce, the other system, and any intermediate systems that may be required.
3. Determine the integration method: Determine the integration method that will be used, such as point-to-point integration, batch integration, or real-time integration.
4. Design the data flow: Design the data flow, including the data mapping, data transformation, and data validation that will be required to move data between the systems.
5. Choose an integration platform: Choose an integration platform, such as Salesforce’s built-in integration capabilities, an integration platform as a service (iPaaS), or a custom integration solution.
6. Establish security and compliance: Establish security and compliance by considering the data that will be transferred and the regulations that apply to it.
7. Determine the frequency of data transfer: Determine the frequency of data transfer, how often data needs to be synced between the systems.
8. Test the integration: Test the integration thoroughly to ensure that it is working as expected.
9. Plan for scalability: Plan for scalability to accommodate future growth and changes in the systems and data.
10. Consider any Fallbacks: Consider any fallbacks in case of an issue, such as a failover plan or a backup plan.
11. Monitor and maintain: Monitor and maintain the integration to ensure that it is working correctly and to address any issues that may arise.

How to use Salesforce Connect to integrate external data sources?

To use Salesforce Connect to integrate external data sources, you can follow these general steps:

1. Create a connection to an external data source: Use the Salesforce Connect feature to create a connection to an external data source. This can be done by going to the Salesforce setup menu and selecting “External Data Sources” under “Data Integration.”
2. Define the external object: Once the connection is established, you will need to define the external object that you want to connect to. You can do this by clicking on “New External Object” and providing the necessary information such as the object name, the external data source, and the external object name.
3. Map the external object to Salesforce objects: Map the external object to Salesforce objects by defining the relationships between the external object and Salesforce objects. This can be done by creating a new field on the Salesforce object, and mapping it to the corresponding field on the external object.
4. Schedule regular data sync: Schedule regular data sync to keep the data in Salesforce up-to-date with the external data source. This can be done by going to the “Scheduled Jobs” page under “Data Integration” in the Salesforce setup menu.
5. Access external data in real-time: Access external data in real-time by querying the external object in Salesforce. This can be done by creating a new Apex class or Visualforce page that queries the external object and displays the results.
6. Test the integration: Test the integration to ensure that it is working as expected.
7. Monitor and maintain the integration: Monitor and maintain the integration to ensure that it is working correctly and to address any issues that may arise.
8. Use Salesforce’s standard and custom objects to interact with external data: After the integration is set up, you can use Salesforce’s standard and custom objects to interact with external data, such as creating, reading, updating, and deleting records.

Please note that the integration process and steps can vary depending on the type of external data source and the complexity of integration. It’s always recommended to consult Salesforce’s documentation, a Salesforce consultant or a developer to help you with the integration.

How do you handle data mapping and transformation when integrating Salesforce with other systems?

Handling data mapping and transformation when integrating Salesforce with other systems can be a complex task, but it is an important step to ensure that the data is accurate and consistent across the systems. Here are some general steps to consider when handling data mapping and transformation:

1. Understand the data structure: Understand the data structure of both Salesforce and the other system, including the fields, data types, and relationships.
2. Identify the mapping requirements: Identify the mapping requirements, such as which fields need to be mapped and how the data needs to be transformed.
3. Create a data mapping document: Create a data mapping document that outlines the mapping between the fields in Salesforce and the other system. This should include the field name, data type, and any transformations that need to be applied.
4. Use data transformation tools: Use data transformation tools, such as Data Loader or Workbench, to automate the process of mapping and transforming the data.
5. Validate the data: Validate the data to ensure that it is accurate and consistent across the systems. This can be done by comparing the data in Salesforce and the other system or by using a validation tool.
6. Schedule regular data sync: Schedule regular data sync to keep the data in Salesforce up-to-date with the other system.
7. Monitor the data quality: Monitor the data quality and make adjustments as needed to ensure that the data is accurate and consistent across the systems.
8. Consider using third-party integration tools that can handle data mapping and transformation more efficiently and effectively.
9. Test the integration: Test the integration thoroughly to ensure that it is working as expected.
10. Plan for any fallback: Plan for any fallback in case of an issue, such as a failover plan or a backup plan for the data.
11. Monitor and maintain the integration: Monitor and maintain the integration to ensure that it is working correctly and to address any issues that may arise.

How do you ensure data security and compliance when integrating Salesforce with other systems?

Ensuring data security and compliance when integrating Salesforce with other systems is crucial to protect sensitive data and to comply with industry regulations. Here are some steps that you can take to ensure data security and compliance:

1. Use secure protocols: Use secure protocols such as HTTPS and SFTP to transfer data between Salesforce and other systems.
2. Use encryption: Encrypt sensitive data both at rest and in transit to protect it from unauthorized access.
3. Use secure authentication: Use secure authentication methods such as Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and Single Sign-On (SSO) to control access to Salesforce and other systems.
4. Limit access to data: Limit access to sensitive data to only those who need it by implementing Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).
5. Use Salesforce’s built-in security features: Salesforce provides a set of security features, like sharing rules, field-level security and record-level security, that you should use to ensure that the data is only accessible by the right people.
6. Regularly review and audit: Regularly review and audit your integration to ensure compliance with industry regulations and best practices.
7. Stay up-to-date with Salesforce’s security updates and releases.
8. Always backup your data, it can be useful in case of any unfortunate events.
9. Conduct a security audit or penetration test: Consider hiring a third-party expert to conduct a security audit or penetration test to identify and address any potential vulnerabilities in your integration.
10. Understand the regulations that apply to your data: Understand the regulations that apply to your data, such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and GDPR, and ensure that your integration is compliant with them.

How do you stay current with the latest Salesforce integration best practices and features?

There are several ways to learn about the latest Salesforce integration best practices and features:

1. Salesforce’s documentation: Salesforce provides detailed documentation on integration best practices, features, and updates on their website. This is a great resource to get an overview of the latest features and best practices.
2. Salesforce’s Trailhead: Salesforce’s Trailhead is an online learning platform that offers a variety of interactive tutorials, modules, and quizzes on Salesforce integration and other topics.
3. Salesforce’s User Groups and Community: Salesforce has a large community of users, developers, and partners who share their knowledge and experience on forums, user groups, and social media. Joining and participating in these groups can give you access to the latest best practices and features.
4. Salesforce’s events: Salesforce holds events, such as the Dreamforce conference, that provide a great opportunity to learn about the latest features and best practices from Salesforce experts and other users.
5. Salesforce’s partners: Salesforce partners are experts in Salesforce integrations, they can provide you guidance, training and support on the latest best practices and features.
6. Salesforce’s blogs: Salesforce has a blog where they share the latest updates and best practices on Salesforce integrations and other topics.
7. Online resources such as tutorials, webinars and online courses: There are many online resources, such as tutorials, webinars, and online courses, that can help you learn about the latest Salesforce integration best practices and features.
8. Practice: The best way to learn about Salesforce integration is to practice it, try to implement different use cases and scenarios, this will help you understand the possibilities and limitations of Salesforce integrations.

Keep in mind that Salesforce is constantly updating its products and features, so it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest developments to make the most of your integration.

How do you manage and test Salesforce integrations in different environments?

Managing and testing Salesforce integrations in different environments can be challenging, but it is important to ensure that the integration is working correctly and to identify any issues before deploying it to a production environment. Here are some steps to consider when managing and testing Salesforce integrations in different environments:

1. Understand the environments: Understand the different environments where the integration will be deployed, such as development, test, staging, and production environments.
2. Create a testing plan: Create a testing plan that outlines the test cases and test scenarios that will be used to validate the integration.
3. Use Salesforce’s Sandbox environments: Use Salesforce’s Sandbox environments to test the integration in a non-production environment. Salesforce Sandbox is a replica of the production environment, you can use it to test the integration without affecting the production data.
4. Use integration testing tools: Use integration testing tools, such as JUnit, to automate the process of testing the integration.
5. Test the integration in different environments: Test the integration in different environments, such as development, test, staging, and production environments, to ensure that it is working correctly in each environment.
6. Monitor the integration: Monitor the integration in each environment to identify any issues or errors that may occur.
7. Use version control: Use version control to manage the different versions of the integration, this can be done using Git or SVN.
8. Have a disaster recovery plan: Have a disaster recovery plan in place in case of a data loss or data breach.
9. Use Salesforce’s change sets: Use Salesforce’s change sets to deploy changes between environments, this is a way to move metadata between Salesforce orgs.
10. Use continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD): Use continuous integration and continuous delivery to automate the process of building, testing, and deploying the integration.
11. Have a backup of your data: Always have a backup of your data, in case of any unfortunate events.
12. Test the integration before going to production: Test the integration thoroughly before deploying it to the production environment to ensure that it is working as expected.

Basic Interview Questions

1. Explain the Integration pattern structure?

Integration patterns are a set of solutions that facilitate communication between disparate systems, software, and devices. Each pattern follows a fluent structure, which provides a consistent set of information and makes it easier to compare different integration approaches.

The pattern of the template goes as:

• Name
• Context
• Problem
• Forces
• Solution
• Sketch
• Results
• Slidebars
• Lastly, Example

2. List the various Integration patterns?

The integration patterns are classified into two categories:

• Firstly, Data Integration
• Secondly, Process Integration.

3. What is Data Integration?

Data integration is the most straightforward integration pattern and requires effective information management techniques to ensure a sustainable and cost-effective solution. These techniques include Master Data Management (MDM), data governance, de-duplication, and data flow design. Data integration synchronizes data between two or more systems, ensuring that both systems contain timely and meaningful information.

4. What is Process Integration?

Process integration is a solution that triggers applications to call across process boundaries to other applications, including both orchestration and choreography. This integration pattern is commonly used for a business process to leverage two or more applications to complete its task. Process integration requires complex design, testing, and exception handling to ensure that the process runs smoothly.

5. Define Event handling?

Event handling is the process of receiving an identified occurrence at a designated receiver. It involves identifying where an event should be forwarded, executing that forwarding action, receiving a forwarded event, and taking some appropriate action in response, such as writing to a log, sending an error or recovery process, or sending an additional message.

6. What is Protocol Conversion?

Protocol conversion is a software application that converts the standard or proprietary protocol of one device to the protocol suitable for another device to achieve interoperability. Translation and transformation tools often include the ability to create service facades for legacy or non-standard endpoints. The transformation process maps one data type to another to ensure compatibility between multiple systems being connected.

7. What is Translation and transformation?

The translation and transformation tools often include the ability to create service facades for legacy or other non-standard endpoints. The capacity to map one data type to another to ensure compatibility between the multiple systems being connected is known as transformation.

8. Explain Queuing and buffering?

Queuing and buffering rely on asynchronous message passing rather than a request-response architecture. Asynchronous messaging allows senders to continue unaffected if the receiver application fails for any reason, providing a key benefit of this integration pattern.

9. Define Synchronous transport protocols?

Synchronous transport protocols facilitate operations in which a single thread in the caller transmits the request message, waits for the return message, and then processes the reply message.

10. What are Asynchronous transport protocols?

Asynchronous transport protocols permit activities in which one thread in the caller delivers the request message and establishes a callback for the response. Reply messages are received in a different thread.

11. What is Mediation routing?

Mediation routing is the definition of a complex message transfer from one component to another. Mediation simplifies development, integration, and validation in such complex instances.

12. Define Choreography?

Choreography is the behavior resulting from a group of interacting individual entities with no central authority.

13. Define Orchestration?

Orchestration involves the coordination of individual entities performing tasks independent of each other. It results from a central conductor coordinating the behaviors of these entities to achieve a desired outcome.

14. What is Transactionality?

Transactionality is defined as the ability to support global transactions that encompass all necessary operations against each required resource.

15. What do you understand by the term Routing?

Routing is the process of defining the complex flow of messages from one component to the next. Header, content type, rule, and priority are some of the criteria that can be used to create message flows.

16. What is Extract, transform, and load?

Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) is a process that involves extracting data from source systems, transforming the data to fit operational needs, and loading the data into a target system. The transform stage typically applies a series of rules or functions to the extracted data from the source to derive the data for loading into the end target, which can vary widely from a database, operational data store, data mart, data warehouse, or other operational systems.

17. What is Salesforce Integration v2?

Salesforce Integration v2, also known as ExactTarget for AppExchange, extends advanced email marketing capabilities to your Sales or Service Cloud org. The integration combines contact and lead data from your Sales or Service Cloud org with Marketing Cloud campaigns. Moreover, this combination provides a single view of how your customers interact with your business.

18. List some features of Salesforce Integration v2?

• Firstly, Personalize Marketing Cloud emails with Sales and Service Cloud customer data.
• Secondly, Track how contacts and leads respond to email campaigns.
• Thirdly, Configure the integration to fit your business needs.
• Fourthly, Customize Sales and Service Cloud page layouts with Marketing Cloud features.
• Fifthly, Send Marketing Cloud emails in Sales or Service Cloud to leads, contacts, reports, and campaigns.
• Lastly, Map Sales and Service Cloud fields with Marketing Cloud attributes to personalize messages.

19. What is Trigger?

A trigger is a block of code that is executed before or after a record is inserted or updated. Triggers can be applied across the object or related to the object, providing a powerful tool for automating various processes within Salesforce.

20. How can you edit apex classes in a production environment?

When it comes to editing Apex classes, it is not recommended to do so directly in a production environment. Rather, changes should be made in a sandbox first, and then deployed to production with the proper permissions from an Author.

21. Define Login Event?

Login events are used to track a user’s instance of logging into an organization, and are similar to login history in Salesforce. However, login events can be made more expansive with the addition of HTTP header information.

22. Field-to-field filters are unavailable in what report types?

Field-to-field filters are unavailable in report types that:

• Reference an external object
• Have a with or without a relationship between objects

23. What are the different kinds of reports?

There are three types of reports they are:

• Firstly, Tabular reports.
• Secondly, Summary reports.
• Lastly, Matrix reports

24. What is the use of Translation?

You can use this information type to work with translations for a variety of supported languages. The Translation Workbench has the ability to translate component labels.

25. What are Custom settings?

Custom settings are similar to custom items in that they can be customised. Application developers can correlate custom data with an organisation, profile, or single person by creating custom sets of data. Furthermore, all custom settings data is exposed in the application cache, allowing for quick access without the need for repeated database requests. This data can then be used in formula fields, validation rules, flows, Apex, and the SOAP API.

26. What are the different types of Custom settings?

There are two types of custom settings:

• Firstly, List custom settings
• Secondly, Hierarchy Custom Settings

27. Define List Custom Settings?

A form of custom setting that creates a reusable set of static data that may be used throughout your company. Two-letter state abbreviations, international dialling prefixes, and product catalogue numbers are examples of list data. Furthermore, because the data is cached and access is low-cost and efficient, there is no need to utilise SOQL searches, which are limited by your governor restrictions.

28. Define Hierarchy Custom Settings?

A custom setting with built-in hierarchical logic that allows you to customise settings for individual profiles or users. The hierarchy logic examines the current user’s organisation, profile, and user settings and delivers the most specific, or lowest, value. Furthermore, organizational hierarchy settings are overruled by profile settings, which are overridden by user settings.

29. Define Login Event?

Login events are used to track a user’s instance of logging into an organization and are similar to login history in Salesforce. However, login events can be made more expansive with the addition of HTTP header information.

30. Define Login History?

In order to obtain login history administrator data, it is necessary to download the information to a .csv or .gzip file, which can be accessed through Setup and the API. However, it is important to note that there are limitations to the indexing and history of this data.

31. Who is Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer?

A Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer evaluates the integration requirements in order to create safe, scalable Salesforce Platform integration solutions. The designer has prior expertise building and implementing complex integration patterns on a variety of platforms, as well as conveying solution and design trade-offs to both business and technical stakeholders.

32. Define CRM?

A CRM, or customer relationship management system, is a technology used to manage a company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. The primary goal of a CRM is to improve business relationships and promote business growth. Additionally, a CRM system can help companies stay connected to their customers, streamline processes, and increase profitability.

33. What is Bulk API?

The Bulk API is a vital tool that enables you to perform a wide range of record-related tasks in Salesforce in an asynchronous manner. It can execute tasks like querying, queryAll, inserting, updating, upserting, or deleting a high volume of records with ease. This API is seamlessly integrated into the Salesforce REST framework, providing you with a flexible and robust solution for your data management needs.

34. What is REST API?

When it comes to connecting with Salesforce, the REST API is the preferred option for many developers due to its simplicity, convenience, and ease of use. This powerful REST-based web services interface is an excellent choice for web projects and mobile apps, and it offers several benefits over other APIs.

35. When should one use SOAP API?

SOAP API is an indispensable tool for creating, retrieving, updating, or deleting records, including accounts, leads, and custom objects. Additionally, the SOAP API also allows you to maintain passwords, perform searches, and carry out a host of other essential tasks to manage your Salesforce data effectively. Whether you choose the Bulk API, REST API, or SOAP API, Salesforce provides an array of powerful tools to help you achieve your data management goals.