Development-Lifecycle-and-Deployment-Architect Salesforce Certified Platform Development Lifecycle and Deployment Architect (Plat-Arch-202) Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

 An application with many systems and inter-dependencies between components is a project situation that favors a waterfall methodology, as it requires a high level of planning and design upfront to ensure the integration and compatibility of the components. An application with regulatory compliance requirements to be validated by outside agencies is also a project situation that favors a waterfall methodology, as it requires a clear and detailed documentation of the requirements and specifications, as well as a formal and rigorous testing and validation process. An application in post-production, with incremental changes made by a small team is a project situation that favors an agile methodology, as it allows for faster and more frequent delivery of changes, as well as more flexibility and collaboration. An in-house application with a fixed team size, but an open timeline and flexible requirements is also a project situation that favors an agile methodology, as it allows for more creativity and experimentation, as well as more feedback and adaptation.

C is the correct answer, as creating a custom metadata type and including this in your deployment to production is the best way to manage this deployment. A custom metadata type is a metadata component that can store important configuration data, such as custom settings, and can be deployed along with other components, such as Apex classes. A is incorrect, as scripting the deployment of all functionality via the Force.com Migration Tool is not a good way to manage this deployment, as it does not address the issue of deploying the custom settings that hold the configuration data. B is incorrect, as manually deploying and populating custom settings in production using a change set is not a good way to manage this deployment, as it can introduce errors and inconsistencies, as well as require additional steps and permissions. D is incorrect, as manually deploying and populating the custom settings in production prior to the Apex class deployment is not a good way to manage this deployment, as it can create dependency and timing issues, as well as require additional steps and permissions. You can learn more about this topic in the [Custom Metadata Types] module on Trailhead.

These are the correct answers because the project steering committee plays a role in approving deviations from the chosen methodology, when required to address project issues, and setting the criteria for selecting agile or waterfall methodology to be used on internal projects. The steering committee does not design a methodology, but rather chooses one from the existing ones. The steering committee does not enforce that corporate project stage gates are part of the chosen methodology but rather ensures that the chosen methodology aligns with the corporate project stage gates.

This is the correct answer because developers should work on feature branches that are derived from the develop branch, which represents the latest stable version of the code. The feature branches should then be merged back into the develop branch after they are completed and tested. This way, the develop branch always contains the most updated code that is ready for release.

 Creating a Center of Excellence with a charter document is a recommended practice for managing multiple projects and aligning them with the business goals and roadmap. A Center of Excellence is a cross-functional team that provides guidance, support, and governance for the Salesforce ecosystem. A charter document defines the vision, mission, roles, and responsibilities of the Center of Excellence.

An agile team is one that improves and evolves its processes and frequently delivers value to the end users. This is the main characteristic of an agile team, as opposed to a traditional team that follows a fixed plan and delivers on predefined dates. Agile teams use various frameworks, such as Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming, but these are not essential to be agile. Agile teams also have shorter iterations, such as biweekly sprints, but these are not the only way to ensure on-time delivery.

 Generating a code review checklist to ensure consistency between reviews and different reviewers and conducting a review that combines human efforts and automatic checks by the tool to detect all flaws are two recommended practices to follow when conducting secure code reviews, as they can help improve the quality and security of the code and reduce the risk of vulnerabilities or errors. Focusing on the aggregated reviews to save time and effort, to remove the need to continuously monitor each meaningful change is not a good practice, as it can miss important details or changes that can affect the code functionality or security. Using the code review software as the tool to flag which developer has committed the errors, so the developer can improve is not a constructive way of conducting code reviews, as it can create a blame culture and discourage collaboration and learning. See Secure Coding Guidelines for more details.

Apex CPU limits and HTTP response size are two limitations that an architect should consider when designing a strategy for managing technical reference data, with multiple related objects. Apex CPU limits may be exceeded if the data retrieval or manipulation logic is complex or inefficient. HTTP response size may be too large if the data payload contains many related objects or fields. Circular relationships and depth of nested relationships are not limitations, but design considerations that may affect the data model and query performance.

 Cross-site scripting is the most common reason that the prospect AppExchange products fail the security review. Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a type of web application vulnerability that allows an attacker to inject malicious code into a web page that is viewed by other users. XSS can compromise the security and privacy of the users, as well as the functionality and performance of the application. Salesforce has strict security standards and policies for AppExchange products, and any product that has XSS vulnerabilities will not pass the security review. CRUD/FLS, session hacking, and SOQL injection are also security issues that can affect AppExchange products, but they are not as common or severe as XSS.

A, C, and E are the correct answers, as Force.com Migration Tool, Source Control Tool, and Continuous Integration Build Tool are the tools that should be used to enable a continuous integration process to help manage code quality. A continuous integration process is a practice that involves merging code changes from multiple developers into a common repository, and then testing and validating them automatically, before deploying them to the target environment. Force.com Migration Tool is a tool that uses the Metadata API to retrieve and deploy metadata components, such as code, from one org to another. Source Control Tool is a tool that manages the versions and changes of the code, and allows for collaboration and integration among the developers. Continuous Integration Build Tool is a tool that automates the testing and deployment of the code, and ensures that the code meets the quality and functionality standards. B is incorrect, as Full Sandbox Environment is not a tool that should be used to enable a continuous integration process, as it is a copy of a production org that is used for development and testing purposes, but not for merging, testing, or deploying code changes. D is incorrect, as Project Management Tool is not a tool that should be used to enable a continuous integration process, as it is a tool that helps to plan, organize, and track the progress of the project, but not to manage, test, or deploy code changes. You can learn more about these tools in the Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery module on Trailhead.

The best option for UC is to refresh Stage now, and do not refresh UAT. This way, Stage will be on the preview instance and UAT will not. This will allow UC to test their application on both the current and the next Salesforce version, and ensure that they can release on the current version without any issues. Option B is incorrect because it is not necessary to check the Sandbox Preview Guide or refresh and redeploy to UAT. Option C is incorrect because it is too late to work with support to get on the preview instance after the cutoff dates. Option D is incorrect because it will result in both Stage and UAT being on the same version, which will not allow UC to test their application on the next Salesforce version.

The deployment script will fail because the new field is not known for the previous API version 35. The Metadata API version determines which components and fields are available for deployment. If a component or field is introduced in a later API version than the one used for deployment, it will not be recognized and will cause an error.

How to test existing functionality to ensure no regressions are introduced is a decision that the Architect should make when planning for releases, as it is part of the quality assurance process and helps to ensure that the new changes do not break the existing functionality. When to test a new UC feature release is also a decision that the Architect should make when planning for releases, as it is part of the release schedule and helps to coordinate the testing activities with the development and deployment activities. Whether Salesforce will wait to upgrade the pod until after a UC release is complete is not a decision that the Architect can make, as it is determined by Salesforce and depends on the release window and the pod assignment. How to roll back to the previous Salesforce release if there are issues is not a decision that the Architect can make, as it is not possible to roll back to a previous Salesforce release once the upgrade is done.

Creating an unmanaged package of the app and deploying it in NTO’s org is the best option for having ETO’s Sales Optimization app in NTO’s Salesforce org in the shortest possible time. An unmanaged package is a collection of components that can be easily installed and customized in another org. Unlike a managed package, an unmanaged package does not have any restrictions or dependencies on the source org, and does not require a security review or approval from Salesforce. Creating a managed package, creating users in ETO’s org, or building the app from scratch in NTO’s org are not as fast or efficient as creating an unmanaged package.

 The key features of an agile development support tool that an architect should look for are sprint backlog management, product backlog prioritization, and work assignment. These features enable the team to plan, execute, and monitor the sprints effectively and efficiently. Email notifications and Kanban board are not essential features of an agile development support tool, as they can be achieved by other means or tools.

A virtual Kanban board tool is a good way to increase transparency and collaboration among agile development teams, as it allows them to visualize their work, track their progress, and identify any bottlenecks or issues. A daily stand-up meeting, a daily email, or a shared spreadsheet are not as effective or efficient as a Kanban board tool.

The most challenging factor to consider in merging the two Salesforce.com orgs into a single org is the customer data, as it may contain duplicates, inconsistencies, and conflicts. Option D suggests using standardization and de-duplication tools to merge the customer data, which is a reasonable approach. Option A is not true, as transactional sales data may have different formats, fields, and values in the two orgs. Option B is not necessary, as salespersons selling both product lines can use a single login in the merged org. Option C is not true, as business processes on standard objects may have different workflows, validation rules, and triggers in the two orgs.

 Creating a release calendar, training and aligning all the teams is the best way to avoid conflicts and ensure smooth releases between major, minor, and Salesforce seasonal releases. A release calendar can help the teams plan ahead, coordinate their efforts, and avoid overlapping or conflicting changes. Training and aligning the teams can help them understand the release processes, the best practices, and the expectations for each release type. Gating all release decisions at the center of excellence, sharing the test plans, or creating a spreadsheet of metadata changes are not sufficient or scalable solutions for this problem.

 The following issues could be affecting their deployment times:

The number and complexity of Apex tests will have a large impact on the deployment time, as the tests will take longer to run and consume more resources.

Some components such as profiles, custom junction objects, and fields take longer to process than others, as they have more dependencies and validations to check.

Users are working in the org during deployment can affect users and the deployment, as they can lock records or metadata components that are being deployed, causing errors or delays.