Before moving further, let us take a glance at the agenda for this blog on Salesforce Developer Certification Exam Guide in 2021:
- Introduction to Salesforce Developer Certification
- Skills Required
- Prerequisites for Salesforce Developer Certification
- Marks Distribution
- Certification Exam Details
- Exam Strategy
- Suggestions for Exam Preparation
Introduction to Salesforce Developer Certification
Before getting familiar with the Salesforce PD-1 Certification, first, let us learn about the Salesforce developer job role.
So, who is a salesforce developer? A Salesforce Developer handles the technical part of the salesforce instance for any company.
To do this, salesforce developers use the programming language Apex, which is similar to Java. They also use Visualforce with Apex to create custom business logic. But, how do these professionals get their skills approved in the industry? In the IT world, and technical skill has to be validated by official certification for the candidates to grab top jobs.
Salesforce also follows this tradition and has designed the Salesforce Developer certification for professionals who have knowledge and exposure to the Force.com platform to build custom applications as per user requirements. The certification is intended to give professionals a hallmark for their skills. By clearing the Salesforce Developer certification, the chances for the professionals of getting a lucrative job increase.
The objective of the Salesforce PD-1 Certification, Salesforce CRT-450, is to ensure that the person who passes the certification exam has hands-on expertise in developing custom applications.
Now, you might have a question, how to get Salesforce Developer certification? In the next section of this Salesforce PD-1 Certification blog, you will get to know about the skills that a Salesforce developer should have to clear the certification exam.
Skills Required
The skills required to become a salesforce platform developer are as follows:
- Develop custom applications and interfaces by using the Force.com platform
- Know how to create business logic by extending the capabilities of Salesforce
- Know how to build an application by using Apex and Visualforce
- Have a basic understanding of the development life cycle
- Comprehend the model-view-controller architecture
Prerequisites for Salesforce Developer Certification
In the previous sections, you read about the tasks of a salesforce developer. As these tasks include technical aspects, such as programming, there are certain prerequisites and skills that a person must possess to pass the Salesforce Developer certification; they are as follows:
- A person should have three to six months of programming experience.
- They should have a thorough knowledge of OOPs concepts.
- They must understand data structures and database concepts.
- They also need to possess skills in Apex programming used for developing Salesforce applications.
Note: If you are a fresher or non-IT professional, then you must take up an online course that will help you to learn about Salesforce concepts and Apex programming. This will indeed help you get a head start in becoming a salesforce developer.
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Marks Distribution
The Salesforce Developer certification syllabus consists of six modules. The weightage of each module is different as is shown in the diagram below:
Now, let us see the details of all the modules.
Salesforce fundamentals (7%): In this module, you have to learn how to consider different scenarios while developing an application in a multi-tenant environment. Then, you have to understand how to use the MVC pattern to map the features of Salesforce in it. You should also learn to use the core CRM objects to build a schema in Salesforce.
Data modeling and management (13%): Data modeling is one of the important topics in the Salesforce Developer syllabus, where you will have to learn to design a data model according to the requirements. You also need to understand the schema design, the types of relationships for data modeling, the import and export of data, etc.
Logic and process automation (38%): Logic and process automation is the heart of the salesforce automation processes. Hence, this section has a 38 percent weightage, which is higher than the weightage of all other modules; so, you may have to be more alert when you are covering this module. Here, you have to understand how to use programming capabilities to design the object schema, create the formula fields and roll-up summary, and use automation tools. You should also learn the concepts related to Apex programming such as:
- Variables and constants
- Data types
- Control flow statements
- Classes and interfaces
- Apex triggers and transactions
- Exception handling
- Apex custom controllers
- Standard Visualforce controllers
Other than these topics, you should learn the concepts related to SOSL and SOQL as well.
User interface (25%): This section has a 25 percent weightage. Here you have to learn how to expose the data of a company by using a Visualforce page. Then, you must understand the mechanism of the lightning framework. You will have to learn about the different types of content that you can combine by using the Visualforce page. You should also go through the resources that are incorporated with the Salesforce lightning components.
Testing (7%): Testing is a crucial part of application development as it gives you information about the performance of an app. In the Salesforce Developer certification exam, it has a weightage of seven percent. In this module, you have to learn about the testing frameworks along with knowing how to write unit tests for various classes, controllers, and Apex triggers. Further, you have to understand the multiple origins of the test data.
Debug and deployment tools (10%): This section has a 10 percent weightage in the Salesforce Developer certification exam. As debugging is a key task while developing a full-fledged application, you have to learn about the various types of debug logs. You should also know how to use the Developer Console and Workbench to develop and deploy a secured application. Besides, you will have to learn how different environments and processes are used to build and deploy apps.
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Certification Exam Details
You can give the Salesforce Developer certification exam either in an examination center or online in a proctored environment. Below are the other details of the exam:
- Exam duration: The duration of the Salesforce Developer certification exam is 105 minutes.
- Number of questions: The Salesforce Developer certification exam has 60 multiple-choice questions to answer.
- Passing percentage: To pass the Salesforce Platform Developer 1 certification exam, you have to score at least 65 percent. To score the passing percentage, you have to give correct answers to 39 questions.
- Certification cost: The Salesforce Platform Developer 1 certification exam cost is US$200. If you fail on the first attempt, then you can retake the exam by paying US$100.
Study Strategy
Now that you are pretty much clear about the certification, its prerequisites, and other exam details, you have to start preparing for it. To do this, you will require a study strategy that is appropriately designed to fulfill the requirements of the exam.
To clear the Salesforce Developer certification exam with a good score, you should focus on the topics that have a higher weightage. As mentioned earlier, the topics are logic and process automation and user interface with 38 and 25 percent weightage respectively. Nonetheless, you will have to cover other modules as well according to their weightage.
After learning the concepts, you should also start working on a dummy project of your choice by preparing a problem statement. This is one of the best approaches you can take that will help you get experience in developing an application for a company. Therefore, this study strategy will help you to gain expertise and clear the Salesforce Developer certification exam.
Suggestions for Exam Preparation
Here are a few suggestions that will prove to be helpful while preparing for the Salesforce Developer certification exam.
Master the Fundamental Concepts of Salesforce
First of all, you should master the basic concepts included in the syllabus so that you do not face any challenges while learning the advanced topics.
Work on a Demo Project
Projects are the best means of learning because they involve implementing all the skills that you have acquired during your learning process. Therefore, you should select a project for development that will help you to check whether or not you are ready to be a salesforce developer.
Attempt Mock Tests
As you have to clear a certification exam to become a salesforce developer, you should first give Salesforce Platform Developer certification practice exams or mock tests. These mock tests will comprise a variety of Salesforce Developer exam questions. The mock tests are helpful as they will boost your preparation and provide an experience of attempting the official Salesforce Developer certification exam.
Identify the Areas of Improvement
Good preparation requires a lot of practice, which you can do by giving mock tests. Further, attempting mock tests will help you to identify the areas where you need to improve. Once you identify the areas, you can focus more on those while you prepare for the Salesforce Developer certification exam.
Improve Yourself through Self-assessment
Self-assessment is the best way to track your preparation and get the metrics for improvement. By giving mock tests and working on a project, you can identify the areas where you need to improve. You can then do a self-assessment of whether you are ready to get a good score in the Salesforce Developer certification exam or if you still need to work harder.
These are a few important suggestions and steps that you can follow while preparing for the Salesforce Platform Developer 1 certification exam. This is all about the details related to the Salesforce Developer certification that you should know before starting your preparation. Stay tuned for more details on Salesforce certifications.