Salesforce Certified Platform Developer II Exam Guide
About the Salesforce Platform Developer II Credential
Unlock a realm of expertise with the Salesforce Platform Developer II program—a coveted pursuit tailored for individuals eager to showcase their advanced proficiency in the dynamic Lightning Platform and intricate data modeling. Dive deep into crafting complex business solutions, with a focus on designing, developing, testing, and deploying state-of-the-art programmatic endeavors that are sustainable, adaptable, and adhere to top-tier design patterns and object-oriented programming standards.
Before embarking on this advanced journey, note: holding the Salesforce Platform Developer I credential is a stepping stone you must cross.
Your certification journey is bifurcated into two: a rigorous Platform Developer II proctored multiple-choice exam, and a trio of superbadges encompassing Apex Specialist, Data Integration Specialist, and Advanced Apex Specialist realms. The sequence? It’s flexible. Earning these credentials places you directly on the pedestal of a Salesforce Certified Platform Developer II.
Audience Description: Salesforce Platform Developer II
Elevate your developer journey with the Salesforce Platform Developer II program—a specialized path tailored for those with a knack for designing bespoke applications on the renowned Lightning Platform. This program deeply resonates with the hands-on application of skills and objectives highlighted in the subsequent exam sections.
Typically, a Salesforce Platform Developer II boasts a commendable 2-4 years of hands-on development experience, with a year dedicated to the intricate nuances of design, implementation, and deployment on the Lightning Platform.
What does a Salesforce Platform Developer II candidate bring to the table? Here’s a comprehensive breakdown:
- Mastery over Salesforce’s data modeling principles, user experience design, robust code development, and meticulous testing, seamlessly applied in real-world scenarios.
- Proficiency in devising optimal solutions for specific business hurdles, leveraging both declarative and programmatic facets of the Lightning Platform.
- Expertise in crafting Apex code tailored for large datasets, coupled with a solid grasp of the platform’s behaviors, limits, and performance metrics.
- Adeptness in handling extensive data volumes, ranging roughly from 300,000 to 480,000 records.
- Skilled in sculpting or enhancing user interfaces for a holistic Salesforce data interaction using Lightning Web Components, Aura Components, advanced Visualforce, CSS, and JavaScript.
- Acumen in optimizing Visualforce pages, with a keen awareness of controller design’s performance dynamics.
- Vigilance towards web and Salesforce-centric security practices.
- Capability to conceive and actualize intricate sharing models through both declarative and programmatic strategies.
- Precision in conceptualizing and executing a robust test plan to safeguard quality across multiple application facets.
- Proficiency in testing Lightning web components via Jest.
- Mastery over the deployment of tailor-made applications, encompassing a holistic grasp of the Salesforce development lifecycle, adeptness with deployment tools, and discretion in tool application.
- Comprehensive understanding of Apex SOAP and REST web services, alongside expertise in Apex callouts using SOAP and REST.
- Finesse with asynchronous programming, encompassing the likes of queueable, batchable, schedulable, @future, and more.
- A diligent approach to error and exception handling across various programmatic arenas.
- Commitment to best practices in trigger development, design patterns, and the broader spectrum of business logic development and reusability.
- Expertise in integrating Lightning Web Components and Aura Components seamlessly into a Lightning page, Visualforce page, and Quick Actions.
Purpose of This Exam Guide
Unlock your potential with this comprehensive guide tailored for aspiring Salesforce Platform Developer II candidates. Designed to gauge your readiness, this guide is packed with invaluable insights, shedding light on the ideal candidates for the certification, the best training routes, trusted documentation, and a detailed breakdown of exam objectives. Dive deep into a blend of real-world experience and focused self-study, a combination Salesforce fervently endorses, to optimize your success rate. Embark on this journey with confidence, and let this guide be your roadmap to securing a top-tier score.
About the Exam
Read on for details about the Salesforce Platform Developer II exam.
- Content: 60 multiple-choice/multiple-select questions and up to 5 non-scored questions
- Time allotted to complete the exam: 120 minutes
- Passing score: 70%
- Registration fee: USD 200, plus applicable taxes as required per local law
- Retake fee: USD 100, plus applicable taxes as required per local law
- Delivery options: Proctored exam delivered onsite at a testing center or in an online proctored environment. Click here for information on scheduling an exam.
- References: No hard-copy or online materials may be referenced during the exam.
- Prerequisite: Salesforce Platform Developer I credential
Note: Exam takers now have the opportunity to share comments and feedback for individual questions on the Platform Developer II exam.
Recommended Training and References
Embarking on your journey to ace the exam? Equip yourself with a proven strategy for success! Dive deep into hands-on practice, complete targeted training courses, explore enlightening Trailhead trails, and indulge in rigorous self-study. All these, aligned with the pivotal areas detailed in the Exam Outline of this guide, forge the path to your triumph.
The self-study materials recommended for this exam include:
- ForceDigest: Salesforce Certified Platform Developer II Practice Exams – Salesforce Certified Platform Developer II Study Guide
- Trailmix: Prepare for Your Salesforce Platform Developer II Credential
- Superbadge: Apex Specialist
- Superbadge: Data Integration Specialist
- Superbadge: Advanced Apex Specialist
Exam Outline
Elevate your tech career with the Salesforce Platform Developer II exam, a definitive measure of a candidate’s expertise and proficiency. This exam meticulously evaluates your grasp on vital objectives. Candidates shining in this assessment typically bring a rich tapestry of hands-on experience, particularly in crafting custom applications on the renowned Lightning Platform. Beyond mere theoretical knowledge, it’s the practical application and mastery of specific features/functions that make a difference. Prepare to not only pass the exam but also to rank prominently in search engine results, showcasing your credentials to the world.
- Demonstrate knowledge of localization and multi-currency features and capabilities and how they affect coding.
- Given a scenario, justify using sharing objects and Apex managed sharing.
- Given a scenario, identify best practices for various types of custom metadata and custom settings, and how to implement required solutions.
- Given a scenario, identify the considerations of interactions between multiple processes, both declarative and programmatic.
- Given a scenario, propose and justify the optimal programmatic or declarative solution.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the best practices for writing Apex triggers.
- Describe the Apex features available for error handling and maintaining transactional integrity.
- Demonstrate how and where to use advanced keywords in a SOQL query structure.
- Analyze a set of requirements and determine the benefits of using asynchronous Apex coding.
- Given a scenario and requirements, identify the appropriate dynamic Apex feature to use in the solution.
- Given a scenario, identify the appropriate publish / subscribe logic for platform events.
- Given a scenario, apply programmatic integration techniques and platform features for inbound and outbound communication.
- Given requirements and code snippets for a Lightning Web Component or Aura Component and its Apex controller class, analyze and determine necessary changes to the Apex class.
- Identify the techniques for using Visualforce to perform actions, partial page refreshes, and asynchronous operations.
- Given a scenario, identify best practices for displaying errors in the user interface.
- Given a set of requirements, select the appropriate Lightning Web Component, Aura Component, or Visualforce solution and describe its benefits.
- Given a scenario, describe the aspects of Lightning Web Components or Aura Components that can be used to cause elements in a component’s markup to display in a responsive manner based on a device’s form factor.
- Given a scenario, implement the correct method to communicate events through Lightning Web Components or Aura Components.
- Describe the purpose and benefit of static resources in Visualforce, Lightning Web Components, and Aura Components.
- Apply advanced techniques and tools for testing Apex classes and triggers, such as mocks and stubs.
- Apply techniques and tools for testing and debugging Lightning Web Components, Aura Components, and Visualforce controllers, Visualforce controller extensions, and JavaScript.
- Given a scenario, Apex code, Apex trigger, or Apex test that is not executing as expected, apply techniques and tools to isolate and identify the root cause.
- Given a scenario, formulate the deployment process, supporting tools, and mechanisms for source-driven development.
- Identify the common performance issues for user interfaces and demonstrate knowledge of techniques and tools to mitigate them.
- Given a scenario, choose the appropriate logic and query structure to maximize application performance and handle large data volumes.
- Analyze a given scenario and determine performance improvements that can be achieved with an asynchronous callout.
- Select scenarios where code reuse is applicable and how the reuse should be implemented.
- Given sample code, identify inefficiencies and demonstrate the ability to resolve them.
Maintaining Your Salesforce Certification
Elevate your professional journey with a Salesforce credential—a testament to staying abreast of the latest product innovations. To underscore your commitment and keep your expertise razor-sharp, it’s essential to engage with the Platform Developer I certification maintenance module on Trailhead annually.
Remember, your distinguished credential symbolizes dedication and mastery. Safeguard your achievement and avoid its expiration by meeting all maintenance prerequisites on time. Staying updated isn’t just about retaining credentials; it’s about cementing your place at the forefront of the Salesforce domain.