Salesforce Developer study plan
Salesforce Developer · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Salesforce Fundamentals
Map the core data model primitives (objects, records, fields, relationships, org boundaries) into a diagram you draw yourself without notes
Provision a Developer Edition org and build one custom app containing two custom objects, a tab, and a profile-based permission set
Articulate in writing when a requirement is solved declaratively versus with code, citing three concrete examples
Identify the license and feature-availability constraints that shape a solution design
Your checkpoint
A one-page architecture sheet plus a working custom app in your dev org, scored against a 25-question fundamentals self-check at 75% or better.
Data Modeling and Management
Construct each relationship type - lookup, master-detail, many-to-many via junction object, and hierarchical - and document the behavioral consequences of each
Enforce business logic using validation rules, formula fields, and roll-up summaries on your schema
Import 200 records using an external ID and perform a successful upsert without creating duplicates
Design a junction object that carries its own fields and explain the ownership and deletion implications
Your checkpoint
A data dictionary for three custom objects (field type, requiredness, relationship type) plus a logged 200-record upsert with zero duplicates.
Data Modeling and Management & Process Automation and Logic
Implement both a before-save and an after-save record-triggered flow and justify the choice of each
Write an Apex trigger using the one-trigger-per-object pattern delegating to a handler class
Bulkify code that performs SOQL and DML inside a loop and verify it stays inside governor limits
Produce a written decision memo choosing Flow or Apex for three distinct requirements
Your checkpoint
A working automation layer in your dev org plus a decision memo defending Flow-versus-Apex choices on three scenarios.
Process Automation and Logic
Author an approval process and a scheduled flow that act on the same objects as your trigger
Trace the order of execution across its major steps from memory and annotate where each of your automations fires
Debug a deliberately broken flow in the Flow debugger and a failing trigger using log inspection
Resolve every missed item on a mixed practice set spanning domains 1 through 3
Your checkpoint
An annotated order-of-execution diagram mapped to your own org, plus a mixed 40-question practice score of 80% or better.
User Interface
Build a Lightning record page using dynamic forms with conditional visibility driven by field values
Configure two persona-specific Lightning apps with tailored tabs, list views, and compact layouts
Deploy a small Lightning web component to a record page and pass the recordId through a public property
Justify in writing when Lightning Web Components, Aura, or Visualforce is the correct choice
Your checkpoint
Two persona-specific apps with a written rationale for every UI decision and a working record-page component.
Testing
Write Apex unit tests that cover a trigger, a service class, and a 251-record bulk scenario
Use Test.startTest and Test.stopTest correctly and assert on behavior with meaningful failure messages
Raise coverage on all your org code to 90% or better while asserting outcomes rather than line execution
Document with a code example why high coverage does not guarantee correct tests
Your checkpoint
A test suite reporting 90% or better coverage plus a list of uncovered branches and the reason each is uncovered.
Debug and Deployment Tools
Deploy at least five metadata components into a second org using a change set and a metadata-based tool
Set checkpoints and tune log levels in your IDE or the Developer Console to isolate a defect
Read a debug log and pinpoint a governor limit exception along with its root cause
Write a rollback plan that restores the target org to its pre-deployment state
Your checkpoint
A deployment runbook with a before-and-after validation checklist and three written debug-log case notes.
Salesforce Fundamentals & Data Modeling and Management & Process Automation and Logic & User Interface & Testing & Debug and Deployment Tools
Re-attempt every question missed in weeks 1 through 7 and close each gap with a targeted lab
Complete two full-length timed practice exams under exam conditions
Rebuild one end-to-end feature - schema, automation, UI, tests, deployment - without reference material
Consolidate weak objectives into a ranked list and retire the top three before exam day
Your checkpoint
Two timed practice exams at 85% or better plus a closed-out gap log showing zero unresolved objectives.
Milestones
Week 2: Custom data model with all four relationship types deployed, and a clean 200-record upsert with no duplicates.
Week 4: A trigger, a record-triggered flow, an approval process, and a scheduled flow all coexist in one org, and a mixed 40-question practice set on domains 1 through 3 scores 80% or better.
Week 6: Test suite at 90% or better coverage with behavior-based assertions, plus two persona-specific Lightning apps delivered.
Week 8: Two full-length timed practice exams at 85% or better, a documented deployment runbook, and a gap log with no open items.