ADM 201
I want to start off motivating you all saying that “If I can do it, you all can do it too”. I am a Salesforce newbie and this was my second attempt on passing the exam. I am not ashamed to say that I failed in the first attempt (which I took about a month ago) as I scored just a couple of points less than the cut off (65 is the passing score).
SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE
Resource 1: I started off with a course by the author Francis Pindar on Udemy (Thank you Francis Pindar) and he explained each bit very clearly and in an easily understandable way. At the end of each video, he would go thru the main points to remember and summarize them. Bookmarks are available which are saved by other users. You can find his tutorial here:
I know this course is expensive but it helped me understand the concepts quickly. I would suggest you to go through this course (if possible) as it is just awesome for a newbie to get insights and in depth knowledge required for a new Admin.
Resource 2: Then I have completed another course from a client’s website who had subscription to Salesforce provided Instructor led training. It was a great resource as well as it has mutiple hands-on exercises that you can perform in your own salesforce org.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t share those details here.
Resource 3: I have gone through many Trailhead courses (Trailmix by Salesforce Trailhead author) on Admin cert. and worked on them along with earning the badges. These free trailhead sessions are an awesome way to get exposure to the environment (including practical) while working on the little challenges at the end of each session. Few of the sessions that I completed:
I used to go through different author’s material if I was not understanding the whole concept.
Resource 4: Just found this free session for a final quick review on UDemy:
PRACTICE TESTS & FLASH CARDS FOR THE FINAL REVIEW
Resource 1: I have completed free Flash cards on Quizlet. Its a very good resource even if the answers were not 100% correct. You can always google if you are not sure about the answer that you gained from your study knowledge. I have completed as many Quizlet sessions (Flashcards and tests) as possible. Feel free to explore with different search terms in Quizlet.com (Ex: ADM 201, Salesforce Admin etc). Here are some of the links:
Resource 2: I have also worked/ completed free mock/ practice tests from ProProfs.com. Again, please feel free to explore under the following link.
Resource 3: One of the best review resources is by the title “Administrator Certification Prep” in Trailblazer. This has some Flashcards and some practice test questions to review in the last minute when you have about couple of hours left. Some of the links:
Resource 4: Also worked on some Salesforce dumps on:
Remember, the answers in this are by the test takers previously so may or may not be correct.
Resource 5: I have written multiple mock tests on Udemy (of which some are scenario based and some are direct concept based). These tests are fine but not mandatory. This will just test you if you understood the concept which you can do from the above free resources as well. Follow the link below:
Resource 6: I worked on some random search results from Google:
Some of the links that I couldn’t find on my system.
Resource 7: The Trailhead live sessions that the Instructors provided on the Trailhead Live are very helpful. Check out some of the sessions in the links provided below:
Tips:
Resource 8: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT. I purchased practice tests on Webassessor and have taken the tests multiple times at the end of my preparation.
Above all, there are many other resources that I have referenced like the free videos on Youtube, different material by different authors on trailhead, many random mock tests, many practice tests and much other material in the past 3 months.
SUMMARY: The second attempt questionnaire was much difficult that the first attempt. The key point here is to UNDERSTAND the concept AND NOT just REMEMBERING or BYHEARTING the answers. About 80% of the questions are scenario based and so understanding the concept is the most crucial to connect the concepts with the scenario question being asked. Try finding coupon codes for the certification exam. I got them when I attended some Live training sessions which are given by the Salesforce Instructors at the Salesforce Academy.
General Tips: Keep a water bottle, sit in a cozy place where the a/c vent is not too close, eat light before the exam so you won’t be hungry ( :) )Take a deep breath and start the exam.
About the exam:
No. of questions: 65 (This includes 5 questions placed randomly, unscored to check the performance or the difficulty level of the questions)
Time to answer: 105 minutes (This includes 15 minutes for the 5 additional questions)
Exam registration site: https://www.webassessor.com/
Exam practice test site (To purchase):
https://www.webassessor.com/wa.do?page=enterCatalog&tabs=7 --> scroll down and expand "Certified Practice Tests" --> Select "Salesforce Administrator Certification Practice Test" and register from there
- All questions should be answered as you will not know which question is scored or unscored
- If any question is lengthy and you get distracted while reading, just check it for review and move on to the next question without wasting the time.
- You will only be given PASS or FAIL at the end of the exam as the test result and you will be sent an email once you receive the test results. Your email will have the percentage you scored on each section of the subject.
- If interested in knowing the score, make use of the following website, enter individual section scores and calculate the overall score for your satisfaction.
Score Calculator URL:
Please post your questions in the blog and I would respond as early as possible.
FREE WEBINARS:
Look out for free webinars on Trailhead Events. These are the great way for an overview on each concept. These are well designed to cover various topics which are given by Live instructors. You can opt to sign up for multiple sessions but with different email IDs. These are the Live sessions and couldn't be recorded. Keep a book and a pen and take notes while listening to the session. Events are found at: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/calendar
Find your related topic and sign up for it.
Final Review for the Security and Access topic:
Also, look out for "Who Sees What Series" that will review all the topics by the Salesforce instructors. This can also be found on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOIPH0aLY0E&list=PLnobS_RgN7JbdH3SW3rvWu-8lE7WBeHxO) directly or from the following link:
ALL THE BEST
Bullet points that I have taken to:
REVIEW FOR SURE:
Upto 1000 permission sets can be assigned for each user
Permission sets are used to give additional permissions to users on already existing profile permissions
Permission Sets can help with access to lightning experience, user, app, tab, object, apex, visual force etc
Standard and Custom Objects:
Sales deals process: Prospecting, Proposal Sent, Negotiation and Contract Signed
Case Close Page Layout (Expect a question from this)
Each Custom Object can have upto 5 standard fields.
Formula field is a Read-Only field
Roll-Up can be defined on Master-Detail Relationship only: Roll-Up summary field is calculated to display a Master record value depending on the Detail record values
Look-Up field: deleting the parent object may or may not delete the child object. So the child object may or may not have the parent object
One workflow rule can operate only for one object
Quick actions - Object specific or global actions. Only Create, Update or Log a call are supported
Once an approval process is activated, we cannot add, delete or change the order of the steps even if its inactive
A single report can have upto 3 cross filters
A dashboard can have upto 20 components
Filter Logic requires at least 1 filter Ex: filter 1 AND (filter 2 OR filter 3)
TASKS are like to-dos and reminders. Tasks should not be used in place of events
ACTIVITIES are records of the interactions the Org has with records related to Accounts, Contacts and Opportunities. Can be either Tasks or Events.
Accounts, Tasks and Notes cannot be synchronized from Salesforce to Outlook. Only Events and contacts can be synchronized
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SECURITY
Organization level access has been established through Login Access and IP restrictions
Object level access has been established through Profile and Permission Sets
Record level access within Objects has been established through Data access model, Sharing Settings, Role Hierarchy and Sharing Rules
PUBLIC is the default access model in SF where the USers can Read and Edit any record for which they have access thru Object Profile Permissions
PRIVATE can only access their own records and cannot view and search other users records
HYBRID combines PUBLIC and PRIVATE - They can access their own records and the records of other users which are needed for
their work functions
V(iew) E(dit) S(hare) T(ransfer) D(elete) - VESTD - Record Owners have special privileges. Users should have atleast Read Only access to Account to add Accounts, Cases and Opportunities
Org Wide Defaults setup ::: SetUp -> Security Controls -> Sharing Settings -> Edit and Change
PRIVATE or HYBRID role hierarchy:
Same level access is not given in the Role hierarchy
View or access to the role below their role is permitted
CAMPAIGNS and OPPORTUNITIES are part of Sales Cloud; ENTITLEMENTS and KNOWLEDGE are part of Service Cloud.
Opportunities have Sales Processes which controls the Opportunity stage field
Cases have Support Processes which controls the Case status field
Leads have Lead Processes to control the Lead process field
For other Objects, picklist values are controlled by Record Type
Workflow Rules Tasks - Fire email, task create or update, field update or outbound message actions when a record is created or updated
Mass delete of the records is not possible via Related lists
Manual sharing only works on individual records
Criteria-based sharing is object-specific
Permission set and checking a single check box is easier for giving access to a set of users
Import wizard Standard objects: Accounts, Contacts, Campaign Members, Leads, Solutions and Custom objects
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ACCESS TO RECORDS (Which individual records users can view in each object they have access to in their profile)
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Questions flow to remember in making a decision on which sharing rule to apply:
1. Most Restricted User?
2. Is there ever going to be an instance of this object that this user shouldn't be allowed to see?
3. Is there ever going to be an instance of this object that this user shouldn't be allowed to edit?
Profiles can be given Object level permissions
Usually there are 3 levels of permissions (Object level, Field level and Record level)
That means even if you grant a profile create, read, and edit permissions on the recruiting objects, if the record-level permissions for an individual recruiting record are more restrictive, those are the rules that define what a recruiter can access. If any Field level permissions are more restrictive/ field level security is enabled, those fields are restricted and override the record level permissions
ORSM (Sounds like awesome) - Hierarchy of the roles
Default permissions based on user's role on object --> Owner and the subordinates have the same level of record access --> Granting view permissions to users who dont have access to --> Owners can permit other users to the records they own or edit
User's baseline permissions are determined by their Profile along with any kind of permission sets assigned
OWD (From Sharing Settings Page): Set for each OBJECT separately. (User doesnt own any records here) Default level of access users have to each other's records. Locking down the data to the most restrictive level. By default, the Access should be set to PRIVATE.
Other access rules can be given to grant permissions to users.
If any Users are not allowed to VIEW the object, then the Sharing model is set to PRIVATE.
If any Users are allowed to view -> If there are any Users allowed to EDIT the object, then the sharing model is set to PUBLIC READ/ WRITE
If any Users are allowed to view -> If there are NO Users allowed to EDIT the object, then the sharing model is set to PUBLIC READ ONLY
ROLE HIERARCHY (From Roles Page): Ensures managers have access to the same records as their subordinates
SHARING RULES (From Sharing Settings Page): (Best for the records that have something (ownership or criteria) in common for the users)
Exceptions applied to OWD for a specific group of users who dont own or who cant normally see the records.
Which records can be shared (Criteria Based Sharing)
OR
Which users can be shared with (Individual users OR Roles OR Roles or Subordinates OR Territories OR Territories and Subordinates OR Other Public Groups)
OR
What kind of access? (Read-Only OR Read-Write)
MANUAL SHARING: Lets the owners give read and edit permissions to users who dont have any kind of access
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Reports and Dashboards:
The report type determines which objects, fields and records are available for use when creating a report
A Dashboard is a visual display of key metrics and trends for records in your org and a visual representation of the source report
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Data Management:
To use Data Loader - the setting API Enable permission is to be enabled. Can perform Insert, Update, Upsert and Delete functions on the data for upto 5 million records. DL can support on all the standard and custom objects. DL can be used to backup the data. Can save the mappings for later. RecordID as unique identifier.
Best practices using Data Loader:
Create any new fields if required; clean up the data before importing; export any recordID fields if required;
Import with the test data; perform importing at off peak hours; turn off the workflow rules before import.
Mass delete tool in setup menu only works for standard objects; for custom objects, we can use DL.
Bulk delete API permission needed for Hard Delete in DL
SOQL: Structured Object Query Language
Import fails due to:
required fields if not existing in the csv file; unique fields; data validation rules; picklist values not allowed
Data Import Wizard - cannot export the data. DIW can do only a subset of the objects for upto 50k records. Cant delete.
Can perform operations only on the following standard objects: Accounts and Contacts; Campaign Members; Leads; Solutions
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Product & Price Books:
Price Book - List of products along with their respective prices. can have standard and custom price books.
Product Family - Grouping of the products
Adding products to the Opportunity: (Can add products to the opportunity from ONE price book only)
First Select the price book - then select the product to add to the price book
Junction Object - Many to many relationship (one opportunity can have multiple products and one product may be associated with multiple opportunities)
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Reports and Dashboards:
Dynamic dashboard limitations:
You can't follow components on dynamic dashboards.
You can’t save dynamic dashboards in private folders.
You can’t schedule refreshes for dynamic dashboards. They must be refreshed manually.
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Very awesome admins work pretty efficiently (Order of Execution)
Validation rules -> Assignment rules -> Auto-response rules -> Workflow rules -> Process -> Escalation rules
Custom objects are CRRSS
configurable, relational, reportable, searchable, securable
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APPROVAL PROCESS STEPS:
Input criteria (name and description) -> Filter criteria (entry criteria) -> -> initial submission actions (field update/ email/ task) -> approval steps (by role) -> final approval actions (field update/ task/ email) -> final rejection actions ()
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Cell highlight in reports
Cell is highlighted based on a summary field or matrix reports
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