1. Technical Architect
certification
Matthias Urbanski – Partner Enablement EMEA

2. http://certification.salesforce.com/Architects

3. Pre-Requisites
 Must be developer certified
 Must be part of a Salesforce practice
 Has the pre-requisites in terms of
industry experience
 5 years in industry, 2+ as architect
 Committed to taking the Architect
exam by the end of the year

4. Results & observations from FY ‘12
 Certification announced at Dreamforce last year
 Three step exam
 We held three review board sessions so far
 We accommodated everyone who was eligible for the review board
 We currently have 24 Certified Architects
– SFDC = 13 , Platinum = 7 (includes Centerstance), Non Platinum = 4
 Pass rate is increasing
 151 candidates have passed TA Evaluation
– 66 Platinum, 85 others
 Weekly dashboard is being sent to Management
 Solid architecture background is required – developers with just Force.com isn't
sufficient!
 Pass rate with re-takes is very low – this is not an exam you can cram for and
pass.

5. How are we helping candidates prepare?
 Study group in Chatter
– Monitored by me, other tech architects & certification team
– Dozen+ videos
– Useful discussions
– Chance to do dry run and get feedback
 Review board schedules are available
 Office hours – one per month starting March
– Time will be announced in the chatter group
 New videos are being recorded
 Transition program to move experienced architects from
Java / .NET to Force.com being piloted with Accenture this
month

6. What should you do?
 Have planning session with your partner manager
– Identify candidates
– Do you have a budget ( $6500 / candidate) ?
– When will they take step 1, Step 2 & plan to appear for the review
board?
 Capture it on this form (either you or the partner can do
this)
– http://bit.ly/zpswen
– It will help us with capacity planning for review boards
 Have the candidates join the study group
– http://tinyurl.com/architectcertgroupreg

7. Topics & Format
 Topics in the Architect Exam study guide
– Scenario / case study driven
– Solve & present to group
– Group discussion on how to make the right architectural choice
– Supplemented with lectures as appropriate
 Goal is to help candidates think like an architect - we will
NOT do simulated multiple choice, sample questions etc.
 Bootcamps are offered, two and half days long

8. Have questions?
We are here to help - Call me!
Send an email to
murbanski@salesforce.com