Understanding the Salesforce Well-Architected Framework

The Salesforce Well-Architected Framework is a set of guiding principles architects use to build solutions on the Salesforce platform. It offers specific architecture and guidelines for developing Trusted, Easy, and Adaptable apps. The framework consists of a series of white papers that cover the core principles. Some resources guide extensively on considerations, patterns to follow, and anti-patterns for each pillar.

This framework is intended to help architects in “thinking like an architect” by offering lessons learned from veteran Salesforce professionals and product teams. It is an excellent validator of architectural decisions and can enhance the architecture thinking of the Salesforce application.

Core Principles of the Salesforce Well-Architected Framework

The Salesforce Well-Architected Framework is based on three pillars: Trusted, Easy, and Adaptable. Each of them is important in helping the architects make the right decisions on the salesforce platform.

1. Trusted

Security, compliance, and reliability in solutions are the key aspects being promoted by this pillar. It protects data and also checks whether the system meets the legal requirements and ethical standards. High availability, performance, minimal downtime, and data integrity should all be considered when designing solutions.

Salesforce Well-Architected Framework — Salesforce Trust (Source – FreePik.com)

Design Example of Trusted Principles

Let us take we are developing a financial application in Salesforce. To adhere Trusted pillar, the application should follow the below points

Security: The application should implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users accessing sensitive financial data. This should be strictly followed.
Compliance: There should be regular activity to audit data access logs to ensure compliance with financial regulations. We should get user access roles audited quarterly.
Reliability: Our financial applications should be available 24/7. If any process takes longer time to complete then we should use asynchronous jobs. We can also use Salesforce’s built-in features like Platform Events for asynchronous processing. It ensures that transactions are processed reliably without impacting user experience.

2. Easy

Simplicity, Automation and Engagement are the main aspects of this pillar. This pillar focuses on delivering value quickly and providing user-friendly experiences. Solutions should be easy to understand and maintain, with a strong focus on automation to reduce errors and operational overhead. Organizations can increase user adoption and engagement by focusing on ease of use.

Design Example of Easy Principles

Let us take we are developing a customer service application in Salesforce. To adhere Easy pillar, the application should follow the below points

Simplicity: We can use Salesforce Lightning components, app builder pages and dynamic pages to build a clean and intuitive interface for support agents. This will allow them to access customer information quickly.
Automation: We can implement automated case routing using Salesforce Flow to ensure that cases are assigned to the appropriate agents based on predefined criteria. This will eliminate the role of supervisor for agent assignment.
Engagement: Service agents should be able to access reports and dashboards. These reports and visual dashboards provide real-time insights into case statuses, helping agents prioritize their work effectively.

3. Adaptable

Resilience, Composability and Scalability are key aspects of this pillar. This pillar focuses on maintainability and operational performance. Provided solutions must be adaptable to changing business needs and technological advancements. This pillar emphasizes the importance of resilience and flexibility, which allow systems to be modified and scaled as needed. Adaptable solutions allow organizations to respond effectively and quickly to market changes and ongoing growth.

Design Example of Adaptable Principles

Let us take an example, we want to build a Sales application in Salesforce. The application should follow the below points to be adaptable design.

Resilience: We should use a microservices architecture where different functionalities (like lead management, and opportunity tracking) are built as independent services. Microservices architecture allows for updates to one service without affecting others. This will make the application easy to maintain.
Composability: We can implement APIs to integrate with external systems, such as marketing automation tools. It will enable seamless data exchange and functionality expansion. We can make API integration configurable to easy maintenance.
Scalability: We can design the data model to utilize Salesforce’s capabilities like Big Objects for handling large datasets. It will ensure that the application can scale as the business grows.

Benefits of Implementing a Well-Architected Framework

1. Improved Security and Compliance

The Trusted pillar centres around security, compliance and reliability. It allows businesses to protect the sensitive data of customers and clients for purposes vetted by industry regulation. Implementing architecture best practices helps to foster trust with stakeholders. This is vital in sectors such as healthcare and finance where data privacy is of the utmost importance.

2. Enhanced User Experience

Easy Pillar is all about creating a user-friendly solution to gain quick wins. Organizations can streamline processes and automate tasks to reduce operational overhead and higher adoption by users. This ensures more streamlined workflows and a high employee satisfaction level.

3. Scalability and Adaptability

With Adaptability, Our solutions change with the needs of the business. This agility allows organisations to react fast as markets change, new technologies emerge or a business grows meaning there is less need for time-consuming rework. It fosters resilience in handling growth and changes in strategy.

4. Structured Approach

The framework offers good practices for architects to follow while planning, optimizing and documenting solutions. Such a disciplined approach contributes to detecting problems earlier and drives best development practices.

5. Performance Optimization

With the framework, organizations can optimize their system performance. It guides you through efficient issue resolution and shows the key performance tuning areas. This will lead to user satisfaction and improved application responsiveness.

Drawbacks of Implementing a Well-Architected Framework

1. Initial Investment

The business has to make a significant initial investment in terms of time and resources to implement a Well-Architected Framework. They have to allocate a budget for employee training, and hiring skilled architects. They might have to redesign the existing system to align with the framework,

2. Complexity in Implementation

The framework can initially introduce complexity, especially for organizations with limited experience in architectural best practices. This complexity may introduce a challenge in applying the framework effectively.

3. Potential Overhead

The framework might add additional overhead in terms of documentation and process adherence. Each team member has to follow guidelines strictly to implement them properly. If they do not follow then it will impact application performance and functionality.

Risks of not following the Salesforce Well-Architected Framework

If businesses do not use Salesforce Well-Architected Framework then it can lead to significant risk. It can affect the performance, security, and sustainability of Salesforce solutions in future when data grows.

Here are a few risks when we do not use this framework:

1. Security Vulnerabilities

If we are not adhering to the Trusted pillar of Framework then our application may lack essential security measures. The application might expose sensitive data to unauthorised users. It can lead to security vulnerabilities like data breaches, loss of customer trust, and potential legal repercussions.

This is a critical issue and many incidents happened in past where customer information was compromised due to improper access control. Due to this issue, the business had suffered significant financial and reputational damage.

2. Poor User Adoption

If we are not adhering to the Easy pillar, our salesforce solution might be complex and difficult to use. If the end-user finds the user-interface complex, they will not adopt the solution. For example, if a customer service application is not designed with the user experience in mind, agents may not use it or hesitate to use it, resulting in frustration and inefficiency.

3. Inflexibility and Scalability Issues

If we ignore the Adaptable pillar, it can result in a rigid solution that is unable to evolve with changing business needs. If our system is built without taking future consideration businesses may find difficulties in implementing new requirements. For example, if a marketing automation tool is not designed to integrate with new platforms, the business may lose valuable opportunities for customer engagement. They might have to buy new tools which will add cost to them.

4. Technical Debt

Not adhering to the framework can lead to technical debt, which is the expense of fixing badly designed solutions in the future. This may occur when immediate solutions are put in place without thinking about the long-term implications. If developers fail to follow best practices for code organization, updating or scaling the solution may become more challenging in the future.

5. Inefficient Processes

Organizations might adopt inefficient processes without following the Well-Architected Framework, which leads to a lack of automation and best practices utilization. This could result in more manual tasks, higher operational costs, and slower response times. For example, If a sales process is not automated, sales representatives might waste time on administrative tasks rather than concentrating on selling.

Summary

The Salesforce Well-Architected Framework offers a comprehensive guide for architects to develop solutions that are Trusted, Easy, and Adaptable. By integrating this structure into your architectural methods, we can provide secure, user-friendly, and scalable solutions, leading to business success and user satisfaction. Adopt the Well-Architected Framework to fully leverage the capabilities of the Salesforce platform within your area of expertise.

References

Salesforce Well-Architected

Understanding the Salesforce Well-Architected Framework to Enhance Business Outcome