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Cert++

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  3. Study Resources
  5. Platform Sharing and Visibility Architect
Resource Pack
·Study Checklist

Platform Sharing and Visibility Architect

4-Step Path to Passing

  1. 1
    Complete the
    Architect Journey: Sharing and Visibility Trailmix
  2. 2
    Look at the
    Study Checklist
    Every concept you need to know for your exam, available for free to check off as you learn.
  3. 3
    Attempt
    Practice Exams
  4. 4
    Schedule Your Exam

Core Resources

  • Cert++ Practice Exam (1 free exam per cert, then paid)

    Free practice questions for the Sharing and Visibility Architect exam, with detailed explanations. $10/mo for access to all questions, features, and certifications.

    certplusplus.com

  • Daily Certle Game (3 free questions per day)

    Practice Salesforce certification knowledge daily. Security and sharing topics appear frequently across all certs.

    certplusplus.com

  • Focus on Force (Paid)

    $24 per cert for a year-long license. Worth it for architect-level exams where scenario exposure matters.

    focusonforce.com

  • Architect Journey: Sharing and Visibility Trailmix

    Salesforce's curated trailmix for this credential, including the sharing architecture PDF and Protect Your Salesforce Data trail.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Sharing and Visibility Architect Exam Guide

    Official exam blueprint with the full topic list, weights, and recommended preparation resources.

    help.salesforce.com

  • A Guide to Sharing Architecture (PDF)

    Salesforce's official sharing architecture white paper. Required reading for this exam: covers all mechanisms, implicit sharing, and architectural trade-offs in one document.

    resources.docs.salesforce.com

  • r/salesforce - Sharing and Visibility Architect discussions

    Community exam experiences, study tips, and advice from candidates who have passed the Sharing and Visibility Architect exam.

    reddit.com

  • r/salesforce

    Salesforce subreddit for discussions, career questions, certification tips, and community support.

    reddit.com

  • Cert++ Discord

    The Cert++ community discord for Salesforce professionals. Exam prep, resource sharing, study groups, and more. Free and open to all.

    discord.gg

  • SFXD Discord

    Large Salesforce community discord with channels for security, architecture, and career advice.

    discord.gg

  • Trailblazer Community

    Connect with other Salesforce learners for peer support, mentoring, and study groups.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Salesforce Certification Score Calculator

    Check your exam score based on section results. Estimates your total score from category percentages (community-maintained third-party tool).

    scuvanov.github.io

Exam Overview

From the official exam guide

Questions

65

60 scored5 unscored

Duration

105 min

1h 45m

To Pass

67%

Min. score

Pricing

$400 registration · $200 retake

Delivery

Online proctored or at a testing center

Experience

3+ years Salesforce development and administration

Prerequisites

None (System Architect credential recommended)

Exam Topics

Each topic section shows the topic weight, learning objectives, and links to study resources.

Permissions to Standard Objects, Custom Objects, and Fields27%

Object-level CRUD permissions (profiles and permission sets), field-level security, page layout vs. FLS enforcement, View All and Modify All, permission set groups and muting, session-based permission sets, sensitive data controls (PCI, PII, HIPAA), and programmatic enforcement of CRUD and FLS in Apex.

  • Given a scenario, recommend the right level of object permissions needed to provide the appropriate access to a set of users.
  • Given a scenario, recommend the correct level of field permissions needed to provide the appropriate access to a set of users.
  • Given a scenario, recommend the appropriate mechanism to hide data at the user interface level.
  • Given a scenario, determine the appropriate access controls to protect sensitive data (for example, PCI, PII, or HIPAA).
  • Given a scenario, recommend the appropriate programmatic solution to ensure security settings are enforced.

Resources

  • Keep Data Secure in a Recruiting App (Project)

    Create custom profiles, apply field-level security, and configure permission sets in a real app context.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Superbadge: User Access Fundamentals

    Lock down record access, field access, and object permissions across multiple user personas.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Superbadge: Access Governance

    Monitor and remediate access-related security vulnerabilities in a Salesforce org.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Superbadge: Extended User Access and Restriction

    Build layered sharing solutions combining field access, object permissions, and record-level controls.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Data Security

    Overview of all Salesforce data security layers: org, object, field, and record access.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • User Management

    User creation, profiles, permission sets, and how they control access to data.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Control Access to Objects

    CRUD object permissions on profiles and permission sets, including View All and Modify All.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Control Access to Fields

    Field-level security (FLS), page layout vs. API enforcement, and restricting field visibility.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Permission Set Groups

    Bundling permission sets into groups for a job function, and muting individual permissions within a group.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Session-Based Permission Sets and Security

    Activating and deactivating permissions based on session context, including flow-driven activation.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Shield Platform Encryption

    Encrypting data at rest, key lifecycle management, field-level and file encryption options.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Write Secure Apex Controllers

    with sharing, without sharing, inherited sharing keywords; CRUD and FLS enforcement in Apex; stripInaccessible and WITH USER_MODE.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Protect Your Salesforce Data (Trail)

    Full security trail: security basics, data security module, permission set groups, session-based permissions, and identity basics.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

Access to Records39%

Org-wide defaults (internal and external), role hierarchy and grant access using hierarchies, criteria-based and owner-based sharing rules, public groups and queues, account/opportunity/case teams, implicit sharing on parent-child records, Apex managed sharing (share objects, row causes, recalculation), and external user sharing (Experience Cloud licenses, sharing sets, share groups, high-volume portal user limitations).

  • Given a set of conditions, recommend the appropriate organization-wide defaults to restrict access to records.
  • Given a set of conditions, recommend a solution that leverages the role hierarchy to support the record access requirements.
  • Given a set of conditions, determine how sharing rules can be implemented to support the record access requirements.
  • Given a set of conditions, determine how groups can support the record access requirements.
  • Given a set of conditions, determine how teams can support the record access requirements.
  • Given a set of conditions, determine the correct object relationships that support record access sharing requirements.
  • Given a set of conditions, determine how programmatic sharing supports the record access requirements.
  • Given a set of conditions, determine what sharing mechanism is appropriate to share records with External Users.
  • Given a set of conditions, determine how record access overrides support the record access requirements.

Resources

  • Restrict Access with FLS, Permission Sets, and Sharing Settings (Project step)

    Apply field-level security, create permission sets, and configure sharing settings in one hands-on sequence.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Share CRM Data with Your Partners (Project)

    Set external OWDs, configure account roles, create sharing rules for external users, and use site-specific sharing.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Set External Org-Wide Defaults (Project step)

    Configure internal and external OWDs separately; understand how external OWDs restrict portal user access.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Use Sharing Rules for External Users (Project step)

    Create sharing rules specifically targeting Experience Cloud user roles and public groups.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Use Site-Specific Sharing (Project step)

    High-volume portal users (HVPU), sharing sets, share groups, and their constraints.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Share Data Using an Account Relationship (Project step)

    Configure external account hierarchies and use account relationships to share records with partner users.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Protect Your Data in Salesforce (Project)

    Hands-on: set OWDs, create role hierarchy, create sharing rules, and set up account teams.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Superbadge: User Access Troubleshooting

    Diagnose and fix user access issues across OWDs, role hierarchy, sharing rules, and permissions.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Superbadge: Data Categorization and Access

    Define and configure data access levels based on data classification and sensitivity requirements.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Overview of Data Security

    Introduction to the four levels of Salesforce data security: org, object, field, and record.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Control Access to Records

    OWDs, manual sharing, and how record ownership determines the baseline of access.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Create a Role Hierarchy

    Role hierarchy setup, grant access using hierarchies checkbox, and how access propagates upward.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Define Sharing Rules

    Owner-based and criteria-based sharing rules, access levels, and sharing to groups and roles.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Control What Your Users Can Access

    Profiles, permission sets, OWDs, role hierarchy, and sharing rules working together.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

Access to Other Data16%

Files and content (library permissions, record-level sharing), report and dashboard folder sharing, list view visibility, Chatter and feed access, and territory management (territory model states, assignment rules, manual assignments, territory sharing vs. role-based sharing).

  • Given a scenario, determine the appropriate access control needed to grant access to data that is not standard or custom objects.

Resources

  • Create Report and Dashboard Folders (Project step)

    Create and share report and dashboard folders with specific roles, groups, and users.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Create Reports and Dashboards for Sales Managers (Project)

    End-to-end project building reports and dashboards and configuring folder-based sharing.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Set Up Account Roles and the Role Hierarchy (Project step)

    Configure account roles for external portal users and understand how role hierarchy applies in Experience Cloud.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Reports and Dashboards: Quick Look

    Overview of reports and dashboards including folder structure and sharing permissions.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Sales Territories and Forecasting

    Enterprise Territory Management setup, territory types, model states, and territory assignments.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Advanced Sales Territories

    Performance considerations, tips, and advanced configuration for Enterprise Territory Management.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Chatter Administration for Lightning Experience

    Chatter setup, group types, feed tracking, and visibility controls for Chatter posts and records.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Create and Customize List Views

    List view creation, filters, and visibility settings (everyone, groups, just me) for sharing list views with users.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

Implications of Security Model Choice18%

Sharing recalculation triggers and deferral, large data volume impacts on sharing performance, sharing rule limits (300 owner-based and 300 criteria-based per object), license restrictions by type (Salesforce, Platform, Customer Community, Customer Community Plus), testing the sharing model (Log in As, sharing debugger, Apex runAs), and choosing architecturally appropriate mechanisms for scalability.

  • Given a scenario, determine the scalability implications of the sharing solution.
  • Given a set of conditions, determine the license limitations that will impact the intended sharing solution.
  • Given a set of conditions, determine how to test the sharing model.

Resources

  • Superbadge: Security and Performance

    Design a sharing model that satisfies both security and performance constraints under real-world load.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Large Data Volumes

    Data model design, queries, and operations under large data volumes, including sharing recalculation implications.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Org Performance at Scale

    Factors affecting org scale, data load failures, and search and reporting performance at scale.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Scalability with Salesforce

    Scalability concepts, data management at scale, and platform performance testing.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Salesforce Licensing

    License types, permissions, editions, and how licenses restrict features and sharing capabilities.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Experience Cloud Basics

    Experience Cloud site types, external user license types, and how portal access differs from internal users.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Apex Testing

    Apex unit tests including runAs() for testing sharing rules and user-level access enforcement.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

  • Explore Scalability

    Full scalability trail covering org performance, large data volumes, and scaling best practices.

    trailhead.salesforce.com

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