Salesforce Integration Architect Part 2: Evaluate Business Needs

• Given a use case, identify functional and non-functional requirements needed for integration.

The implementation of an integration solution generally requires identifying functional and non-functional requirements. Functional requirements are mandatory and describe the features or functions of the system, such as the functionality of a particular integration feature in Salesforce. Example of a functional requirement is that a user would like to obtain order data from an external system by clicking a quick action on an opportunity record page in Salesforce. On the other hand, non-functional requirements describe how the features or functions of the system should perform. Examples include data volume, scalability, security, etc.

• Based on a given integration requirement, identify and classify data into Confidential/Secure/Public.

It is highly important for an organization to be knowledgeable of the data that it stores and uses in its day-to-day operations. Depending on the location of the business entity or residence of the customers who contribute to data in the org, there are legal obligations that require the organization to keep data confidential and secure. Examples of these data protection and privacy laws are the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that is used to protect personal data of EU residents, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the US to protect healthcare information. Salesforce allows specifying the data sensitivity of a field to indicate whether the data it holds should be treated as confidential, secure or encrypted, or public. Data classification requires an organization to define the org’s schema and identify the risk and sensitivity of each data, and Salesforce provides tools to make the process easier.

• Given a use case, identify key factors for CRM success that should be included as integration requirements.

When designing an integration solution or functionality that has impact on data and processes of an organization, there are key factors to consider to ensure the successful implementation and delivery of the project. An example factor is the operating model that a business is patterned after, which affects the scope of the project and the strategy that can be used to meet the requirement. In a business that adheres to a good governance framework, IT initiatives are always aligned with the company’s vision and strategy, priorities are identified in an exhaustive list of business requirements, a proper software development lifecycle process is in place, and other factors. In this topic, the lean governance framework is discussed to determine aspects that impact the success of system integration initiatives.

• Given a use case, identify the business growth and regulatory factors that can impact choice of integration solutions.

The choice of integration solutions can be impacted by business growth and regulatory factors. Business growth can be in the form of a new business sector in a foreign country or customer base expansion through marketing initiatives. Establishing a business in a new country may require integrating additional enterprise systems or using a separate Salesforce org.

Laws and regulations such as the GDPR, LGPD, and PIPL can affect the choice of integration solutions. For instance, to comply with the GDPR, it may be necessary to delete customer data stored in Salesforce when it is no longer needed. 

An architect should also take into account certain considerations while designing integration solutions based on business factors and regulations. One of the important design considerations is that the integration solution should be based on the company’s interpretation of the regional law(s).