When I started my Salesforce career seven years ago, I believed the same thing many new professionals believe:
“If I finish enough certifications, I’ll be ready for any project.”
But real projects don’t work that way. Certifications teach you the platform.
Real projects teach you reality.
After years of designing business processes, architecting scalable solutions, documenting requirements, building POCs, breaking down projects, and leading teams as a Project Manager, I’ve learned lessons that no badge or module ever covered.
Here are the six lessons that changed the way I design, communicate, and lead Salesforce projects.
Table of Contents
Lesson 1: Architecture Is 30% Technology… and 70% Communication
Most people assume architects succeed because they understand Salesforce deeply. In reality, the best architecture fails if people don’t understand it.
In almost every project, miscommunication causes:
- Rework
- Scope creep
- Misaligned expectations
- Delayed timelines
With time, I learned that technical expertise matters — but your ability to communicate clearly matters more. What truly elevates an architect is the ability to:
- Simplify complex architecture into clear language
- Validate assumptions early
- Use diagrams, POCs, and visual walkthroughs to align the team
- Communicate the “why,” not just the “what.”
As an architect, we not only Design systems but also align the people.
Lesson 2: Never Design Without Understanding the Business Landscape
Before I touch a data model, flow, integration, or POC, I start with one goal: Understand the business better than the business understands itself.
The first requirement stakeholders share is rarely the complete picture. By digging deeper, asking questions, mapping processes, and challenging assumptions, you uncover what the business truly needs, not just what was initially requested.
Because a perfect technical solution can become a complete business failure if it doesn’t fit the real process.
Design will always be the second step.
Understanding the business is the first step.
Lesson 3: Customization Is Expensive. Technical Debt Is More Expensive.
Early in my career, I was excited to build flows, objects, formulas, automations, Apex, and integrations.
Now, my mindset is different:
“Can we achieve this with the simplest, most scalable approach?”
Every custom component has a future cost:
- Maintenance
- Testing
- Upgrades
- Training
- Debugging
- Technical debt
Cleaning up legacy automations often takes 3x more time than building them.
Minimalist architecture may not appear flashy, but it consistently proves its value over time. Complexity delivers power; simplicity delivers longevity.
Lesson 4: Data Quality Decides the Success of Every Salesforce Project
You can build the cleanest architecture in the world, but if the incoming data is messy, the project will still fail.
I have seen projects with beautiful architecture fail because the data going in is:
- Incomplete
- Duplicated
- Outdated
- Poorly mapped
- Incorrectly formatted
Business users judge the system not by features, but by:
“Can I trust the data?”
Data governance, deduplication, validation rules, migration strategy, and ongoing ownership matter more than most people think.
Salesforce is only as intelligent as the data inside it.
Lesson 5: Stakeholder Management Is Harder Than Designing Integrations
Integrations follow patterns.
APIs follow rules.
But stakeholders?
They follow emotions, priorities, deadlines, shifting goals, and organizational politics.
As a Project Manager + Solution Architect, I learned to:
- Manage expectations clearly
- Document every decision
- Keep stakeholders involved through demos and POCs
- Say “no” diplomatically
- Protect the team from uncontrolled scope expansion
- Set realistic timelines by breaking work into manageable chunks
An architect’s job is not only to design solutions —
It’s to guide people through uncertainty.
Lesson 6: The Best Architects Think of Maintenance Before Writing a Single Line of Solution
A system that works on Day 1 is good.
A system that can be maintained for the next five years is great.
Before designing anything, I ask:
- “Will an admin understand this logic?”
- “Will future teams be able to extend this?”
- “Is this naming convention clear?”
- “Is documentation complete?”
- “Can a new team member understand the architecture in 10 minutes?”
Good architecture is invisible — it just works.
Great architecture is maintainable — it continues to function effectively.
Conclusion: What Experience Taught Me That Certifications Never Could
Certifications provided me with the knowledge I needed to get started.
Real projects gave me the wisdom I needed to grow.
The Salesforce ecosystem is evolving faster than ever, but the fundamentals remain:
- Understand the business
- Keep architecture simple
- Communicate clearly
- Document everything
- Plan for the future
- Design for people, not just for systems
If you’re growing in your Salesforce career, especially toward architecture or project leadership, remember:
They’ll help you design solutions that stand the test of time.
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Resources
- [Salesforce Developer]- (Join Now)
- [Salesforce Success Community] (https://success.salesforce.com/)
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Balaram Pujari
Salesforce Solution Architect & Project Manager focused on scalable solutions and project delivery. Trailhead Quest Winner 2024, Passionate Community speaker, Journey2Salesforce Mentor, and active volunteer with the Delhi Dreamin' and Bengaluru Dreamin’ Community.
