Ultimate Salesforce Certified Administrator Exam Breakdown Guide

Salesforce has recently changed the Salesforce Certified Administrator Exam Guide. They have refreshed the Admin Certification exam syllabus making it more relevant to Salesforce Administrators working in today’s companies.

This guide takes the Salesforce Exam Guide and expands on it to include useful links on how where to get content so you can be as successful as you can in the exam as well as videos that give you the details on each of the sections of the exam guide.

To keep the tables simple I have included links to online videos as well as Salesforce Documentation, so if you are following our Salesforce Certified Administrator course you have the choice of either watching the video or referring to the reference material.

Configuration and Setup (20%)

Describe the information found in the company settings (for example: company settings fiscal year, business hours, currency management, default settings). 

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Fiscal Years	Company Profile	Define Your Fiscal Year
Business Hours	Company Profile	Setting Business Hours
Currency Management	Company Profile	Managing Multiple Currencies
Default Settings	Company Profile
Company Profile	Company Profile	Manage Information About your Company
Data Protection and Privacy	Company Profile	Enabling the Individual Object & Creating a record Store Customers’ Data Privacy Preferences
Holidays	Company Profile	Setting up Support Holidays
Language Settings	Company Profile	Language Settings Overview Supported Languages Manage your Translations
Sandboxes	Sandboxes Sandbox Best Practice	When to use a Sandbox

Distinguish and understand the administration of declarative configuration of the User Interface. (for example: UI settings, app menu, list views, global actions, Lightning App Builder).

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
UI Settings	Navigating the Salesforce User Interface User Navigation Bar Customization UI Customization for Admins	CRM for Lightning Experience
App Menu	Creating an App & Personalizing Salesforce
List Views	List Views	Working with List Views in Lightning Experience Create or Clone List Views Summer ’20 Release Notes on Split View
Global Actions	Global Actions	Global Quick Actions Trailhead: Create Global Quick Actions for Mobile
Lightning App Builder	My First App Section	Lightning App Builder Trailhead: Lightning App Builder
Branding & Theming Salesforce	Salesforce Themes and Branding	Brand Your Org in Lightning Experience
Density Settings	Density Settings	Personalize Lightning Experience Display
User App Navigation Bar Customization	User Navigation Bar Customization

Given a scenario, demonstrate the proper setup and maintenance of users.

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Create/Edit Users (Assigning correct Profiles, Permission Sets & Feature Licenses)	User Management	Manage Users
Edit Users	User Management	Considerations for Editing users
Disable Users	User Management	Delete/Disable Users
Freeze Users	User Management	Freeze or Unfreeze User Accounts
User Login History	User Management	Considerations for User Login Forensics
Unlocking Users	User Management	Unlock users
Resetting user passwords	User Management	Reset User Password

Explain the various organization Security Controls. (for example: Setup Audit Trail, Login Hours, Session Settings)

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Setup Audit Trail	Setup Audit Trail	Audit Trail Changes tracked using Audit Trail
Login Hours	User Profiles & Permissions	View and Edit Login Hours
Session Settings	Organizational Security Settings	Modify Session Security Settings
Sharing Settings	Salesforce Security Overview Sharing Rules	Sharing Settings

Given a user request scenario, apply the appropriate security controls based on the features and capabilities of the Salesforce sharing model. (for example: public groups, org wide default, sharing: roles, subordinates, hierarchy, report and dashboard folders)

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Public Groups	Sharing Rules	What is a Group? Create and Edit Groups Public Group Considerations
Org-wide Defaults	Organizational Wide Defaults	Organizational-Wide Sharing Defaults
Sharing Rules: Roles, Subordinates, Hierarchy	Role Hierarchies Sharing Rules	Controlling Access using Hierarchies
Report & Dashboard Folders	Report & Dashboard Security Lightning vs Classic Feature Compatibility	Reports & Dashboard Folders

Object Manager and Lightning App Builder (20%)

Describe the standard object architecture and relationship model. (for example: standard object, parent/child, master detail/lookup/junction relationships, and record types.)

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Standard Objects	Understanding the Standard Object Model	Trailhead: Understand Custom & Standard Objects Full list of Standard Object (FYI you don’t need to know them all!)
Object Relationships Parent/Child, Master-Detail/lookup/junction relationships	Object Relationships Creating Object Relationships	Object Relationships Overview Considerations for Relationships Relationships among objects Unable to create Master-Detail Relationships
Record Types	Record Types Part 1 Record Types Part 2 Common Record Type Issues	Tailor Business Processes to Different Users Using Record Types
Page Layouts	Page Layout Customisations	Page Layouts
Custom Objects	Creating Objects & Tabs	Manage Custom Objects
Implications when deleting fields	Standard Fields & Deleting Fields	Deleting Custom Fields & Implications

Explain how to create, delete, and customize fields and page layouts on standard and custom objects, and know the implications of deleting fields. 

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Create, Delete Custom Fields	Creating Fields Field Dependencies Creating Object Relationships Deleting Fields	Create Custom Fields Notes on Changing Custom Field Types Delete Custom Fields
Page Layouts	Page Layouts	Page Layouts
Implications when deleting fields	Deleting Fields & Implications	Purge Deleted Custom Fields

Given a scenario, determine how to create and assign page layouts, record types and business processes for custom and standard objects. 

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Page Layouts & Assignment	Page Layout Customization	Page Layouts Assign Page layouts to Profiles or Record Types
Record Types	Record Types Part 1 Record Types Part 2 Common Record Type Issues	Tailor Business Processes to Different Users Using Record Types
Business Processes (Lead, Opportunity & Case)	Opportunity & Sales Process Overview	Create multiple business processes

Sales and Marketing Applications (12%)

Given a scenario, identify the capabilities and implications of the sales process. (for example: sales process, opportunity, path, and forecast impact.)

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Sales Processes	Sales Overview Campaign Management Web to Lead Auto-Response Rules Lead Conversion Assignment Rules	Create multiple business processes
Path	Salesforce Path	Guide users with Path
Forecast Impact	Sales Forecast Impact	Collaborative Forecasts View and Update Opportunity-Stage-to-Forecast-Category Mappings Considerations for Managing Territory Forecasts
Products & Price books	Opportunity Overview Products & Price Books	Products & Price books

Given a scenario, apply the appropriate sales productivity features using opportunity tools. (for example: dashboards, lead scoring, Einstein opportunity scoring, and home page assistant.)

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Sales Productivity Features & Tools	Sales Productivity Tools & Features	Sales Productivity
Dashboards	Dashboards Report & Dashboard Security	Dashboards
Lead Scoring	Lead Scoring
Einstein Opportunity Scoring	Einstein Opportunity and Lead Scoring	Einstein Lead Scoring Einstein Opportunity Scoring
Home Page Assistant	Navigating the Salesforce User Interface	Navigating Salesforce
Reports	Tabular Reports Summary Reports Matrix Reports Report & Chart Formatting Bucket Fields Report Types Report Type Layouts	Choose a Report Format Tabular Reports Summarize Report Data Matrix Reports Customize data with Bucket Columns Report Types
Opportunity Teams	Sales Overview ** Team Access **	Collaborate on Deals by using Opportunity Teams Add Teams to your Accounts Setup Default Account Team

Describe the capabilities of lead automation tools and campaign management. (for example: leads, lead convert, lead assignment rules, campaign and campaign members.) 

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Leads	Sales Overview	What is a Lead? Leads FAQ
Lead Conversion	Lead Conversion	What happens when you convert a lead?
Lead Assignment Rules	Lead Assignment Rules	Assignment Rules
Campaigns & Campaign Members	Campaign Management	Campaigns

Service and Support Applications (11%)

Describe the capabilities of case management. (for example: case, case assignment rules, and queues.)

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Cases	The Case Object Knowledge Support Processes	Case Management
Case Assignment Rules	Assignment Rules	Case Assignment Rules
Queues	Record Ownership Case Escalation Rules (Example of setting up a Queue)	Setup Queues
Auto-Response Rules	Auto-Response Rules	Auto-Response Rules
Escalation Rules	Case Escalation Rules	Escalation Rules
Case Teams		What’s a Case Team? Set up case teams

Given a scenario, identify how to automate case management. (for example: support process, case auto-response rules, and case escalation.)

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Support Processes	Support Processes	Monitor Support Processes Entitlement Processes
Case Auto-Response Rules	Auto-Response Rules	Set Up Auto Response Rules
Case Escalation Rules	Case Escalation Rules	Setup Escalation Rules
Web-to-Case	Web to Case	Set Up Web-to-Case
Email-to-Case	Email to Case	Set Up Email-to-Case

Productivity and Collaboration (7%)

Describe the capabilities of activity management.

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Events	Activity Management	Events & Calendars
Tasks	Activity Management	Salesforce Tasks Accessing Tasks & Events List Views
Public Calendars		Create and Manage a Public Calendar or a Resource Calendar
Multi-day events		Customization Options for Events and Calendars

Describe the features of Chatter.

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Chatter Feed	Navigating the Salesforce User Interface	Chatter Feeds Overview
Chatter Groups	Navigating the Salesforce User Interface	Collaborate in Chatter Groups
Chatter Groups access controls	Navigating the Salesforce User Interface	Unlisted Groups Broadcast Groups Join or Leave Groups Create & Manage Chatter Groups
Chatter Profile	Navigating the Salesforce User Interface	Chatter Profile Overview
Following	Navigating the Salesforce User Interface Chatter & Dashboards

Describe the capabilities of Salesforce Mobile App.

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Salesforce Mobile App	Salesforce App SalesforceA
Global Actions	Global Actions	Global Quick Actions
Record Actions		Record Actions Quick Actions
Today		Today Components
Mobile Home	Salesforce1	Spring 21 Release Notes: Mobile Home

Identify use cases for AppExchange applications.

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Types of AppExchange Solutions	AppExchange	Apps Bolt Solutions Flow Solutions Lightning Data Components
Installing an App	AppExchange	Requirements for the Salesforce Mobile App
Scenarios for using an App	AppExchange

Data and Analytics Management (14%)

Describe the considerations when importing, updating, transferring, mass deleting, exporting and backing up data.

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Importing Data	Methods for Importing & Exporting Data Data Loader Dataloader.io by Mulesoft Import Wizard Considerations when Importing Data	Importing Data into Salesforce Notes on Importing Data
Updating Data	Data Loader Dataloader.io by Mulesoft Import Wizard	Insert, Update or Delete Data using Data Loader Mass update records in Salesforce
Transferring Record Ownership	Mass Action Functions	Mass Transfer Records
Mass Deleting	Data Loader	Perform Mass Deletes
Exporting Data	Data Loader Dataloader.io by Mulesoft	Insert, Update or Delete Data using Data Loader
Backing up data	Backing up Salesforce data	Backing up data in Salesforce
Data Quality	Data Management Best Practice	Data Management Best Practice
Duplicate Records	Import Wizard	Data Import Wizard
Field Mapping	Data Loader	Define Data Loader Field Mapping
External IDs	Salesforce IDs and Record IDs	External ID vs Unique ID Maximum number of External ID’s per object

Workflow/Process Automation (16%)

Given a scenario, identify the appropriate automation solution based on the capabilities of the tool.

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Workflow	Which Process tool to use? Workflow Rules & Actions	Workflow
Process Builder	Process Builder Overview Creating a Process Builder Process Process Builder Actions Process Builder in Practice	Process Builder
Flow	Which Process tool to use? Flow Flow Types Flow Building Blocks	Flows
Picking the appropriate automation tool	Which Process tool to use?	Which Process Automation Tool Do I Use?
Order of Execution for Processes	Execution Order	Order of Execution of Processes

Describe capabilities and use cases for Flow.

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Flow	Which Process tool to use?	Flows

Describe capabilities and use cases for the approval process.

Topic Area	Related Videos	Documentation
Approval Processes	Approval Processes	Approvals