2nd Rule of Acquisition - Never spend more for an acquisition than you have to (Part 2)

While I have not been updating the blog I have been busy during the quarantine. I obtained my Advanced Administrator certification and have been studying to pass the the Platform I developer. I don't think I will be a developer, but it's required for both Architect certifications. My intent is to know enough about coding to understand when it is appropriate (i.e., clicks not code) and to understand and troubleshoot automations that others write.

Per my last post and in keeping with the 2nd Rule of Acquisition, I have been trying to find a lot of low cost ways to learn to code. The most I spent was $200 on a Salesforce Bootcamp. There are a lot of Udemy courses out there and I found this article from Salesforce Ben on how to get started. I did try the Apex Academy and while the courses were good, given my schedule, I ended up paying a lot for Pluralsight and not using it. So if you go that route make sure you are ready to review it. I think the author gives a free version of his stuff here. There are also some free Salesforce videos that you can find here.

Here's what I have done so far (with links - which may require you to log into Udemy) and what I plan to do. There are a few, uh, provisos, a, a couple of quid pro quos:

1. Most training assumes you know Java and focuses on syntax and not coding. I tried to use using Apex only stuff when practical

2. Many training guides/videos are focused on passing the PD1 exam and provide some tangential training about Apex, etc.

3. Most examples are simple classes to insert data

Course	Date Completed	Notes	Link
Salesforce Developer Bootcamp	9/19/0	Geared towards passing the Platform Developer I exam. Not too much coding is required for this. Assumes you know Java or Apex. Moderate depth into PD1 exam. It has been on sale for $200. Try to find a coupon.	Link
Salesforce Development Training for Beginners	10/16/20	No Java experience required. High level overview with examples	Link
Salesforce Developer Training with Real Time Project	10/25/20	Simple app with REST API. Emphasis on REST API and reading data from an SF org, not sending it to another platform	Link
Salesforce Development for Intermediate Developers		Have not started but highly recommend this instructor	Link
Introduction to Salesforce DX and Visual Studio Code	8/21/20	Overview and set up of VS Code. He has a newer class, which I have not seen yet, but the instructor produces high quality materials	Link
Salesforce Integration with External Systems		Have not started but highly recommend this instructor	Link
Complete Salesforce Certified Platform Developer Course		Have not started but highly recommend this instructor	Link
Preparation for Your Platform Developer Certification	10/28/20	Preparation for exam; condensed version of the Bootcamp (Certification Days)	Link
Salesforce DX The Complete Guide		Have not started but highly recommend this instructor	Link
Prakiseth M Developer Videos	June 2020	Series of introductory videos about apex	Link
Salesforce Certified Platform Developer Part  1		Have not started but highly recommend this instructor	Link

2nd Rule of Acquisition - Never spend more for an acquisition than you have to (Part 1)

The next step in my Salesforce Journey is learning how to code.  There are a lot of resources out there and most require some form of payment.  This post and subsequent posts will document my efforts to become a developer using low cost resources. Note to the reader, I am trying to do this without learning Java.

There are classes on Udemy and Plurasight which are low cost, but not free. I am looking at both and the stuff on Udemy is better.

There are free videos on YouTube and one that caught my eye is Path To Code. It looks pretty current and so far it is as good, if not better than the paid services.

There is a lot of duplication of concepts, but I suppose it does not hurt to hear it a few times.

218th Rule of Acquisition - Sometimes what you get free costs entirely too much.

The 218^th rule applies to my attempts at learning Apex. There is a lot of free stuff out there (videos, blogs, etc.) and some cheap stuff too. I have tried and am trying both. I am finding that it comes down to teaching style and my learning style.

Teaching style can include the format, clarity of the instructor and organization of the material. Learning style is specific to me, i.e., how do I learn best. I like videos but have gotten some benefit from text-based delivery methods as well. I also need exercises/examples that incorporate the material I just learned. I find the Apex related Trailheads require far too great a leap in knowledge for me to complete, but how many 'helloWorld' triggers can one write.

I am using some of the big name stuff but I find that it is not as compatible with my ‘style’ as I would like. It’s not bad, it’s just not as effective for me as I need it to be.

The challenge is do I stick with what I have paid/am paying for or do I research other methods. The main risks are cost and schedule, i.e., the time and in some cases money, that I need to invest to evaluate the other tools., only to find out that they are not for me.

One could argue that the 62^nd Rule applies - The riskier the road, the greater the profit, but let’s not forget the  240^th Rule - Time, like latinum, is a highly limited commodity.

The 45th Rule Of Acquisition – Expand or Die

Well, it has been a while since I posted here; over a year. Since them I have left the contract job and got a great full-time gig. I also passed my App Builder Cert! It was easier than the Administrator exam since most of what I do is declarative work.

My next certification is the Platform Developer I certification. This will be a tough one since it is a lot of material to cover. I could probably pass the exam with the help of a few study guides, but I would certainly starve as a developer.

The good news is my current job is shifting towards Apex/Visualforce solutions since we are expanding our org beyond the limits of the click-not-code projects. So far, I have worked on modifying an API and a Visualforce page.  I have my sights on a few triggers. I may even write a class or two in the next few months.

So the 45^th Rule seems appropriate for this upcoming year, or given all the studying I have to do, maybe the 103^rd – Sleep can interfere with...studying…

Two Left Feet

I worked with Conga Composer this week updating some templates. It was straightforward. I used Word to make the changes to the texts and left the merge fields alone, with one exception. I needed to adjust the date format on a field and that was a little tricky.

I had to toggle the field code and enter the desired format code; in this case it was a date code. The hard part was that it was spacing dependent and it took a few tries to figure the exact format they wanted. We don’t do a lot with modifying Conga so I expect that I will have to figure it out again at some point.

In general, if I do something a number of times I will create a document similar to a Salesforce Knowledge Article. I create it in the form of a problem such as “What to do when a Sales Number is not Generated”.  I use the same template as the knowledge article with the addition of a revision table and a related procedures note. I also add some customer unique information. I take a lot of screenshots and use a lot of detail in the instructions.

It has come in handy since there are some thing that I do a lot of one month and then don’t have to do for a long time. At some point, I hope to compile them into a procedures manual. The challenge is what do I include in the manual. It should not be how to use Salesforce, since the user should know what they are doing. So things like how to log in are not needed. It’s not meant to be a user training manual but a guide for admins to address situations unique to the company’s organization. I will also probably need to include a section on how the business is structured and a lexicon of standard business terms.

9 Days of Freedom

I passed the Spring 17 maintenance exam. It's nine days until the Summer '17 exam is released. While I am focusing on passing the App Builder exam, I have to take a break from my studies every now and then to pass the next relase exam. I try to get the out of the way as quickly as possible; though I took a little longer that I would have liked for the Spring exam.

Working with Mobile Apps

I learned about mobile apps this week. The experience reminded of the 45 Rule of Acquisition: Expand or Die. Working on this feature of Salesforce expanded my skill set and helped me prepare for the Certified App Builder Exam; mobile apps are ~3% of the exam. That might not seem like a lot, but one question can be the difference between pass or fail.

One of the neat things about working with Salesforce1 is that you can emulate it from your desktop with certain limitations (just append ‘one/one.app’ to your Salesforce URL). The org I am working with has not switched over to Lightning Experience so we get this error when we try:

Since we are not ready to switch over, I had to use the chrome desktop emulator. The chrome emulator was pretty easy to use and directions are here.

Figuring out the navigation bar, and in particular, the order of the elements presented the next challenge. If you start with the Today element, it won’t show up unless you activate it on your phone and it does not seem to work in the emulator. So while the emulator is useful, you still need your phone to check certain things.

Once that was done, I tackled the quick start actions. The process for setting these up did not differ from setting up actions on the desktop. Two things to note are:

1) You have to drag and drop on the layouts from the Salesforce1 and Lightning section; even though they are the same quick actions;

2)  There is an order to how they are displayed, so you can’t put them in the exact order you want. Check this link out for details.

I am on my way to customizing my first mobile app; I created my first useful quick action this week. I probably won't be able to post any screen shots but I need to build a few apps to prepare for certification and those I can share.