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Review Board Artifacts & Deliverables

This guide covers everything about the artifacts and deliverables you must create during the CTA Review Board preparation phase — what to build, how to build it, how to allocate your time, and what separates passing artifacts from failing ones.

For presentation and Q&A strategy, see Review Board Presentation & Q&A.

Exam Format: What You Receive and What You Must Create

What You Receive on Exam Day

When your Review Board session begins, you are provided with:

ItemFormatPurpose
Scenario documentGoogle DocsThe 8-15 page business scenario describing the fictional company, requirements, and constraints
Slide deckGoogle SlidesBlank deck for creating your presentation slides
SpreadsheetGoogle SheetsFor requirements tracking, license calculations, data volume tables, or any tabular work
Diagramming toolLucidchart (with Salesforce Shape Library)For creating all architecture diagrams
Paper and penPhysicalFor scratch notes during reading (optional)

No templates allowed

You receive a blank Lucidchart workspace with access to the official Salesforce Shape Library. Pre-built templates are not available. You must construct every diagram from scratch during the prep time.

Historical context

Before October 2023, the exam was often in-person. Candidates had a laptop with PowerPoint/Word/Excel (no internet) and 8-10 flip chart pages that stick to the wall. Hand-drawn diagrams on flip charts were the norm. Since October 6, 2023, all artifacts must be created digitally in Lucidchart. Hand-drawn artifacts are no longer accepted.

What You Must Create

During the 180-minute preparation phase, you must produce a set of artifacts that:

  1. Address all 7 scoring domains (System Architecture, Security, Data, Solution Architecture, Integration, Development Lifecycle, Communication)
  2. Tell a coherent architectural story from business context to implementation details
  3. Are readable and professional — worthy of presenting to a CXO audience via screen share
  4. Can withstand 40-90 minutes of judge scrutiny during Q&A

Detailed Artifact Guides

How Artifacts Relate to Each Other

The 9 core artifacts are not isolated slides — they form an interconnected architecture story. Understanding dependencies helps you build them in the right order and cross-reference during your presentation.

flowchart LR
    SL["System Landscape"]
    DM["Data Model / ERD"]
    RH["Role Hierarchy\n& Sharing"]
    AL["Actors &\nLicenses"]
    IA["Integration\nArchitecture"]
    ID["Identity & SSO"]
    MIG["Data Migration"]
    GOV["Governance\n& DevOps"]
    RISK["Risks &\nMitigations"]

    AL -->|"defines users for"| SL
    SL -->|"identifies systems for"| IA
    SL -->|"scopes objects for"| DM
    DM -->|"ownership drives"| RH
    DM -->|"data volumes shape"| MIG
    RH -->|"security context for"| ID
    IA -->|"error risks feed"| RISK
    MIG -->|"sequencing risks feed"| RISK
    GOV -->|"governs changes to"| SL
    ID -->|"auth flows for"| IA

Artifact Creation Order

Build artifacts in dependency order — each artifact feeds information into the next. This prevents rework and ensures consistency.

flowchart TD
    A["1. Read Scenario"] --> B["2. Actors & Licenses\n(from page 1)"]
    B --> C["3. System Landscape\n(systems + connections)"]
    C --> D["4. Data Model / ERD\n(objects + relationships)"]
    D --> E["5. Role Hierarchy\n(ownership from ERD)"]
    C --> F["6. Integration Architecture\n(detail from landscape)"]
    E --> G["7. Identity & SSO\n(users from role hierarchy)"]
    D --> H["8. Data Migration\n(objects from ERD)"]
    F --> I["9. Governance & DevOps"]
    I --> J["10. Risks & Summary\n(from all artifacts)"]

    style B fill:#4a90d9,color:#fff
    style C fill:#4a90d9,color:#fff
    style D fill:#4a90d9,color:#fff
    style E fill:#e8a838,color:#fff
    style F fill:#e8a838,color:#fff
    style G fill:#e8a838,color:#fff
    style H fill:#e8a838,color:#fff
    style I fill:#999,color:#fff
    style J fill:#999,color:#fff

Color key

Blue = Tier 1 “Big 3” artifacts (build first). Orange = Tier 2 essential artifacts. Gray = Tier 3 supporting artifacts.

Sources

Research compiled from the following sources: