Presentation & Q&A Strategy

The 45-minute presentation is the window to demonstrate architectural thinking, solution design skill, and the ability to communicate complex decisions to a panel of three CTA judges. How the solution is presented matters as much as the solution itself — Domain 7 (Communication) is explicitly scored, and poor delivery undermines even strong technical work.

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Recommended Presentation Structure

Based on guidance from CTA coaches and successful candidates, the 45-minute presentation works best in this order:

#	Section	Time Budget	Priority
1	Company Overview & Project Objectives	2-3 min	Always
2	Org Strategy & Translation/Multi-Currency	2-3 min	Always
3	Risks & Assumptions	2-3 min	High
4	Actors, User Types & Licenses	3-4 min	High
5	Role Hierarchy	3-4 min	Always
6	System Landscape (the “Big Picture”)	5-6 min	Always
7	Data Model (ERD)	4-5 min	Always
8	Business Requirements & Solution Design	6-8 min	Always
9	Integration Architecture	4-5 min	Always
10	Data Migration Strategy	3-4 min	High
11	Security, Sharing & Accessibility	3-4 min	Always
12	Reporting & Analytics	2-3 min	High
13	Development Lifecycle, Governance & Deployment	3-4 min	Always

The “Big 3” diagrams

The three diagrams the board expects are: System Landscape, Data Model (ERD), and Role Hierarchy. These form the backbone of the entire solution. If they are wrong, everything else falls apart. Invest significant preparation time in getting these correct.

Key Presentation Principles

1. Tell a story, not a list - Structure the presentation as a coherent narrative connecting all components. Do not read bullet points from slides.

2. Lead with “why”, not “what” - For every architectural decision, explain the business rationale, the alternatives considered, and the trade-offs accepted.

3. Address ALL scenario requirements - Do not skip requirements or introduce new ones. Judges notice both omissions and additions.

4. Be the recommending architect - Give strong, confident recommendations with clear assumptions. Do not present multiple options and let the “customer” decide. The judges want to see judgment, not a menu of choices.

5. Show governance throughout - Governance is not a separate section at the end. Weave risk identification, mitigation strategies, and governance considerations into the entire presentation.

6. Communicate to a CXO audience - Diagrams and communication should be polished enough for a Chief Information Officer. Professional attention to detail matters.

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Diagram Best Practices

• Use the Salesforce Shape Library in Lucidchart for consistent, professional-looking diagrams
• Diagrams must be readable, correct, and clearly labeled — wrong diagrams automatically hurt your score
• Include legends and annotations on complex diagrams
• Practice creating all standard diagram types under time pressure in Lucidchart
• Standard diagram types to prepare:
  • System Landscape / Context Diagram
  • Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD / Data Model)
  • Role Hierarchy
  • SSO / Identity Flow Diagram
  • Integration Architecture (with patterns, protocols, sync/async)
  • Data Migration Flow
  • Environment / Deployment Strategy
  • Sequence Diagrams for complex integration flows
  • Business Process Diagrams (optional, but helpful)

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Q&A Preparation

The Q&A is 40+ minutes of judges probing the solution (base is 40 minutes; unused presentation time rolls over). Expect these categories of questions.

Types of Questions the Board Asks

Solution-Specific Questions:

• “Why did you choose X over Y?”
• “What happens if [component] fails?”
• “How does your data model handle [edge case]?”
• “Walk me through the identity flow at the attribute level”
• “What are the governor limits implications of your approach?”
• “How does your integration handle error scenarios?”

Clarification Questions:

• “Can you elaborate on how [requirement] is addressed?”
• “I noticed you didn’t mention [topic]. How would you handle it?”
• “What assumptions did you make about [aspect]?”

Challenge Questions (Pushback):

• “What if the data volume was 10x what you assumed?”
• “The customer pushes back on your license recommendation. What’s your alternative?”
• “What if the budget only allows for one middleware tool?”
• “Your approach seems complex. Why not just use [simpler approach]?”

Broader Platform Knowledge:

• OAuth flows and asset flow diagrams
• SAML token attributes and SSO configuration
• ETL vs. ESB: when to use each
• Platform limits and governor limits
• Salesforce Connect vs. custom integration
• LDV (Large Data Volume) mitigation strategies
• Sharing rule performance implications

Q&A Strategy

1. Listen carefully - Restate the question to confirm understanding. Do not answer a different question than the one asked.

2. Be concise - Keep answers “correct and concise.” Verbose answers consume valuable Q&A time and reduce the number of questions answered well. More questions answered means more opportunities to score points.

3. “I don’t know” is acceptable - Saying this occasionally shows intellectual honesty. Do not overuse it, and try to reason through what is known.

4. Distinguish pushback from correction - When judges push back, they are often testing conviction, not signaling a wrong answer. Stand firm on sound reasoning. Adapt gracefully when the challenge reveals a genuine gap.

5. Lead with one strong recommendation - Recommend ONE approach and justify it thoroughly. Discuss alternatives when a judge asks or when explaining the evaluation process that led to your decision. Showing that you considered and rejected other options demonstrates depth, but avoid presenting multiple options without a clear recommendation.

6. Provide technical depth - Answers like “I’ll do a callout from an Apex trigger after save” lack sufficient detail. Better: “I’ll use an external service invocation in a request-and-reply pattern, triggered by a platform event, to ensure asynchronous processing and retry capability.”

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Communication Style

What Works Best

The CTA Review Board tests candidates as consulting architects, not just technical experts. The most successful candidates demonstrate:

• Business-value framing - Connect technical decisions to business outcomes
• Stakeholder awareness - Different stakeholders have different concerns. The CIO cares about TCO, business users care about usability, the IT team cares about maintainability.
• Confident delivery - Speak with authority. The candidate is the Technical Architect advising the company.
• Structured communication - Logical flow, clear transitions between topics, signposting of current position in the presentation
• Visual communication - Let diagrams do the heavy lifting. Point to them, reference them, connect them across topics.

What to Avoid

• Unexplained jargon - If a technical term is used, explain it briefly. Judges will probe unexplained buzzwords.
• Reading from slides - Slides are visual aids, not scripts
• Monotone delivery - Vary pace and emphasis to highlight critical decisions
• Apologizing for the solution - Present with confidence, even when realizing mid-presentation that something could be better

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Time Management

During the 180-Minute Preparation Phase

Recommended time allocation for the prep window:

Activity	Time	Notes
Read the entire scenario carefully (first pass)	20-25 min	Highlight key requirements, constraints, and stakeholder concerns
Re-read and extract requirements systematically	15-20 min	Create a requirements checklist; identify actors, systems, data volumes
Design your solution (architecture decisions)	45-50 min	Work through the Big 3 first: System Landscape, Data Model, Role Hierarchy
Create diagrams in Lucidchart	50-60 min	Use Salesforce Shape Library; keep diagrams clean and labeled
Create remaining presentation slides	20-25 min	Cover migration, governance, deployment, risks
Review and rehearse mentally	10-15 min	Verify all requirements are addressed; plan your presentation flow

Start diagramming immediately

Start drawing the system landscape and extracting actors while reading the scenario. Do not wait until the full read-through is done. Build diagrams incrementally as requirements emerge.

During the 45-Minute Presentation

• Do not rush - A measured pace conveys confidence
• Watch the clock - Keep mental checkpoints (e.g., “Integration by minute 25”)
• If running long, summarize remaining sections briefly rather than skipping them
• Unused presentation time converts to Q&A time, so finishing a few minutes early can help by creating more scoring opportunities

During the 40-Minute Q&A

• Keep answers to 2-3 minutes maximum per question
• If a question requires a long answer, provide a summary first, then offer to go deeper
• Do not ramble — stop talking when you have answered the question

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Common Pitfalls and Why People Fail

Based on CTA coaches, judges, and candidates who have shared their experiences.

Strategic Errors

1. Changing strategy on exam day - “A recipe for failure, guaranteed.” Stick with the preparation approach and presentation structure practiced in mocks.
2. Introducing requirements not in the scenario - Only solve for what the scenario asks. Adding requirements wastes time and signals a poor read.
3. Generic, one-size-fits-all solutions - Tailor everything (data migration, governance, deployment) to the specific scenario context. Cookie-cutter approaches are immediately obvious to judges.
4. Presenting options instead of recommending - Judges want the architect’s recommendation, not a menu of choices.

Technical Errors

5. Data model does not support all requirements - The data model is the foundation. If it is wrong, every section built on top of it crumbles. This is the section candidates most frequently fail.
6. License choices misaligned with standard objects - Know which licenses grant access to which objects and features.
7. Integration design that “throws systems together” - Show architectural rigor: patterns, protocols, error handling, monitoring, and retry strategies.
8. Missing Salesforce Connect when the scenario calls for it - Recognize when external objects or Salesforce Connect are the right tool.
9. Insufficient identity/SSO depth - Describing identity flows at the SAML attribute level is expected, not just “we’ll use SSO.”
10. Not addressing LDV (Large Data Volume) considerations - When the scenario mentions millions of records, skinny tables, indexing, archiving strategies, and query optimization must be covered.

Communication Errors

11. Neglecting soft skills - Presentation, communication, and diagramming skills are explicitly scored (Domain 7: Communication). These are not optional.
12. Verbose Q&A answers - Long answers waste time and reduce scoring opportunities.
13. Not listening to judge questions - Answer the question asked, not the one preferred.
14. Poor diagrams - Unreadable, incorrect, or missing diagrams directly hurt the score.

Preparation Errors

15. Not doing enough mock boards - Candidates who pass typically complete 8-20+ mock sessions. There is no substitute.
16. Studying theory without practicing presentations - Knowing the content is necessary but not sufficient. Presenting under time pressure is a separate skill.
17. Going it alone - “Nobody passes the CTA alone, it is just too tough.” Community, coaching, and study partners are essential.

Lessons from a Failed Attempt

One candidate who shared a failure analysis identified these specific mistakes:

• Missing an entire artifact (Integrations slide), so judges had nothing to score
• Not practicing under exam conditions (virtual PC with input lag)
• Speaking at normal speed instead of being deliberate and paced
• Offering alternatives instead of making strong recommendations
• Answers lacking sufficient technical depth and justification
• Failing to recognize a Salesforce Connect requirement in the scenario
• Not using the extra time available for non-English speakers

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Sources

• CTA Certification Guide & Tips - Salesforce Ben (Sebastian Wagner)
• 5 Tips for Acing the CTA Review Board - Keir Bowden (Bob Buzzard)
• Thoughts from 9 CTAs - Salesforce Ben
• My Journey to CTA - Guy Keshet
• How I Became a CTA - Jannis Bott
• What It Takes to Fail the CTA Exam - Martin Humpolec
• CTA Gang of Four - Mock scenarios and experienced feedback