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Domains & Scoring

The CTA exam evaluates 7 domains. Unlike standard Salesforce certifications, there are no percentage weightings — each domain is scored independently and all must be passed.

The 7 Domains

Domain 1: System Architecture (6 objectives)

The ability to design solutions using the right mix of platform and external systems.

#Objective
1.1Determine appropriate mix of on/off-platform systems, considering platform capabilities, constraints, and limits
1.2Design considerations, trade-offs, and risks for reporting and analytics
1.3Architectural considerations for single vs. multi-org environments
1.4Design considerations, trade-offs, and risks for mobile solutions; recommend appropriate mobile platform
1.5Recommend correct mix of license types with capabilities, trade-offs, and constraints
1.6Determine appropriate document management solution

Domain 2: Security (6 objectives)

Securing the platform, managing identity, and controlling data access.

#Objective
2.1Architect solutions using appropriate platform security mechanisms
2.2Security considerations and risks for portal architecture (internal and external users)
2.3Declarative platform security features for record-level security
2.4Programmatic platform security features
2.5Object and field access permissions
2.6Design and justify end-to-end identity management solutions

Domain 3: Data (3 objectives)

Data modeling, large data volumes, and migration.

#Objective
3.1Platform architecture considerations and optimization for large data volumes (LDV)
3.2Data modeling concepts and database design implications
3.3Data migration strategy, considerations, and appropriate tools

Domain 4: Solution Architecture (2 objectives)

Choosing the right approach and evaluating external tools.

#Objective
4.1Appropriate combination of declarative and programmatic functionality
4.2Benefits, considerations, and trade-offs of incorporating external applications

Domain 5: Integration (4 objectives)

Enterprise integration design and technology selection.

#Objective
5.1Recommend enterprise integration landscape; describe risks, trade-offs, and business/technical considerations
5.2Describe capabilities of appropriate technology and justify use in overall integration architecture
5.3Recommend and justify appropriate integration strategy and common integration patterns
5.4Recommend platform-specific integration technology for external systems; describe capabilities, limitations, and trade-offs

Domain 6: Development Lifecycle & Deployment (6 objectives)

Project delivery, testing, governance, and release management.

#Objective
6.1Project risk identification and mitigation strategies
6.2Technical considerations given customer project environment and development methodology
6.3Recommend comprehensive test strategy; discuss how testing mitigates project risks
6.4Governance considerations, stakeholders, and impact of decisions
6.5Platform tools, use cases, limitations, and best practices for environment management
6.6Source control and continuous integration for release management

Domain 7: Communication (3 objectives)

Presenting, defending, and adapting your solution under pressure.

#Objective
7.1Articulate benefits, limitations, considerations, and design choices; handle objections
7.2Use visualization and documentation tools to articulate solutions
7.3Handle unexpected roadblocks and determine appropriate next steps

Scoring Rules

flowchart TD
    A[Review Board Complete] --> B{How many domains failed?}
    B -->|0| C[PASS - CTA Certified]
    B -->|1| D[Section Retake Eligible]
    B -->|2+| E[Full Retake Required]
    D --> F[Retake the failed domain only]
    F --> G{Pass retake?}
    G -->|Yes| C
    G -->|No| E
  • Each judge scores all 7 domains independently
  • Scores are aggregated across all judges
  • You must meet the minimum threshold in every domain
  • There is no compensating — strength in one domain cannot offset weakness in another

Cross-Cutting Themes

These themes appear across multiple domains and are evaluated holistically:

  • Trade-off analysis — nearly every objective asks you to articulate trade-offs, not just pick an answer
  • Risk identification — proactively identifying risks is valued as highly as solving for requirements
  • Justification — “why” matters more than “what”
  • Platform-first thinking — default to platform capabilities before introducing external tools
  • Scalability — solutions must account for growth, not just current state

Sources

Official Salesforce

Community