System Architecture: Quick Reference

Domain 1 is the broadest CTA domain, with 6 objectives covering org strategy, licensing, mobile, reporting, document management, and platform capabilities. Every decision here ripples across all other domains. These pages distill the essentials into scannable quick-reference sheets.

What Judges Look For in Domain 1

Evaluation Area	What They Want to See
Org strategy	Clear single/multi-org rationale tied to scenario constraints
License selection	Cost-conscious right-sizing, not “full CRM for everyone”
Mobile approach	Simplest option that meets requirements, not over-engineered
Reporting choice	Standard reports first, escalation justified by specific gaps
Platform awareness	Governor limits awareness, on/off-platform tradeoffs articulated
Trade-off defense	”I chose X because… the trade-off I accept is… I mitigate by…”

Quick Reference Sheets

File	Covers	Time to Read
Org Strategy Quick Ref	Single vs multi-org decision, Hyperforce, M&A, cross-org patterns	15 min
Licensing Quick Ref	License types cheat sheet, cost optimization, selection scenarios	15 min
Mobile, Reporting & Docs Quick Ref	Mobile spectrum, analytics escalation, document management	15 min
Platform Limits Quick Ref	Governor limits cheat sheet, async patterns, on/off-platform	15 min

The 5 Things That Fail CTA Candidates in Domain 1

Do not make these mistakes

1. Defaulting to multi-org without justification: single-org is always the default; multi-org needs a compelling, documented reason
2. Ignoring license cost: recommending Unlimited Edition when Enterprise + add-ons is cheaper
3. Jumping to Mobile SDK: the standard Salesforce Mobile App is free and covers most internal use cases
4. Recommending Tableau for Salesforce-only data: standard reports or CRM Analytics (formerly Tableau CRM) are the right first choices
5. Not knowing governor limits: if you cannot name the key per-transaction limits, you cannot defend on-platform decisions

How to Use This Quick Reference

Figure 1. The study cycle is deliberately iterative: mock scenarios expose gaps that quick references alone cannot surface. Each gap review in the deep-dive material makes the next mock scenario attempt more fluent.

For each quick-ref sheet: read the tables, internalize the decision logic, then test yourself by applying it to a mock scenario. If you get stuck, the deep-dive links take you to the full content.

Deep Dive References

These pages condense the full Domain 1 study material:

• Org Strategy: full single/multi-org analysis
• Licensing: complete license type reference
• Mobile Strategy: full mobile architecture guide
• Reporting & Analytics: complete analytics comparison
• Document Management: files, knowledge, e-signature
• Platform Capabilities & Constraints: governor limits, async patterns
• Decision Guides: all visual decision flowcharts
• Trade-Offs: full trade-off analysis
• Best Practices & Anti-Patterns: Well-Architected Framework

Sources

• Salesforce Architects: Decision Guides
• Salesforce Well-Architected Framework
• CTA Review Board Certification
• Salesforce Ben: CTA Certification Guide