While performing a UX evaluation of some new Salesforce functionality today, I made several observations.
The most striking one was, the implementor wasn’t consistent with field naming.
A previously created custom object had a picklist field called “Status”. Simple, easy to understand, cool.… Read the rest
Imagine you’re at point A on a map. And your goal is to get to point B.
You have multiple options to move from A to B:
Depending on how far point B is away from point A, some of these choices make sense, and some don’t.… Read the rest
In a conversation with a Salesforce colleague last week, he mentioned something quite surprising.
For his FSL project, he wrote a design document. No surprise there. However, his team is part of a larger project across multiple clouds, and he was the only one that wrote one.… Read the rest
Unlike most days of the week, I’m more casual on Fridays.
This means booking fewer meetings, being less responsive to emails and chats, and generally winding down the week.
With all the extra time, I’m able to focus on projects that need more dedicated attention, and also work on my business.… Read the rest
Get ready, this is a short rant about Salesforce.
By now, you know I love Salesforce. Truly. Genuinely. However, every once in a while, a “feature” reveals itself, and I stop to wonder, “WTF is this nonsense!?”
Today’s example is about object visibility.… Read the rest
As a Salesforce consultant, there are additional implications of the upcoming new Salesforce UI.
The main one is this: whenever you build custom components, use the Salesforce Lightning Design System (SLDS) and other native elements.
When you use SLDS, you are guaranteed that any updates to Salesforce will be reflected in your components.… Read the rest
Coming soon to a Salesforce instance near you, the updated Lightning UI.
There seems to be a general trend at Salesforce that’s heading in the direction of a better overall user experience. In a recent meeting, they spoke about making the administrator’s experience less painful.… Read the rest
A few readers asked for more details about Knowing what to do next.
Let’s say you have a list of things to do, and a few tasks are added throughout the day. Here is my specific methodology.
I try to check my professional emails only a handful of times a day.… Read the rest
There was a Trailblazer Community meetup for the Salesforce Developer Group in Montreal this past Wednesday.
As Montreal is my hometown, it was a delight to attend.
A cozy group of developers, analysts, consultants, and a few architects were present. Although I wasn’t there for too long, I made several new connections.… Read the rest
On Aug 15, 2024, the first ever Montreal Dreamin conference will be held. There hasn’t been a trailblazer community event in Canada since True North Dreamin in 2019, so this is very exciting news!
I’m also proud to announce that Dryad Receipting for Salesforce is an official sponsor.… Read the rest
Sometimes it’s helpful to see things from another perspective.
Here are a few ways to certainly not help your end users and avoid adoption in a Salesforce project.
Don’t understand their current process
Before starting to build, you should have a good understanding of your client’s current process.… Read the rest
Adoption is one of the most important criterias for a successful Salesforce implementation.
Given this, here are a few ways to improve adoption.
Find your champions
Champions are future users that will influence others to your cause. It helps to have a combination of positive champions and negative champions.… Read the rest
After years of experience working on Salesforce projects, I’ve come to realize that one of the most important factors for a successful project has nothing to do about technology.
As an architect or consultant, this may seem counterintuitive. But upon further examination, this fact is rather easy to accept.… Read the rest
There’s a recent article from BusinessInsider that makes some interesting points about leaving a major city.
The context is that since the pandemic, people have been moving out of metropolitan cities and moving to the suburbs or the countryside. The trend continued until at least mid-2023.… Read the rest
During a typical day, how do you know what to do next?
You may have multiple projects to work on, or multiple elements of a single project, in addition to personal things that need your attention, meetings to book, etc.
For me, I track things in a to-do list.… Read the rest
As a human being and a Salesforce consultant, it’s sometimes challenging not to be emotional.
A demanding client, a stressful project, frustrating developers. The list of possible aggravations doesn’t end.
Most often, these emotional moments and your reactions to them won’t help you.… Read the rest
Looking at the other side of yesterday’s coin, there are some drawbacks to being an independent Salesforce consultant.
Here are a few for your consideration.
You need to be a one-person business
Instead of entirely focusing on discovery, design, or implementation, you need to manage every aspect of your business.… Read the rest
There are all sorts of reasons why people go independent. In the Salesforce ecosystem, here are three positive ones.
Autonomy
The lifestyle generally allows you to be in control. You choose your clients, how hard you work, how long you work, when to take breaks, and so on.… Read the rest
Now that spring is right around the corner, it’s important to remember to take time to recharge your batteries during weekends.
As a Salesforce consultant, your weeks are probably pretty stressful. Allow yourself to rebalance and step away from the screen.… Read the rest
The other day I was reading an article from fs.blog. It’s a fascinating blog about thinking, mental models, how we learn and think, and all kinds of brain activities.
In the article, “How not to be stupid”, Adam Robinson discusses seven factors that lead to stupidity.… Read the rest
As a Salesforce consultant, you’ll make tons of project decisions.
Some of these decisions are easy to follow-through and complete. No one really questions the choice, and the result is a smashing success.
Other times, the decision is not optimal and course-correction is needed.… Read the rest
OK, you’ve set up your one-person shop, hung your “we’re open” sign on your website, and now sit back and wait for clients to stroll in by the hundreds.
Several weeks later, and you don’t have a single client.
This is obviously a very bad way to start, as you should already have 1-3 clients lined up before becoming an independent consultant.… Read the rest
A fellow reader recently shared a story and asked for help. Here’s a summary of the situation:
Imagine you’re an in-house consultant. You were hired to onboard the sales team to Salesforce, but the stakeholder who hired you isn’t dedicating time to define requirements or approve the project launch.… Read the rest
As a Salesforce consultant, you probably don’t spend much time in in-person meetings with clients. This applies to independent consultants and those working with agencies.
Apps like Zoom have become so prolific, that it’s unnecessary to meet your client face-to-face. And yet, when we do, it’s magical.… Read the rest
I’ve been at a client’s location for a handful of days this week. It’s great to see so many people in-person and in 3D, rather than the 2D we see through Zoom.
Last night, once all the productive working sessions were done, and the office small-talk ended, a few of us headed out for dinner.… Read the rest
In a typical Salesforce implementation project, you’re usually asked to provide a work estimate fairly early in the sales process.
The biggest problem with this is, you’re providing a number in a moment when you know the least about the client and the project.… Read the rest
Another problem with hourly billing as a Salesforce consultant is your incentives are in the wrong direction.
Imagine you have a house and are presented with two options:
Are you an independent Salesforce consultant that still charges by the hour?
Have you noticed the market limits your maximum hourly rate?
For example, the expected hourly rate for an experienced consultant is about $150 to $200 an hour, which results in an income ceiling of about $200k to $250k a year.… Read the rest
We now have definite evidence that says traditional work, defined as Monday-to-Friday, and from 9-to-5, is over for remote-capable employees. This includes Salesforce consultants.
The new “hot” models are:
Hybrid
This means you’re in the office perhaps 2 or 3 times a week, and you decide which are those days.… Read the rest
As an independent Salesforce consultant, one of the best ways to set yourself up for success and happiness is to have good clients.