The single person responsible for the development of Salesforce projects is the Development Lead (DL).
In this context, development doesn’t just mean apex classes and triggers. It includes Visualforce pages, Lightning Web Components, flows, managed packages, connected apps, and even configuration.
This role understands exactly how the project was developed, and can answer or quickly find the answers to all dev questions.
Responsibilities also include
- Building the solution, including any new code required to customize and / or extend the core components
- Unit testing and deployment across environments
- Maintaining technical documentation
Thus, understanding coding standards and patterns, how DML operations work, how to respect Salesforce governor limits, and building modular and scalable code all fall under their ownerships.
Possible certifications include Administrator, Platform App, Developer I and II, and Javascript Developer.
The takeaway
Every project requires a DL. They are the captains of frontline development, and follow and contribute to the architect’s designs.