Taking the DEV501 [*cough*] Platform Developer II Assignment for a Test Drive

Over a year ago I wrote my first guest blog post - The Salesforce.com Advanced Developer Certification Experience (501). Shortly after the post went live, I was told that my post has hit very high number of visits. A few months later, I was invited to Code Coverage - The podcast for Developers using the Salesforce1 Platform to share my experience once again. Surprisingly, this episode is the most listened to, which tells me one thing - There is a tremendous interest in the community about the Salesforce.com Advanced Developer (DEV501) certification.

If you're planning on getting DEV501 certified Platform Developer II certified and you've researched around, you must have found quite a few blog posts, answers and tips, which are helpful (some more than others), but at the end of the day, most of it is high level content which leaves you with a lot of questions around the actual assignment.

 

What if I could take the assignment for a test drive?

Well, that's essentially the purpose of this post, to give you an opportunity to self-evaluate and find out whether you're ready to take the journey or whether you need to improve in certain areas before you're confident enough. Given the structure and the complexity of the actual programming assignment that I completed, I've created a mock-up assignment which can help you determine your readiness as well give you a little bit of flavour on what to expect.

IMPORTANT: As of Dreamforce '15, a new type of certifications (Salesforce.com Certified Platform Developer I and II) are going to be generally available aiming to replace the current DEV501. I participated in the beta program and took the multiple choice exam which in a way was very similar to the DEV501, though a little bit more in-depth and covering more areas. I have an official confirmation from Salesforce that the programming assignment (or performance-based component as they call it) will not be too different from the DEV501 assignment. You'll need to possess the same skill set regardless of which certification you're taking on.

- Registration will open on the 30th September 2015
- Salesforce will send out e-mails to all those who are waiting to take their Programming Assignment in advance of the 30th September 2015 registration

 

TL;DR; - Let's get to it

If you think you can complete the below assignment with ease in 20-30 hours, then you should be good to go. Originally around 4 weeks were allocated to complete the DEV501 Assignment, with minimum of 20 hours. Therefore, now it's a good time to block out your calendar.

Excuse my design, I did not have Photoshop or a similar tool available at the time. Lucidchart.com FTW!

DEV 501 Mock Assignment

 

Where can I find more information about the new certifications?

I had the same question when I found out about the program for the first time. This FAQ page answered 90% of my questions and I hope it answers yours too. Alternatively you can hit up Salesforce University on Twitter.

 

I'm already DEV401/DEV501 certified, how can I transition to the new certifications?

All the transition details, paths, costs and study guides can be found here

I hope this exercise helps you gain more confidence and smash your exam.

Best of Luck!