# Platform Data Architect Study Guide

*Last updated October 26, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect*

The Certifyforce Platform Data Architect study guide covers the official Salesforce Platform Data Architect exam outline in 21 units across all 6 exam sections, one unit per exam-guide topic. The exam itself has 60 scored questions plus 5 unscored, a 105-minute limit and a 58% passing score, and its largest section is Data Modeling/Database Design at 25%. Every unit is verified against official Salesforce documentation, cites its sources, and links to the practice questions that test it. Last updated October 26, 2026.

## Contents

### Data Modeling/Database Design (25% of the exam)

- [Relationship types, deletion options and custom metadata types](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-modeling-database-design/relationship-types-deletion-options-and-custom-metadata-types): How to choose between master-detail, lookup, junction, self and hierarchical relationships from ownership, deletion, roll-up and limit requirements, when record types beat separate objects, and why custom metadata types hold deployable configuration. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-modeling-database-design/relationship-types-deletion-options-and-custom-metadata-types))
- [Record access design: OWDs, hierarchies and territories](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-modeling-database-design/record-access-design-owds-hierarchies-and-territories): How to open access from restrictive organization-wide defaults with role hierarchies, sharing rules, teams, territories and Apex managed sharing, what implicit sharing does and doesn't grant, and how restriction rules and View All fit a scalable model. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-modeling-database-design/record-access-design-owds-hierarchies-and-territories))
- [Business and technical metadata: classification and lineage](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-modeling-database-design/business-and-technical-metadata-classification-and-lineage): The four data classification metadata fields, their default values, permissions, API names and upload and download rules; field Description and Help Text as a business dictionary; entity lineage and object tiering; and Schema Builder and FieldDefinition as technical metadata sources. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-modeling-database-design/business-and-technical-metadata-classification-and-lineage))
- [Big objects: indexes, queries and limitations](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-modeling-database-design/big-objects-indexes-queries-and-limitations): When a big object beats a standard or custom object, how to design its immutable index, which SOQL patterns work, what big objects lack (sharing, automation, encryption, REST, standard UI) and the supported workarounds for writing, loading and displaying their data. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-modeling-database-design/big-objects-indexes-queries-and-limitations))
- [Ownership, parent-child and lookup data skew](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-modeling-database-design/ownership-parent-child-and-lookup-data-skew): How ownership, parent-child (account) and lookup skew cause long sharing recalculations and record-lock errors, the 10,000-record guidance, where to place an unavoidable skewed owner, how to break lookup skew, and how group membership locking and granular locking affect realignments. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-modeling-database-design/ownership-parent-child-and-lookup-data-skew))

### Master Data Management (5% of the exam)

- [MDM styles, matching, enrichment and canonical models](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/master-data-management/mdm-styles-matching-enrichment-and-canonical-models): The MDM toolkit an architect compares: hub versus linking styles, a canonical model that maps each source once, deterministic and probabilistic matching with weights and thresholds, steward review for uncertain matches, enrichment from external reference data, and alternate hierarchies over one set of golden records. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/master-data-management/mdm-styles-matching-enrichment-and-canonical-models))
- [Golden records with duplicate rules and merge](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/master-data-management/golden-records-with-duplicate-rules-and-merge): How to make one trusted customer record in a single org: name the system of record per entity, stop new duplicates with matching and duplicate rules, find old ones with duplicate jobs, and merge them knowing what the principal record, related records, Chatter, files and contact points do. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/master-data-management/golden-records-with-duplicate-rules-and-merge))
- [Survivorship rules for winning attribute values](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/master-data-management/survivorship-rules-for-winning-attribute-values): How to pick the value that survives when sources disagree: trust, recency, completeness and frequency as criteria, Data 360 reconciliation rules (Source Priority, Most Frequent, Last Updated, Ignore Empty Values, object defaults and field overrides, tie-breakers), and what a Salesforce merge decides for you through the principal record. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/master-data-management/survivorship-rules-for-winning-attribute-values))
- [Cross-reference keys and lineage for traceability](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/master-data-management/cross-reference-keys-and-lineage-for-traceability): How to keep a golden record traceable and its rules consistent: External ID fields and a child cross-reference object for source keys, lineage from each value to its source record, audit history of steward decisions, legacy audit fields set at load, and shared reference data through global value sets, stable picklist API names and classification metadata. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/master-data-management/cross-reference-keys-and-lineage-for-traceability))

### Salesforce Data Management (25% of the exam)

- [Internal, platform and Experience Cloud license mix](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/salesforce-data-management/internal-platform-and-experience-cloud-license-mix): How to split a user population across Salesforce, Salesforce Platform, Lightning Platform, Knowledge Only, Integration and Experience Cloud licenses by the standard and custom objects each group needs, and what each choice does to roles, sharing, storage and API capacity. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/salesforce-data-management/internal-platform-and-experience-cloud-license-mix))
- [Consistent writes: transactions, locking and upsert keys](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/salesforce-data-management/consistent-writes-transactions-locking-and-upsert-keys): How the platform keeps writes consistent: transaction boundaries, savepoints and partial-success DML, FOR UPDATE locks, the save order of execution, post-commit work, External ID upserts, Composite allOrNone, mixed DML, formula fields and global value sets. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/salesforce-data-management/consistent-writes-transactions-locking-and-upsert-keys))
- [Single customer view: person accounts and identity resolution](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/salesforce-data-management/single-customer-view-person-accounts-and-identity-resolution): Ways to show one customer across many systems: person accounts and Contacts to Multiple Accounts inside the org, external objects for data left at the source, and Data 360 identity resolution rulesets, match rules and reconciliation rules that build unified profiles without overwriting sources. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/salesforce-data-management/single-customer-view-person-accounts-and-identity-resolution))
- [Multi-org designs: cross-org adapter, consolidation, Data Cloud One](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/salesforce-data-management/multi-org-designs-cross-org-adapter-consolidation-data-cloud-one): How to use data across several Salesforce orgs: the cross-org adapter for in-place access, Bulk API 2.0 extraction or middleware for aggregation and sync, External ID cross-references for org consolidation, and Data 360 provisioning with a Data Cloud One home org, companion orgs or data sharing between instances. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/salesforce-data-management/multi-org-designs-cross-org-adapter-consolidation-data-cloud-one))

### Data Governance (10% of the exam)

- [GDPR data model: consent, Privacy Center and Shield](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-governance/gdpr-data-model-consent-privacy-center-and-shield): How to model GDPR privacy with the Individual and consent objects, erase or mask data with Privacy Center and Data 360 requests, find and classify personal data, and protect it with Shield Platform Encryption, sandbox masking and data minimization. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-governance/gdpr-data-model-consent-privacy-center-and-shield))
- [Data governance programs: roles, stewardship and controls](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-governance/data-governance-programs-roles-stewardship-and-controls): How governance differs from stewardship, who the steward, custodian, data owner and governance group are, what a data management strategy must answer, how classification tiers and Data 360 tags drive controls, and which Shield product meets which governance requirement under the shared responsibility model. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-governance/data-governance-programs-roles-stewardship-and-controls))

### Large Data Volume Considerations (20% of the exam)

- [Selective queries, indexes and skinny tables](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/large-data-volume-considerations/selective-queries-indexes-and-skinny-tables): How the query optimizer decides whether an index is used, which fields can and can't be indexed, and when two-column indexes, skinny tables, divisions, parent-record summaries and batch Apex keep a multi-million-row org fast. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/large-data-volume-considerations/selective-queries-indexes-and-skinny-tables))
- [Archiving and purging: hard delete, truncation, retention](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/large-data-volume-considerations/archiving-and-purging-hard-delete-truncation-retention): How to keep active data small: soft versus hard delete, truncation, Mass Delete Records and scheduled batch purges, storage allocations, field history retention with Field Audit Trail, and where archived data should live. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/large-data-volume-considerations/archiving-and-purging-hard-delete-truncation-retention))
- [Virtualized data with Salesforce Connect external objects](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/large-data-volume-considerations/virtualized-data-with-salesforce-connect-external-objects): When to read external data on demand instead of copying it, which Salesforce Connect adapter fits, how external objects relate to other records and authenticate, what they can't do in reports, fields and queries, and the other virtualization options: Files Connect, Heroku Connect and Data 360 zero copy. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/large-data-volume-considerations/virtualized-data-with-salesforce-connect-external-objects))

### Data Migration (15% of the exam)

- [Load-time data quality: keys, formats and cleansing](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-migration/load-time-data-quality-keys-formats-and-cleansing): Keep bad data out of a migration: cleanse, standardize and deduplicate in staging, key every load on an external ID, predict how duplicate rules, validation rules and restricted, multi-select and address picklists treat API loads, set Data Loader's date, time zone, encoding and truncation options, and reconcile with error files. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-migration/load-time-data-quality-keys-formats-and-cleansing))
- [LDV load performance: Bulk API and sharing deferral](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-migration/ldv-load-performance-bulk-api-and-sharing-deferral): Make tens of millions of records load fast: Bulk API 2.0 versus Bulk API batching and allocations, parallel versus serial mode and lock handling, sequencing roles, users, data and sharing rules, Public Read/Write and deferred sharing with the full recalculation, and trimming fields, automation and network overhead. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-migration/ldv-load-performance-bulk-api-and-sharing-deferral))
- [Exporting data: Data Export Service and bulk queries](https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-migration/exporting-data-data-export-service-and-bulk-queries): Choose and tune the right export: Data Export Service backups (edition frequency, active-user schedules, 512 MB zips, 48-hour downloads, excluded fields), Bulk API 2.0 query jobs versus Bulk API PK chunking, Data Loader Export and Export All, report export views, and the sharing that limits what an export user sees. ([markdown](https://www.certifyforce.com/md/study-guide/platform-data-architect/data-migration/exporting-data-data-export-service-and-bulk-queries))

## Common questions about the Platform Data Architect study guide

### Is the Platform Data Architect study guide free?

Partly. Every unit's summary and its "What the exam expects", "Key facts" and "Check yourself" sections are free to read without an account. The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections, reading progress and unlimited timed mock exams come with the Platform Data Architect pack (USD $19).

### How current is the Platform Data Architect study guide?

It is written to the current official Salesforce Platform Data Architect exam outline, and each unit is checked against Salesforce documentation before it is published. The most recent update was October 26, 2026, and every unit shows its own last-updated date.

### How does the study guide map to the official Platform Data Architect exam guide?

There is one unit per topic in the official exam guide, grouped under its 6 weighted sections: Data Modeling/Database Design (25%), Master Data Management (5%), Salesforce Data Management (25%), Data Governance (10%), Large Data Volume Considerations (20%), Data Migration (15%). Each unit quotes the exam objective it covers word for word.

### How do the practice questions link to the study guide?

Each unit lists the reviewed practice questions that test it (313 questions are linked across the guide), so you can read a topic and practice it in one click. After a practice exam, every missed question links back to the unit that teaches it.