Discovery and Architecture16% of the exam
Discovery questions, account audits and scoping gaps
Which facts a consultant must collect before scoping deliverability products, Synchronized Data Sources, reporting history and campaign automation, and how an account audit turns findings into a risk-rated action plan.
Provided with a set of business requirements, determine what additional information is needed to design the recommended solution.
~8 min read · 16 practice questions ·
What the exam expects
- Name the missing fact behind a deliverability purchase: volume, branded business units, a final domain, sensitive web subdomains.
- Run an account audit: questions per area, red flags, high, medium or low risk, Alert Manager.
- Scope a Synchronized Data Sources sync: which fields, which records, and when bulk CRM changes will land.
- Turn history, audience, campaign and multi-brand requirements into discovery questions.
- Key terms: SAP (private domain, dedicated IP, account branding, Reply Mail Management, CloudPages domain); dedicated IP (a sending IP for your account alone); account audit (an inspection ending in a risk score per area); Synchronized Data Sources (copies CRM objects into synchronized data extensions); retention window (how long engagement data stays accessible).
Key facts
Dedicated IP threshold
- Detail
- Required above 250,000 email messages per month
One IP in the account
- Detail
- It is the default for every send; no IP can be selected in a Delivery Profile
SAP domains per MID
- Detail
- One
Change after setup
- Detail
- Not possible; buy an additional configuration
Audit high risk
- Detail
- Personal data in DEs, recurring errors, users who no longer need access
Alert Manager
- Detail
- Alerts for email batch and triggered sends to a configured address
SDS fields per object
- Detail
- 20 recommended, 250 maximum
SDS automatic refresh
- Detail
- Over 600,000 rows changed in a minute; DE empty until done
Engagement data retention
- Detail
- 730 days since June 16, 2025
Data extensions over lists
- Detail
- More than 500,000 subscribers, triggered sends, SOAP or REST APIs
Sources for this section (5)
- Deliverability Products Overviewhelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Audit Your Accounttrailhead.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- SDS Best Practiceshelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Retention Policy Updatehelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- List vs. Data Extensionhelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Why should a consultant ask which fields are reference IDs before a CRM field cleanup?
- When is disconnecting and reconnecting a Synchronized Data Sources connection appropriate?
- Why can't a Delivery Profile select a specific IP in an account with one IP?
- How long does Intelligence Reports data lag behind the account?
The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.
Keep reading with the Marketing Cloud Engagement Consultant pack
- Core concepts
- Exam traps
- Worked scenario
The pack includes:
- All 20 lessons of the Marketing Cloud Engagement Consultant guide, with reading progress
- Interactive decision walks and step-by-step sequence steppers
- Practice exams purchase adds inline bank questions and topic practice (16 questions for this lesson)
- An official source cited for every claim
- An AI tutor that answers from the guide
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