At Cloud Galacticos, we encourage our team to stay ahead of the curve. So we are proud to confirm that on of our consultants, Luke, has recently passed his Salesforce User Experience Designer certification. We spoke to him to get his thoughts on his latest exam success.
What made you decide to take the Salesforce User Experience Designer certification?
I’m passionate about design and user experience. The exam presented a great opportunity to formalise these interests. It’s a real positive to see how much work Salesforce have put into recognising and formalising the disciplines and professional practice of User Experience, Design Thinking, Inclusive/Accessible Design and Service Design in a systems setting.
How did you approach the prep for your exam?
I followed the Trailmix provided by Trailhead in the first instance which covers the core topics of the exam. In addition to this I did a lot of research into the Salesforce Lightning Design System (SLDS). This is a vast area which is a key part of the exam. I also widened my research to look at company examples of patterns. I also watched some helpful videos on YouTube, and generally refreshed my knowledge.
Was it a difficult exam? You have any tips for people thinking of doing this exam?
I actually failed the exam the first time round. After I reviewed my performance using the Salesforce Certification Checker (by Sean Cuvanov) to identify where I needed to focus my efforts, I tried again five days later.
Here are my tips:
- Know your SLDS: Guidelines, Patterns, Blueprints, Tokens, Frameworks, LWC. There was a focus on Buttons, GRIDS, Branding & Themes.
- Know when and where to use declarative tools. Sounds simple and is relatively straightforward but it links the tool to the impact on the user experience rather than just functionality of the tool.
- Be confident on discovery, design thinking, inclusive design, accessible design, engaging with users, ideation, prototyping and iterative development.
- Know what Heuristic testing is.
- Anyone who has completed the Administrator or Platform App Builder Certification may recognise that they have covered a good deal of the Trailmix content when they first view it. Don’t underestimate that this may be old knowledge that needs a refresh. Make sure to look at the exam guide. Prioritise where you individually need to focus. It’s easy to chase down 50% of remaining modules to complete the Trailmix without going back over things you may have covered some time ago.
What does passing the Salesforce User Experience Designer certification mean to you in terms of your daily work?
Passing the certification reaffirmed a key intention that I use on a daily basis. Don’t sacrifice design to deliver a quick solution. Also, don’t create a solution before correctly understanding the requirement, and who you’re designing for.
Do you have any other Salesforce certs you plan to take in the future?
Yes, I’m always looking for certifications that will help to further knowledge or improve performance on a live project so I will likely try to pick one more up in 2021.
Anything else you want to add?
I just want to credit and thank Angela Conway for spreading the word about the User Experience Certification at the Newcastle Salesforce Community User Group which I co-lead. Angela, like myself, is based in Newcastle and she was part of the team that developed the certification which is a huge success story for the region. Connect with her to find out about her unique story! In addition to this, a shout out to Adam Doti and Melanie Wachs from Salesforce for engaging on Social Media and looking for ideas and suggestions to improve and receive feedback.
About Cloud Galacticos
Cloud Galacticos is a Salesforce Consulting Partner with an all-star team. We are user and developer group leaders, bloggers, MVPs and all round Salesforce nerds. We have people all over the UK including Manchester, Leeds, York, Sheffield and London. If you are looking for a Salesforce partner with experience who can help you make the most of your org, why not give us a call?
