What is the Salesforce CTA Review Board?
The Salesforce Certified Technical Architect Review Board is the hardest certification in the Salesforce ecosystem, it’s historically been the most sought after certification by Salesforce professionals and large employers alike, unfortunately though, it’s not easy to figure out how to prepare for it, what to study for it, how to present your solutions, and how to manage the Q&A feedback sections. So in this blog post we’ll talk about a little of all of that!
I’m one of roughly 500 CTAs worldwide, so I want to go through the whole thing properly: what the exam actually is, the prerequisites, how I studied, what to focus on, whether it was worth the time, and whether there’s actually cash money at the end of the rainbow.
What The Review Board Actually Is
Forget everything you know about Salesforce certifications. There are no multiple choice questions here.
The Review Board is a live presentation and Q&A in front of a panel of three other Salesforce CTAs. You’re given a large, complex scenario (representative of what a large corporate client might send you in a request for proposal), you get around three hours to design a complete solution for that scenario, and then you present it and answer questions the judges may have about your design.
The exam consists of these three stages:
~3 hours to read and solve a customer scenario that can be between 13-16 pages long
~45 minutes to present your scenario to the judges (as you would for a client).
~40 minutes of Q&A, where they ask you questions, just as a competent client/customer would if you were presenting to them.
The scenario spans everything focuses on 7 major areas: System Architecture, Security, Data, Solution Architecture, Integration, Development Lifecycle and Deployment Planning, and Communication
The important thing to remember while taking this exam is that the judges aren’t looking for the perfect answer, they’re looking for whether you can design for a complex scenario and have the ability to remain calm under pressure. It’s just as important for them to know you can design a competent solution, as it is for them to know that you can remain calm and collected and act professional in high pressure scenarios, because by giving you the CTA stamp of approval, you will be the face many of Salesforce’s highest profile clients will turn to and rely on for their implementations.
The Prerequisites Are Substantial
Before you can take the exam, you need the Application Architect and System Architect certifications, which are themselves composites of several certifications each. You have to pass the following Salesforce certs to gain the Application and System architect certs:
Platform Developer I, Platform App Builder, Data Architect, Sharing and Visibility Architect, Integration Architect, Identity and Access Management Architect, and Development Lifecycle and Deployment Architect.
That’s seven exams before you start. It will likely take you around a year to prep for and pass all these certs if you have a full time job, unless you dedicating tons of time after work to them (or cheating, which won’t help you on the real exam lol)
Should You Attempt It?
If you want to, then of course you should, but my suggestions for experience and knowledge required prior to taking the exam is below:
You need a strong background on the platform to have a realistic shot. If you have fewer than about five years of hands-on experience, it is extremely unlikely you’ll pass even with extensive studying.
It would also be beneficial if you’ve been in a role where you are frequently presenting technical topics to higher level executives at companies, because that is what you are technically being judges on for this exam. If you have been a technical architect for awhile, then this is likely the case!
That said, anyone can and should try if they want to. It’s just a ton of money to gamble since it costs $8600 total to take all the prerequisite certs, the pre-review board, and the review board itself.
How I Studied
Practice scenarios, out loud, on a timer. This is the single highest value thing you can do, and it’s what most people skip. Reading about architecture is not the same skill as presenting architecture. Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Find a study group. Practicing with people who’ll challenge your decisions is worth more than any amount of solo reading. You need someone asking “why not the other approach?” until answering it becomes reflex.
Build a repeatable presentation structure. You have limited time and you must cover everything. Having a consistent order you always work through means you don’t lose marks by simply forgetting to mention a section.
Learn to justify, not just recite. Every decision needs a “because.” “I’d use a master-detail relationship” is worth nothing. “I’d use master-detail because I need roll-up summaries and inherited sharing, accepting that the child can’t be reparented” is the answer.
My own study notes are up on GitHub if they’re useful to you.
Was It Worth It?
The honest answer is: it depends what you want.
The preparation genuinely made me better. That’s the part I’d defend without hesitation. Being forced to think holistically across every area of the platform, and to justify every decision, changed how I approach architecture generally. That value persists whether or not you pass.
Is there money at the end of it? Yes, but be realistic. There are around 500 CTAs worldwide, so the scarcity is real and it does open doors, particularly in consultancy and at the top end of contracting. It is not a magic salary multiplier on its own. What it does is get you into conversations you weren’t previously in.
The cost is significant. The exam itself isn’t cheap, retakes cost more, and the real cost is the months of evenings and weekends. Go in knowing that.
If you want it because you enjoy architecture and want to be genuinely excellent at it, it’s worth doing. If you want it purely as a salary lever, the return is less certain than the effort deserves.
Salesforce’s official architect credential overview has the current requirements and exam guide. Good luck if you go for it! If I can do it I know you can too!
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Salesforce Development Books I Recommend
Advanced Apex Programming
Salesforce Lightning Platform Enterprise Architecture
Mastering Salesforce DevOps
Good Non-SF Specific Development Books:
Clean Code
Clean Architecture
