The successful pattern: define per-role, scope tightly, exclude attachments by default, test on the actual device under realistic offline conditions. The failed pattern: ship one universal Briefcase to every role, include everything, and discover at scale that the device runs out of storage and the sync takes 20 minutes.
- Identify the per-role data needs
For each field-service role, list the records the technician must access offline (Service Appointments today, Work Orders this week, Assets at customer locations). The list is the basis for per-role Briefcase Definitions.
- Build per-role Briefcase Definitions in Briefcase Builder
Setup, Briefcase Builder, New Briefcase. Pick the primary object and filters. Add related objects with their own filters. Use the size preview to keep the Briefcase under 500 MB.
- Exclude attachments and files by default
Attachment data is the largest single contributor to Briefcase size. Exclude unless specific workflows need the files offline; even then, scope tightly (only the current Work Order's attachments).
- Assign Briefcase Definitions through permission sets
Each role gets the matching Briefcase via permission set assignment. Users in multiple roles get the union.
- Test on the actual device under offline conditions
Download the Briefcase to a test device, turn off network, exercise the workflows the technicians actually run. Sync after, check for conflict surfaces.
- Pilot with two or three technicians for a week
Real field conditions surface issues lab testing misses. Two to three technicians for a week with explicit feedback collection finds the gaps before broad rollout.
- Monitor Briefcase size and sync time over months
Briefcase scope can grow without admin awareness as the data behind the filters changes. Quarterly audit of Briefcase size and sync time per role catches drift before it becomes a field complaint.
The entry-point object for the Briefcase (Service Appointment, Work Order, Asset). Drives what related data is in scope.
Filters scoping which records of the primary and related objects are included.
Per-Briefcase-Definition list of related objects to include with their own filters.
Whether files and attachments are part of the Briefcase. Excluded by default; opt-in for specific workflows.
Which user populations get the Briefcase. One Briefcase Definition per role is the common pattern.
- Attachment files are the largest size contributor in most Briefcases. Excluding them by default and opting in for specific workflows keeps size manageable.
- Briefcase scope can grow silently as the data behind the filters changes. Quarterly audit catches drift before it becomes a field complaint.
- Apex callouts and reports do not work offline. Workflows depending on them need server-side pre-computation or redesign for offline.
- Conflict resolution defaults to last-write-wins by timestamp. Shared records edited by multiple technicians produce conflicts; design Briefcases to minimize sharing.
- One universal Briefcase across all roles includes data each role does not need and bloats size. Per-role Briefcase Definitions are the right pattern at any scale.