How do you evaluate / audit an existing Salesforce architecture?

Architecture audits assess current state and identify improvements.

Areas:

1. Data architecture.

• Object model: appropriate for use cases?
• Field utilisation: any sprawl?
• External Ids: consistent strategy?
• Sharing: appropriate for sensitivity?
• Data quality metrics.
• LDV concerns.

2. Code architecture.

• Apex test coverage.
• PMD findings.
• Trigger framework consistency.
• Code organisation (service / repository / domain layers).
• Custom code volume.
• Apex on deprecated patterns.

3. UI / UX.

• Lightning Experience adoption.
• Aura vs LWC ratio.
• Visualforce remaining.
• Page composition.
• Mobile readiness.

4. Automation.

• Process Builder vs Flow.
• Workflow Rules remaining.
• Trigger consistency.
• Recursion handling.

5. Integration.

• Patterns (point-to-point vs hub).
• Documentation.
• Reliability (retry, error handling).
• Performance.

6. Security.

• Permission audit.
• Sharing model.
• FLS for sensitive fields.
• Encryption usage.
• Audit and monitoring.

7. DevOps.

• DX adoption.
• Source control.
• CI/CD.
• Sandbox strategy.
• Deployment time and failure rate.

8. Governance.

• Documentation quality.
• ARB activity.
• Standards enforcement.
• Decision logs.

9. Performance.

• Page render times.
• API response times.
• Slow query patterns.
• Bulk operation timing.

10. Cost.

• License utilisation.
• Sandbox cost.
• AppExchange spend.
• Integration platform cost.

Audit process:

1. Inventory what exists.
2. Assess against best practices.
3. Prioritise findings (high/medium/low impact).
4. Recommend remediation.
5. Roadmap for improvement.
6. Communicate to leadership.

Output:

• Audit report — current state assessment.
• Findings list — prioritised.
• Roadmap — sequencing of improvements.
• Cost / time estimates.

Common findings in audits:

• Tech debt (Process Builder, Aura).
• Permission sprawl.
• Inadequate test coverage.
• No documentation.
• Inconsistent integration patterns.
• Underutilised licenses.

Senior architect insight: architectural audits surface surprising amounts of debt. Most orgs accumulate without realising.

The senior framing: periodic audits (annual or biennial) are good hygiene. Without them, drift compounds.

Audits often justify significant remediation investment. Use the report to advocate for it.