Technical Discovery happens after Business Discovery — translating business requirements into technical architecture.
Inputs:
- Business Discovery outputs (SDD, requirements, process maps).
- Existing technical landscape — Salesforce orgs, systems, integrations.
- Constraints — regulatory, infrastructure, team capabilities.
Activities:
1. Inventory current technical state:
- Salesforce org(s) — editions, licenses, customisations.
- Existing custom code — Apex, LWC, Visualforce.
- Integration map — external systems, current flows.
- Data volume — current and projected.
- Tech stack — DevOps tools, version control, CI/CD.
- Team skills — admins, developers, architects.
2. Identify technical risks and gaps:
- Where do existing patterns break down?
- What's the path from current to future state?
- Where do we lack expertise?
- What dependencies exist on external teams / vendors?
3. Architecture decisions:
For each major component:
- Buy / build / native?
- Sync / async?
- Code / config?
- Standard / custom?
Document each as ADRs.
4. NFR validation:
- Performance targets achievable?
- Scale projection plausible?
- Security requirements satisfied?
- Compliance achievable?
5. Integration design:
- Each integration: pattern, technology, ownership, SLA.
- Sequence and dependencies.
6. Data architecture:
- Data model decisions.
- Migration strategy.
- Retention and archival.
7. Deployment strategy:
- Sandboxes, environments.
- DevOps tooling.
- Release cadence.
Output:
- Technical Architecture Document (TAD) — companion to the SDD; technical depth.
- Integration Architecture Diagram.
- Data Architecture Diagram.
- Sharing Model Visualization.
- ADR list.
- Risk register with technical risks.
Process:
- Run in parallel with later stages of Business Discovery.
- 2-4 week effort typically.
- Architect leads; involves senior dev, security architect, integration specialist.
Pitfalls:
- Skipping it — Business Discovery alone leaves architecture to be improvised.
- Overdoing it — month-long technical Discovery for a 3-month project.
- No sign-off — without formal acceptance, decisions get re-litigated.
Senior architects make Technical Discovery a deliverable. Without it, the project starts with technical debt baked in.