The Weekend Picklist ?? AI vs. Salesforce Devs, The Death of SaaS, and Nailing Your Salesforce Fundamentals

Every Monday, we’ll be delivering our top headlines – highlights from the previous week for you to enjoy with a cup of coffee! ??

Will AI Replace Salesforce Developers? 4 Senior Developers Weigh In

AI replacing Salesforce Developers: is it fact, fiction, or something more likely than we may assume?

According to some Silicon Valley CEOs, artificial intelligence could very well be used to replace software engineers at major tech companies, so it can be seen as natural to assume that developers are also likely to take a hit. However, many developers have hit back at this claim, arguing that replacing lower-level positions and having more experienced devs oversee the work of AI could lead to detrimental results in the long term – even if there is a short-term boost.

The general consensus is that AI tools, if they are used to “replace” software engineers in any capacity, will be used to perform the work that entry-level people would do – but will have to be overseen by more experienced people.

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Is Artificial Intelligence Really Killing SaaS – Or Saving It?

SaaS has been the backbone of Salesforce since its founding in 1999, but how does it hold up 25 years later, in the era of algorithmic processes and AI?

The conversation around the “is SaaS dead?” question came to a head when Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently spoke about the future of software as a service (SaaS) amid new innovations in agentic AI. Though Satya did not use the words “SaaS is dead”, a few people have interpreted his words that way. Effectively, he says that the age of SaaS as we know it is ending, with artificial intelligence stepping in to fill the gaps.

He said that once business logic is grounded in AI and no longer in disjointed backends or databases, then the backends will be replaced, effectively diminishing the need for SaaS applications.

However, the actual end outcomes still remain foggy, as applications such as Microsoft Word, Spotify, or Zoom are going anywhere. But if your job involves tediously updating a CRUD database after every sales call, you may find yourself with more time in the day for your primary function – and sooner than you might think.

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?A message from?Vicasso

It’s time for a smarter, faster way to manage caseloads.

Is your service team drowning in Salesforce cases, constantly chasing KPIs or apologizing for slow service? Case Flags brings clarity and speed to case management in Salesforce.

Learn More

Deep Dive: The Salesforce Flow Repeater Component

Salesforce has maintained a steady track record of adding new enhancements to the Flow tool, and one that really deserves the spotlight is the Salesforce Flow Repeater Component.

Introduced in Spring '24, the Repeater component allows admins to easily capture multiple instances of the same information in screen flows without manual duplication or third-party tools – just drag and drop.

Although it’s a brilliant tool, there are some things to keep in mind:

• Not every Screen component is supported within the Repeater component. For example, you cannot place an Action Button within a Repeater.
• The output of the Repeater isn’t able to be used in a Transform, Collection Filter, Collection Sort, or in another Repeater.
• The Repeater component allows users to add up to 30 instances at runtime (meaning you can ‘repeat’ the data collection up to 30 times).

This is definitely a tool to look into for a deeper dive.

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10 Ways Salesforce Admins Can Break Apex Tests

What’s an Apex Test if it’s not meant to be broken??

Now, Salesforce Admins are unlikely to develop any code-based solutions in Apex themselves. However, changes they make can still break Apex Tests developed by others! Of course, this is something to avoid as if an Apex Test no longer runs successfully this could be for a whole host of reasons including missing records or permission changes.

Here are a few of the ways admins could (perhaps unknowingly) be upsetting existing Apex Tests:

• Not thinking about a Validation Rule or Duplicate Rule.
• Forgetting to consider other automations such as Flow or approval processes.
• Having a Restricted Picklist.
• Not considering inactive record types.
• And much more!

The more you understand, the more you can try to avoid these!

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How to Gather Salesforce Requirements Like a Boss

Gathering Salesforce requirements is a key part of any Salesforce implementation or customization project. But you can do it wrong, you can do it right, or you can do it like a boss, ensuring that the best results get delivered every time.

How? Well, it’s a deliberate mixture of soft and technical skills with a focus on finding out exactly what the project needs to be from the mouths of stakeholders, analysts, project managers, and anybody else who may be involved.

This includes:

• Storytelling, communication, and social skills. Get to the bottom of what is really required, from all interested parties.
• Considering user stories. Hold a user story-writing (brainstorming) workshop just after the beginning of a project. This will help when you get to the mapping stage.
• Engaging and motivating stakeholders. Hold regular meetings and workshops for updates and feedback, using surveys and interviews to gather comprehensive requirements.
• Documenting everything that is important. Nothing more to say!
• Considering different types of analysis. Whether that’s enterprise, strategy, or something else.

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