The Life Changing Habit of Tidying Up (Your Org)
I've been lucky enough to have some new-to-Salesforce customers as clients lately and let me tell you, few things in the Salesforce world spark more joy than a fresh, untouched org. Especially after spending the last few years working on massive orgs filled with 10+ years of tech debt.
While scrapping and starting fresh isn't really an option for most folks, there are a few steps you can take towards a cleaner, happier org.
Step 1: Categorize your problems
I like to break down a clean-up into smaller categories and then audit and prioritize which updates are going to give your organization the biggest returns:
Performance-focused Approach
Where are you running into limits or errors as a result of a parfait of workflow rules, code, flows and process builders all running into each other? Where were shortcuts taken in past builds that can now be cleaned up and consolidated? If you're having trouble building on top of your existing system without running into errors or wading through unused components, this might be a great place to start.
User and Process Focused Approach
Where do your users struggle because the process is inefficient, outdated or redundant? Or where was the build bungled because requirements weren't right on the first implementation or have changed since launch? Interview your users and ask them about the most painful parts of working in your system and work to iterate on the process. Remove or update unused processes, steps, fields, etc. for a more streamlined, targeted solution. This is a great start if you have users who use your system begrudgingly or struggle to trust it because it's not an easy or friendly place to work.
A+ Admin Approach
Salesforce has launched a lot of enhancements the last few years to make an admin's life easier: Permission Set Groups, Dynamic Page Layouts, conditional Lightning Page Layout components. Where are the redundancies in the system and where can you gain efficiencies by upgrading your previous solutions to ones that make sense in the current environment? Can you consolidate and then remove unneeded layouts, record types, profiles, fields, etc. to make wading through and enhancing your system less of a slog?
Step 2: Prioritize your solutions
Track everything captured in your audit and review where you’re going to get the maximum return on your efforts. Identify a mix of long term projects and quick wins. It's important to balance any dependencies and key business needs with enhancements coming down the pipeline. Finally, review with your stakeholders, key end users and admin/dev team to identify where to start on your tidying up process.
Step 3: Delegate, document and deliver!
Find time in your current roadmap to tackle the clean-up process, roll up your sleeves and get to work. Be sure to track key decisions and changes along the way to help inform future build and make your life a bit easier with each clean-up operation.
It's true for both life and Salesforce: buying and building new things is always a lot more fun, but without a little reflection, prioritization and maintenance, neglecting the "mess" is just not sustainable in the long run.
I'm curious to know: what percent of your dev time do you spend towards clean-up and on tech debt versus building new features? What else would you add to look for when tackling tech debt?
