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Disclaimer - I didn't purchase this book, I was given a pre-release copy by Packt Publishing to review
I've been interested in anti-patterns since I read a short article, more years ago than I care to remember, that covered 3-4 of them. When I joined the Salesforce ecosystem, the anti-pattern I saw most of the time was the big ball of mud, which I still reference in talks to this day, "These systems show unmistakable signs of unregulated growth, and repeated expedient repair"- something all of us who have been here for a while are familiar with. I was therefore curious when Packt Publishing reached out and asked me to review the second edition of Lars Malmqvist's book on Salesforce Anti-Patterns - which of my old favourite would I see in there, and what was new in the world of bad solutions to problems that look good at first glance. It's fair to say I wasn't disappointed.
This is a great book for any aspiring architect, as it will teach you the red flags to look out for, which aren't always obvious. Sometimes the problems they indicate take months or even years to appear, but appear they surely will. Recognising this at the outset will save you a lot of angst.
It's also a great book for experienced architects, as it gives you facts rather than feelings with which to argue against a particular approach. Instead of saying that you've seen this kind of thing before and it didn't end well, you can point out the planned (or current) strategy exhibits the classic symptoms of a named anti-pattern, talk knowledgeably about the likely consequences, and advise on alternatives that will lead to better outcomes. I also like that this book isn't entirely focused on programming or technical anti-patterns - it covers the human side of things too, such as communication, collaboration, allocation of work.
While there are plenty of the old favourites in there, that apply equally to any technology project rather than just Salesforce, there are also a number that you'll only see in a Salesforce project. These are related to specific characteristics of Salesforce like sharing, licensing, the data model, so you are unlikely to encounter them elsewhere.
Each anti-pattern is explained through a scenario, followed by a description of the problem, how it is presented as the solution to a problem, and the likely outcome of using it (rarely good), followed by a description of a better solution. Each chapter concludes with key takeaways and, in a nice touch, advice around the topic area for the CTA review board. A second nice touch is the covering how the introduction of/reliance on AI can bring you into an anti-pattern that you might otherwise have avoided.
One thing I will call out though - the likely real-world experience is that the worst of the anti-pattern is rowed back, but there still isn't the appetite to accept the better solution - life is rarely that neat and tidy. And that's okay - as architects and consultants our job is to advise and make the customer aware of the risks involved. Once that is done, the final decision rests with the customer, and it will be an informed decision, aware of the potential outcome. As long as all stakeholders agree and accept the risk, nobody can point fingers later. Striving for perfection and coming up a bit short is far better than accepting failure at the outset!
The second edition is available from Amazon (US link, UK link) starting 31st Jan 2025 - you won't regret buying it.
