01.04 – Foundations: Requirement Categories & Why They Matter

Every strong Salesforce tester has one superpower: the ability to break down unclear requirements into clear, testable structures.
This lesson reveals the five core requirement categories — and the hidden risks each one carries.
If test design has ever felt chaotic or overwhelming, this framework will bring immediate clarity to your process.

1. Introduction

The foundation of effective Salesforce testing is not clicking test cases — it is proper requirement categorization.
Most testers entering Salesforce projects struggle not because they lack testing skills, but because they try to apply traditional analysis methods to a metadata‑driven platform.

Salesforce requirements are often:

• incomplete
• high‑level
• written from a business perspective
• missing technical details
• missing actors
• missing exceptions
• assuming platform knowledge that testers may not yet have

This creates ambiguity — and ambiguity creates risk.

To eliminate it, Salesforce QA relies on a categorization framework that transforms vague requirements into clear, structured test conditions.
You’ve already seen the five core categories earlier in Module 1. In this lesson, we go deeper into:

• how to classify requirements correctly
• how to detect hidden test conditions
• which risks appear in each category
• how category‑based analysis drastically reduces effort and rework

This is the lesson where testers begin transitioning from "executors" to analytical QA consultants.

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2. Why Categorization Matters More in Salesforce Than in Traditional Systems

In other software projects, requirements usually map cleanly to functionality.
In Salesforce, each requirement may impact multiple platform layers at once, even if the business request looks simple.

Example:

“Add a mandatory Product Manager approval step to the Opportunity cycle.”

On paper: simple.
In practice: a multi‑layer change involving:

• a new field (“Approval Needed”)
• modifications to page layouts
• profile/FLS updates for new fields
• an Approval Process or Flow
• record‑locking behaviour
• possible Apex invocations
• a potential need to rework automation that depends on Opportunity Stage changes

A tester who sees “approval step” and only tests the approval screen misses the real risks.

This is why we categorize requirements before writing a single test.

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3. The Five Core Categories — Deep Dive

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3.1 Data Model Requirements

Definition

Any change related to the structure, schema, or validation of Salesforce data.

Typical components

• Fields (new, changed, deleted)
• Field types (picklist vs text vs number)
• Validation rules
• Field sets
• Record Types
• Object creation or modification
• Lookup/Master‑detail relationships

Questions testers ask

• What new data becomes possible?
• What data becomes restricted?
• What fields must be visible/editable for each actor?
• Should this field be part of Page Layouts, API, reporting?

Risk indicators

• Required fields unintentionally blocking record creation
• Field‑level security mismatches between profiles
• Incorrect default values creating inconsistent data
• Validation rules blocking automation

Hidden test conditions

• What happens when required fields are missing?
• Does automation populate fields correctly?
• Does API integration handle new fields properly?

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3.2 Security Requirements

Definition

Changes in user permissions, visibility, or record access.

Components

• Profiles
• Permission Sets / Permission Set Groups
• CRUD settings
• FLS
• OWD model
• Sharing Rules
• Role hierarchy
• Manual sharing

Questions testers ask

• Who can see this record?
• Who can edit it?
• Should this field be visible or hidden?
• Does automation run in system context or user context?

Risk indicators

• Users blocked from key actions during UAT
• Sensitive data exposed to the wrong roles
• Apex or flows failing due to missing permissions
• Approved‑by logic failing because approvers lack access

Hidden test conditions

• Access behaviour for automated or integration users
• Record sharing edge cases (Private vs Public Read/Write)
• Approval process visibility rules

Security is the category with the highest real‑world impact — and the highest volume of defects.

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3.3 Declarative Logic Requirements

Definition

Business logic implemented using Salesforce configuration tools, not code.

Components

• Flows (Record‑triggered, Screen, Autolaunched)
• Approval Processes
• Assignment rules
• Auto‑response rules
• Escalation rules
• Validation rules
• Process Builder (legacy)
• Workflow rules (legacy)

Questions testers ask

• What triggers the logic?
• For which actor does the logic run?
• Which fields or objects are updated?
• Does the logic create/update/delete data?
• What happens when automation executes in sequence?

Risk indicators

• Multiple flows triggering on the same object
• Automation conflicts between Flow and Apex
• Missing conditions causing infinite loops
• Manual updates causing unexpected automation firing

Hidden test conditions

• Execution order problems (Flow before‑save vs Apex before‑insert)
• Exception paths not covered by requirements
• Failure scenarios for lookup‑based logic

Declarative automation is the fastest‑growing risk area in Salesforce projects.

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3.4 Apex Logic Requirements

Definition

Custom code executed through triggers, classes, async processing, or APIs.

Components

• Triggers
• Classes
• Batch, Queueable, Scheduled jobs
• Callouts
• LWC controllers
• Integrations (REST/SOAP)

Questions testers ask

• When does the code run?
• Which objects does it read/update?
• What assumptions does the logic make?
• Are governor limits respected?
• Does the logic handle bulk operations?

Risk indicators

• Low test data variety vs real scenarios → missed defects
• Unexpected recursion with Flows
• Partial updates causing corrupted data
• Incorrect exception handling masking real issues

Hidden test conditions

• Multi‑record updates (bulk testing)
• Cross‑object logic triggered implicitly
• Async execution timing differences

Apex testing requires testers to understand the logic deeply without writing code.

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3.5 UI/UX Requirements

Definition

Any requirement impacting user interaction with Salesforce.

Components

• Page Layouts
• Lightning Pages
• Dynamic forms
• Quick actions
• Buttons / links
• LWC components
• Mobile behaviour

Questions testers ask

• Can all required fields be accessed logically?
• Is navigation intuitive?
• Does field visibility match security?
• Do UI changes impact automation?

Risk indicators

• Visual inconsistencies across personas
• Confusing dynamic visibility rules
• Missing fields blocking process flow
• Components hidden due to conditional rendering

Hidden test conditions

• LWC behaviour differences between desktop & mobile
• Field dependencies affecting layout logic

UI issues directly influence business satisfaction — and often create the strongest feedback.

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4. Categorization Workflow: How a Tester Should Think

This is the analytical routine used by senior Salesforce testers:

Step 1 — Read the requirement once (business view)

Understand what the business wants, not how it will be built.

Step 2 — Read it again (technical view)

Identify which categories are touched.

Step 3 — Mark all category‑specific test conditions

Example requirement:
“When Opportunity reaches ‘Closed Won’, create a Contract and update Account Status to ‘Customer’.”

Categories:

• Data Model → Account Status field rules
• Security → who can edit Account Status?
• Declarative logic → Flow creating Contract
• Apex → if Contract creation requires additional logic
• UI → field placement, visibility

Step 4 — Identify hidden impacts

• Does a validation rule block updates?
• Does an existing flow also run on Opportunity Stage changes?
• Does the Contract require additional mandatory fields?
• Does integration depend on Account Status?

Step 5 — Convert conditions into test objectives

Now test cases make sense and coverage is complete.

This is how Salesforce QA avoids surprises in UAT and production.

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5. Summary

Requirement categorization is the cornerstone of Salesforce manual testing.
It transforms unclear business descriptions into precise, testable structures.

Mastering categorization allows testers to:

• predict system behaviour
• uncover hidden risks
• build reliable test objectives
• minimize rework
• speak the same language as consultants and developers
• test smarter, not harder

Once you internalize these categories, Salesforce stops being a “mysterious platform” and becomes a structured, predictable ecosystem.

This lesson is the moment testers transition from executing steps to understanding architecture — and that is what defines a Salesforce QA professional.

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End of Lesson 01.04