Salesforce Developer Podcast

Join us as we have a conversation with our guest, Adam White, Senior Product Manager of Automation at Salesforce. Listen in as he recounts the evolution of his gaming and tinkering with various consoles and his first computer, a Pentium 100, revealing how overcoming the challenges of early computing led to a love for problem-solving and technical mastery.

In this conversation, we explore the unconventional pathways to tech careers, emphasizing that a traditional background in technology isn't always necessary. The discussion navigates through career milestones, from the challenges of managing Salesforce single-handedly to embracing program management at Alarm.com and delving into the role of Atlassian tools in business applications. Our chat then takes a closer look at the latest features in Salesforce Flow, such as the advancements in reactive screen flows, allowing form building with conditionally disabled and read-only fields.

Listen in for an exciting conversation!

Show Highlights:

• The influence of early gaming on developing tech skills and problem-solving abilities.

• Transitioning from an economics and Spanish major to a tech enthusiast.

• Challenges and triumphs of solo Salesforce administration and the benefits of low-code solutions like Salesforce Flow.

• Latest features in Salesforce, including reactive screens and the repeater component for screen flows.

• Discussion of the upcoming Salesforce features and the anticipation of how they will enhance user experience and developer capabilities.

Links:

• Adam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/declarativeninja/

• Reactive Screen Components: https://admin.salesforce.com/blog/2023/flow-reactive-screen-components-ga-learn-moar-winter-24

Join us as we take a journey with Christie Fidura, Salesforce's director of Global Trailblazer Engagement, through her unexpected love affair with technology and the world of programming. We explore the elegance and universality of coding languages as Christie reflects on her transition from an English literature and Spanish student to teaching engineers at DuPont. This conversation reveals the hidden poetry in programming and the crucial role of technical communication in bridging the gap between users and creators.

Christie also highlights the significance of “Johnny Appleseed” figures who sow the seeds of knowledge and enthusiasm, fostering local communities. You'll learn the importance of nurturing personal connections within this expansive network and how we enable a transparent exchange between community members and Salesforce product managers through various platforms. Tune in to this episode for a blend of personal narratives and insights into the dynamic Salesforce ecosystem.

Show Highlights:

• The growth and evolution of Christie’s relationship with technology.

• The warm, familial nature of the Salesforce community, the global connections made, and the significant role of “Johnny Appleseed” trailblazers.

• Christie’s experience with the London Salesforce admin meetup.

• The importance of maintaining personal connections in the community and facilitating direct interactions between Salesforce product managers and community members.

• Christie’s plans for 2024 with a focus on artificial intelligence and the role developers can play in guiding companies through AI implementation.

Links:

• Christie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiefidura/

• Salesforce Developers Community: https://salesforce.com/devcommunity

Join us as we chat with Julio, Laura, and Pedro, passionate members of the Salesforce community who have had their hands full organizing dreamOlé, Spain's premier Salesforce community conference. They regale us with stories of their beginnings in the Salesforce community, the hurdles they had to overcome in event organization, and the irreplaceable role the community has played in their personal and professional growth.

We also discuss the pivot to virtual event organization amid the pandemic and the resilience of dreamOlé. Wrapping up the conversation, Julio, Laura, and Pedro offer valuable insights on the significance of collaboration, enjoying the process, and the importance of a trustworthy team.

Show Highlights:

• The challenges faced while organizing the conference and the support and learning they received from the Salesforce community.

• The significance of dreamOlé in unifying the Salesforce community and fostering connections among its members.

• Pedro’s journey from being an attendee at the inaugural dreamOlé to becoming a volunteer.

• The essence of collaboration, the joy of the process, and the importance of a strong team in organizing such events.

Join me and our guests Keegan Klauke and Subi Philip from MRE Consulting as we journey back in time to explore their early experiences with computers. Keegan shares his passion for computer hardware and programming, sparked by early video games, while Subi talks about his initial coding experience in high school. From their first encounters with the Commodore 64 to their entrance into the Salesforce ecosystem, their stories provide a unique look into the evolution of computer technology.

Listen in as we explore the integration of chatbots with Apex processes, discussing the different use cases for designing chatbots and the importance of AI in understanding customer intent. We address concerns about toxicity and hallucinations in chatbot behavior and how to prevent them. We also discuss the process of designing and testing chatbots within the Salesforce ecosystem, discussing the importance of mapping user questions to predefined intents and providing structured responses. 

Whether you're looking to build modern chatbots within the Salesforce platform or simply interested in the evolution of technology, this episode is packed with valuable insights.

Show Highlights:

• The design and use of chatbots within the Salesforce platform.

• The significance of leveraging AI in chatbot design to understand customer intent and prevent potential discrepancies.

• The importance of mapping user interactions and providing structured responses to avoid incorrect or offensive chatbot responses.

• The challenges of automating testing for chatbots are discussed, stressing the need for human intervention.

• Insights for those interested in building modern chatbots within the Salesforce platform.

Links:

• Keegan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keegan-klauke/ 

• Subi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/subiphilip/

• MRE Website Link: https://mre-consulting.com/technologies/salesforce/

• Our MRE Blog Post on Chatbots & AI: https://mre-consulting.com/insights/improving-customer-experience-and-self-service-with-chatbots-ai/

• Einstein Bot Developer Cookbook: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.bot_cookbook.meta/bot_cookbook/bot_cookbook_overview.htm

• Chat LWC Pack: https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=a0N3A00000FoirpUAB

• Chat LWC Pack (GitHub): https://github.com/Colatabajonies/Chat-Lightning-Web-Component-Pack

Join us as we have a conversation with Ajay Kumar, Senior Manager for Solutions Engineering at MuleSoft, where we discuss his educational journey, how he transitioned into the MuleSoft and Salesforce ecosystem, and the vital role of continuous learning in technology. 

We also explore the captivating world of Artificial Intelligence (AI). We discuss its evolution, current state, and the promising future it holds. Listen in as we share insights into generative AI, its increasing importance across industries, and its potential to enhance human IQ. 

Additionally, we discuss the significant impact of AI on our daily lives and how it's revolutionizing industries, especially retail, through optimizing inventory management. Overcoming fear and hesitation towards AI, the necessity of staying relevant in the rapidly changing tech industry, and the irreplaceable human touch in AI are some of the captivating topics we touch upon.

Show Highlights:

• The evolution and impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI), including its transformative potential across various industries and its capacity to enhance human IQ.

• Kumar delves into the concept of gendered AI, the current state of AI, and the future potential of artificial general intelligence.

• The use of AI in the retail industry. 

• The role of MuleSoft in data integration.

• The concept of having a personal AI 'co-pilot' in the future.

Links:

• Ajay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aj127/

Ready to jump into the captivating realm of coding and computer technology? This episode promises an intriguing exploration of the journey from early computing to the cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence in software development. Join us with Thomas Theunen, head of commerce at Forward, as he reminisces about his fascinating evolution from a curious child tinkering with his first computer to becoming a tech-savvy forward thinker. 

Interested in how languages evolve in the world of coding? From Thomas’s maiden voyage with C Sharp, his engagement with Windows Phone applications, to his dedicated seven-year expedition with Java at an enterprise level, it's a rollercoaster ride through the tech landscape. Our discussion dives deep into the Salesforce ecosystem, JavaScript development, and the emerging uses of AI in speeding up workflows. Lastly, Thomas discusses the burgeoning B2C Commerce Cloud community and his invaluable contributions to it. 

This isn't just an episode; it's a chronicle of a tech enthusiast's journey, making it a must-listen for all computer technology and coding enthusiasts!

Show Highlights:

• Thomas’s professional journey with software development languages.

• His experience transitioning into the Salesforce ecosystem, JavaScript development with BTC Commerce Cloud, and his evolution from a developer to an architect.

• The role of AI in software development, how it has helped Thomas speed up his workflows, and the importance of human involvement in reviewing AI-generated solutions.

• Thomas’ contribution to the B2C Commerce Cloud community, its growth over the years, and his insights into using React in development.

• The transformative role of AI in workflow improvement, from aiding in code generation to simplifying unit tests.

Links:

• Thomas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-theunen-10905680/

Join us as we chat with Igor Androsov, National Architect Director at Mills of Japan. Igor shares his introduction to Salesforce in 2008 and his active involvement in the Salesforce community. Hear how the global pandemic has influenced his work, leading to him joining Salesforce in 2020. Listen as he narrates his rich experiences within the Salesforce community in Japan, and how it has enriched his career.

We touch on Salesforce’s VTO program and MuleSoft tools. Igor shares his contribution to the Impact Labs and the Open Source Commons Projects, offering his Salesforce skills to aid nonprofits. He also explains how Salesforce Developers can start with MuleSoft and the available resources. Don't miss out on Igor’s intriguing discussion on the API Experience Hub. 

Listen in today!

Show Highlights:

• Androsov’s experiences with Salesforce community engagement and how global events like the pandemic shaped his career.

• Salesforce's Voluntary Time Off (VTO) program.

• The MuleSoft tools offering insight for developers on how to get started and the resources available.

• Androsov's journey of learning and contributing to the Impact Labs and Open Source Commons Projects is highlighted.

• Overview of API Experience Hub, a new tool from MuleSoft that allows users to create a branded experience for their APIs. 

Links:

•  Igor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iandrosov/

Join us for an exciting discussion with Stephan Chandler-Garcia, Director of Strategic Content at Salesforce, as he takes us through his journey from composing music on a computer in his early school years to becoming a self-taught Salesforce Developer. Listen in as Stephan recounts his experiences of exploring computers, creating custom scenery for a computer game, and ultimately moving to the UK to start his career in the Salesforce economy, all without a college degree. 

Stephan gives an intriguing insight into his project HowToDev_ a series aimed at helping people transition into Salesforce development. He also sheds light on the future of development, focusing on the role of AI, Data Cloud, and Hyperforce in the current Salesforce landscape. 

Tune in to hear about Stephan's exciting journey, his contributions to Salesforce, and his vision for the future of AI in development.

Show Highlights:

• Insights into the core object model, security, order of operations, and the impact of low code and no code tools in Salesforce.

• The future of development and the role of AI, Data Cloud, and Hyperforce in the Salesforce landscape.

• The importance of learning how to prompt AI tools, equating it to understanding how to use a search engine like Google. 

• Using pre-built and pre-configured AI applications. 

Links:

• Stephan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanwgarcia/

• HowToDev_ on Salesforce+: https://www.salesforce.com/plus/series/howtodev_

• Explore AI Innovation from Dreamforce 2023: https://developer.salesforce.com/blogs/2023/10/ai-innovation-dreamforce-2023

• Inside the Einstein Trust Layer: https://developer.salesforce.com/blogs/2023/10/inside-the-einstein-trust-layer

• An Introduction to Autonomous Agents: https://developer.salesforce.com/blogs/2023/10/an-introduction-to-autonomous-agents 

Join us as we explore the journey of Alex Delic, Director at Code Development, from his earliest exposure to technology to his fascinating foray into coding. Listen in as we discuss his journey from playing with Raspberry Pi to coding professionally and his unexpected detour into archaeology during his university years.

Unpack how Salesforce's investment in automated testing can help reduce the burden of manual regression testing and expand beyond just Salesforce applications. Alexander shares his insights on the challenges of UI testing and how MaxTAF can create reusable components for test scripts. In the world of mobile applications, we discuss the benefits and challenges of automated testing. 

It's an episode filled with nostalgia, progress, and personal anecdotes you won’t want to miss.

Show Highlights:

• The concept of automated testing in application development.

• The role of technologies like Sauce Labs and BrowserStack in providing solutions for automated testing of mobile applications. 

• The importance of regression testing and the need for rigorous, structured testing methods to catch regressions. 

• The open-source technologies like Selenium, UTAM, and Playwright, used for automated testing. 

• The challenges and possible solutions for mobile testing.

Links:

• Alex on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-delic-32375874/

• MaxTAF: https://www.maxtaf.com/

Join us for a special celebration as we hit our 200th episode! Discover how the Godfather of Trailhead, Josh Birk, came to earn his title. Josh walks us through his journey from creating an application named 'Medals' on Node.js to kickstarting the innovative project of Trailhead. Listen in as he explains how he combined anonymous Apex and the REST API to gauge completion and how this led to the birth of the Trailhead platform.

Josh also shares the amazing stories from his 13-year journey at Salesforce. We also discuss his unforgettable three-city tour in India and how Trailhead provided people with the resources they needed to learn Salesforce and get certified. 

As we reminisce about our past episodes, we're also excited about the road ahead. We'd love for you to be part of our upcoming 300th episode, so stay tuned!

Show Highlights:

• The role of role-playing video games in maintaining mental health during the pandemic and how they influenced Josh’s professional career.

• How Josh’s gaming passion led to the creation of 'Medals.”

• Josh’s 13-year tenure at Salesforce.

• The impact of Trailhead where it enabled many individuals to master Salesforce and earn their certifications.

• Josh’s transition from the Salesforce Developer Podcast to Salesforce's Admin Relations.

Links:

•    Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabirk/

Let's unveil the captivating world of computer sciences, engineering, and Salesforce with our accomplished guest, Ludovic Meurillon. Prepare to be immersed in Ludovic's fascinating journey from his early gaming days to becoming a software engineer at Salesforce. Discover how he navigated joining the company during the pandemic and how he's currently thriving as a developer. Learn about the groundbreaking ApexMockery project that Ludovic and his team have been diligently working on and how it's revolutionizing the way developers decouple their code from the database and the Salesforce platform.

We also discuss the intricacies of the Apex stub API and how it can be leveraged in Apex Mocking. You'll understand the key distinctions between unit testing and integration testing and the array of benefits Apex Mocking offers developers. This episode is packed with knowledge and skills that will enhance your Salesforce development journey, whether you're a seasoned developer or just getting started. 

Get ready for an enlightening deep dive into the world of Salesforce development.

Show Highlights:

• The ApexMockery project, its development process, and its role in revolutionizing how developers decouple their code from the database and the Salesforce platform. 

• The importance of the Apex stub API and its utilization in Apex Mocking for writing swift, efficient, and effective unit tests. 

• The difference between unit testing and integration testing, and the benefits of Apex Mocking for developers. 

• The evolution of the Apex Mockery library, its use in creating custom matches, and the application of the arrange, act, and assert pattern in testing. 

• The purpose and advantages of using the Apex Mockery library in Salesforce development. 

• The future of the Apex Mockery Library.

Links:

• https://twitter.com/LudoMeurillon

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/ludovicmeurillon/

• https://github.com/LudoMeurillon

• https://github.com/salesforce/apex-mockery

Listen in as we journey through the life and career of Nikos Mitrakis, Salesforce Developer and architect at Acmantix. This episode offers an insightful exploration of Nikos's journey, highlighting his passion for programming and how he found his way to Salesforce. Join us as Nikos discusses his open-source framework, Forceea Data Factory, an innovative tool he created that helps average developers create complex data.

Further along, we dive into the nitty-gritty of Forceea. We discuss its capabilities, including its ability to create static and serial data as well as complex reference data and outline its main use cases for developers and users in a sandbox environment. Hear about the benefits of using templates for modification and how the tool optimizes the process of creating complex data. 

Tune in for a compelling conversation that showcases the evolution of programming and its limitless possibilities.

Show Highlights:

• What Forceea Meets Tracking is and what its capabilities are

• The uses of Forceea, especially for developers needing to create data for unit tests and users in a sandbox environment

• The tool's efficiency in creating complex data swiftly and the advantages of using templates for modification are highlighted

• The future of Forceea

Links:

• Nikos on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikosmitrakis/

• Forceea Data Factory: https://github.com/Forceea/Forceea-data-factory

• Dadela: https://github.com/Forceea/Dadela

• Acmantix: https://www.acmantix.com/

In this episode, we explore the technological journey of Nikita Prokopev, from his early fascination with DOS and PC games to his growth into a seasoned programmer. Listen in as Nikita reveals his transition into the Salesforce ecosystem, the evolution of the Salesforce platform, and how it shaped his professional trajectory.

Discover his motivations behind taking the entrepreneurial plunge and how he juggled multiple roles to make his venture a success. He underscores the importance of observability in the Salesforce platform and shares insights on how it can be utilized to improve performance and efficiency.

Nikita breaks down observability into various components and explains how it helps monitor the health of a system and prevent errors. Also, get valuable tips on how to maximize logging efficiency and performance to control data volume and avoid hitting platform limits. Tune in for a fascinating exploration of Nikita's journey in technology and valuable insights on Salesforce.

Show Highlights:

• The challenges he faced in the early days of Salesforce.

• The importance of observability in Salesforce.

• How observability can help monitor system health and prevent errors.

• How to maximize logging efficiency and performance to control data volume and avoid hitting platform limits are shared.

• The transition from a passion project to a professional career in technology.

Links:

• Nikita on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nprokopyev/

• Pharos AI: https://pharos.ai/

Remember the first time you received an email? The magic of instant communication transforming your work life? That's the journey we take you on as we explore the dynamic relationship between work and technology. From email evolution to instant communication tools like Slack, we’ll also tackle the unexpected mental emergency that a phone call can induce. 

Come along for a fascinating snapshot into the ever-evolving world of work.

Show Highlights:

• The transformation of work due to technological advancements.

• The mental shift that occurs when an unexpected work phone call comes in and how it impacts our modern work routines.

• The impact of remote work and video conferencing on work culture, especially in the wake of the pandemic.

Links:

• Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikegerholdt/

• Gillian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilliankbruce/

• Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabirk/

Listen in as Mohith Shrivastava, Lead Developer Advocate at Salesforce, and I unwrap the most anticipated features in the Winter ’24 release. We share our excitement for Dynamic Components in LWC, a feature that Mohith believes will revolutionize the game for ISV developers. We explore how Dynamic Components can store component definitions on the backend, allowing developers to render components at runtime and use dependency injection.

We continue our exploration with a look at how developers can use LWC recipes and the GraphQL wire adapter to create powerful table or grid views on the client side. The GraphQL APIs now support mutations and offer the potential for developers to use custom elements to incorporate third-party components and web standards for reusability. Plus, we discuss new mobile capabilities like document scanning, NFC, and biometric functionalities. 

We shed light on how DataWeave, a MuleSoft data transformation language, can be used in Apex and the improvements made to Queueable Apex. We also look at Code Builder, a browser-based development platform that aims to make developing Salesforce applications more straightforward than ever. 

Tune in and get a head start on what's coming in the Winter ’24 release!

Show Highlights:

• The exciting features in Salesforce's Winter ’24 release, focusing on the game-changing Dynamic Components in LWC for ISV developers.

• New mobile capabilities in the Winter ’24 release, including document scanning, NFC, and biometric functionalities.

• Examination of the Winter ’24 DataWeave and Apex enhancements.

• Overview of new features for Salesforce developers in the Winter ’24 release.

• Introduction to Salesforce Code Analyzer, a new VS Code extension, and how it improves the quality of code reviews.

Links:

• Mohith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohith-shrivastava-9a36464a/

• Blog: The Salesforce Developer’s Guide to the Winter ’24 Release

Join us on a captivating journey as we talk with Teo Dawn, a 21-year-old Salesforce developer from the Yucatan, about his experiences. Teo recalls his early days with computers, being inspired by his older brother to pursue a career in software engineering, and how he won a scholarship through Rafael Hernandez's nonprofit organization. Continuing his story, Teo shares his path to becoming a certified Salesforce developer. 

Listen as he delves into his Unity project, presented at Forcelandia, and his current internship experiences. In our chat with Teo, he also reveals his passion for music and how it has assisted him in his development career. He emphasizes the value of his piano skills in communicating tech topics to others, providing an unexpected bridge between the arts and technology. Make sure to tune in and discover more about Teo's journey in the Salesforce world and beyond!

Show Highlights:

• Teo's journey from a childhood fascination with computers to becoming a Salesforce developer, including his scholarship from a nonprofit organization.

• The guidance Teo received from his mentor Dr. Edgar Cambranes and the support from his brother.

• Teo's passion for piano and how it helped him bridge the gap between arts and technology, as well as communicate tech topics to others.

• Teo's current internship experiences and his future plans in the field of Salesforce development.

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teodorodawn/

• Github: https://github.com/Teodoro-lab

Join us as we chat with Kate Lessard, Delivery Team Manager at Arkus, about the critical role of user stories in collaboration and her unique journey into the Salesforce world. Starting her career in the fine arts, Kate made an unexpected transition into Salesforce consulting for nonprofits. In this episode, we have a discussion about the fundamentals of crafting compelling user stories. 

We talk about identifying personas, setting acceptance criteria, and how user stories facilitate teamwork. Discover how tools like Chat GPT can leverage AI to define personas and how to dissect solutions into manageable tasks. We also dive into the nuts and bolts of using user stories to foster effective collaboration. 

Learn how to pinpoint the atomic level of a good user story and the tools Kate recommends for tracking them. All this and more in this insightful conversation with Kate Lessard!

Show Highlights:

• The importance of creating good user stories for effective team collaboration.

• Detailed process of crafting user stories, including persona identification and setting acceptance criteria.

• The role of background stories and 'jobs to be done' in enriching the user story creation process.

• The importance of breaking down solutions into manageable tasks and the use of AI tools like Chat GPT in defining personas.

• Kate's personal recommendations for tracking user stories and her unique approach to user story creation.

• Discussion on leveraging acceptance criteria and creating backstories for personas to develop efficient user stories.

Links:

• Twitter account: @SalesforceK8

• LinkedIn account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/salesforcekate/

• User Stories with examples and a template - Max Rehkopf, Atlassian: https://www.atlassian.com/agile/project-management/user-stories 

• http://stormotion.io/blog/how-to-write-a-good-user-story-with-examples-templates/ 

Join us as we take an insightful journey with Salesforce Architect, Mike Topalovich, who uncovers his unique career path, starting from his early introduction to coding as a young child, and leading up to his current role in the Salesforce ecosystem. As he recalls his days writing script language programs, working with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and using Siebel systems, you'll gain a better understanding of how technology can be used to simplify and enhance people's lives.

In our conversation, Mike also discusses the convergence of AI and architectural design. As we tackle the concept of 'move fast, break stuff', we consider its relevance and limitations. We also delve into how AI is transforming the design process and the potential for feedback loops to foster positive human-machine interactions. Mike also shares his perspective on the importance of UX design in creating positive user experiences. This is an episode brimming with lessons, insights, and stories that are bound to resonate with developers, architects, and technology enthusiasts alike.

Show Highlights:

• Mike’s emphasis on user experience and technology's potential to simplify lives, illustrated by his stint with Siebel Systems.

• The intersection of AI and architectural design, and its implications in terms of innovation, risk management, and enhanced design processes.

• The potential threats of AI and quantum computing in the hands of state actors.

• Mike's thoughts on UX design principles, psychological safety, political safety, and their application in creating secure and efficient systems.

Links:

• LinkedIn account: https://linkedin.com/in/topalovich

Welcome to a futuristic ride through the world of composable commerce and technology with our distinguished guest, Nat Pavic, a senior manager of product management for Commerce Cloud. Nat, with a remarkable background in coding, programming, physics, quantum computing, and biophysics, is currently navigating the path of innovation for Commerce Cloud. He unravels the concept of composable commerce and reveals how this new approach provides unprecedented freedom and flexibility to customers, revolutionizing the e-commerce landscape.

We delve into the realm of group shopping and digital experiences, studying innovative applications like Slack’s group dressing room. The discussion leads us to witness the transformative potential of VR and AR in enhancing online shopping efficiency. We close with an exploration of the growing trend of shoppable ads and their potential to revolutionize media revenue. Don't miss this enlightening journey into the future of commerce!

Show Highlights:

• In-depth exploration of headless and composable e-commerce platforms, emphasizing the shift towards 'commerce anywhere' and the role of being an API-first company.

• Discussion on group shopping and digital experiences.

• Examination of the potential of VR and AR in the realm of online shopping.

• Analysis of the trend of shoppable ads and their potential to revolutionize media revenue.

• Conversation around AI's potential in e-commerce, specifically in terms of predictive AI, generative AI, and their roles in enhancing shopping experiences.

• Case studies and practical applications of the concepts in various industries, including retail, travel, and the media sector.

Links:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/NatalijaPavic 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natpavic/ 

Settle in for a fascinating voyage through time with our guest, Bhanudas Tanaka, who has experienced the transformative journey of computer programming from its early days right up to the AI-powered present. Let's whisk you into an intimate conversation where Bhanudas recounts how he reignited his mathematician father's passion for programming, a story that's sure to inspire. 

But what does the future of programming hold? Not one to rest on past laurels, Bhanudas shares his insights on the seismic shifts brought about by AI in the programming landscape. Think of metadata-aware tools and AI agents that monitor the org continuously - the future of Salesforce development is here. Bhanudas details the minimum skills required to jump onto the AI bandwagon and the importance of a hands-on approach. He paints an exciting picture of the potential of GPT and Flow GPT in generating code and metadata, opening up a world of possibilities. Join us as we navigate the riveting evolution of programming and AI through the eyes of Bhanudas.

Show Highlights:

• Discussion on Bhanudas's professional programming experiences, including creating a shipment manager for a local shipping company.

• Overview of the significant evolution of language models and AI over the past three decades, with a focus on the progression from text-based Eliza to current AI capabilities.

• Insights on AI's potential to revolutionize Salesforce development.

• The future of AI in Salesforce and the potential of GPT and Flow GPT to generate code and metadata.

• The changes in how we interact with technology, from searching in Google to prompting AI systems, and the possible future developments in this area.

Links:

• Julián on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/juliandavidduque

• Bhanudas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhanudastanaka/

Other Resources:

• Terranox - https://terranox.co/

• Purple Mai’a Foundation - https://purplemaia.org/olona-consultancy/

Resources Recommended By the Guest:

People to watch, follow, and digest:

1. Eliezer Yudkowsky -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd0yQ9yxSYY. 

2. Also interviewed by Lex - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaTRHFaaPG8

3. Andrej Karpathy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCc8FmEb1nY

4. Sam Altman - Lex interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Guz73e6fw

Content creators he loves:

1. Two Minute Papers - https://www.youtube.com/@TwoMinutePaper

2. Lex Fridman - amazing guests, very deep and thoughtful - https://www.youtube.com/@lexfridma

3. Asianometry - tech + Asia, lots of history, well written - https://www.youtube.com/@Asianometry

Join us as we welcome Rob Cowell, a renowned DevOps advocate, on a journey through his personal and professional life in the world of programming and Salesforce. Starting with his early experiences tinkering with a Sord M5 computer, Rob shares how he transformed his passion for programming into a fulfilling career. We trace his evolution from working with Microsoft Access to .NET, C Sharp, and ultimately Salesforce and Apex, highlighting the importance of continuous learning and adaptation in the fast-paced tech industry.

Transitioning into his current role, Rob pulls back the curtain on what it truly means to be a DevOps advocate. Emphasizing the significance of communication, collaboration, small incremental changes, and automation, he discusses how a commitment to quality is integral to delivering excellent results. The episode also explores the role of a Salesforce DevOps engineer and how to adopt the required skill set.

Tune in to glean invaluable insights from Rob's vast experience and deep knowledge of the Salesforce ecosystem.

Show Highlights:

• The role and importance of Salesforce DevOps in delivering quality results efficiently.

• The key components of Salesforce DevOps include communication, collaboration, small incremental changes, and automation.

• The transition from traditional development stacks into Salesforce and the unique elements of the platform.

• The role of a Salesforce DevOps engineer and how to adopt the necessary skill set.

• The introduction of Rob Cowell's project, 'Shirt Force,’ which combines humor and philanthropy by creating Salesforce-themed t-shirts and donating the profits to charity.

• Insights into continuous improvement and the importance of adapting DevOps to your way of working.

Links:

• Julián on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/juliandavidduque

• Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-cowell/

• Rob's Twitter/X: @RobSalesforce

Other resources:

• Gearset: https://gearset.com/

• DevOps Launchpad free training and certs: https://devopslaunchpad.com/

• Shirtforce: https://shirtforce.org/

• His work on the demoscene: https://demozoo.org/sceners/32053/

Strap in for a journey that takes you from the vibrant streets of Mumbai to the bustling tech scene of London, led by none other than Akshata Sawant, Senior Developer Advocate at Salesforce. We had the pleasure of delving into her career, starting from her time as a Newellsoft ambassador to her current influential role at Salesforce, where she's truly making a difference by connecting with community groups across the globe. 

We dive deep into the robust capabilities of MuleSoft’s transformation from a simple API integration tool to a comprehensive automation suite. We also shine a light on Akshata co-authored book, "MuleSoft for Salesforce Developers," which is a must-read for anyone interested in this space. Whether you're a seasoned developer or a tech newbie, this episode's got insights and conversations that you just can't afford to miss!

Show Highlights:

• Akshata’s work as a MuleSoft ambassador and her current role as Salesforce's Senior Developer Advocate. 

• Deep dive into MuleSoft’s evolution from a simple API integration tool to a comprehensive automation suite. 

• Akshata's co-authored book, "Mulesoft for Salesforce Developers," offering insights for anyone interested in this field. 

• The potential game-changers from MuleSoft's Anypoint Platform, such as AI capabilities and a Visual Studio Code plugin.

• The capabilities of MuleSoft and the value of the platform for Salesforce developers. 

• The Anypoint platform's offerings and potential future developments.

Links:

• Twitter account: https://twitter.com/sawantakshata02

• Linkedin account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akshatasawant02/

• Github account: https://github.com/devrelakshata

• MuleSoft for Salesforce Developers: https://www.amazon.co.uk/MuleSoft-Salesforce-Developers-practitioners-integrations/dp/1801079609/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=mulesoft+for+salesforce+developers&qid=1687466406&sprefix=mulesoft+%2Caps%2C70&sr=8-1

Get set for an illuminating episode with our special guest, Jagannathan Padmanabhan, a security advocate within his current role as a Technical Architect at Salesforce. Jagan brings to the fore how he leverages Salesforce to tackle customer challenges and his fervor for platform security. He imparts his wisdom on the zero trust security model and the principle of least privilege, both key aspects in maintaining a safe platform.

Prepare to be enthralled as Jagan unveils the intricate workings of event-driven architecture within Salesforce. He walks us through the various events that transpire when a user logs in, accesses a list view, generates reports, or logs out. By the closure of our engaging conversation, you'll have a deeper comprehension of file and event security in Salesforce - a pertinent skill in this digital age. Don't miss out on this enlightening conversation!

Show Highlights:

• Discussion on Salesforce's zero trust security model and the principle of least privilege.

• Explanation of the role of Salesforce Shield in platform security.

• In-depth exploration of event-driven architecture within Salesforce.

• Introduction to the Event Monitoring add-on license, file events, and transaction security policies.

• How developers can use condition builders or Apex classes to send notifications and alerts.

• Importance of file and event security in Salesforce and its practical application in solving customer problems.

Links:

• Real-time event monitoring: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.real_time_event_monitoring_overview.htm&type=5

• Linkedin account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagansalesforce

• FileEvents developer blog post: https://developer.salesforce.com/blogs/2023/06/using-fileevents-to-strengthen-file-security

Get ready for a lively discussion with our good friends and fellow admin evangelists, Mike Gerholdt and Gillian Bruce. Listen in as we tackle opinionated launches in the tech world and beyond, drawing from our experiences and personal thoughts. From the strange matrix of Coke Zero being the New Coke formula to the interesting fact that everyone has an opinion about Vision Pro, we share our insights and perspectives on how these launches draw attention and incite people's opinions.

We explore the long-rumored Apple car, the standardized dongles and charging ports, and the irony of gasoline pumps having a standard-size nozzle. Join us as we delve into the world of self-driving cars and how current roads are built for humans, not machines. Join us as we appreciate the diversity of experiences and opinions, building a deeper understanding of product appeal and consumer behavior.

Show Highlights:

• Opinionated product launches, including Coke Zero, Google Glass, and Vision Pro.

• Deep dive into the tech world with a focus on the rumored Apple car and the standardization of charging ports.

• Exploration of self-driving cars, roads built for machines, and the future of technology. 

• Debate on controversial tech launches like Tesla’s Autopilot and McDonald's McRib.

• Examination of the role of public opinion in product launches and its impact on the product's success and accessibility.

• The possibilities and challenges of AI in future product launches.

Links:

• Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikegerholdt/

• Gillian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilliankbruce/

• Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabirk/

Navigating through the tech world can feel like stepping into a labyrinth, but our guest Danielle Larregui has found her own unique path. Now a senior developer advocate for Marketing Cloud at Salesforce, Danielle shares her experiences that have transformed her from an accidental admin to a ‘casual teacher’ of developers. We chat about her intriguing journey into the tech world, her engaging first public speaking experience, and how she embraces each new challenge as an opportunity for growth. 

We also dive deep into the world of customer data platforms (CDPs). Our conversation with Danielle is inspiring and packed with insights, offering a fresh perspective on the evolving tech industry.

Show Highlights:

• Danielle’s journey from an "accidental admin" to a senior developer advocate for Marketing Cloud at Salesforce, discussing her career trajectory and experiences.
• The role of customer data platforms (CDPs) in consolidating customer data from disparate sources to provide a comprehensive view of the customer journey.
• How Salesforce's Commerce Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Data Cloud can be used together to create intelligent, data-driven marketing campaigns.
• The significance of data in modern society and the differentiation between data lake objects and data objects.
• Exploration of Danielle's work with Marketing Cloud, including her projects involving AMPScript, server-side draw script, and the platform's REST and SOAP API.
• Discussion on the role of Data Cloud in AI and its future prospects.
• Introduction to Salesforce's Data Cloud, its structure, and its difference from standard Salesforce objects.
• Insight into the connection between Data Cloud and Tableau and how they work together for data analysis.

Links:

• Danielle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DnLarregui
• Danielle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-larregui-1567b973/ 

Join us in an enlightening discussion with Greg Bennett, a Director of Conversational Design at Salesforce. We cover how he applies his knowledge of interactional social linguistics and discourse analysis to create more natural and intuitive interactions with generative AIs. He also shares anecdotes from his tenure at Microsoft working on Cortana and how his insights from different writing systems in Japanese inform the design of chatbot dialogues.

In the second part of our discussion, Greg takes us through his path to Salesforce and how he made the business case for starting conversation design there. He provides insights into the careful design of prompts for models and model providers and the role of context in conversational AI. We then switch gears to explore the future of conversational design, the relevance of prompt engineering, and the exciting possibilities of generative AI. 

Listen in as we unpack the evolution of conversational interfaces, the future of human-AI interaction, and the emerging vernacular of AI slang.

Show Highlights:

• Greg's journey to Salesforce and his role in pioneering conversation design, particularly the design of prompts for models and model providers.
• The significance of context in conversational AI is discussed, along with the future of conversational design and the emerging discipline of prompt engineering.
• The potential of generative AI and its impact on Salesforce's user interface.
• The evolution of conversational interfaces, human-AI interactions, and the development of AI slang.
• The importance of prompt writing and its transformation into a fundamental skill for conversational AI is discussed, with insights into the system of prompt orchestration.

Links:

• Greg on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gabennett45
• Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gab45/

Get ready for an incredible journey as we chat with Jeremiah Peoples, a Senior Developer Advocate for Slack at Salesforce, and explore his fascinating career path. From his earliest computer encounters to joining the Air Force and teaching himself to code, Jeremiah's story will inspire you to chase your dreams. Learn how he became a freelance YouTuber and ultimately landed his dream job at Slack, where he now shares his unique perspective on the power of Slack as a development platform and its potential to make the other 98% of software more efficient.

But that's not all - we'll also dive deep into the world of building modular Slack applications. Jeremiah walks us through the new tools available for Slack developers, the starting point of the Slack CLI, and the different ways you can trigger a workflow. Discover the magic of Block Kit, a tool for building surfaces with JSON, and how modularity can be used to create powerful applications. Don't miss this enlightening conversation that will leave you eager to explore the endless possibilities of Slack development!

Show Highlights:

• Exploring the world of building modular Slack applications, including the new tools available for Slack developers.
• The three main pillars of modular Slack applications: functions, workflows, and triggers.
• The different ways to trigger a workflow in Slack, including event triggers, shortcut triggers, webhooks, and scheduled triggers.
• The upcoming features for Workflow Builder, including conditional logic and a greater contribution to the ecosystem of apps in Slack.

Links:

• Twitter account - https://twitter.com/we_the_peoples
• Linkedin account - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremiah-peoples-7b2a65185/
• The next generation Slack Platform: https://api.slack.com/automation

Join us as we chat with Nicolas Vuillamy, CTO at Cloudity, about his journey from programming on a Commodore 64 at the age of 10 to becoming a professional developer at 16. Listen in as he shares his experience of discovering Salesforce and how the Trailblazer community played a crucial role in his growth. Nicolas talks about the inception of SFDX-Hardis, an open-source project designed to help developers and administrators implement CI/CD processes efficiently, filling the gap between expensive homemade pipelines and third-party tools.

In this episode, we explore how SFDX-Hardis allows administrators and developers to perform complex tasks with simple commands without needing extensive knowledge of Git or SFDX. Nicolas also highlights the importance of having a release manager with Git expertise to handle more complicated tasks like conflicts. Hear the story behind the creation of a purging flow versions command and how feedback from colleagues contributed to the SFDX-Hardis roadmap. 

Don't miss this fascinating conversation with Nicolas Vuillamy and learn more about the powerful SFDX-Hardis project!

Show Highlights:

• What SFDX-Hardis is and how it works.
• What the role of a release manager with Git experience is.
• The importance of the project being open source
• How new features are handled 

Links:

• Nicolas on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-vuillamy/
• Nicolas on Github: github.com/nvuillam
• Nicolas on Twitter twitter.com/NicolasVuillamy
• Nicolas' blog: nicolas.vuillamy.fr/
• SFDX-Hardis: https://sfdx-hardis.cloudity.com/

Listen in as Sridhar Raghavan, a Senior Director of Product Management at Salesforce, shares his journey from working in speech recognition two decades ago to generative AI today. We explore his early memories of playing Pac-Man on his dad's computer in the mid-90s, his break from Salesforce to pursue his own startup, and his strategy to get kids away from digital devices and into reading with AI.

Discover how Salesforce is pushing the boundaries of AI-assisted code generation for developers. We discuss parameter sizes, Salesforce's open-sourced 16 billion parameter model, and the importance of customizing and updating language models. Learn about the GPT (Generative Pre-Trained Transformer) acronym and how it is used to create the wiring necessary for a language model to become a learning engine. 

Don't miss this fascinating conversation with Sridhar Raghavan!

Show Highlights:

• Sridhar's strategy to get kids away from digital devices and into reading and how AI can help make reading more fun and engaging.
• How Salesforce open-sourced a 16 billion parameter model.
• The importance of customizing and updating language models.
• What the open source project CodeGen is and how it is used to generate code in six popular programming languages.
• How Salesforce is enhancing CodeGen to generate Apex code, LWC, and flows.

Links:

• Sridhar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sridharraghavan/

Join us for a virtual coffee catch-up as we discuss our activities since the last Trailblazer DX conference, as well as the upcoming Salesforce release, along with a friendly debate on coffee versus tea. We share our excitement about sharing information about releases and share some tips on how to best prepare for it.

In the second half of this episode, we explore the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in generating content and the need for critical thinking despite AI's ability to summarize content. We also discuss the difficulty of using AI to create content such as jokes, blog posts, and even fantasy stories. Finally, we share our experiences with ChatGPT, Bard, and Simon and Garfunkel even make an appearance! Don't miss this engaging and informative episode!

Show Highlights:

• Covering Salesforce releases
• AI's potential for content generation, critical thinking, and joke/story creation
• Crafting quality submissions for CFPs

Links:

• Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikegerholdt/
• Gillian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilliankbruce/
• Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabirk/

We are back with part two of our interview with Marisa Hambleton. In part one, we discussed entrepreneurship, its pros and cons, and how the pandemic created new challenges for her.

In part two, we get into the beginning days of Cactusforce and how it organically grew from a group of developers at Happy Hour to a conference with hundreds of participants in just a few short years. She also discusses how their conference had to pivot from in-person to virtual in 2021 and how they were able to allow participants to interact with the speakers and be involved.

If you missed part one, go back to episode 178 and start there. Otherwise, enjoy part two!

Show Highlights:

• How Happy Hour amongst developers turned into a conference
• How people may not be dedicated to one technology
• The content Marisa curated at Cactusforce conferences
• How to solve dense problems and get advanced developers on stage
• How Cactusforce has grown since 2020 and managed virtual conferences in 2021

Links:

• Twitter account: https://twitter.com/marisahambleton
• LinkedIn account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisahambleton/
• Cactusforce: https://www.cactusforce.com/
• Shirts: https://www.cactusforce.com/products
• Marisa’s company, MH2X: https://www.mh2x.com/
• More about Marisa: https://www.marisaforce.com/

In this episode, we have a conversation with Marisa Hambleton, owner of MH2X, which helps companies achieve their strategic goals through technology by building solutions and providing consulting services. Although presented with the opportunity to work for a corporate firm, Marisa chose the entrepreneurial route.

This episode is part one of a two-part interview. In part one, we discuss Marisa’s early years and how she was introduced to Salesforce. We also talk about why she chose to own her own company and the pros and cons of entrepreneurship.

Get to know Marisa in this episode, and don’t miss part two in episode 179!

Show Highlights:

• How Marisa was introduced to Salesforce
• The incentive to stay in a world of entrepreneurship
• Marisa’s advice for others who want to branch out on their own
• Sticking with entrepreneurship and knowing when it’s not working
• How the pandemic has created new challenges and solutions for her

Links:

• Twitter account: https://twitter.com/marisahambleton
• LinkedIn account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisahambleton/
• Cactusforce: https://www.cactusforce.com/
• Shirts: https://www.cactusforce.com/products
• Marisa’s company, MH2X: https://www.mh2x.com/
• More about Marisa: https://www.marisaforce.com/

In this episode, we have a conversation with Alicia Teo about Custom Property Editors and how you can use them to create powerful user interfaces to configure your web components. Alicia started as an intern at Commerce Cloud while pursuing her MBA and is now a Product Manager for Experience Builder here at Salesforce.

On the Experience Builder team, Alicia makes creating websites quicker and easier for admins. Custom Property Editors enable developers to create components that are even easier to use than Experience Builder, leading to fewer user errors and fewer complaints.

Enjoy!

Show Highlights:

• What custom properties are
• The problem Custom Property Editor is meant to solve
• The new lightning property types and their benefits
• How to override the date time picker with a new more robust one
• What needs to be done to a lightning web component to make it a Custom Property Editor
• The possibility of reusing the code

Links:

• Alicia’s Twitter Account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-teo/
• Custom Property Editor Docs: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/component-library/documentation/en/lwc/lwc.use_flow_custom_property_editor_lwc_example

Ananya Jha is a Product Manager working on the IDE experience here at Salesforce. This means she gets to dive into all the cool new features that Salesforce releases in its extensions and eventually serves you through VSCode and Code Builder.

In this episode, we talk about the current state of Code Builder, the Salesforce IDE, and some of its great tools that can benefit you. We also discuss the advantages of using a repository as a source of truth when using Code Builder or Salesforce IDE, PMD’s relationship with IDE, and the Apex Replay Debugger.

Show Highlights:

• The core desktop experience with Salesforce IDE
• What the Code Builder technology looks like and how it can be accessed today
• Other tools inside the IDE Ananya recommends for people to track conflicts and changes
• Ananya’s favorite extensions and tools
• Query Builder and how it works within the IDE
• How the Apex Replay Debugger Works

Links:

• Ananya on LinkedIn
• Ananya on Twitter
• Article on the Org Colors Plugin

Andrea Guzman is a Product Manager for External Services here at Salesforce. In this episode, we get an overview of the current state of External Services, which allows you to easily wrap API calls for both Flow and Apex. We learn how Andrea became involved with Salesforce and product management, the advantages of Flow versus Apex and vice versa, internal use cases, and more.

We hope you enjoy this conversation!

Show Highlights:

• What the day-to-day looks like as a Product Manager at Salesforce
• The elevator pitch for External Services
• What is the Open API spec and how it plays into External Services
• The structure for a developer and an admin to register these services
• How Named Credentials work
• What happens to your code if Twilio changes their API

Links:

• Andrea on Twitter
• Linkedin Account
• Salesforce Help Documentation
• External Services Group: Trailblazer Community
• TDX23 Session: Simplify API Integration with External Services
• Apex Developer Guide
• UnofficialSF Website
• Salesforce Architects Blog: Data Integration Guide

Pablo Gonzalez is a Salesforce Architect at Salto, a small Israel-based start-up that does DevOps for business applications like NetSuite, Zendesk, JIRA, Workato, and of course, Salesforce. Pablo is involved in all discussions of decision-making at Salto regarding Salesforce. Whether marketing, blog posts, product features, engineering, how we solve certain problems, the API, or anything that has to do with Salesforce, he has a say in it.

In this episode, we talk with Pablo about his project, happysoup.io, and another of his projects, Not Another CI (NACI), and other topics for continuous delivery and integration.

Show Highlights:

• How Pablo became self-trained in engineering.
• What is happysoup.io, and where the idea came from.
• What deployment boundaries are and how happysoup.io works with them.
• What the deployment options \
• Pablo's other project, Not Another CI (NACI)
• Things to think about before building out pipelines when designing for CI

Links:

• Twitter account
• LinkedIn account
• GitHub account
• HappySoup.io
• NaCI
• Blog on CI
• Blog on CI/CD checklist

In this episode, we have a conversation with Tyson Read, a Product Manager here at Salesforce, on the impact that administrators' and developers' implementations are having on the environment. We discuss his project and how he is sharing this information through dashboards and guides.

Salesforce is a net zero company, so we are already offsetting all our emissions due to our data centers. In this discussion, our goal is to spread awareness as to what kind of cost there is so that others can understand what they can do about it.

If you’d like to learn more, feel free to reach out to Tyson on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Show Highlights:

• Salesforce’s overall efforts in sustainability so far.
• How to make small changes to fix our carbon footprint.
• The equation between the cost of doing business and implementation.
• The numbers developers will see if they start tracking carbon with a code.
• How are carbon dashboard might work
• The roadmap to sustainability at Salesforce.

Links:

• Follow Tyson on Twitter
• Follow Tyson on LinkedIn

Greg Whitworth is a Senior Director of Product Management here at Salesforce. Greg started with Standards Committees in 2011 before getting involved in web platform testing and CSS Working Group, then Open UI. Today, Greg focuses his efforts on MWC, LWR Node, and standard web platform browser engagement.

In today’s episode, we talk with Greg about some distinctions between our old component framework Aura and our new, modern framework, Lightning Web Components (LWC). We dive into how the evolution of web standards at Salesforce is driven, the different styling of LWC, Aura’s file structure compared to LWC, and much more!

Show Highlights:

• Aura in relation to the rest of the Salesforce frameworks.
• Greg’s experience with JavaScript.
• How Aura’s eventing compares to LWC.
• What GraphQL is and how it compares to other API endpoints.
• Strategies to start moving an org into an LWC.
• How the language is continuing to evolve and improve the developer experience.
• What is on the roadmap.

Links:

• Greg on LinkedIn

• Greg on Twitter

• Greg on Github

• Greg’s blog

Raj Advani is the Senior Director of Product Management here at Salesforce. Raj has held a variety of different roles at the company, beginning with an Engagement Manager when he started 17 years ago. He now owns many of the event driven architectures for Salesforce, including Change Data Capture and Platform Events. 

In this episode, we have a conversation with Raj about various integration solutions on the platform. We discuss what Change Data Capture and Platform Events are, the advantages of a Pub/Sub API, and more!

Show Highlights:

• Some of the internal features using Platform Events.
• Moving toward a bus centric world in Platform Events.
• The filtering conditions in Change Data Capture.
• The benefits of event driven architecture.
• The options for a distinct integrations from Salesforce.
• How Pub/Sub API plays into the event architecture.

Links:

• Raj on Twitter
• Raj on LinkedIn
• Architecture Decision Guides
• Episode 115: Event Relays with Tyson Read
• Episode 93: Pub/Sub with Emmett Chan-Ran

Kevin Poorman is a Salesforce Architect over at Chief. He is joining us in this episode to talk about one of his newest projects, Apex Kit. Apex Kit is a library of tools that all help developers do repeated actions accurately and securely.

In our conversation, Kevin and I talk about his backstory and some of his career history. We also dive deeper into Apex Kit and get a full understanding of it. Enjoy this intriguing conversation with Kevin Poorman!

Show Highlights:

• Where the idea for Apex Kit came from.
• How Apex Kit works.
• The connection between Apex Recipes and Apex Kit.
• What promises in code are.
• How promises get built into Apex.
• What polyfills are and how they work within Apex Kit.
• The function of Ouroboros in Apex Kit.
• The difference between a ULID and a UUID and a use case for a ULID.

Links:

• Twitter account - @Codefriar
• Linkedin account https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinpoorman/
• Github account https://github.com/codefriar/
• Apex Kit: https://github.com/codefriar/ApexKit

Chelyn Briand is a Salesforce Partnerships Manager with many years of experience in recruiting and helping people get hired for jobs they want. She also helps people clean up their LinkedIn profiles so it better shows their skills and can catch the eye of recruiters.

It is undoubtedly a challenging climate for those looking for a job in tech right now. Chelyn shares some excellent tips on how to stand out and get the job you want and not just the job you need.

We hope you enjoy this quick conversation with Chelyn.

Show Highlights:

• The Supermoms organization that Chelyn is involved with
• What you can do to take a step back and be more successful in your job search
• Focus on your day-to-day goals – rather than a job title
• We all have a personal brand (whether you like it or not)
• LinkedIn’s relevance for the developer architect community and how you can leverage your profile

Links:

• Chelyn on LinkedIn
• Chelyn on Twitter

In this episode, we have a conversation with the lead software engineer here at Salesforce, Jonathan Gillespie. Jonathan develops in Apex and Liightning Components and works in the internal org, Gus. He has been on the podcast before, but he’s back to discuss the follow-up to his Nebula Logger project – the Nebula Cache Manager.

We talk about how Platform Cache works, how it works with Apex, and how it can make your life as a developer better. Jonathan also shares the three specific limits that led him to start thinking about better cache strategies.

Listen in to learn how the new Nebula Cache Manager can be a benefit to you.

Show Highlights:

• What Nebula Logger is.
• What happens when we have a static variable in Apex.
• The difference between organizational and session platform caches.
• The expiration of an organization.
• How Jonathan handles an org with no Platform Cache.
• The things Jonathan wanted to give back to a developer from a utility point of view.

Links:

• LinkedIn Account
• GitHub Account
• Nebula Cache Manager
• A Flexible Cache Manager, Joys Of Apex

James Simone is a lead software engineer here at Salesforce. James works under the helm of the agile organization, where his team helps build tools for all of the engineering teams to measure their productivity and happiness. James’ team is making it possible to move fast without breaking anything at Salesforce.

In this episode, we talk about many philosophical concepts of software engineering. This includes agile and pure programming, mob programming, recursion and refactoring, and more. We also go into creating a future-proofed framework and even bring in the movie Midnight in Paris.

Listen in to learn how to move fast without breaking things in software engineering.

Show Highlights:

• The tools involved in tracking agile
• What James finds interesting about the Ruby ecosystem
• Timing and efficiency versus safety
• Where YAGNI comes into play
• What makes for a good unit test

Links:

• Linkedin Account
• GitHub Account
• Joys Of Apex
• Changelog Episode 521
• Combined Apex Async Framework Blog Post

Jason Atwood is the co-founder and CEO of the business consulting company Arkus Incorporated. In this episode, we talk about how he progressed from running a carpet company in Africa to becoming a Python developer to getting involved with Salesforce. We also discuss how he formed Arkus. However, our primary focus for this episode has less to do with computer coding and more to do with helping people reach their goals.

Our focal point for this episode is on how to get things done and what that means for developers. We discuss a couple of acronyms that pertain to one’s success and how Jason helps other people and business owners check off their to-do lists and realize their goals.

Show Highlights:

• What the GTD methodology is.
• How Jason helps people work through exercises and create new habits.
• How GTD improves work performance and mental health at Arkus.
• Jason’s favorite resources for people who want to get things done.

Links:

• Twitter Account
• LinkedIn Account
• GitHub Account
• Arkus
• GTD, The Book
• GTD, The TED Talk 

Karen Fidelak is the Product Manager for DevOps Center here at Salesforce. DevOps Center is a new product at Salesforce that provides an end-to-end experience to help low code and industry-pro developers manage their changes and releases while developing on the Salesforce platform. Through DevOps, developers of all kinds are able to work together when they have been incompatible in the past.

In this episode, we talk with Karen about DevOps Center, what it means to admins and developers, and some of its details and implementations. We discuss the goal of bringing everything together and the modern best practices to provide a better and easier-to-use, more modern interface.

Listen in to learn more!

Show Highlights:

• How Karen got into product management and with Salesforce.

• What the day-to-day looks like for Karen at Salesforce. 

• What DevOps Center is and how it helps all types of developers.

• The three benefits of leaving change set behind and moving forward with DevOps are.

• How GitHub integration works.

• Where CI CD comes into play with DevOps.

Links:

• Twitter account

• Linkedin account

• DevOps Trailblazer Community

Amit Chaudhary is a principal technical architect at InfoServices. In 2016, Amit had just moved to the United States and was working from home, so he created a group for developers to connect to make friends in his new city. This grew into a program and community that he now calls Apex Hours. 

In this episode, we discuss Apex Hours and how it has become a community-driven program. Salesforce experts create content every week for other developers to learn from. They believe that everyone has something to learn from each other and are growing in their technical skills together.

Listen in to learn more from Amit on Apex Hours and how they are impacting the developer community.

Show Highlights:

• What Amit does as the principal Salesforce architect.

• How Apex Hours organically came into existence.

• What led Amit to provide Sales Cloud-focused material through Apex Hours.

• Amit’s tips for people who are interviewing in the Salesforce ecosystem.

• What the Salesforce inspector Chrome extension is.

• What exciting content and events are upcoming from Apex Hours.

Links:

• Twitter account: twitter.com/amit_sfdc

• Linkedin account: linkedin.com/in/amitchaudhary21/

• Apex Hours website: apexhours.com/

Roopa Mohan is the principal software engineer for the Code Analyzer team here at Salesforce. She loved computers when she was introduced to them in sixth grade and decided she wanted to do coding. The only company she applied to work at, Salesforce, hired her.

In this episode, Roopa shares information about how Salesforce Code Analyzer came to be and what is in its future. She discusses how it works, who it works best for, and other tools that it works well in conjunction with. 

Listen in to learn more about Salesforce Code Analyzer and how it can be used in your operations.

• What Code Analyzer does for its clients, and who the target audience is.
• What PMD and its counterpart ESLint are.
• The customization options for PMD and the code analyzer’s role in the customization.
• What Code Analyzer 3.0 does for retired JavaScript libraries.
• What might be the future regarding developer tooling and AI technology.

Links:

• Twitter account: @rmohan_sfdc

• Linkedin account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roopa-mohan-21a85b20/

• Github account: @rmohan20

Links related to Code Analyzer:

• Public documentation: https://forcedotcom.github.io/sfdx-scanner/

• Open-source repo: https://github.com/forcedotcom/sfdx-scanner

• Blogs:

• https://developer.salesforce.com/blogs/2020/10/improve-your-code-quality-with-the-salesforce-cli-scanner

• https://developer.salesforce.com/blogs/2022/10/develop-even-more-secure-code-with-salesforce-code-analyzer

Greg Kihlström is the Principal and Chief Strategist at GK5A, a marketing consultant agency in Arlington, VA. He’s a consultant to many C-level types and an expert in marketing. He also hosts The Agile Brand podcast and is the author of 11 books.

CDP has become a popular subject since the launch of Salesforce Genie, and in this episode, Greg shares a plethora of information about it. We talk about what CDP is, what the moving parts are, what it means to technical architects and developers, and more.

Greg is an insightful resource in the marketing and branding space. Listen in to learn from someone who is immersed in marketing and knows the ins and outs of CDPs and CRMs.

Show Highlights:

• What an agile brand is and how it works with marketing and branding
• What CDP stands for, and what it does
• What the data points are that we apply back to the CDP
• If there are regulations surrounding CDP for consumer privacy
• What type of companies benefit from a CDP, and the risks of not using it
• How Greg thinks generative AI impacts marketing

Links:

• Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom
• The Agile Brand podcast: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcast
• Agile Guide on CDP: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/agile-brand-guide-to-cdps
• GK5A website: https://www.gk5a.com

Oleh Mykytyn is the strategic relationship director at the Salesforce partner company Red Tag. Oleh has always had a knack for computers and coding and fit right in with Salesforce after winning a hoodie in 2014 for finishing five badges. In 2017, Oleh was a part of the team that began the Salesforce Developer Group in the Ukraine. Recently, Oleh had a presentation on Apex and record triggered flows, where he discussed which is better.

In this episode, we dive into Oleh’s latest presentation topic, beginning with the question, do we need both Apex and record triggered flows? Oleh answers when it’s best to use Apex over Flow, which one’s faster, which one’s better to maintain, and more. We also touch on use cases for wrapper classes and Oleh’s role on the Salesforce product advisory board.

Show Highlights:

• Do we need both record triggered flows and Apex triggers?
• When it’s best to use Apex over Flow.
• If Apex is faster than Flow.
• Which is better to maintain. 
• How easy is it for a developer to pick up the modern version of Flow?
• How Apex and Flow interact with each other.
• Use cases for wrapper classes.
• Oleh’s role on Salesforce’s product advisory board.

Links:

• Follow Oleh on Twitter
• Follow Oleh on LinkedIn
• Follow Oleh on Github
• salesforceben.com/what-is-wrapper-class-in-salesforce
• redtag.pro/blog/keeping-up-with-salesforce-leaders-worldwide

Rafael Hernandez is a specialist leader at Deloitte and an avid member of the Salesforce community around the world. However, especially in Mexico where students don’t always have the same opportunities in web development, and consulting. Rafael has committed to providing learning opportunities for college kids so they may get involved and be successful within the Salesforce economy.

In this episode, Rafael discusses how coding came easy to him and when he was introduced to Salesforce. He goes into how he started a community within Salesforce and how he teaches students to be consultants by teaching them soft skills.

Rafael is so passionate about what he offers that it almost sounds too good to be true. Listen in to get a sense of Rafael’s excitement for his charitable causes and how he is preparing college students for adulthood.

Show Highlights:

• How Rafael got started in coding and joined Salesforce.
• When and why Rafael began the community portion of Salesforce.
• How he teaches students soft skills and prepares them to be consultants.
• What happens after people graduate from his class.
• The benefit of pairing students with nonprofits in Mexico.
• What the Kerrnandez Foundation is, and how it started.
• How Rafael’s book, “¡Soy Adulto! (¿Ahora Qué?)” came to be.

Links:

• Rafael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafablazer/
• Rafael on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rafablazer
• Rafael's website: https://rafahernandez.org/
• Kerrnandez Foundation: https://www.kerrnandez.org/ 

Rishabh Poddar is the CTO and co-founder of SuperTokens, an open source user authentication service. Rishabh has always been fascinated with computers and began coding when he was 12 years old. Programming came easily to him, and he loved doing it, so he went to school for computer science and made it his career.

In this episode, we have a conversation about creating SuperTokens and how they work compared to other authentication techniques. Rishabh shares how to prevent impersonation, the architecture of SuperTokens, tips for JavaScript developers, and more.

Show Highlights:

• Rishabh's earliest memory with a computer.
• Why he created an operating system from scratch.
• What got Rishabh interested in authentication.
• What a rotating refresh token is.
• What SuperTokens core strength is.
• How passwordless authentication works.
• What cross origin resource sharing (CORS) is.
• What the SuperTokens business model us.

Links:

• Rishabh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rishpoddar
• Rishabh on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishabh-poddar-b64b73129/
• Rishabh on Github: https://github.com/rishabhpoddar

Rob Katz is the VP of Product Management for our Office of Ethical and Humane Use of Technology here at Salesforce. He got into product management as he was getting ready to finish up his MBA and came to work for big companies like Amazon and Alexa.

In this episode, Rob and I are talking all about ethics. We discuss Ethics by Design, data ethics when it comes to building applications, and even more. Tune in to get a deeper understanding of the ethics of technology.

Show Highlights:

• Rob’s winding career journey.
• What he worked on at Alexa as the dedicated privacy project manager.
• What he does in his current role at The Office of Ethical and Humane Use of Technology.
• The lifecycle of Ethics by Design.
• Examples of well-intended designs that ended up having unintended consequences.
• What developers should think about in regards to ethics when building a new application.
• What consequence scanning workshops are.

Links:

• Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertskatz/
• How to Run a Consequence Scanning Workshop - https://medium.com/salesforce-ux/how-to-run-a-consequence-scanning-workshop-4b14792ea987
• What is Ethics by Design? https://www.salesforce.com/blog/what-is-ethics-by-design/
• Responsible Marketing / Responsible Personalization - https://www.salesforce.com/blog/responsible-marketing-principles/
• New Research Reveals 4 Ways Businesses Can Maximize Trust & Savings with Personalization - https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/salesforce-ethical-data-management-report/
• Data Ethics in our Help & Training Documentation - https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.c360a_ethics.htm&type=5

Kathy Baxter is the Principal Architect for Ethical AI Practice here at Salesforce. Ethics and AI is a complex topic but Kathy is truly an expert. She started researching it in 2016 when she first learned how toxicity and bias can end up creeping into AI. 

Today, Kathy is joining us to talk all about Ethical AI. In our conversation, we also discuss how technical products can use ethics and AI. Join us to learn all about this interesting facet of our industry.

Show Highlights:

• How Kathy got into this line of work.
• What an AI-first company is.
• How toxicity can creep into chatbots.
• Why ethical AI is so important in a company like Salesforce.
• Unique things Salesforce uses AI for.
• AI considerations developers should think about from the beginning of the development of an application.
• Where AI can’t replace human intuition.

Links:

• Kathy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/baxterkb
• Kathy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathykbaxter/
• Kathy on Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@baxterkb
• Responsible Creation of AI Trailhead: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/responsible-creation-of-artificial-intelligence
• Building Ethical and Inclusive Products Trailmix: sfdc.co/EthicalandInclusiveProducts
• Salesforce Trusted AI Site & Resources: salesforceairesearch.com/trusted-ai
• AI Ethics Maturity Model: sfdc.co/EAIMM

Lisa White is a Software Engineer over at TaskRay. Over the years, Lisa has tried out a variety of careers and had to make many career decisions. Throughout her experiences, she learned JavaScript and eventually found her way to TaskRay.

In this episode, I sit down with Lisa to talk about her journey. She tells us the story of how she got into software engineering, learned JavaScript, and developed her career from there. She also gives some great advice for those who are junior developers looking to get into this field. 

Show Highlights:

• How Lisa got exposed to tech and Salesforce.
• Why her career shift felt like an identity shift.
• Her experience with Hack Reactor.
• How she morphed her JavaScript and React skills into Apex and LWC.
• Advice for junior developers.
• What made her want to talk about Javascript and date time at Dreamforce.
• Why third party data libraries are so helpful.
• Tips for those who want to get onstage at Dreamforce.

Links:

• Lisa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lmbel
• Lisa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitelisab/
• Lisa on Github: https://github.com/whitelisab
• Lisa's website: https://www.whitelisab.com/

On this episode, we are pleased to welcome Jessica Murphy to the show. We talk about Jessica’s journey into discovering development with Salesforce and the influence others have had on those experiences, as well as sharing those experiences with Salesforce Saturdays. She is a co-conspirator of Salesforce Saturdays in Phoenix since 2015 with two other women with the goal of helping other developers find success.

Salesforce Saturdays occur around the country in various coffee shops and sometimes office locations, as a casual environment to educate and empower people. Their success stories are amazing, as some people have attended Salesforce Saturdays and then gone on to accomplish their goals. They also encourage people to give back. For example, they had an attendee come back to hire others at a Salesforce Saturday when he was looking for employees. There are always new people who want to learn Salesforce, so it is an exciting environment, and all are welcome. Just come – you don’t need any special qualifications! The door is open for you to join a Salesforce Saturday near you.

Show highlights

• Jessica’s journey to becoming a woman in technology
• The profound influence education has had on her life and the confidence it has given her
• Introduction to Trailhead and how it ties into your commitment to making yourself better
• The opportunities presented through Salesforce that have had an amazing impact on Jessica
• People learn things different ways, so there are various hurdles to learning Salesforce
• The evolution, impact and growth of Trailhead and all the options available that it is supporting
• Ways you can participate in Salesforce Saturday. Your help is valuable! Everyone is a leader in this group setting and we support each other

Resources

• Jessica Murphy on LinkedIn
• Jessica on Twitter
• Salesforce Saturday website
• Salesforce Saturday on LinkedIn

The many shout outs for this episode

• Sheena Smith
• Rachel Watson
• Paula Nelson
• Bonny Hinners
• Steph Herrera
• Shonnah Hughes
• Nadina Lisbon
• Tami Lau
• Brian Kwong
• Jen W. Lee
• Chris Duarte
• David Liu

Today, we’ve got a guest host! I’m partnering with my partner in crime, Mike Gerholdt, as he’s taking over the host seat and interviewing our good friend and colleague, Domenique Buxton.

Domenique is the VP Executive Creative Director for Trailblazers and Trailhead. She has also played a major part in the development of Salesforce characters, something that has built connection and meaning within the Salesforce community. 

Throughout Mike’s conversation with Domenique, they discuss the history of the Salesforce characters, including how they came to be, why they were created, and more!

Show Highlights:

• The origin story of Salesforce characters.
• Why they created the characters the way they did.
• How the characters have evolved over the years.
• How the characters got connected with a deeper purpose.
• Where community feedback has been crucial in the development of Salesforce characters.
• Some of Domenique’s special memories from events.
• The teamwork that brought the characters to light.

Links:

• SaaSy breaking it down
• Domenique: @LittleIglooo
• Salesforce Admins: @SalesforceAdmns
• Gillian: @GillianKBruce
• Mike: @MikeGerholdt

David Schach is joining us again! We started our conversation on being a trusted advisor last week and are finishing it off today in part two.

David is a Salesforce Application Architect over at Spot On. He consults on all things Salesforce and has a wide range of experience with it. Therefore, he has some great tips and tricks to share. Tune in to learn more of them along with how to become a trusted advisor.

Show Highlights:

• What the basic database theory is.
• David’s favorite tools he’s pulled off GitHub.
• Why “prettifying” code is so helpful.
• Why negative testing is so important.
• The difference between being dependable and being trusted.

Links:

• David on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dschach
• David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidschach/
• David on GitHub: https://github.com/dschach

David Schach is the Salesforce Application Architect over at Spot On. As a Salesforce consultant, David has practically seen it all. He has dealt with a variety of situations over the years that have equipped him to understand Salesforce at a unique depth.

In this episode and next week’s, David is sharing his best practices and tips. He’s also going to tell us some of his favorite “war stories” from his years of Salesforce consulting. Tune in to learn from his incredible wisdom.

Show Highlights:

• David’s history in computing and even going to med school.
• How he got into data loading and model metrics.
• How he started down the architecture path from there.
• How influential open source has been for both of us.
• A few of David’s implementation horror stories.

Links:

• David on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dschach
• David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidschach/
• David on Github: https://github.com/dschach

Angela Mahoney is the Executive Director of RAD Women. She also helped found this organization and has played a major part in its growth. Angela is currently assisting with a cool project of teaching Salesforce at a university in Mexico.

In this episode, Angela and I dive into the history behind RAD Women. She shares how it was formed and what they’re doing today. Finally, we discuss the origin of the tech conference Forcelandia.

Show Highlights:

• More about the Salesforce project Angela’s helping out with in Mexico.
• How she got involved with technology at Salesforce.
• Why she wanted to get involved in the Salesforce community.
• The origin story and mission statement of RAD Women.
• What has contributed to RAD Women’s regional growth.
• Why Angela wanted to create a community conference.
• How Forcelandia is distinct from other community events.
• What Angela does outside of RAD Women.

Links:

• Angela on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelamahoneymba/
• Angela on Twitter: https://twitter.com/icloudsf
• Rad Women: http://radwomen.org/
• Forcelandia: http://forcelandia.com/
• Josh's keynote, The Pool at Nowhere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkXefNpFbOA

Shoby Abdi is the Director of Architect Success here at Salesforce. He started his career as an intern at Lions Consulting Group. It was there that he first heard about Salesforce and got involved with it.

In this episode, Shoby and I talk all about the B2C and B2B Solution Architect program including the enablement that goes along with it. We also discuss the certifications that Shoby helped create.

Show Highlights:

• More on Shoby’s career background.
• How he got into architecture.
• The difference between a solution architect and a technical architect.
• All about Shoby’s current role.
• What the enablement with Solution Architect looks like.
• Challenges the multi-cloud strategy presents.
• What it takes to build a certification.
• The major differences between B2C and B2B.

Links:

• Shoby on Twitter: http://twitter.com/shobyabdi
• Shoby on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/shobyabdi
• B2B Solution Architecture on Github: github.com/b2bsolutionarchitectprogram
• B2B Workshops: https://trailheadacademy.salesforce.com/classes/arc801-Design-and-implement-b2b-multi-cloud-solutions

Katie Villanueva, Senior Salesforce Administrator, is joining us again today! We started our conversation on mental health in the workplace last week and, in this episode, we’ll finish it up.

Katie has a long history with mental health and illness. She has grown and learned a lot over the years and she now supports others through a mental health and illness forum. Tune in to learn how to handle mental health in the workplace, how you can help others with mental illnesses and improve your own mental health, and all about the forum Katie created.

Show Highlights:

• Katie’s “CRM” mindset.
• The stigma around mental health in our society, especially in the tech industry.
• Why respect for ourselves and others is so crucial.
• What mindfulness is.
• How Katie structures her routine to improve her mental health.
• The origin story of her community forum.

Links:

• Katie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Catptains_Log
• Katie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-villanueva-36138914a/
• Mental Health and Illness Group: https://sfdc.co/tb-mental-health-illness

Katie Villanueva is a Senior Salesforce Administrator. She is also the creator of the Mental Health and Illness forum on Trailblazer. Katie has been on a long journey with mental health and has learned so much along the way.

In this episode, Katie and I discuss her mental health history and her various experiences with it. She also shares some things we can do to optimize our mental health. You don’t want to miss this one.

Show Highlights:

• Katie’s history in radio and how she transitioned from that to Salesforce.
• When she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
• The long journey that led to her diagnosis.
• The three types of bipolar disorder.
• The difference between mental health and mental illness.
• How Katie manages her anxiety.
• The experience she had meeting Charlie Isaacs.

Links:

• Katie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Catptains_Log
• Katie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-villanueva-36138914a/
• Mental Health and Illness Group: https://sfdc.co/tb-mental-health-illness

Heather Black is the CEO of Supermums. She started out in social entrepreneurship and made the jump to being a CEO when she was 26. Eventually, this morphed into Supermums, the company she created and now runs.

In this episode, Heather and I talk about her long history with social entrepreneurship and what that term means. We also talk all about Supermums and how it runs today. Finally, Heather explains how she has created a healthy work-life balance. 

Show Highlights:

• The first business Heather started.
• What social entrepreneurship is.
• How Heather got into social entrepreneurship and moved into the role of CEO.
• What her first year as a CEO was like.
• Her journey of leaving her first company and founding Supermums.
• What they do over at Supermums and who it’s directed at helping.
• Why Heather wanted to start a podcast.
• All about the book The Unseen Wounds of Women.
• Why it’s important to be an authentic leader.

Links:

• Supermums on Twitter: https://twitter.com/supermumsglobal
• Supermums on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/supermumsglobal
• Supermums website: www.supermums.org

Ben Sklar is a Senior Product Manager here at Salesforce. Though he started college as a pre-med major, he quickly shifted his interests after taking a Coding 101 course. He went on to pursue Computer Science and even to do research at Vanderbilt University and Hamilton College.

Today, Ben and I are talking about GraphQL. GraphQL is a new standard which provides significant performance and organizational benefits to API calls as opposed to REST.  Specifically, we’re discussing how Salesforce is implementing it and how you can use it. Join us!

Show Highlights:

• How Ben got into web technology and front-end engineering.
• How he got introduced to Salesforce and what he does in his current job here.
• An overview of GraphQL.
• The key limitation of REST that GraphQL is trying to solve.
• The two main ways to use GraphQL APIs.
• How lightning web components fit into all of this.
• More things on the roadmap for GraphQL.

Links:

• Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-sklar/

Tiago Ruivo is a Senior Regional Success Architect here at Salesforce. He started his career in computer science and was introduced to Salesforce through pure luck as a customer. Eventually, he made the jump over to working for Salesforce and, over time, progressed from being a junior developer to holding his current role.

Today, Tiago and I are talking about one of my favorite subjects: static code analysis. Throughout the episode, Diego walks us through how to run it, how to manage it, and how to operate it with your teams.

Show Highlights:

• More about Tiago’s background and career history.
• How he describes his current role.
• What static code analysis is and where it falls in the development cycle.
• What the term “shift left” means.
• What static code analysis is good at catching and what it’s not good at catching.
• The tools that make up static code analysis.
• The first steps to take when you run code analysis.
• Best practices for making your own set of rules with static code analysis.
• Where you can learn more about all of this.

Links:

• Tiago on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiagoruivo/
• PMD: https://pmd.github.io/
• ES-lint: https://eslint.org/
• SFDX Scanner: https://forcedotcom.github.io/sfdx-scanner/

If you tuned into last week’s podcast, you heard from Steph Herrera. She is the co-founder of PepUp Tech and helped launch Salesforce Saturdays. All in all, her efforts have made a major impact in the Salesforce community.

Steph is back today for part two of our conversation. Throughout the episode, we talk more about Salesforce Saturdays and how Steph keeps it running with its now 60 chapters. We also discuss a topic that both of us are very passionate about: stress and burnout.

Show Highlights:

• What Merivis is and Steph’s involvement with it.
• The keynote Steph did at Dreamforce 2017.
• Her tips for anyone preparing to give a keynote.
• How mental health came onto her radar.
• Why stress and burnout can become such a problem for people in the tech community.
• All about the mental health panel Steph is doing.

Links:

• Steph on Twitter: @steph_herrera_
• Steph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph360/

Steph Herrera is the co-founder of PepUp Tech and has a long history in the Salesforce community. After starting out at Dell, Steph developed a passion for computers and eventually coding. From there, she got involved with a variety of projects like Maris.

However, what Steph is most famous for is something that has made an indelible impact on our community, Salesforce Saturdays. Tune in to dive into the story behind Salesforce Saturdays, what it looks like today, and much more from Steph.

Show Highlights:

• How Steph ended up in tech.
• How she got introduced to Salesforce and decided to make it the backbone of her career.
• Steph’s story of co-founding PepUp Tech. 
• What PepUp Tech is doing right now.
• Where the idea for Salesforce Saturdays came from.
• How they keep it structured with 60 chapters running.

Links:

• Steph on Twitter: @steph_herrera_
• Steph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph360/

In keeping with our discussion of open-source software, today we will be speaking with Jonathan Gillespie, a software engineer here at Salesforce who is responsible for building the Nebula Logger. Jonathan is a proponent of open-source software for its many benefits, from community sourcing to expert knowledge and transparency.  

Frustrated with the limitations of proprietary software, Jonathan began experimenting with open-source as a more robust alternative. In my discussion with Jonathan, he fills us in on the reasons he has embraced open-source and why it can be helpful to other developers. He also discusses his current project, Nebula Logger, what led him to begin his work on it, and how it can be used to monitor and report logging data.

Show Highlights:

• What led Jonathan to embrace open-source software
• The benefits of open-source software
• The origin story of Jonathan’s work on Nebula Logger
• How the rise of automation has impacted developers

Links:

• Jonathan on Linkedin - https://linkedin.com/in/jongpie/
• Jonathan on Github - https://github.com/jongpie/

James Simone is a Lead Software Engineer here at Salesforce. One of his great passions in life is open-source software. That is exactly what we will be talking about today.

James was inspired to get into open-source software to help people share code in a more easily indexable, searchable format. This is even what led him to work here at Salesforce. In this episode, James teaches us how we can use open-source software, how to get into it, and some of the projects that he likes.

Show Highlights:

• How James came to work for Salesforce.
• What extreme programming is and where it came from.
• Why enterprises should support open-source software.
• How second-generation packaging affected Salesforce projects.
• How to navigate licensing and fair use when working with open-source software.
• All about Nebula Logger and the logging problem it solves.
• What Apex Rollup is.
• How to get involved in Nebula Logger and/or Apex Rollup.

Links:

• James on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrwordsmith
• James on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrwordsmith/
• James on Github: https://github.com/jamessimone
• Joys Of Apex: https://jamessimone.net/blog/joys-of-apex/

Kevin Boyle is the CEO of Gearset. Today, I sit down to talk with him all about his journey of building out Gearset and developing it into what it is today. We also discuss DevOps in general throughout our conversation.

Kevin’s life trajectory was mostly set from the moment he was first introduced to gaming and coding and was instantly hooked. He went on to do an internship with Microsoft which set his career in stone. Tune in to learn more about his history and what he’s doing now with Gearset.

Show Highlights:

• What Kevin’s experience at Microsoft was like.
• How he went from that to working with DevOps.
• How Salesforce’s approach to metadata layers changed his thinking about DevOps.
• The pitfalls of an org-centric model.
• Qualities that make for a good DevOps practice.
• Common misconceptions around DevOps.
• When Kevin decided to start his own company and why.
• The importance of surrounding yourself with a great team of people as an entrepreneur.

Links:

• Kevin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevfromireland?lang=en
• Kevin on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinfromireland/
• Kevin on Github: https://github.com/kevfromireland

Drew Tauber is a Salesforce Engineer over at Clear. He is joining us today to discuss somewhat of a hot topic: burnout. Burnout is being talked about more and more in our society and brought to more and more people’s attention. We want to dedicate an entire episode to furthering the conversation on it.

Throughout our discussion, Drew and I talk all about stress, burnout, and anxiety. We also discuss how these things can affect us in the workplace. Finally, we chat about what to do if you are experiencing burnout.

Show Highlights:

• How Drew became a coder and got involved with Salesforce.
• His current role in the Salesforce community.
• The early signs of burnout.
• How the early pandemic contributed to Drew’s burnout.
• How burnout leads to an unhealthy work environment.
• The steps Drew took to recover from burnout.
• How he prioritized socializing and exercising in his recovery.
• What he does now to prevent burnout.
• Communication boundaries he’s implemented.
• Why he decided to start doing presentations on burnout and stress.

Links:

• Drew on Twitter
• Drew on LinkedIn
• Drew on Github
• Drew on Trailblazer

Nico Pouilloux is a principal ISV technical evangelist here at Salesforce. He has worked for a variety of companies throughout his career but eventually came to realize that he wanted to work for a B2B software company. This brought him to Salesforce.

In this episode, Nico and I discuss his work as an ISV technical evangelist. We also get into his advice for ISVs and the Business Builders program he has helped develop. Join us!

Show Highlights:

• What Nico’s current role looks like.
• How he keeps up with all the latest developments.
• How he helps founders of new businesses get on the market.
• The evaluation process he goes through when founders bring in their ideas.
• A simple explanation of the Business Builders program.
• The communal features of Business Builders.

Links:

• Nico on Twitter: https://twitter.com/npouillouxsf
• Nico on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/npouilloux/
• Nico on Github: https://github.com/nicopollux

Daniel Peter is the Salesforce Practice Lead over at Robots & Pencils. Having had some incredible experiences throughout his life (including starting as a self-taught programmer, studying marketing in college, and taking some time mid-career to go on “sabbatical” and travel), Daniel brings a unique perspective to our show.

In today’s conversation, Daniel and I talk all about his time in the Salesforce ecosystem and what his current job looks like. We also get into the weeds a bit with the Slack and Salesforce integration. Tune in to hear all of this and more.

Show Highlights:

• Daniel’s history with computers.
• Why he decided to get a business degree and how it has benefited him.
• How he describes his current job.
• Why the designer role is so important.
• The benefits of Block Kit.
• How Slack can be used for more than communication.
• How the Slack and Salesforce integration can bring back some of the magic for developers.
• Daniel’s developer story with Slack.
• Slack integrations he has worked on and their use cases.
• Event structure in Slack.

Links:

• Daniel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/danieljpeter
• Daniel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieljpeter/
• Daniel on Github: https://github.com/danieljpeter

Paul McCollum is a Salesforce Technical Architect over at Accenture. Though he pursued various interests in college, he eventually came to pursue a degree in Computer Science. From there, he began his first job as a Unix programmer and then found his way into architecture.

In this episode, we talk about just that: all things architecture. Paul shares some cool concepts with us regarding application design, UX, and big-picture architecture as well as what’s coming up for architecture in the future. Tune in to hear it all.

Show Highlights:

• Paul’s long history with computers and architecture.
• How he discovered Salesforce.
• Why the overlap between user interface and big-picture architecture is important.
• The level of planning and documentation an application owner can do without a designer.
• The rising importance of technical designers.
• Architecture blind spots Paul sees on the horizon.
• A hack that allows flow to work with infinite records.
• How Paul started getting involved in the Salesforce community and his current role in it.

Links:

• Paul on Twitter
• Paul on LinkedIn
• Dallas Developer Group

Cal Smith is a Senior Technical Architect and Associate Director for Cognizant. Cal has a long history with computers. He got his start in engineering school and has since done everything from animation to writing assistive software for the visually impaired. We discuss all of this (and more of Cal’s background) in our conversation today.

Throughout this episode, Cal also gives us a great overview of Health Cloud. We talk about its development and one of the unsung heroes of the platform: Omniscript. Tune in to hear all of this and more.

Show Highlights:

• How Cal got involved with Salesforce and creating communities.
• How he got started with Health Cloud.
• A typical use case for Health Cloud.
• What a validated machine means.
• How deletion of records is prevented within Health Cloud.
• What Omniscript is all about and what it does.
• Cal’s work and involvement with Dallas GiftForce.

Links:

• Cal on Twitter: http://twttiter.com/CloudMech
• Cal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/Cloud-Mech/
• Cal on Github: https://github.com/crmprogdev

Last week we began a two-part interview with Joe Stern, a consultant and program manager here at Salesforce. Joe is passionate about advocating for those with neurodiversity and has made it his goal to increase conversations about mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. We started our conversation last week learning about Joe’s journey after being diagnosed with ADHD at a young age and some of the challenges that have followed from this diagnosis. Now, he coordinates support for mental health in the workplace to help others process similar obstacles more effectively. 

In the second half of our interview, we’ll discuss some of the outlets that Joe has found helpful when taking care of his own mental health. From activities like networking on Animal Crossing, to creating Mental Health Matters resource groups at work, to finding a passion for roasting coffee, Joe has discovered that sometimes the simplest form of therapy is finding something that brings you joy and leaning into it.

Show Highlights:

• Finding therapeutic relief for mental health in unlikely places
• How socializing with others from the workplace in ways that do not involve work can boost both group morale and individual happiness
• The importance of setting up workplace resources for mental health support
• Why it is so important to find a hobby you love and stick with it

Links:

• Joe on Twitter twitter.com/mrjoesterne
• Joe on LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/jamesjosephsterne
• Joe on Github https://github.com/joesterne

Joe Stern is a consultant and program manager here at Salesforce. Though he has many interests—outdoor camping and shoe drops to start—Joe’s passion lies in being an advocate for those with neurodiversity. As someone diagnosed with ADHD at an early age, Joe has grown to appreciate the importance of addressing the impact that mental health can have on one’s ability to function successfully both in and out of the workplace. Now, he coordinates support for mental health in the workplace for others. 

In the first part of this two-part episode, we begin our discussion with Joe about his path to becoming a developer and how neurodiversity has affected the trajectory of his life. We also discuss some of the trials he’s faced in the workforce and how getting therapeutic support for his mental health has positively impacted both his performance at work as well as his other various hobbies and responsibilities.  

Show Highlights:

• How to define neurodiversity
• Where to find a community and resources for those that identify with neurodivergence
• Challenges of learning how ADHD can impact your work life
• Warning signs that mental health is negatively impacting your work life
• Benefits of finding treatment or help for mental health issues

Links:

• Joe on Twitter twitter.com/mrjoesterne
• Joe on LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/jamesjosephsterne
• Joe on Github https://github.com/joesterne

Meighan Brodkey is a Director of Technical Architecture at Vorys. With a background in language and religious studies, she had a fairly smooth transition over to coding. She saw it as the technical version of translating numbers and letters. 

Today, she not only works in technical architecture but is also heavily involved in the Salesforce community. She works a lot with other women in tech and within the Ohana Slack workspace. She is joining us on the show today to talk about all of these things, Slack integrations, and what she does in her current role.

Show Highlights:

• Meighan’s college journey and first coding experiences.
• How she got involved with Salesforce and became an architect.
• Her passion for connecting people.
• The various communities she is involved with.
• What got her into Slack and the work she’s done with Slack integrations.
• The basic structure of Slack apps.
• What the block kit builder is.
• A quick overview of GDPR.

Links:

• Meighan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/meighansf
• Meighan on LinkedIn: https://Linkedin.com/in/meighanbrodkey
• Meighan on Github: https://Github.com/meighan
• Meighan's blog: https://meighanrockssf.com
• Join Ohana Slack: https://join.slack.com/t/salesforceohana/shared_invite/zt-1atj9vqqu-tJvNMMzizu9ZvQ5YQPK0bw

If you joined us last week, you met Ian Varley. Ian is a Principal Architect here at Salesforce who has extensive experience with Salesforce CRM and multi-tenant architecture. He also comes from a musical background which has helped him develop his coding skills.

Last week, you heard part one of our conversation on Salesforce architecture. We split our discussion up so you could listen to it in full. Today in part two we talk all about metadata and why it is so important.  We also get into one of Ian’s favorite topics - cognitive bias in technology.

Tune in to finish the extended version of my discussion with Ian Varley.

Show Highlights:

• The value of deeper semantic integrations of data.
• How meta-databases physically work.
• How unique IDs are generated.
• What an instance is.
• Why some IDs are 15 characters and some are 18.
• Why awareness of cognitive bias is important.
• The software Salesforce created to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Links:

• Ian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefutureian
• Ian on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianvarley/
• Brains Considered Harmful: http://bit.ly/brains-considered-harmful

Ian Varley is a Principal Architect here at Salesforce. He joined us a while back on the podcast to talk about Salesforce architecture. We had to edit that conversation down so much that I wanted to bring it back and share it in full with all of you. We’ll split it up into two episodes over the course of two weeks.

In today’s segment, Ian and I discuss his long history, experience, and knowledge with Salesforce. More than anything, we get into his experience with the inner workings of Salesforce CRM and multi-tenant architecture. 

Tune in to hear his rich thoughts on all of this and more.

Show Highlights:

• How Ian got interested in computers.
• Why people with music backgrounds are often so good at code.
• How Ian came to work at the core engineering team at Salesforce.
• What the architecture platform was like when Ian joined Salesforce.
• What multi-tenancy is.
• How grouping individual software services within Salesforce works.
• All of the things that multi-tenant service providers take care of for customers.
• What microservices are.
• The benefits of monoliths.
• What Salesforce Core includes.

Links:

• Ian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefutureian
• Ian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianvarley/