A Force to Reckon With

I am definitely more the declarative developer in the Salesforce world.  Today I was asked how I would check to see if a name was a palindrome.  I love palindromes- they’re special to me, like a word version of a prime number, perfect unto itself.  Challenge accepted!

My first thought was okay, I just need to reverse the name and compare it to the original.  That’s easy enough, right?  Well, there’s no “reverse” formula function that I’m aware of in Salesforce.  Darn.  I then considered LEFT() and RIGHT() and some complicated way of comparing those and I didn’t even want to try working that out.  There had to be a more relatively simple way to do it that I was overlooking!

I thought through other functions and remembered one I’ve not used very often, MID(fieldname, place#, #toreturn).  MID() works by returning the character(s) identified in the field counting from the left with to the place#, and the final component telling how many characters including that place to return.  So if the palindrome name is Salesforce, to return the letter “f’” in Salesforce, you would write: MID(Palindrome_name__c, 6, 1).  I could leverage MID() to rebuild the name from right to left and compare that to the original for a true or false result.  So for this case, let’s start with a 10 character text field palindrome_name__c field.  Whatever the name we want to check to see if it is a palindrome, we would enter here.

Next we need to generate the palindrome.  So we create a new custom field, for simplicity sake named “palindrome_right__c”, type formula, returning text with the following formula:

Mid( Palindrome_name__c ,10,1)+Mid( Palindrome_name__c ,9,1)+Mid( Palindrome_name__c ,8,1)+Mid( Palindrome_name__c ,7,1)+Mid( Palindrome_name__c ,6,1)+Mid( Palindrome_name__c ,5,1)+Mid( Palindrome_name__c ,4,1)+Mid( Palindrome_name__c ,3,1)+Mid( Palindrome_name__c ,2,1)+Mid( Palindrome_name__c ,1,1)

So our formula above pulls the characters from the field and reverses their order. You could do this for any length, you just have to follow the pattern.  Keep it within reasonable limits in terms of length to begin with as you’ll run into compile length issues for anything extremely long.  My example above needs to be cleaned up, but in it’s current state compiles at 567 characters, which is under the 5000 character limit for formula fields.  My example will allow for roughly 84 characters to return, if you need to check more, you could just split it into different fields and combine the results in the formula test field for the comparison.

So now you have the name (palindrome_name__c), the reverse of the name (palindrome_right__c),  you just have to compare them.  This should be simple, right?  For the most part, yes!

Create another custom formula field called palindrome_test__c and compare the two with the following formula and return the result of True or False:

If(LOWER(Palindrome_name__c)=LOWER(Palindrome_right__c),”True”,”False”)

That’s it!  If it is the same forward and backward, it will return True, otherwise False.

But I said “For the most part” so what is the catch?

I’m assuming two things:

1- my palindrome_name__c field is written in traditional English style, left to right.
2- my requirement is not concerned with case sensitivity.

Not all languages read left to right, so you would need to be aware and adjust accordingly.  If your user typed in “Anna” for the palindrome_name__c, the formula for palindrome_right__c would return “annA”.  “Anna” and “annA” are not equal, but using either UPPER() or LOWER() function to eliminate case in the test formula allows the palindrome_name__c “Anna” to be recognized as a palindrome.

I hope you liked this exercise, I certainly enjoyed the challenge!  Do you have a better way of approaching this without resorting to code?  Have another aspect to consider I’ve not covered in my assumptions?  Share your approach and thoughts by commenting below.

When you’re developing, you’ll hear mention of the MVP.  No, that’s not a reference to someone on your team or a client, or a spokesperson, but to what has been determined the Minimum Viable Product.  MVP is what everyone has agreed to being the minimum functionality to determine the project a success.

For the Disney app, I could go crazy with options and data and all sorts of fun things.  It would also take longer to build and prep for training.  Since this is for fun and this is just to model how to build an app, what we will do is determine what our MVP looks like for this version.  That’s the beauty about Salesforce, you can go back and build on, enhance all you want later.  You’re not stuck with what is accomplished in the MVP.

So here are the things I would like to track in this initial version:

• Date of visit
• Which parks were visited
• Which rides were rode
• Wait times for rides – posted and my experience
• Rating for ride *open question- overall or per experience?*
• Report or dashboard showing rate of completion.
• General park impressions (crowded, tour groups, empty)

Those I’m going to use as my baseline and for how I am going to structure my org.  Will there be other ways to do it? Of course.  Better ways?  I hope to make the best choices with these goals in mind and forward thinking to what I could want to track next.  Honestly, this is why I love working with other admins and architects- everyone brings different insights and experiences to brainstorming how the app could be built and it is better for it.  For now, you’ll have to suffer through my thoughts unless you care to comment below to add to the conversation.

Looking at my MVP items, I am seeing a structure.  The easiest solution would be to go into a new org and start adding fields to the account object, saying it represents each visit to the park.  You could indicate which park, ride, etc via picklists.  You would open the app, fill out a new record, and be on your way to the next ride.  You could set up fields to automatically default to today’s date and current time to help save a step but you’d be entering a lot of repetitive information or quickly use up all your fields for one record to hold all the data.

This is a bad idea. Shoving everything on the account object is not going to benefit you more at the end of the day than scribbling notes on a sheet of paper that you never refer back to again.  Once you enter the 3rd ride of the day and have repeated the same fields multiple times, you’re not going to want to enter information anymore.  What started out as fun is now a chore- just like many users think of entering data.  So we need a structure that will facilitate the ease of entering information AND also allow us to do all the reporting and analysis of the data later on.  What’s the point of entering it if you haven’t learned anything from it?  Maybe you have a goal of riding everything at least once per visit, without reports and dashboards, it makes it harder to realize what you have and have not rode.

Next post is going to be outlining how I will set up my org to manage all of this.  For anyone reading along, I’m not planning on using opportunities or anything associated with ordering.  Keeping it simple for now.  Till next time!

I’ve often explained Salesforce by relating it to LEGO.  You have this big box of LEGO that within reason, you can build anything you want with.  There are certain rules you need to follow (stagger joins for strength, posts can’t connect to posts) but outside of those you are free to put together and take everything apart as much as you want.  Like LEGO, Salesforce provides new pieces and new ways to build in 3 releases a year.  These releases, these additions of functionality and streamlining, are why you want to keep as much as you can to the pieces you are given.  You have the option to make custom pieces (think 3d printer options here) using code, but they are not going to be able to take advantage of the new goodies Salesforce provides as easily as staying with the standard blocks.  

For this project, I’m staying in the realm of configuration.  I will use automation like process builders, workflows, etc, but I am not going to utilize any code.  This is my favorite way to develop in Salesforce by the way- I love the challenge of finding a way to declaratively meet a requirement!  I admit, there are times that code is the way to go for various reasons but every good admin and dev out there know the more you stick to the standard features, the better you are off long term to take advantage of the ever evolving platform.  

To begin, I like to start with a whiteboard.  I like to visualize the different components of the system and processes I’m looking to build.  It helps me determine the best path forward.  This is where experience and analytical skills come in, especially if you’re not leveraging Salesforce for a traditional Account/product/selling/etc application.  

Here’s a picture of my initial notes when thinking through what I want to do:

So my first thoughts are:

• What do I want to track?
• What are the different components to consider?
• Do I have a structure in mind in how these all connect?

What I have in the photo are notes- it’s not a commitment.  It’s purely first steps in brainstorming as in this case we’re going outside the standard Account based model in terms of what we’re tracking but we are going to keep to the philosophy of using the standard functionality and see if we can model what we’re wanting after the account model.  
Before I go any further- as this is purely a fun exercise, I am going to focus on Magic Kingdom park of Walt Disney World.  It is complex enough on it’s own to give us a lot of data and options to consider for our app.  Plus, if you’re going to WDW, you’re going to go to Magic Kingdom. I don’t know anyone who skips this park during their visit!

Next thoughts and questions:

• How does MK fit an account model?
• How granular do I want to be?
• What components do I want to focus on for my MVP (Minimum Viable Product)?  (More on this in another post)
• What are my questions about the component experiences?  Why am I interested in tracking any of this information?
• Recognize that I want to be able to update via Salesforce1, so mobile is a consideration in design.

That’s a bit to ponder about for now— there’s lots of other questions going on in my mind as to design, what information I already have access to supplement the detail records, and any apps I may be aware of I can install to help me reach my goals.  Just tossing this out there, but do I want to consider tracking time in lines?  Crowd information from various sites?  Posted wait times versus experienced wait times?  

If you have any ideas or considerations, feel free to share them in the comments!  

I have been very lucky to attend Dreamforce every year since 2010. I often call it geek Christmas because of all of announcements and excitement! Shoot one year it was in December which helped with the idea.

So this year we ran into a problem. We have an 11 year old daughter and two professionals who have their can’t miss events happening the same week. I wish I could bring my daughter to Dreamforce, she loves computers and I think would greatly enjoy the opportunity, Dreamforce is 18+ only.  There have been some school groups invited before, but perhaps a young WIT event would be an interesting program.

So this year I am planning to be at Dreamforce for Monday, soak up and learn as much as possible, see Marc Benioff’s keynote and then head back to the east coast while he attends his training out of town. 

But why? Why travel across the country for one days worth of Dreamforce?

Because it is WORTH it.  I will return with more knowledge, insight into where Salesforce is going, new product announcements, the opportunity to connect with fellow friends in the community, and best of all, it actually doesn’t stop when I leave. I will still be participating online, watching all live streams, and reading all the tweets and posts. If you ever have the opportunity to go to dreamforce, take it! This year if you can’t, then you’re welcome to hang out with me online where we will do Dreamforce from afar!

One of the things I love about Salesforce is you have the opportunity to learn and build in your own sandbox org.  And as long as you keep it active, it is yours free and clear!  Granted, you can’t expect to run a business or have multiple users in it but it does give you the perfect platform to stretching your idea of what you can do with the platform.

So with that, through this series of posts, I’m going to come up with a design and build a Salesforce app to track my experiences at Disney World.  The main reason for this particular app will be to track what experiences I’ve enjoyed during a visit.  This way I can see my own data, what I’ve done, what I did or did not like, crowd, wait times, ride problems, etc.  I can then take this data and build dashboards showing how much I did in a day, multiple visits, etc.  I can double check what I did on a visit, if I want to complete a quest or challenge (ride all the rides in Tomorrowland!) — shoot this could even be fun to share with friends and helpful in syncing pictures with timelines.

So I hope you’ll join me and if there’s anything in particular you would like to see or cover, post it in the comments!

Recently I’ve gotten into the hobby of metal detecting.  Don’t laugh, it isn’t all senior citizens wandering about digging holes.  It’s very interesting from a technical point of view and an excuse to get outside and exercise.

I was thinking of doing a series of posts on my process in creating a salesforce org and designing it for a specific purpose.  Either to catalog my finds from metal detecting or an app to use while at Disney World to capture information from visits such as what rides and experiences we visit, our score for them, etc.  Then to have dashboards showing our trip.

So dear readers, what would you rather see?  How I put together and build something to track my finds or one to track a Disney visit? Take the poll and let me know!

Updated for Dreamforce 2016

Yes, even though it is non-stop there are times you must sleep during Dreamforce! If anything for your own sanity and to keep up with all the amazing things you’ll experience.  Additionally you’ll want a place to drop off your swag, stash your clothes and take a shower.  Honestly this is easily your biggest expense getting to Dreamforce (short of airfare depending on where you’re traveling from).

Here’s some tips on how to save on lodging during Dreamforce:

• Check for rates through your company travel program, if available.  You can lock in rates now if they are acceptable to you.
• Alternatively, if you’re a member of a rewards program, look at your associated company’s offerings.  You may be able to apply your points to your stay or consider staying somewhere to maximize points for status and future travel.  I have come away from Dreamforce with enough points to cover vacation travel for my family before.  Whatever you do, do the math.  There are lots of trade-offs to this approach.
• Utilize various websites such as Orbitz, Priceline, etc to find rates that may be acceptable.
• Dreamforce reserves rooms called a room block at various hotels in the area.  With the room blocks, there are usually discounted rates available only through the Dreamforce site after you have registered to attend.  Finding lodging via the Dreamforce registration site can include various additional perks such as free Wi-Fi access at that location rather than being charged.  In the Dreamforce registration site there is a list of hotels, distance from Moscone, prices, and options available to choose from.  Unless you are very lucky, my experience has been this is the opportunity for best rates.
  • Did you not register for a hotel when you registered for Dreamforce? Log back in and you can see what is available.  Rooms can open up closer or in the block, but do NOT count on it.
  • Nothing available for the dates you pick? Change the dates around. Check arriving earlier or leaving later or both. Sometimes doing this will give you results you didn’t get otherwise. It’s not Dreamforce, but the hotel industry.
  • If you end up reserving a hotel that has a room block, but it was sold out on the registration site, contact the hotel and politely mention you are attending Dreamforce as well and want to see if they would match the block rate for your room.  Costs nothing to ask and may save you some money.  Don’t expect them to say yes, but you don’t know if you don’t ask!  I do know people whom have been successful with their requests and some who have not.  Try before you arrive and at the front desk when you check in if not successful over the phone.
• Do you know anyone who lives in the area? Friends, family?  Explore the option of asking to crash at their place.
• AirBnB and other similar options- typically I’d say go for it, many people do and have success.  Just make sure you have all your documentation and have read through it all.
• Roommates!  Even an expensive option can be more budget friendly with friends.  Coworkers, user group friends, Success community friends- lots of options are out there to meet people to share space with.  Check with the space to make sure you’re within their requirements (maximum # in room, etc).  When you reserve, if you don’t have a roommate yet but open to the option, get a room with two beds as you may meet someone before Dreamforce to share with!  There are always people looking for space.  Be smart but it can mean an opportunity for you to reduce your cost.
  • Idea- you have 2 beds, someone is looking for a room. They’re a stranger, but you know someone who can give up their room to the stranger so you and your non-stranger friend could share your room.  Just be VERY careful juggling reservations with the hotels.
  • New this year- Perch a service to help you find a roommate.  They are a new service and while I am not advocating using them at this time, it is a possible option. If you’re interested, contact them via their website.
• Rental agencies – there are many options to consider through a traditional rental agency.  I know many small companies who have saved on costs by renting a house instead of everyone staying in a hotel.  A company, a group of friends- doesn’t matter who.  If staying with friends, be sure to agree up front on costs, payment, and determining who gets what sleeping place to avoid issues later.
• Youth Hostels – this is an extremely affordable option used by many visitors to San Francisco.  There is one actually next to one of my favorite places to eat on Mason.  Prices vary depending on choices but short of staying for free I’ve not heard of anywhere cheaper.  It is a great solution if you need to save money and just want a place to stash your clothes, take a shower, and get some sleep.
• Note- there is no Dreamboat this year.  It may return in the future.

Those are some tips to staying in San Francisco.  There’s lots of things to consider while considering your options above as well.  Some of those include:

• Distance from Moscone and Dreamforce Campus locations (not everything is in Moscone)
• Transportation options (is it on a MUNI line? A Dreamforce shuttle line? Could I bike there?)
• Your comfort level. Read up on locations in San Francisco- if you’re not a city person there may be some areas you will not feel comfortable in for various reasons.
• Are you planning to attend late night functions/parties/etc? This could impact your transportation options in some cases or you may not want to have an hour plus commute.
• Hotel benefits- free breakfast, free wifi, airport shuttles- all of these and more can make a difference in deciding where to stay,
• Hotel differences- shared bathrooms with other guests, twin size beds, small rooms- if it is cheap, there’s usually a reason.  Not all hotels are the same of course so if you’re interested in one, research it or don’t be surprised you’re sharing a bathroom.

All told, if at all possible, I recommend staying somewhere near Moscone if your budget allows, at one of the official Dreamforce hotels as there will be shuttles  available to get around at least to those locations.  Within a short distance of Moscone there is usually the option of pedicabs as well.

The one thing I do not suggest, is to expect to wing it and find a room at the last minute or when you get there.  Alas, sleeping at Moscone is not an option.

Happy sleeping!

Updated for Dreamforce 2015

Yes, even though it is non-stop there are times you must sleep during Dreamforce! If anything for your own sanity and to keep up with all the amazing things you’ll experience.  Additionally you’ll want a place to drop off your swag, stash your clothes and take a shower.  Honestly this is easily your biggest expense getting to Dreamforce (short of airfare depending on where you’re traveling from).

Here’s some tips on how to save on lodging during Dreamforce:

• Check for rates through your company travel program, if available.  You can lock in rates now if they are acceptable to you.
• Alternatively, if you’re a member of a rewards program, look at your associated company’s offerings.  You may be able to apply your points to your stay or consider staying somewhere to maximize points for status and future travel.  I have come away from Dreamforce with enough points to cover vacation travel for my family before.  Whatever you do, do the math.  There are lots of tradeoffs to this approach.
• Utilize various websites such as Orbitz, Priceline, etc to find rates that may be acceptable.
• Dreamforce reserves rooms called a room block at various hotels in the area.  With the room blocks, there are usually discounted rates available only through the Dreamforce site after you have registered to attend.  Finding lodging via the Dreamforce registration site can include various additional perks such as free Wi-Fi access at that location rather than being charged.  In the Dreamforce registration site there is a list of hotels, distance from Moscone, prices, and options available to choose from.  Unless you are very lucky, my experience has been this is the opportunity for best rates.
  • Did you not register for a hotel when you registered for Dreamforce? Log back in and you can see what is available.  Rooms can open up closer or in the block, but do NOT count on it.
  • If you end up reserving a hotel that has a room block, but it was sold out on the registration site, contact the hotel and politely mention you are attending Dreamforce as well and want to see if they would match the block rate for your room.  Costs nothing to ask and may save you some money.  Don’t expect them to say yes, but you don’t know if you don’t ask!  I do know people whom have been successful with their requests and some who have not.
• Do you know anyone who lives in the area? Friends, family?  Explore the option of asking to crash at their place.
• AirBnB and other similar options- typically I’d say go for it, many people do and have success.  Just make sure you have all your documentation and have read through it all.
• Roommates!  Even an expensive option can be more budget friendly with friends.  Coworkers, user group friends, Success community friends- lots of options are out there to meet people to share space with.  Check with the space to make sure you’re within their requirements (maximum # in room, etc).  When you reserve, if you don’t have a roommate yet but open to the option, get a room with two beds as you may meet someone before Dreamforce to share with!  There are always people looking for space.  Be smart but it can mean an opportunity for you to reduce your cost.
  • Idea- you have 2 beds, someone is looking for a room. They’re a stranger, but you know someone who can give up their room to the stranger so you and your non-stranger friend could share your room.  Just be VERY careful juggling reservations with the hotels.
• Rental agencies – there are many options to consider through a traditional rental agency.  I know many small companies who have saved on costs by renting a house instead of everyone staying in a hotel.  A company, a group of friends- doesn’t matter who.  If staying with friends, be sure to agree up front on costs, payment, and determining who gets what sleeping place to avoid issues later.
• Youth Hostels – this is an extremely affordable option used by many visitors to San Francisco.  There is one actually next to one of my favorite places to eat on Mason.  Prices vary depending on choices but short of staying for free I’ve not heard of anywhere cheaper.  It is a great solution if you need to save money and just want a place to stash your clothes, take a shower, and get some sleep.
• NEW FOR 2015 – THE DREAMBOAT!!!!  We’ve all kidded around for years about how Dreamforce should just get a cruise ship and people could stay on it.  Well, they’ve done it and it sounds like it is going to be the place to stay!  They will have transportation to/from Dreamforce campus as well.

Those are some tips to staying in San Francisco.  There’s lots of things to consider while considering your options above as well.  Some of those include:

• Distance from Moscone and Dreamforce Campus locations (not everything is in Moscone)
• Transportation options (is it on a MUNI line? A Dreamforce shuttle line? Could I bike there?)
• Your comfort level. Read up on locations in San Francisco- if you’re not a city person there may be some areas you will not feel comfortable in for various reasons.
• Are you planning to attend late night functions/parties/etc? This could impact your transportation options in some cases or you may not want to have an hour plus commute.
• Hotel benefits- free breakfast, free wifi, airport shuttles- all of these and more can make a difference in deciding where to stay,
• Hotel differences- shared bathrooms with other guests, twin size beds, small rooms- if it is cheap, there’s usually a reason.  Not all hotels are the same of course so if you’re interested in one, research it or don’t be surprised you’re sharing a bathroom.

All told, if at all possible, I recommend staying somewhere near Moscone if your budget allows, at one of the official Dreamforce hotels as there will be shuttles  available to get around at least to those locations.  Within a short distance of Moscone there is usually the option of pedicabs as well.

The one thing I do not suggest, is to expect to wing it and find a room at the last minute or when you get there.  Also, sleeping at Moscone is not an option. Nor is camping under the dome on Howard. But wouldn’t that be fun?

If you have any lodging tips, please comment and I’ll add them to my Dreamforce Central page!