App Launch - Your ISV Business Plan

Presently, I am in the midst of another app launch to the Salesforce App Exchange.  As usually the case, experience has been a good teacher in the dos and don'ts of building out both the business and technical side at an ISV.

With the latest launch of new Trailhead content, there are additional tools to help you chart your way to success.  I have gone through the ISV Business Planning trail and it covers a lot of key points that can help you out on your journey.  Here's my review of the new content.

Crashing Process Builder

I have been doing a quite a bit of work lately with Lightning Process Builder.  It has been very helpful in automating various business processes.

I had the need to kick things up a notch a dive into Invocable Methods as an immediate action in my flow.  There are some great posts out there on Lightning Process Builder and Invocable Methods, if you want to learn more.

One of the features with the InvocableMethod annotation is the ability to add a label and description to your provide more context when in Process Builder.

Summer 16 - Top Nine New Features

Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens and the Summer 16 release -- these are a few of my favorite things.  With the Summer 16 Release Notes preview arriving last Friday, we are officially in upgrade season.  Be sure to check out the full schedule of key dates in the release process.  Of particular importance is the Preview Sandbox cut off date of April 29.  After perusing the almost 400 page release document and jumping into my pre-release org, here are my top nine new features.

Where's Astro?

Do you like adventure and the chance to win prizes?  Then Trailhead needs your help!  Astro is missing, as of April 1st.  Of course, at my house this seems to be a regular occurrence.  See if you can find Astro in the below photo (both big and little Astro are hiding among their friends).

What Sets Salesforce Apart

As Trailhead’s content continues to evolve, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes the first stop to learn about Salesforce.  The recent release of new trails and modules continues the expansion from its technical roots to a wider focus. 

For instance, lets take a look at the Navigate the Salesforce Advantage trail.  This trail helps explain who Salesforce is (usefully if you have ever tried to explain this to your family), the basics and benefits of the platform, as well as the power of the ecosystem.  While there are four modules in the trail, I am going to focus on two of them.

Wave API and Wave Tools

The Spring 16 release of the Analytics Cloud included the Wave REST API moving from pilot to GA.  This is good news for all of us.  The endpoints are now available with API version 36 and new development will have the backwards compatibility we are used to with the rest of the platform.

However, this means the internal API used in prior Wave versions is now private and for Salesforce use only.  While the API remains available for the next 12 months, newly created dashboard assets are not available.

It’s March SaaSness Time

Are you ready for March madness!  Together with my pals Peter Knolle and Jesse Altman, we have put our own spin on the tournament season.  As part of the Lehigh Valley Salesforce Developers User Group March meetup, we have put together our very own bracket of Salesforce features.