Best Version Control Practices for Salesforce Developers

With almost 150,000 Salesforce users worldwide, it's no surprise that the tool is well known for its ability to become exactly what you need it to be. Often, this customization process involves an amazing team of developers and Admins working together to create a "perfect" system for your organization.

‍

Blue Canvas is just one of those tools your development team can use to simplify, expedite, and improve the quality of your team. One of the most significant features we offer our clients is automatic version control tracking. Let's get into why this can make or break your Salesforce deployments.

‍

Introduction

‍

We all know that version control is made to track changes when editing code or environments, allowing for quick rollbacks if something goes wrong, but why should you prioritize this for your team?

‍

Well, it's not just nice to have. Yes, easy rollbacks are icing on the cake, but having a strong version control system enables your team to work across multiple sandboxes, prevent conflicts, and ensure smooth deployments.

‍

Is it the solution to so many of our issues? Sure is!

‍

Why? Because having (and actively using) version control helps reduce errors, streamline development, and enhance collaboration. No more accidentally overwriting code or struggling to move environments.

‍

Let's address some tips to help your team leverage their version control for excellence.

‍

1. Use Git as Your Version Control System

Blue Canvas runs on Git, and we suggest you do, too! It's what many would call industry standard for a handful of reasons.

‍

Here's how we suggest you use it:

• Use remote repositories to help centralize collaboration.
• Commit small, logical changes to tracking to improve traceability.
• Be sure to write clear commit messages that describe the change and why it was made.

‍

We make it easy on your team because we take care of automatically tracking version history, and we make it so your team can collaborate in a straightforward workflow. There is no need to have multiple windows open or a handful of monitors.

‍

2. Implement a Branching Strategy

Great collaboration isn't possible without a strong system of organization for your code. While version tracking and control make it easy to roll back changes, it's important to know where projects are starting/stopping/ and what's ready to be pushed to the next environment.

One way to manage this holistic collaboration is by using branching strategies.

‍

We suggest using these strategies to keep your workflow clean and organized:

• Feature Branches: Each new feature or bug fix should be developed in a separate branch.
• Main/Master Branch: This is where you should store your stable, production-ready code.
• Release Branches: This is for code you're still working on but will be released soon. It should be well tested, with a few small kinks.
• Development Branch: This is where you take that release code and put the final touches on it before you push it live.

‍

Want to learn more about how Blue Canvas can automate your branching strategies? Explore what we do here.

‍

3. Automate Metadata Retrieval and Deployment

Metadata is the secret to everyone's deployment success or failure! If you can nail your metadata retrieval, you'll be set upto have a smooth and painless deployment. If you're struggling to get the right information or missing/losing metadata, you'll be in for a doozy of a time trying to execute your deployment.

‍

A few things we suggest to help this process go smoothly:

• Use Blue Canvas to automatically pull the metadata of your choice into your current project.
• Automate deployments using CI/CD pipelines with a tool like Blue Canvas.
• Regularly sync sandboxes with the latest metadata from the repository to prevent conflicts.

‍

We make it possible to select your metadata for retrieval and have it show up exactly where you need it every time. Apex classes, triggers, Lightning components, workflows, etc., whatever you're hoping to pull in, we can help!

‍

4. Enforce Code Reviews and Pull Requests

Smooth deployments take a team effort, so let's involve the team! By setting up systems that require code reviews, we're limiting the room for human error, and with software like Blue Canvas, it's a quick and easy step to ensure your deployment goes smoothly.

‍

Here are a few best practices we suggest for your team:

• Use pull requests (PRs) for all changes.
• It requires at least one code review before merging.
• Enforce automated tests to validate changes before deployment.

‍

Need help supporting code reviews and approvals? Set your team up for success by enabling the quick passing of code to the next person with the right software.

‍

5. Track Configuration and Metadata Changes

While losing metadata in deployments is easy, it's also important to effectively manage your Salesforce configurations. Previously customized workflows, profiles, permissions, etc., need to be maintained as we make code edits and push deployments.

‍

How to best protect configuration settings?

• Use source-tracked scratch orgs to manage changes.
• Store custom objects, fields, flows, and validation rules in the repository.
• Regularly backup metadata to prevent accidental loss.

‍

With Blue Canvas's automatic version tracking, you make changes, and we pull it into a GIT repository to ensure that all necessary information is around if and when you need to audit code to fix something. Want to give it a try? Learn more about how we do it here.

‍

6. Resolve Merge Conflicts Efficiently

No more crossing your fingers and toes. Hoping your merge conflicts will sort out!

‍

Take proactive measures to quickly and efficiently address these issues by:

• Using structured XML formatters to make metadata easier to compare.
• Reviewing Git diffs carefully before merging.
• Communicating with team members to avoid overwriting important changes.

‍

With automatic conflict detection, we'll help you stay one step ahead of these future issues.

‍

From there, you can use our side-by-side workflow to review code and make the necessary changes before you get in too deep.

‍

7. Use CI/CD for Automated Deployments

One of the best ways to optimize a Salesforce deployment is with continuous integration and continuous deployments. These features help your team reduce manual errors and limit the amount of time spent testing.

‍

A few best practices for using tools that have this tech:

• Set up automated validation builds to catch issues early.
• Use sandbox environments to test changes before pushing to production.
• Leverage Git-based CI/CD tools like Blue Canvas for smooth deployments.

‍

Blue Canvas makes it easy for your development teams to roll out new, well-tested code without much hassle. Ready to give it a try?

‍

‍

Conclusion

‍

Can finding the right software to enable your version control best practices be tricky? Yes! But does it transform the way your team can work? Absolutely!

‍

While we're a bit biased about the solution we provide for teams here at Blue Canvas,  if you're not going to use us, we hope you can use the tips above to optimize your team's workflow.

‍

Want to learn more about how Blue Canvas helps your team? Book a Demo here.

‍