Data-Con-101 Exam Objectives and Topics Explained (2026)

The Salesforce Data-Con-101 exam catches a lot of experienced Salesforce professionals off guard. Not because the content is unfamiliar, but because the exam objectives and topics are more specific than the general platform experience prepares you for. Data architecture decisions, integration pattern selection, large data volume management, and cross-environment data flow all show up in ways that day-to-day admin or developer work rarely forces you to think about formally. Knowing exactly what the exam covers before starting prep saves weeks of studying the wrong material and walking into the wrong areas with false confidence.

The exam has 60 questions, a 105-minute time limit, and a passing score of 65%. That threshold looks manageable until you're inside a scenario-based question where two answer choices are both technically valid, and the correct one depends entirely on one constraint buried in line three of the stem.

Breaking Down the Data-Con-101 Exam Objectives and Topics by Domain

Data modeling and management carry the heaviest weight across the Data-Con-101 exam objectives and topics. This goes well beyond knowing object relationship types. Questions describe business scenarios with specific reporting, access, and performance requirements and ask you to select the correct data model decision and justify the trade-offs against platform constraints. Lookup versus master-detail isn't a definition question here. It's a consequence question.

Integration architecture is the second major domain. External system connectivity, API selection, middleware patterns, and how data moves between Salesforce and third-party platforms without creating sync conflicts or integrity issues. These questions require understanding when platform events are more appropriate than outbound messaging, or when a REST callout makes more sense than a batch integration, based on the volume and reliability requirements described in each scenario.

Data migration planning shows up more than most candidates expect. Sequencing migration activities, handling data transformation requirements, managing record ownership during migration, and validating data post-load are all tested directly. Getting these right means understanding the full migration lifecycle, not just knowing which tool handles bulk inserts.

Where Candidates Lose Points Across Data-Con-101 Exam Topics

Large data volume management is the area that costs the most points and gets the least attention in most study plans. At 18% of the exam, Data Source Connection and Ingestion is the single heaviest domain, yet it remains chronically underprepared. Questions around skinny tables, query optimization, indexed fields, and how record volume affects automation performance require platform depth that general Salesforce experience does not always build. Six consecutive wrong answers in this area during week two of prep was the signal to spend four focused days there before moving forward.

Data security and sharing is the second area that surprises people, sitting across Setup and Administration at 13% and Identity Resolution at 12%, together accounting for a quarter of the exam. The challenge is not basic profile and permission set questions but scenario-based questions about sharing rule conflicts, implicit sharing through hierarchies, and how external sharing settings interact with community access. These appear inside larger data architecture questions rather than as standalone topics, which makes them harder to isolate in practice and easier to underestimate when building a study plan.

Data-Con-101 Sample Exam Questions and What They Tell You About Exam Difficulty

Most candidates underestimate how close the answer choices are until they sit with real exam-format questions. Two options will both be technically correct. The correct one is determined by a single constraint in the scenario. That gap between knowing the content and applying it under those conditions is where most first attempts fall short.

Working through Salesforce Data-Con-101 Exam Questions on CertBoosters gives a realistic picture of that difficulty before exam day. The desktop software runs a real-time exam simulation and gives an explanation for each question after submission, which makes it easier to understand where reasoning went wrong rather than just knowing an answer was incorrect.

Turning Data-Con-101 Exam Objectives Into a Structured 30-Day Study Plan

Map your existing Salesforce knowledge against the four exam domains in week one. Data modeling knowledge from admin work transfers reasonably well. Integration architecture and LDV management almost always need focused attention, regardless of background or experience level.

Get into timed question sets by day 8. Reviewing Data-Con-101 exam questions under time pressure from early in prep builds the judgment the exam tests far faster than reading Salesforce documentation alone. Three consecutive timed mock scores above 70% are a reliable signal that exam day is the right next step.