You’re cruising along in Salesforce, updating a record, life is good. Then… BAM! A validation rule appears, stopping you dead in your tracks. And who’s behind it? Your friendly neighborhood Salesforce Admin, diligently keeping data clean, one rule at a time! 🙅♂️ You ask why and your admin might say: 🗣️This is for your own good! 🗣️ Just trust me, this will make sense someday. 🗣️ Oh, you wanted that field left blank? Too bad! Some Useful Tips (and a Little Mercy) for Adding Validation Rules: ☑️ Be Clear with Your Error Messages “Field must not be empty” is no help. Try “Please fill in the estimated close date to keep track of important deal milestones!” Keep it kind and informative – it’ll make users almost thankful. ☑️Set Rules with Love and Logic Test scenarios before making it official. Just because the rule makes sense to you doesn’t mean it’s practical for users. Run through all the ways it could backfire! ☑️ Know When to Be Flexible Sometimes, a rule feels essential but ends up blocking workflows. If users are hitting the wall too often, consider loosening up on that rule or making it conditionally required. ☑️ Documentation Saves Relationships If you’re adding validation rules, keep a shared doc explaining what each rule does. It’ll save a lot of questions and give others a glimpse of the admin magic. ☑️ Start Simple, Go Granular Later Begin with broad validation rules to tackle the main data quality issues. Once those are working, you can refine for more specific cases. #Salesforce
Kyle LeBoeuf
1mo
This is not how to roll out changes to production. First needs to be user UAT, and after addressing that feedback, then announcement of upcoming changes, what they effect/how, and when going live. Use appropriate recurring department’s “All Hands” meeting to include this in the agenda. Joe LaGrutta, MBA
Jacob Jensen
1mo
I would also add be careful with how many fields a validation rule evaluates. Too many in a single error message can cause a lot of frustration as reps scroll through the object to find the fields.
Salesforce & Gainsight @ Avalara
1moWe avoid must validation rules by using guided screen flows. We do this for things like opportunity closed reasons and even stage progression. Try alternative solutions and both your stakeholders and users will thank you.