Technical Architect would have wide information over numerous platforms, with the ability to evaluate the environment and business needs to configure secure, high-performing specialized solutions on the Force.com platform. A Technical Architect would impart specialized solutions for business partners and give a framework that guarantees quality and in-time success. However, it is very much crucial to understand the SaaS model and technologies behind it to get the required ROI. Here are the ten key points to consider during the development life cycle of your application.
Key # 1: Leveraging automatically generated screens
Automatically generated screens by the Force.com platform consumes less time as compared to custom screens designed using visual force pages. Although designers can design any user interface and still provide the same look and feel as that of an existing application but these pages consume more time and are expensive as opposed to using the automatically generated screens. Make sure you understand the trade-offs before making choice between custom and automatically generated screens.
Key # 2: Use Force.com configuration where ever possible as compared to Custom Code
Spend more time in understanding the declarative part of Force.com such as Workflows, Approval Processes, Validation rules, etc than spending time on custom code since custom code will increase development time, testing time, and the entire timeframe. With custom code we can implement any kind of functionality, still to save time and money Salesforce advices to use Force.com configuration as much as possible.
Key # 3: Building a Force.com prototype is the primary step before starting the development
Design decisions and Prototypes saves time and cost in building an app. Using Force.com platform we can build a Prototype within days. Also, with prototype we get a feedback on functionality and UI from the users. This saves time and cost and we still have room for making changes at the prototype level.
Key # 4: Never use traditional Database Design techniques over Force.com
The data stored over Force.com is structured in nature and most designers misinterpret this and define a data model like a relational database, thinking the data stored in Force.com can be stored and retrieved through the relationships. Force.com gives the flexibility to create custom objects, relationships, reports, etc. Hence defining data model like a relational database can impact user experience, analytics and performance.
Key # 5: Structure the custom code for future reuse
Before writing a custom code we need to determine how the code must be designed and written so that once deployed we don’t need to redesign it. You can use Visualforce and Apex triggers for composing custom code, contingent upon your need. Visualforce gives the capacity to outline complex UIs utilizing custom controllers which can be reused in other Visualforce pages, including Visualforce segments that can be reused.
Key # 6: Optimizing the Code
Effective utilization of framework assets is critical in Force.com. Spend time upfront to optimize code after advancement, since it will be required even with the most vigorous plan, because of runtime issues. For example, the aggregate number of SOQL queries may surpass the given limit if there are many triggers written on an object. Optimizing such a code may improve performance and gives room for future enhancements.
Reference: http://developer.salesforce.com/page/10_Common_Mistakes_Architects_Make