Understand Platform Structure and Flow
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Describe key features of the Flosum platform structure.
- Identify the typical steps of the development flow within the Flosum platform.
This module is sponsored by and produced in collaboration with Flosum, which owns, supports, and maintains the Flosum products, services, and features described here. Use of Flosum products, services, and features is governed by privacy policies and service agreements maintained by Flosum. Learn more about partner content on Trailhead.
Flosum’s Platform Structure
Salesforce admins and developers know that finding a tool that helps them manage changes across the entire development lifecycle is no easy task. Many DevSecOps (development, security, operations) tools are siloed, which makes visibility and collaboration between teams a real struggle. And still others are not suited for the unique needs of the Salesforce Platform.
To deliver speedy, secure, and successful Salesforce releases, companies need a solution that streamlines processes, helps them quickly and easily identify and remedy code issues, keeps orgs in sync, and protects and preserves the integrity of customer data.
Flosum is a complete, end-to-end solution for Salesforce DevSecOps that allows developers and operations teams to orchestrate changes throughout the development lifecycle. Because it’s built on Salesforce and uses the Salesforce interface, Flosum doesn’t need to access or move data elsewhere.
The Flosum platform offers user-story management, built-in merge tools, version control, continuous deployments, static code analysis, regression-testing solutions, and more.
Let’s explore Flosum’s structure through the elements of its navigation.
| Navigation Tab | Functionality |
|---|---|
|
Home Tab |
Displays the Kanban board and SwimLanes, which let users track all stories, branches, and components; users can define and track promotion paths and manage all their work at the organizational level. |
|
Orgs Tab |
Shows users the various orgs that are connected to Flosum, the high-level details of changes that have been made or deployed in each org, code coverage, the audit trail for each org, and more |
|
Comparison Tab |
Lets users compare different orgs to each other or compare an org to a branch or even to a repository or source |
|
Branches, Source, and Commits Tabs |
Give users access to the native version control functionality built entirely within Flosum, which they can use independently or integrate with other version control systems |
|
Peer Reviews Tab |
Allows users to merge the code of different branches and facilitate a peer code review |
|
Pipelines Tab |
Lets users define pipelines to automate and execute each step of the development process as code gets deployed upstream, or use pipelines for back promotions |
|
SwimLanes Tab |
Lets users view SwimLanes in the Kanban board |
|
Dashboard Tab |
Gives users the ability to view all of the reports, dashboards, and key performance indicator (KPI) metrics for the platform stored within Salesforce custom objects; users can use standard reporting or manipulate their reporting with another tool such as Salesforce CRM Analytics to reflect their business needs. |
|
Settings Tab |
Allows users to control all of the settings in the Flosum platform (system admins only) |
Flosum also helps teams connect all of their sandboxes, test orgs, and production environments to create a super-smooth development flow. Let’s get into it.
Flosum’s Development Flow
Ready to go with the flow? Here are the basic steps of development that the developer completes using the Flosum platform:
- Creates a branch.
- Commits components to the branch.
- Ties a user story to the branch.
- Makes a request for peer code review.
- Merges the various branches into a release branch.
- Uses Overwrite Protection to review and resolve any merge conflicts.
- Deploys the release branch to testing orgs and then to production.
- Commits their changes to the Flosum repository. The Flosum platform automatically deploys those changes to the production org and back-deploys to all sandboxes so that they remain in sync.
This flow represents the “best practice” for development; keep in mind that the Flosum platform is flexible, so teams can use it in many ways and adapt it to their needs.
Now that you’re familiar with the platform’s features and flow, it’s time to break down the first six development steps. Head on over to the next unit to prepare for deployment.