The Challenge
When I joined SiriusXM, the Salesforce org had grown organically over several years. Multiple teams had built solutions in isolation, leading to duplicated logic, inconsistent data models, and integrations that were difficult to maintain. The platform needed a cohesive architecture that could scale with the business.
My Approach
Discovery & Assessment
I started by mapping every integration, automation, and custom object across the org. This audit revealed over 40 process builders and workflows that could be consolidated, and several integration points that were prone to failure without proper error handling.
Architecture Design
I designed a layered architecture that separated concerns clearly:
- Integration Layer - A unified API gateway pattern using Platform Events and Change Data Capture to decouple systems
- Business Logic Layer - Consolidated automation using Flow Builder and well-structured Apex trigger handlers
- Data Layer - Normalized data model with clear ownership boundaries between teams
Implementation
The rollout was phased over three quarters to minimize disruption:
- Q1: Migrated legacy process builders to Flow, reducing automation count by 60%
- Q2: Implemented the integration framework with proper retry logic and dead letter queues
- Q3: Data model refactoring with backward-compatible field migrations
Results
- 60% reduction in automated processes through consolidation
- 99.8% uptime on integration endpoints (up from ~95%)
- 3x faster deployment cycles with cleaner separation of concerns
- 40% fewer support tickets related to data inconsistencies
Key Takeaways
The biggest lesson was that architecture isn’t just about the technical design - it’s about getting buy-in from every team that touches the platform. I spent significant time building documentation, running workshops, and creating self-service tools so teams could work within the new framework independently.
This case study covers work completed at SiriusXM in 2024. Specific implementation details have been generalized to protect proprietary information.