⚡ What’s New for Heroku Developers in Winter ’26?
More scenarios involving Heroku Connect, Event-driven designs, and API-led integration with Salesforce core, Experience Cloud, and external systems.
Increased focus on runtime security, config management, secret storage, and aligning Heroku apps with enterprise security baselines and trust requirements.
More questions around pipelines, continuous delivery, logging and monitoring, and how to design resilient architectures for production workloads.
Salesforce Heroku Developer Accredited Professional Exam Guide
Design, Build & Operate Cloud Apps on Heroku Connected to Salesforce
The Salesforce Heroku Developer Accredited Professional credential validates your ability to design, implement, and operate Heroku-based applications that integrate with Salesforce. It covers app architecture, data services, security, DevOps, and integration patterns used in real-world Salesforce programs.
📊 Exam at a Glance
Exam Domains & Weightage (High-Level View)
1. Heroku Platform Fundamentals & Architecture
~20%This domain covers core Heroku platform concepts and how apps run in the Heroku runtime.
- Understanding dynos, buildpacks, slugs, and the Heroku runtime model.
- Choosing between Common Runtime, Private Spaces, and Shield environments.
- Managing configuration via config vars and environment variables.
- Using add-ons and third-party services from the Heroku Elements Marketplace.
- Basic networking and region considerations for global applications.
Expect questions that test whether you can pick the right Heroku architecture for security, performance, and connectivity requirements.
2. Data Services & Salesforce Integration
~25%Here the exam evaluates how well you can design and implement data strategies between Heroku, Salesforce, and external systems.
- Using Heroku Postgres, connection pooling, and basic data modeling.
- Configuring and tuning Heroku Connect for bidirectional Salesforce sync.
- Choosing between Connect, APIs, events, or ETL tools for integration.
- Handling data residency, compliance, and PII in multi-system architectures.
- Managing sync performance, conflict resolution, and error handling.
Many questions here are scenario-based: you must pick the most appropriate integration approach instead of just knowing the features.
3. App Design, Development & Scaling
~25%This domain focuses on building 12-factor style applications that are secure, scalable, and maintainable.
- Applying 12-factor app principles (config, logs, disposability, statelessness).
- Using worker dynos, scheduled jobs, and background processing patterns.
- Scaling dynos horizontally and vertically; understanding limits and bottlenecks.
- Designing APIs and services that integrate with Salesforce or other consumers.
- Handling large traffic spikes, timeouts, and long-running processes responsibly.
The exam expects you to recognize good vs. poor Heroku design choices when given a scenario.
4. Security, Compliance & Access Control
~15%This domain checks whether you can align Heroku solutions with enterprise security and compliance needs.
- Storing secrets securely with config vars and add-ons (e.g., Vault or similar).
- Implementing TLS/SSL, HTTPS, and secure endpoints.
- Choosing Shield and Private Space features for stricter compliance requirements.
- Managing user access to apps, pipelines, and teams using Heroku access controls.
- Understanding logging requirements, audit trails, and data protection considerations.
5. DevOps, Pipelines & Operations
~15%Finally, the exam looks at how you deploy, monitor, and operate Heroku apps in production.
- Using Heroku Pipelines for staging, testing, and production environments.
- Review apps, CI/CD integration, and automated deployments.
- Monitoring apps using logs, metrics, and alerting (e.g., Logplex, add-ons).
- Handling incidents, rollbacks, releases, and maintenance windows.
- Cost optimization and right-sizing dynos and add-ons.
Percentages above are grouped at a high level based on public patterns for Accredited Professional exams; Salesforce may adjust them in future releases.
📝 Sample Heroku Developer AP Questions
💡 Practice with Scenario-Based Questions
These questions are not from the actual exam, but mirror the style and reasoning required. Focus on architecture choices, trade-offs, and how Heroku fits into a broader Salesforce solution.
Question 1 – Heroku Connect & Data Strategy
A customer wants a Heroku application that surfaces Salesforce Account and Contact data in a custom UI. They also want to write back updates such as a “Customer Portal Preference” field, and they expect near real-time sync. What is the most appropriate approach?
✓ Correct Answer: B) Use Heroku Connect with bidirectional mappings between Salesforce and Heroku Postgres.
Heroku Connect is purpose-built for syncing Salesforce objects to Heroku Postgres with near real-time updates. Bidirectional mappings allow the app to both read and write Account and Contact data while respecting the Salesforce data model and avoiding unnecessary custom ETL logic.
Question 2 – Runtime & Architecture
A financial-services client needs a Heroku application that handles sensitive customer data and must meet stricter compliance requirements. They also require private network connectivity back to their data center. Which architecture choice best aligns with these needs?
✓ Correct Answer: B) Use Private Spaces or Shield Private Spaces with appropriate networking features.
Private Spaces (or Shield Private Spaces) are designed for stricter compliance, isolated runtime, and private networking capabilities such as VPN/PrivateLink. This aligns with regulatory and connectivity needs much better than the Common Runtime or an entirely on-prem approach.
Question 3 – DevOps & Pipelines
Your team wants to implement a continuous delivery process for a Heroku app. They currently deploy manually to production and have no way to validate changes with business stakeholders before release. Which approach best uses Heroku features to improve this process?
✓ Correct Answer: B) Create a Heroku Pipeline with staging and production apps, and enable Review Apps for pull requests.
A Heroku Pipeline provides a clear path from development to staging to production, while Review Apps create temporary environments per pull request so stakeholders can validate changes before they are promoted. This is the most robust and recommended DevOps approach for Heroku.
🎯 4–6 Week Study Plan for Heroku Developer AP
Review Heroku docs on dynos, buildpacks, config vars, and add-ons. Spin up a simple app (e.g., Node or Java) and connect it to Heroku Postgres. Practice using the CLI, logs, and scaling commands.
Configure Heroku Connect in a sandbox project. Map Accounts/Contacts, observe sync behavior, and test updates from both Salesforce and the app. Explore when to use Connect vs. APIs vs. events.
Study Private Spaces, Shield, and security best practices. Build a small pipeline with staging/production and Review Apps. Work through scenario-style questions and write short architecture summaries for 2–3 example customer use cases.
💡 Exam & Real-World Success Tips
The exam expects you to choose the right Heroku features for the job: runtime type, data services, integration approach, and scaling strategy — not just write code that “works”.
Even a small sample app that integrates with Salesforce via Heroku Connect will make the exam scenarios feel much more natural and easier to reason about.
Strong answers consider deployment, monitoring, and incident response. Don’t ignore logs, metrics, and rollbacks — they are part of being a production-ready Heroku developer.
Salesforce Heroku Developer Accredited Professional – FAQ
Who is the Heroku Developer AP exam for?
This exam targets developers and architects who build applications on Heroku and integrate them with Salesforce. Typical candidates are full-stack developers, integration developers, and technical leads working on Heroku-based solutions in Salesforce projects.
How is this different from the Heroku Architect certification?
The Heroku Developer AP focuses on hands-on implementation: building apps, using data services, and implementing integration patterns. A Heroku Architect credential emphasizes broader architecture, governance, and program-level decisions. Many professionals start with the developer-level credential and later pursue architect-level paths.
How much experience should I have before attempting this exam?
While there is no formal requirement, most successful candidates have at least 6–12 months of hands-on Heroku experience, including building apps, working with Heroku Postgres, and integrating with Salesforce via Connect or APIs.
Do I need Salesforce certifications before taking this AP?
Not strictly, but having a foundation such as Salesforce Administrator or developer-level experience makes it much easier to reason about Salesforce data models, security, and integration scenarios that appear in the exam.