Hello again!  I’m Daphne, a Salesforce admin and solution designer.  I love designing solutions on the Salesforce platform.

My team is creating a new custom object called Business Plan to support management’s new business planning process.  As part of this development we need to decide if we use an existing Salesforce App or create a new one.

Today I want to walk you through the thought process related to the question “Do I create an app for that?”   Understanding when to create an app and when to use an existing app can impact the usability and efficiency of your Salesforce environment.

Before we dive into what should be considered in determining if we just add a tab to an existing app or we create a whole new app, let’s take a quick look at what a Salesforce app is in this context and what is included in its design.

What is a Salesforce App?

In Salesforce, an app is a group of tabs that work as a unit to provide functionality to users. Each app contains a different set of tabs that correspond to objects or functionalities needed for a particular business process or user group. 

App Details & Branding

Each app has a name, developer name, description and branding (image, Primary color) which can be used instead of the org’s default.

App Options

Each app has a navigation style:

• Standard – tabs are displayed across the top of the app
• Console – tabs are accessed from a drop down menu

Supported Form Factors:

• Desktop and phone – indicates the app is accessible from desktop and mobile
• Desktop – indicates the app is accessible only from desktop

App Personalization Settings

• Disable end user personalization of nav items in this app
• Clear workspace tabs for each new console session
• Use Omni-Channel sidebar

Utility Items (Desktop Only)

If the app is desktop, you can give users quick access to productivity tools and add background utility items to the app.

Navigation Items

Choose the items to include in the app, and arrange the order in which they appear.  Users can personalize the navigation to add or move items (if that has not been disabled) but users can’t remove or rename the items that you add.  Some navigation items are available only for phone or only for desktop.  These items are dropped from the navigation bar when the app is viewed in a format that the item doesn’t support.

Navigation Rules

Navigation rules determine whether to open a related record in addition to the primary record.

User Access

Choose the user profiles that can access the app. You can also grant access to an app using a permission set.

Considerations for creating an app or using an existing App

Need a New App

Distinct Business Processes

If your organization has a distinct business process that operates independently of existing processes, creating a new app might be necessary. This separation helps in maintaining clarity and focus, allowing users to access only the tools and data necessary for their specific tasks. For instance, a manufacturing firm may need separate apps for production planning, inventory management, and sales processing.

Different User Roles

Salesforce allows customization and personalization based on user roles. If there are user groups with significantly different roles and responsibilities, it might be beneficial to develop separate apps. For example, the needs of a sales team are different from those of a support team; each can have apps tailored with relevant functionalities and data access controls.

Enhanced Performance

As apps grow in size and complexity, performance can become an issue. By creating separate apps for different parts of your business, you can enhance performance by reducing the number of tabs and records each app needs to handle, thereby streamlining the operations within each app.

Security and Compliance Needs

Different apps can be equipped with specific security settings to comply with internal and external regulations. If parts of your business need to adhere to stricter access controls and data security standards (like GDPR or HIPAA compliance), creating separate apps helps in segregating data and maintaining security protocols effectively.

Improved Navigation and User Experience

If users find it difficult to navigate through a large number of tabs and functions within a single app, creating multiple apps with fewer, more focused tabs can enhance user experience. This approach minimizes confusion and improves productivity by making it easier for users to find the tools and data they need.

Need it on the go

If users will be using their phones to use the new business process / tab then a new app or an exist app needs to use the standard navigation style and be setup for mobile as well as desktop.

Add a Tab to an Existing App

Closely Related Features

If the new functionality is closely related to the existing features of an app, adding a tab can be more appropriate than creating a new app. This ensures that users don’t have to switch contexts frequently, which can disrupt workflow and decrease efficiency.

Limited User Base

If only a small group within the existing app needs access to the new functionality, adding a tab may suffice instead of creating a new app, which could complicate the environment.

Cost and Resource Efficiency

Developing a new app can be resource-intensive, requiring planning, testing, and training. If the addition of a new tab satisfies the business requirement without the overhead of a new app, it is more cost-effective and efficient.

Minimal Impact on Performance

If the addition of a new tab is unlikely to impact the performance of the existing app significantly, and if the data volume and processing requirements are manageable, it is practical to simply add a tab.

 Consolidation and Simplicity

In cases where organizations aim to reduce the complexity of their Salesforce environment, consolidating features into fewer apps by adding tabs can simplify training, support, and maintenance.

Design Considerations for Our Scenario

So now that we’ve touched on all the things you need to think about when setting up a Salesforce app, we now need to ask questions which will help us determine the best choice for our users.  Below are the questions that needed answers before making the final decision about needing a new app or using an existing one.

Design Related Questions

• Is Business Planning a distinct business process or closely related to an existing process?
  • Business Planning has been done in a different system but the business wants to bring that process into Salesforce.  Although it is related to sales and is done by the sales team, it is typically only done once a year.

• Do we need to brand this new process?
  • Business stakeholders currently don’t have a clear requirement that business planning process needs its own logo/image and color.  At this point they would be ok with or without specific branding.

• With which navigation style are the users who would be involved in business planning comfortable?
  • Users are comfortable with console and standard styles.

• Do users need access to business planning on their mobile devices and desktop or just desktop?
  • Business planning should be done on desktop only

• Should users be allowed to personalize the app ?
  • Yes

• Are there any utility items that users should have easy access to for business planning?
  • Notes, ???

• What tabs should be available for business planning?
  • Home, Reports, Dashboards, Business Planning, Forecasting, Opportunities, Campaigns

• What information should be on the Home page for business planning?
  • Business Planning Dashboard, Tasks, events

• Which users should have access to business planning?
  • Sales team members, Sales managers

• What existing apps meet our needs?
  • Sales app could be used but it doesn’t provide utility menu because it is standard navigation so any utility items would need to be additional tabs

Summary of Design Choices

So based on the answers we received from our business stakeholders, here are our choices.

New App:  Business Planning

Navigation Style: Console

Form: Desktop Only

Utility Items: Notes

Navigation Items:  Home, Reports, Dashboards, Business Planning, Forecasting, Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities, Campaigns

User Access:  Business Planning permission set

Home Page:  New home page specific for business planning with all required elements

PROs

• Clearly separates this business process from sales
• Console provides ability to have utility items available all the time
• Console provides ability to relate records within a tab (account/contact/opp as an example)
• Home Page specific to business planning

CONs

• Increase in maintenance as we have another app and permission set
• Planning process limited visibility to users as it is seen only when new app is accessed
• Additional components (app, home page, permission set) for the new app

Existing App: Sales

Navigation Style: Standard

Form: Desktop and Phone

Utility Items: None because it is standard navigation style

Navigation Items:  Home, Leads, Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities, Campaigns, Reports, Dashboards, Tasks, Business Planning, Forecasting, Notes

User Access:  Sales Team permission set (modified to include business planning objects)

Home Page: Add tabs to Sales home page so business planning dashboard can be added

PROs

• Using existing app means no additional components are created
• Planning process visible to users as tabs are on their primary app (Sales)

CONs

• No clear separation of the sales and business planning processes
• No easy access to utility actions
• Home page has to handle dashboard for sales and a dashboard for business planning

Conclusion

Deciding whether to create a new app or add a tab in Salesforce should be guided by clear understanding of the business processes, user needs, and strategic objectives. Creating a new app is advisable when there is a clear distinction in functionality, user roles, security needs, or when enhanced performance is required. Conversely, adding a tab is beneficial when new features are closely related to existing ones, impacting a limited user base, or when resource and cost efficiency are priority.

In this scenario making a choice between a new app or existing app is a bit harder because the business users don’t have a strong preference for navigation style and the business planning user base is the same as the sales app user base.  Since planning is done once a year, I am leaning towards a new app just to keep things separate.  Although a new app technically increases maintenance, the level is so small that I’m fine with it.

I hope this exercise helps you in your design decisions regarding Salesforce apps.

Let me know in the comments which design choice you’d make in this scenario or what other things you might want to consider.