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#20🏗️ ArchitectureRookie

No Naming Convention: The Org That Named Itself

“Let every admin and developer name things however they wanted. Two years later, nobody could find anything.”

What Happened

Over two years, multiple admins and developers built on the same org with no naming convention. We ended up with fields like Status__c, Status_New__c, Status_v2__c, StatusFinal__c, and Contact_Status__c — all on the same object. Flows named 'Test Flow,' 'My Flow,' 'Opportunity Update NEW,' and 'DO NOT DELETE.' Apex classes named Helper.cls, Utils.cls, Helper2.cls, and NewHelper.cls. I spent an entire day just trying to figure out which Status field was the real one.

The Wrong Way

// Fields on Contact:
// Status__c
// Status_New__c
// Status_v2__c
// StatusFinal__c
// Contact_Status__c ← which one is real?
//
// Flows:
// "Test Flow" ← is this active in prod?
// "My Flow" ← whose flow?
// "Opportunity Update NEW" ← new vs old?
// "DO NOT DELETE" ← why? what does it do?
//
// Apex:
// Helper.cls, Utils.cls, Helper2.cls
// What do any of these do?

The Right Way

// Naming Convention (enforce from Day 1):
//
// Custom Fields: ObjectName_Purpose__c
//   Contact.Enrollment_Status__c
//   Contact.Preferred_Contact_Method__c
//
// Flows: Object - Trigger Type - Description
//   "Opportunity - After Save - Set Region"
//   "Contact - Screen - Enrollment Form"
//
// Apex: ObjectName + Pattern + Purpose
//   OpportunityTriggerHandler.cls
//   ContactService.cls
//   FundingRequestSelector.cls
//
// Validation Rules: Object_ShortDescription
//   Opp_Amount_Required_On_Close
//
// Document it in a wiki. Review it in code review.
// Enforce it or it won't happen.

The Lesson

Establish a naming convention on Day 1 and enforce it in every code review and admin change. An org without naming conventions becomes unsearchable, unmaintainable, and terrifying within a year.

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