Lightning Experience is Salesforce’s enhanced user interface and will become the default setting with the Winter ‘20 release. Lightning Experience has a significantly revised look and feel intended to be more intuitive and user friendly. It provides enhanced Salesforce features, like quick actions and compact layouts. Administrators can enable these features for users and leverage them to effectively own their system. The transition to Lightning Experience will not impact an organization’s underlying data. And, it is worth noting Salesforce Classic is not going away in October. Salesforce is providing a transition period as the ideal time for an organization to review its environment and make adjustments as needed. In this post, we will explore Lightning Experience highlights, flag key considerations and discuss security settings for transitioning organizations.
Lightning Experience Highlights
Lightning Experience brings the Salesforce interface up to speed with most other web experiences. It includes a global search so users can efficiently find information and provides the ability to customize favorites, tabs, and list views. List views enable users to set default lists, choose displayed fields and utilize more dynamic filtering options. Administrators can tailor the user experience with Lightning Apps that display customized home screens and record pages with relevant objects. These objects may include highlights and a visual representation of its progress on a predetermined workflow.
The improved interface features additional functionality to streamline processes, unify teams and create a centralized source of truth. Calendar and email integrations (gmail, outlook) have been streamlined to track all communication in Salesforce. And, activity feeds keep action items front of mind for the assigned user. Small automations, called quick actions, make workflows more efficient and are less clunky than the custom url buttons they replace. Finally, reporting and dashboards have been upgraded with drag and drop functionality that make navigation easier. Many features are mobile optimized and allow users to find relevant, timely information on a phone or tablet.
Key Considerations
There are a few key considerations to ensure a successful transition from Salesforce Classic to Lightning Experience. First, organizations are required to activate My Domain which will provide them with a custom name for their Salesforce instance. Installed packages must be connected to the new domain in order to function properly. Other packages have buttons with custom urls and features that need to be modified for Lightning. Speak with your Salesforce Admin to understand the impact on your installed packages.
Consider Salesforce features that are being phased out and replaced by enhanced functionalities. For example, Salesforce Classic ‘Notes and Attachments’ must be converted to Enhanced Notes and Lightning Files. Finally, as with all major updates in Salesforce it is highly recommended to test in a sandbox environment. Visualforce pages, specifically, should be thoroughly tested during the transition. Most will continue to function as they have historically, but others may not. This also provides an opportunity to update pages by including Lightning components that can enhance the user experience and streamline processes. Proper preparation and testing will lead to a smooth transition that can organically increase user adoption.
Security Settings
Organizations transitioning to Lightning Experience are provided with an ideal opportunity to review their security settings. Lightning Experience is enabled by profile. Starting with the Winter ‘20 release, anyone with a Standard Salesforce Profile will automatically default to Lightning. This can be controlled under ‘Setup’. Navigate to the ‘Profiles’ page to create or edit a custom profile. To disable the automatic switch, uncheck the box labeled ‘Lightning Experience User’.
Use this time to review each user’s access and make adjustments to preserve data integrity and prevent the loss of information. For example, a communication user may only need to view development fields, while a program user may need to see sensitive constituent information. Each type of user should have access settings that represent their business needs. Adjusting access protects important organizational data and streamlines how users navigate through the Salesforce environment.
Summary + Conclusion
The Lightning Experience rollout is an opportunity for organizations to increase adoption by re-engaging their Salesforce users. Admins should keep in mind the advantages and key considerations to ensure a smooth transition. The re-designed interface, improved automation, ability to share relevant information and mobile optimized platform can enhance the effectiveness of the tool for any organization.