A re-engineered Salesforce Case Management architecture to support a custom People Object identity model, implement a centralized "Case Manager" ownership logic and automate multi-stage communication flows.
Tools: Assignment Rules, Public Groups, Queues, Custom Fields, Validation Rules, Flows
The standard Salesforce "User" model was insufficient for the brokerage’s requirements, necessitating a move to a custom People Object for identity management. However, this shift broke standard Case functionality, which traditionally relies on the User object for ownership, assignment, and notifications. The business required a way to maintain the power of Case Queues and Assignment Rules while ensuring that individual staff members ("Case Managers") could be tracked and notified through automated channel, all while linking incoming requests to the correct agent or assistant's "People" record based on from emails for email-to-case scenarios.
I architected a custom Case Framework that bridges the gap between standard Case objects and the custom People records. I introduced a Case Manager lookup field to the People object to act as the "true owner" for reporting and notification purposes. To ensure data integrity, I implemented validation rules that require only staff accounts be assigned as Case Manager as well as making this a required field. Furthermore, I developed an "Email-to-People" matching logic within the Case Flow, which automatically identifies and stamps the submitting agent’s People record onto the Case, ensuring the support staff has an immediate, 360-degree view of the requester's history.
The system operates through a hybrid architecture that blends standard Salesforce functionality with custom automation to bypass the limitations of the default User object. When an inquiry is received via Email-to-Case, a record-triggered flow parses the sender's address to automatically resolve and link the Case to the corresponding People record, ensuring staff have immediate access to the requester's full profile. While standard Case Assignment Rules and Queues manage the initial triaging, I introduced a "Case Manager" lookup field to the People object to function as the primary driver for ownership and accountability. As a Case moves through its lifecycle, a suite of automated flows monitors this field to dispatch real-time alerts for New, On-Hold, Assigned, Escalated, and Closed statuses directly to the responsible staff member and the submitter. To maintain data integrity, strict validation rules and field requirements enforce the assignment of a Case Manager during key status transitions, while customized List Views and Dashboards provide a centralized "Help Request" interface tailored specifically to this custom ownership model.