So yeah, I finally cleared the Salesforce Platform Integration Architect (Plat-Arch-204) exam, and I won’t lie, this one tests how you think, not how much you can memorize. If you’re expecting straight “what does this API do” questions, this exam will humble you pretty quickly.What really helped me was first understanding what Salesforce expects from an Integration Architect. The exam is less about knowing every integration option and more about choosing the right one for a specific business scenario. Almost every question felt like a mini real-world problem: multiple systems, data volume concerns, security constraints, near-real-time vs async needs, and then you’re asked to recommend the best approach without overengineering it.In the beginning, I made the mistake of trying to study everything equally. That didn’t work. Once I shifted my mindset to thinking in terms of scenarios, things clicked. I focused heavily on understanding when to use REST vs SOAP, when Platform Events make more sense than Change Data Capture, and how middleware fits into complex enterprise landscapes. A lot of the questions subtly test whether you understand trade-offs, like performance vs consistency or simplicity vs scalability.Preparation-wise, I relied a lot on official Salesforce documentation and Trailhead, especially the integration architecture modules. But reading alone wasn’t enough. You really need to practice applying those concepts. That’s where Plat-Arch-204 practice questions made a big difference for me. I used Pass4Future for Salesforce Platform Integration Architect (Plat-Arch-204) exam practice questions once I had a decent conceptual foundation, and honestly, that’s where I realized my weak spots. The questions aren’t about tricking you, but they force you to slow down and think, “What is the architecturally best solution here?” I’d often get an answer wrong, review why, and then realize I was thinking more like a developer than an architect.One thing I strongly recommend is not rushing practice exams. I treated them like learning tools, not scorecards. After each session, I spent more time reviewing explanations than celebrating correct answers. Pass4Future helped here because it exposed me to the exam-style wording, which is a big deal, Salesforce loves long, detailed scenarios with just enough extra info to distract you.On exam day, time management wasn’t as scary as I expected, but mental fatigue is real. The questions require focus all the way through, so staying calm and reading carefully helped a lot. I kept reminding myself that there’s usually one architecturally clean answer and the rest are either too complex, too risky, or don’t scale well.If you’re preparing for Plat-Arch-204, my biggest advice is this: think like someone who has to defend their design to stakeholders. Don’t just ask “Can Salesforce do this?”, ask “Should Salesforce do this in this situation?” Combine solid concept study with realistic practice questions like those from Pass4Future, and you’ll start noticing patterns in how Salesforce expects you to reason.Hope this helps someone out there preparing for the exam. Happy to answer questions or hear how others approached it too.