Pega CLSA Guide Book 1 - Preparing for LSA Architecture Exam

Before taking this exam, make sure that you have completed the Lead System Architect Course. In fact, if you look at the prerequisite for the Pega Architecture exam, you will notice the following:

• LSA Readiness Exam passed attempt (any version)
• CPDC certification (any version)
• Lead System Architect course (7.3-7.4)

Although this is the time where your CPDC certification is required, you may still wish to get your CPDC during your Readiness exam since the study material is also listed there.

Passing mark is 65% (Subject to change without notice). 65% seems to be on the low side compared with other Pega certifications. Trust me, it is not easy to achieve the 65%.

I had heard people comparing the CLSA 7.1 Part 1 with those of the new CLSA 7.3/7.4 exams. The comment is generally that CLSA 7.1 Part 1 is more difficult than the Readiness exam, while the Architecture exam is the most difficult among the 3.

I had also heard some saying that Architecture exam is easier.

My view is that it really depends. If you had been doing a lot of implementations with 7.3/7.4, including those advanced topics, under the guidance of a good LSA, then Architecture Exam would be easier for you.

However, if you had been hacking Pega to achieve your customers’ requirements, then the Architecture Exam will be very difficult for you.

Specifically, there are a lot of pitfalls created specially to catch those ‘naughty SSA’.

Therefore, when you read through the Lead System Architect Course, reflect to what you had been doing before, and then think about how you would have implemented it differently given the information in the course.

If your approach is going to be drastically different, my advice is for you to bring it up to the instructor and discuss the pros and cons of your approach.

In general, remember to review the information in the Lead System Architect Course, including those exercises, and make sure you complete all of those.

When I first took the Lead System Architect Course, the information and the exercises were still very crude.

In short, even if you followed the exercise steps, you will not be able to accomplish the exercises! ☹

However, do not stop there, load the sample exercises and walkthrough the instructions to understand how those are implemented.

With the recent revisions to the study materials, I believe it should be better now.


After completing the Lead System Architect Course, take note of the features mentioned within, launch the VM and try out the features yourself. Make sure you know how to use those. You need to have a working knowledge to pass.

Exams are largely the same format as other Pega certifications, except that there are now drag-and-drop questions. You need to select from a list, and most of the time, you must present it in the correct order. Therefore, while doing the studies, if there are specific steps, memorise them. In real life, some steps may not need to be in any specific order; however, in the exams, make sure you remember the order that you have been taught.

[Check the book availability here]