This is technically a pretty simple exam,
not much magic here. The challenge is basically that there is vast amount of
materials that you need to read through.
To pass this, all you need is basically to complete
the list of self-study courses, memorise the information, and you are ready to
go.
You should not have much issue for this
exam, unless you are truly not ready yet… 😐
Use the LSA Study Guide
I have seen candidates, who just based their
studies on the list of prerequisites listed at the following Pega Academy URL:
https://academy.pega.com/library/74/lead-system-architect-readiness-exam
Well, those are not enough!
As a first step, you should get a copy of
the Study Guide, and use it as the base for your preparation. As of this
writing, the Study Guide is available at the following URL:
https://home.pearsonvue.com/Clients/Pegasystems/LSA_study_guide.aspx
In case the link changes, you can always
Google for it.
The most important part of the Study Guide
is a list of links that points you to the knowledge that you should learn. The
following is a screenshot of that document:
The tricky part of this exam is that the
coverage is HUGE. It is highly likely that after you had completed all the materials,
you had forgotten about what you learnt earlier. To address this, always make
it a good practice to keep notes of all your studies.
New Exam Question Format
The exam is conducted at Pearson VUE, where
the format is similar to the other certifications, with some subtle
differences:
Figure 3: New Exam Question Format
Note that there is now a new type of
question format: “drag & drop questions”.
If you had done other exams before (e.g.
from Oracle, Microsoft, CISCO, etc), you will know that this means that you
might be given a number of choices for a given questions, and you need to drag
all the applicable choices to a given area; and depending on the question
itself, you might need to sort them in the correct order.
To address this type of questions, make
sure that during your study, pay extra attention to any information that
requires a specific ordering of steps to complete.
Although in a real-world scenario some of
the order might not be important, you may still be expected to present it in
the expected order that you have been taught.
Where Should You Start?
In general, always use the reference links
provided. Even if you are certified in a minor version earlier, always go
through the EXACT version provided in the reference links again!
Newbies
If you are a newbie or someone with a lot
of time, I would advise you to study according to the order presented in the
LSA Study Guide.
Start with the Pega Academy Courses:
- System Architect Essentials
- Senior System Architect
- Pega Customer Service Foundation
- Implementing Pega Customer Service
- Pega Decisioning Consultant
Then the SSA Advanced Topics:
- Customizing Security Requirements in Pega Applications
- Customizing the User Experience
- Configuring Agent Processing
- Improving Application Performance
- Creating Mobile Solutions
Followed
by the list of help files.
Experts With Limited Time
First of
all, you need to understand there is a risk if you are going to focus on
certain topics instead of others.
On the
other hand, if you know yourself well, then it would not be efficient for you
to spent too much time on topics that you are an expert in.
The
first step is to read through the fine lines of the CLSA certifications, which
stated:
“However, recognizing that each person has
different project implementation opportunities, Pega Academy is introducing self-paced
courses that help system architects fill potential gaps in knowledge and
experience.”
Those
were the introduction lines given for the SSA Advanced Topics, so your focus is
to ensure that you are up to that level for all the topics listed there.
Next
step would be to go through the Pega Academy courses. You could possibly do a
quick run through of the “System Architect Essentials” but focus more on the “Senior
System Architect”.
The
reason is that if you are a good SSA and knows the basic of Pega, then you
would not have any problem doing the “Senior System Architect” directly without
revising the “System Architect Essentials”.
After
that, do the rest of the courses: “Pega Customer Service Foundation”,
“Implementing Pega Customer Service”, and “Pega Decisioning Consultant”.
Depending
on your proficiency in those and the version that you are certified in, spend
appropriate amount of time on those.
Next, do
a quick browse of the help files. I would not recommend you to memory any information
there, as there is simply too much information. Just make sure you browse
through and understand those.
Lastly,
go through the SSA Advanced Topics once again. You might have forgotten stuff
over there!
In
summary, this is what I suggest for an expert:
- SSA Advanced Topics
- Senior System Architect, (for SAE, just use it as a reference or do the practice exam)
- Do other courses, such as: “Pega Customer Service Foundation”, “Implementing Pega Customer Service”, and “Pega Decisioning Consultant”
- Browse through the help files (if you are hard-pressed for time, then do a quick one)
- Do the SSA Advanced Topics again
Once
again, this ‘express path’ entails risk and you should assess your capability
appropriately.
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.
Remember, no matter how well you know the various topics or how recent your version is, make it a point that you read the EXACT version given in the link.
By default, read it in the given order. The Help Files are huge, you may not be able to cover all.
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