CSA Application Design & Development — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which Pega rule type defines the stages, processes, and steps that make up a case's life cycle?
- Flow action
- Case type (Correct answer)
- Section
- Data transform
Correct answer: Case type
The case type rule stores the case life cycle configured in Case Designer, including stages, processes, and steps.
Question 2: A loan case must handle a 'Fraud Suspected' path that falls outside the normal happy path. Which stage type should model this?
- Primary stage
- Resolution stage
- Alternate stage (Correct answer)
- Optional stage
Correct answer: Alternate stage
Alternate stages model exceptions and deviations from the primary path of a case.
Question 3: Which Case Designer step type creates an assignment where a user enters data in a form?
- Collect information (Correct answer)
- Send email
- Create case
- Automation
Correct answer: Collect information
A Collect information step creates an assignment that presents a form for user input.
Question 4: Which flow shape runs multiple subprocesses in parallel and waits for all or some of them to finish before the parent flow continues?
- Split For Each
- Spinoff
- Decision
- Split Join (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Split Join
Split Join starts subprocesses in parallel and rejoins the parent flow based on the configured join condition.
Question 5: In a Pega service-level agreement, which interval begins once the deadline has elapsed?
- Goal
- Passed deadline (Correct answer)
- Urgency
- Escalation start
Correct answer: Passed deadline
The passed deadline interval runs after the deadline expires and can repeat escalation actions.
Question 6: Users need to update a customer address at any point during a case, regardless of stage. How should this be configured?
- As a stage-only optional action
- As a step in every stage
- As a case-wide optional action (Correct answer)
- As an alternate stage
Correct answer: As a case-wide optional action
Case-wide optional actions are available to users throughout the entire case life cycle.
Question 7: How can a process within a stage be skipped automatically when a condition is not met?
- Add a start condition (When rule) to the process (Correct answer)
- Delete the process from the stage
- Mark the stage as alternate
- Set the stage to resolve the case
Correct answer: Add a start condition (When rule) to the process
Configuring a start condition on a process lets Pega skip it when the condition evaluates to false.
Question 8: Which field type links a case to an existing instance of a data object, such as a Customer record?
- Text (single line)
- Field group
- Picklist
- Data reference (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Data reference
A data reference field points to records of a data object that has its own system of record.
Question 9: Which property mode stores an ordered list of embedded pages of the same class?
- Page
- Page List (Correct answer)
- Value List
- Page Group
Correct answer: Page List
A Page List property holds an ordered, numerically indexed list of embedded pages.
Question 10: Which data transform does Pega typically invoke to set default property values when a new case is created?
- pyDefault (Correct answer)
- pySetFieldDefaults
- pyLoad
- pyInitialize
Correct answer: pyDefault
The pyDefault data transform initializes property values when a case instance is created.
Question 11: An order total must recalculate automatically whenever item quantity or price changes. Which rule type is best?
- Data transform
- Activity
- Declare expression (Correct answer)
- When rule
Correct answer: Declare expression
Declare expressions use forward chaining to recompute a property whenever its source properties change.
Question 12: A data page should be loaded once and shared by all users on the same server. Which scope should it use?
- Thread
- Requestor
- Node (Correct answer)
- Session
Correct answer: Node
Node-scoped data pages are shared across all requestors on a node.
Question 13: Which data page refresh strategy reloads data only when the cached copy exceeds a specified age?
- Reload once per interaction
- Do not reload when
- Reload if older than (Correct answer)
- Always reload
Correct answer: Reload if older than
Reload if older than refreshes the data page when the cached data is older than the configured time interval.
Question 14: Which rule type, referenced on a flow action, checks that a date of birth is in the past before the form is submitted?
- Validate (Correct answer)
- Edit Input
- Declare Constraint
- Map Value
Correct answer: Validate
Validate rules evaluate conditions against submitted values and display errors when they fail.
Question 15: Which rule availability setting halts rule resolution and causes an error if that rule is selected?
- Withdrawn
- Final
- Blocked (Correct answer)
- Not available
Correct answer: Blocked
A Blocked rule stops rule resolution entirely, so no lower-ranked candidate is used.
Question 16: Which inheritance type is set explicitly in the class rule's 'Parent class to inherit from' field?
- Pattern inheritance
- Directed inheritance (Correct answer)
- Ruleset inheritance
- Multiple inheritance
Correct answer: Directed inheritance
Directed inheritance is defined explicitly in the class rule, while pattern inheritance follows the class name prefix.
Question 17: In ruleset version 01-02-05, what does '02' represent?
- Major version
- Patch version
- Build number
- Minor version (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Minor version
Ruleset versions use the major-minor-patch format, so the middle number is the minor version.
Question 18: Which Pega feature lets several development teams work on the same application in parallel and merge changes later?
- Branches (Correct answer)
- Circumstancing
- Rule delegation
- Production rulesets
Correct answer: Branches
Branch rulesets isolate each team's changes until they are merged into the base ruleset.
Question 19: Gold-tier customers need a different discount calculation than other customers. Which approach specializes the rule by property value?
- Create a new class
- Circumstance the rule (Correct answer)
- Withdraw the original rule
- Use a node-scoped data page
Correct answer: Circumstance the rule
Circumstancing creates a variant of a rule that is chosen when a property matches a specified value.
Question 20: Which class layer holds assets that should be reused across all applications in the enterprise, such as shared data classes?
- Framework layer
- Implementation layer
- Division layer
- Organization layer (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Organization layer
The organization layer contains enterprise-wide assets reusable by every application in the organization.
Question 21: When a developer checks out a rule, where is the editable copy stored?
- The developer's personal ruleset (Correct answer)
- A branch ruleset
- The application's base ruleset
- A production ruleset
Correct answer: The developer's personal ruleset
Checked-out rules are copied to the developer's personal ruleset so changes don't affect others until check-in.