Appian ACA100 Appian Certified Analyst Exam Practice Test

Answer : D

The 'Definition of Done' (DoD) refers to a shared understanding between the Development Team and the Product Owner on the criteria that a user story must meet to be considered complete. This definition helps ensure that all aspects of the user story are fully developed, tested, and meet the agreed-upon standards before being marked as done.

Definition of Done Overview:

DoD includes all conditions that must be satisfied for the work to be accepted by the product owner.

It typically covers code completion, testing, documentation, and any other activities required to deliver a finished product.

Why Not Other Options?:

A . Acceptance Criteria: Defines specific requirements that a user story must meet, but does not encapsulate the broader checklist for completion.

B . Value Statement: Describes the value delivered by a feature, not the criteria for completion.

C . Definition of Ready (DoR): Refers to when a user story is ready to be taken into a sprint, not when it is complete.

References:

Appian Community Success Guide: Definition of Done in Agile Projects

The Definition of Done ensures that the product increment is fully functional, tested, and ready for deployment, maintaining a high standard of quality.

Answer : D

When translating a user requirement into a user story, it is essential to include acceptance criteria to ensure that the desired functionality will be delivered as expected. Acceptance criteria provide clear, testable conditions that define when a user story is complete and meets the requirement. This ensures that the development team has a clear understanding of what needs to be built and how it will be validated, reducing the risk of miscommunication and ensuring the final product aligns with the user's needs. Reference: Appian Documentation - Writing Effective User Stories

Note: While business value (B) and estimation of effort (A) are important elements of a user story, they do not directly ensure that the functionality will meet the requirement. The test script (C) is typically created after the user story is developed.

Answer : D

During the 'optimize' phase of an Appian project, the focus is on evaluating and improving the performance and impact of the application after its release. As an Appian Analyst, your role in this phase involves measuring the impact of the application release, which includes gathering and analyzing data on user adoption, performance metrics, and overall business impact. This data-driven approach helps in identifying areas for improvement and optimization to ensure the application continues to meet business objectives effectively. Reference: Appian Documentation - Application Lifecycle Management

Note: The other options (A, B, C) are typically the responsibilities of other roles in different phases of the project, such as developers or project managers, and not specific to the 'optimize' phase for an Appian Analyst.

Answer : B

In Appian, the combination of an expression rule with a query allows you to directly access and use data from the Appian database. Expression rules are used to define business logic, while queries are used to retrieve data from the database.

Expression Rule with a Query:

An expression rule can be used to execute a query against the Appian database to retrieve data.

This combination allows you to filter, sort, and manipulate the data retrieved directly from the database within your application logic.

The a!queryEntity() function is commonly used within an expression rule to fetch data from a specific entity in the database.

Why Not Other Options?:

A . An expression rule with an integration call: This option is used for retrieving data from external systems, not directly from the Appian database.

C . A process model that uses an Export to Excel smart service: This is used for exporting data to Excel but does not directly access the database for querying purposes.

D . An interface object with an integration call: This combination is also used for interfacing with external systems rather than directly accessing the Appian database.

Implementation in Appian:

Define an expression rule that uses a!queryEntity() to fetch data from a specific table or view in the Appian database.

The query can be customized with filters, sorting, and paging to retrieve the exact data needed for the application.

References:

Appian Documentation on Expression Rules: Expression Rules in Appian

Appian Query Entity Function: a!queryEntity() Function

Answer : B

As an Appian Analyst, collaborating with a Product Owner during the creation of process models is considered best practice. The Product Owner is responsible for defining the requirements and ensuring that the process models align with the business goals and needs. The Product Owner has a deep understanding of the product vision and user stories, which are crucial during the requirements gathering phase.

Role of Product Owner:

The Product Owner provides detailed requirements and prioritizes them based on business needs.

They ensure that the process models being developed accurately reflect the intended business processes and user stories.

Close collaboration with the Product Owner ensures that the process models are aligned with both the technical and business aspects of the project.

Why Not Other Options?:

A . Product Manager: Typically focuses on the overall product strategy and market alignment rather than detailed process modeling.

C . Architect: While architects provide valuable input on the system's design and architecture, they are not primarily responsible for requirements gathering.

D . Scrum Master: The Scrum Master facilitates the Agile process but does not directly contribute to defining or modeling business processes.

References:

Appian Community Success Guide: The Role of Product Owner in Appian Projects

Answer : A

The organization aims to automate the identification of dissatisfied customers based on the ticket description. To achieve this, leveraging natural language processing (NLP) capabilities is the most efficient method. Appian provides connected systems that allow integration with external NLP services. These services can analyze text data (such as ticket descriptions) to determine the sentiment or classify the text into predefined categories (like 'dissatisfied customer').

Natural Language Connected System:

Appian can integrate with third-party NLP platforms such as Google Cloud Natural Language, AWS Comprehend, or Azure Text Analytics via connected systems.

These services analyze the text provided in the ticket description to detect sentiment, keywords, or specific categories indicating dissatisfaction.

Based on the analysis, the system can automatically assign the appropriate team to handle the case.

Why Not Other Options?:

B . Decision Table: While decision tables are useful for rule-based decisions, they are not suitable for interpreting unstructured text like ticket descriptions.

C . Image Analysis Connected System: This option is irrelevant as the task involves text processing, not image analysis.

D . SAIL Form: SAIL forms are primarily used for user interface creation and are not intended for text analysis or classification.

Implementation in Appian:

Create a connected system to integrate with the chosen NLP service.

Configure the NLP service to analyze the text data and return the sentiment or classification results.

Based on the results, use process models to route the ticket to the appropriate team for resolution.

References:

Appian Documentation on Connected Systems: Appian Connected Systems

Appian Community Success Guide: Appian Delivery Methodology

Third-Party NLP Services Integration: Google Cloud NLP Documentation

Answer : A, B, D

Data Source (A): The first step in building any report is identifying the source of the data. Understanding where the data comes from is crucial because it affects how the data will be queried, filtered, and displayed. It also impacts performance, security, and accuracy of the data. Appian reports can pull data from various sources such as Appian databases, external databases, or even from integrations with other systems. Documenting this information allows the development team to connect the report to the correct data source, ensuring that the report reflects accurate and up-to-date information. Reference: Appian Documentation - Data Sources

Report Type (B): It is essential to define the type of report required. In this scenario, the HR management team wants an aggregate view with drill-down capabilities. The report type will determine how the data is visualized, whether it is a pie chart, bar graph, or tabular format. This user story requirement ensures that the developers design a report that meets the HR team's needs and expectations for viewing and interacting with the data. Reference: Appian Documentation - Creating Reports

Role-Based Permissions (D): Role-based permissions are critical for ensuring that users see only the data they are authorized to access. For instance, while an HR executive might have access to all regions' data, a regional manager might only see data for their specific region. Defining these permissions upfront is vital for security and compliance. The development team will use this information to implement the correct access controls in the report, which is crucial for protecting sensitive employee information. Reference: Appian Documentation - Managing User Permissions