At the start of their journeys, Certified Associate Developers have some software development and relational database experience, and understand at a high level, the database to application relationship. They have one (1) to three (3) months of Appian specific experience and have completed approximately 80 hours of training on the Appian platform.
They are familiar with Appian components (e.g., records, process models, data type, interfaces, expression rules), as well as best practices surrounding their use. They have the ability to recognize records as a main object and source of data. In addition to implementing a use case during Appian training, they should have implemented at least one (1) small use case within their job role.
Associate Developers should have a basic understanding of:
- How to create and use Appian object types (e.g., constants, decisions)
- How to securely set up Appian objects (e.g., admin level, editor)
- A relational data model, leveraging SQL (CRUD)
- General interface design best practices
- Quality assurance, including testing, and performance views and metrics
Associate Developers are a part of the Appian Community who are able join a delivery team and convert basic requirements into functioning pieces of an application, with some additional guidance for best practices and scalability. They can provide support to a Senior Developer in setting up user stories and they work closely with mentors to further develop their skills.
Candidates should fully prepare for an exam using the objectives below as a checklist to identify possible gaps between knowledge and the skills measured by the exam. The relative weight illustrates the approximate size of each section. It is recommended that focused preparation should be in areas where any knowledge gaps are found.
Introduction to the Appian platform (14%)
- Identify commonly used Appian resources (e.g., online docs, Appian Max, knowledge base)
- Identify and organize an application's structure (e.g., application object, folder structure, group setup)
- Describe Appian use cases and capabilities for solving business problems (e.g., process mining, RPA)
General Appian principles (9%)
- Differentiate between Appian platform permissions (e.g., role-based security)
- Differentiate between Appian design objects (e.g., process, records, sites, interfaces, expression rules)
- Define the use of each Appian environment
Data persistence (13%)
- Demonstrate basic knowledge of managing data and relational databases
- Employ CDTs and query entities to read and write to the database
- Utilize records and query record types to read, write, and aggregate information from the database.
- Recognize necessary steps in updating the underlying data model
Appian development: Process models (17%)
- Recognize common ways to start a process
- Define the steps to create, debug, and publish a process model
- Configure commonly used Workflow nodes and Smart Services (e.g., start and end, script task, sub-process)
- Describe the flow of data in a process
Appian development: Interface design (19%)
- Construct an interface
- Configure and use local variables and rule inputs
- Configure common interface components (e.g., drop-downs, grids, buttons, validations)
- Recognize and implement best practices outlined by Appian for interface design
- Perform interface testing and troubleshooting
Appian development: Records (13%)
- Configure a basic record by connecting to an existing data source or using codeless data modeling
- Design record views and lists
- Configure record actions
- Configure record relationships
Appian development: Expression rules (15%)
- Given an expression rule, interpret the purpose and output of the rule
- Build, implement and use a basic function expression rule
- Leverage test cases to ensure the quality of expression rules
- Recognize and implement best practices outlined by Appian for expression rules