Customer

How will the A-Score Program help me with my Appian Project?

The A-Score Program allows our customers to evaluate an individual’s proficiency in building business solutions in Appian.

Who are you evaluating for A-Scores?

What do the Appian A-Score Levels mean?  

The simplified A-Score Levels indicate a practitioner’s Appian knowledge, current credential, and relevant customer project experience.

To Achieve A-Score Certification	Requirements
	Credential Minimum	Experience Minimum	Customer Success
Level 3 (Highest)	Level 3 Credential (includes architect interview)	12 months relevant experience	Verified customer endorsement
Level 2	Level 2 Credential	None required	Verified customer endorsement
Level 1	Level 1 Credential	None required	None required

What are Appian Credentials?

Appian Credentials are part of our training program during which practitioners are assessed and tested on their knowledge of Appian. We require each practitioner to maintain an active credential status to ensure that their knowledge of Appian includes recent software releases. Some credentials require exams, while other credentials may include exercises, submission of built applications, or interviews with experts.

What defines relevant experience?

Individuals with recent field experience with Appian customers.  Relevant experience includes:

1. Includes Appian customer implementations that are released into production for a customer by a practitioner’s organization
2. Accumulated time spent in a hands-on role on an implementation project
3. Must include at least one validated project go-live on the Appian platform within the past year

What does the Appian Architect Interview include?

This is a live interview with a staff architect from Appian Professional Services. During the interview, the practitioner must apply his/her knowledge of Appian, similar to a case interview. Practitioners must also demonstrate their ability to lead the delivery of a customer project and consideration for critical aspects of enterprise application development.

Who do I contact if I have questions?

If you have questions about the A-Score Program or ideas for improvement, please contact your Account Executive.

What is the difference between the old A-Score model and new A-Score model?

Prior to January 7, 2019, we assigned numeric A-Scores (0-100) to practitioners based on several components. As the A-Score program evolved, we received valuable feedback from our customers and partners. We have leveraged this feedback to enhance our A-Score Program, highlighting the most critical components. The new model is simple and focuses on two main components:  (1) knowledge of Appian technology; and (2) relevant experience applying such knowledge. The new model is also more transparent for both customers and partners.

How do I request an A-Score Report?

A-Score badges denoting levels (1, 2, or 3) are displayed on the user profile of practitioners on the Appian Community site. Customers can request a more detailed report by visiting the Appian Community site and completing the Request Form. The report will include more information about the practitioner including their credential status, projects, and industries in which they have worked. You may request reports for as many practitioners as you need, and you’ll receive an email with your report within two (2) business days. If you have questions, please contact your Account Executive.

Can I get a report from my partner?

Partners do not have full access to the additional details that we include on the official A-Score Report. Please use the Request Form.

What are some recommendations on how to use A-Scores?

Every customer implementation is unique, and each customer may prioritize resource skills differently, sometimes valuing non-Appian skills highly. With this in mind, we provide the following recommendations that apply to team members who build solutions hands-on in the Appian Designer environment:

• All team members should be certified A-Score Level 1 or higher.
• To build a robust business solution on Appian, at least one team member should be certified A-Score Level 2 or higher.
• For large, complex, or enterprise-scale solutions, at least one team member should be certified A-Score Level 3 (highest certification).

Beyond the A-Score levels of individuals, we recommend considering the following:

• If domain knowledge is required, you may choose some team members with experience in your industry.
• To ensure resources are familiar with the latest version of Appian software, check the certification date. Appian releases updates to our software quarterly.
• For teams with mixed A-Score levels, the highest certified practitioner(s) should demonstrate the ability to lead, coach, and review the work of other team members.

What does A-Score currently exclude?

• Direct assessment of knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary for success outside of Appian implementation, including critical thinking, systems analysis, communication, teamwork, dedication, enterprise architecture, methodology, dev ops, etc.
• Assessment of team support programs available to the individual provided by our partner organization. For example, some organizations have internal support structures that provide expertise to different implementation teams.
• Qualitative references for a resource from previous engagements. While we make an effort to validate the relevant experience logged by practitioners, we do not yet directly weigh customer feedback for individuals.

 

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Developer/Partner

Who can participate in the new A-Score Program?

A-Score Levels are assigned to all partner practitioners as well as customer and independent practitioners that have opted in the program. Partner practitioners must register for Community and associate their personal profile with their company account before receiving a Credential. Learn more and opt-in on Appian Community.

Will the A-Score Program also provide a way to measure the Appian experience at the company level?

The Appian Business Partner Program requires partner companies to ensure that their practitioners carry current Credentials and A-Score Levels. The number of credentialed staff and their associated A-Score Levels factor into the program tier the partner organization is assigned to.

Will Appian Community involvement be considered as part of the A-Score Level calculation?

No, contribution to the Appian Community will not be part of the A-Score Level criteria. The A-Score Level will focus on practitioner’s knowledge and field experience to ensure the clarity and integrity associated with A-Score levels. This simplification will also make A-Score criteria more transparent and easier to understand. Appian will announce other programs that will recognize and reward partners for their Community contributions in the future.

Will my legacy numerical A-Score (0-100) be mapped to one of the new A-Score Levels?

No, the current A-Score calculation does not provide enough information on partner practitioners' recent field experience to map to the new program in a meaningful way. Instead, initial A-Scores will be based on your current Credentials and relevant project experience, as explained here.

How do I submit or update a project that I’ve worked on?

To add a new project, click on the "Add Project" tab in the A-Score Site. This is an easy-to-use wizard that will collect all the necessary information and route your submission for review, and ultimately to the customer, for feedback. You will be asked to enter the following information:

• Customer organization and contact information: Here you will choose whether to create a new project or add a go-live to an existing project after specifying a customer. Once you (or a team member from your partner organization) enter the details of a customer organization and/or contact, those entries will be available for quick selection on future submissions.
• Project and go-live details: You will be able to share some information about your project and go-live. You will also be able to add yourself as well as others to the Team Members section and specify the extent of your involvement. You will need to specify a Project Lead who will review your submission before accepted or routed to the customer for feedback.

Note: You can always save your progress using the “Save For Later” option on the bottom of the form. You will be able to go back and select your entry from the "Projects" tab in the A-Score Site.

How does the new A-Score Program factor in the amount of time, versus length of time, and the depth of the practitioner’s Appian skill set? (For example, a practitioner may spend 10% of their time over two years and pass a Level 3 Credential but not be as skilled as someone developing full time for a year on Appian that holds a Level 2 Credential.) How does the program distinguish skillset levels?

The A-Score Program now requires that practitioners submit more information regarding what role they held on a project team as well as the percentage of their time dedicated to the project. The accumulated time across all projects submitted will contribute to the practitioner’s A-Score Level.

How is successful project work measured and who validates that the project submission meets success criteria (e.g. Functionality, Quality, ROI, etc.)?

The new project submission form includes a customer feedback component. Project Leads will have an opportunity to review projects before submission to Appian and the customer. If the Project Lead is no longer with your organization, or if your project didn’t have an official lead, you may designate an individual for each project that most closely resembles the role.

The customer contact will be asked to confirm that the project delivered by the submitting partner team was accepted and their level of satisfaction with the project. They may optionally add comments regarding the project or recognize individuals on the project team that they believe did an exceptional job. We realize many customers can not comment on individuals, but in all cases they can confirm that the project was delivered to their satisfaction.

How do we get customer feedback retroactively? If a practitioner has been actively engaged in important roles for 2-3 years, is there a way to capture this?

The new project submission form allows you to enter each member’s contribution start and end date. We will only seek customer feedback for recent go-lives (within the last 6 months).

Where is my A-Score visible and to whom is it visible?

A-Scores are visible to practitioners, customers, and Appian employees through the following Community features:

Location	Practitioner	Employees of Practitioner's Company	Customers	Appian Employees
A-Score Profile	Visible	Visible	N/A	Visible
A-Score Badge on User Profile or User Hover Card	Visible	Visible	Visible	Visible
A-Score Report	N/A	Visible	N/A	Visible
Manual A-Score Report	N/A	N/A	Visible	Visible

I am a practitioner and I do not see my A-Score. How do I get my A-Score?

Your A-Score should be displayed on your Community user profile. If you do not see your A-Score, open an Appian Case and select "A-Score" as the case type.

How does a customer request a manual A-Score report?

Customers can request a manual A-Score report by submitting their request through an action called "Request A-Score Report." The "Request A-Score Report" Action allows the customer to explicitly request A-Scores for known practitioners they are interested in engaging. Customers cannot generically request A-Scores for every practitioner in a partner organization.

What is a "good" A-Score Level?

While each customer will make their own decision regarding practitioner selection, we highly encourage that each project team include at least one Level 2 practitioner. More complex implementations should include at least one Level 3 practitioner. We will give partner practitioners a chance to take the new credentials before making recommendations regarding A-Score Levels.  

How do I maximize my A-Score Level?

A-Scores have the following core components and all components are necessary to obtain the highest A-Score Level:

• Level of Appian credentials received and kept current.
• Duration during which you have contributed to Appian customer go-lives. Maximize by using Appian’s newest features and demonstrating value to customers.

What happens to A-Scores if I transfer employers?

When transferring to a new employer, security restrictions from your customers or previous employer may require Appian to assign you a different username. Upon request, credentials and project contributions will be transferred to your new username. You may not have access to the details of the projects that you have worked on under your previous partner organization, but you will still get the credit.

Can I opt out of an A-Score?

No, there is not an option to opt out. If a practitioner does not meet the requirements of the lowest A-Score Level and a customer requests an A-Score report, it will indicate that no A-Score Level has been achieved.

How often is my A-Score recalculated?

A-Scores will be calculated in real-time versus once per week.

A-Score Levels are adjusted when:

• A practitioner completes a new Appian Credential (or a Credential expires).
• A practitioner is part of a project submission.