ACD200 Sample Questions Answers

The lowest permission required on the data store in order to query, write, and delete data is Viewer. This is because the data store permissions only control the ability to view and modify the data store object in Appian Designer, not the actual data in the database. To query, write, and delete data, the user needs to have the appropriate SQL permissions on the database tables or views that are mapped to the data store entities. References: Data Store Permissions

The most likely root cause of the error is that the view contains a large number of rows, requiring more time to fetch the data. This can result in a timeout or an out-of-memory error. To avoid this, you can use pagination or filters to limit the number of rows returned by the view. You can also optimize the view performance by using indexes, avoiding unnecessary joins, and reducing the number of columns. References: [Views], [View Performance]

The question is about presenting data through data visualization and matching the chart types to the data they are best suited to represent. The following are the correct matches:

• A pie chart is best suited to represent proportional data in one category and can help us understand the contribution of parts to a whole. A pie chart shows the relative size of each part as a slice of a circular pie, and can display percentages or absolute values. For example, a pie chart can show the market share of different smartphone brands in one country.
• A line chart is best suited to represent direct comparison of data with multiple categories with a relatively small set of positive and negative values. A line chart shows the change or trend of data over time or another variable, and can display multiple lines for different categories. For example, a line chart can show the temperature change of different cities over a year.
• A bar chart is best suited to represent values across a relatively large number of categories that are not sequential or time-based. A bar chart shows the magnitude or frequency of data using horizontal or vertical bars, and can display multiple bars for different categories. For example, a bar chart can show the number of students enrolled in different courses in a university.

References:

• Pie Chart
• Line Chart
• Bar Chart

The performance log that should be used to see the mean evaluation time of a slow-performing expression rule every hour is expressions_details.csv. This log records information about how expression rules are performing in the system, such as the number of evaluations, the total time, the mean total time, and the standard deviation of the total time. The log is written to once every hour, and it provides fine-grain aggregation by type of expression rule. The mean total time column shows the average time it took to evaluate an expression rule in milliseconds. Therefore, the correct answer is A.

References:

• Expression Performance Logs
• Performance Best Practices

The requirement is to find a list of expression rules that are causing performance issues, or have caused performance issues in the last 30 days. The best way to do this is to access the Rule Performance tab in the Administration Console, as it provides a dashboard that shows the execution time, frequency, and impact of expression rules in a given time period. You can filter the rules by application, rule type, or execution time, and sort them by various metrics. You can also drill down into each rule to see the details of its executions and test cases. The other options are not as effective or convenient for this purpose, as they either do not provide enough information, require manual inspection, or are not related to expression rules. References:

• Rule Performance

 A materialized view is the best option to show joined data from 5 tables that contain a large number of rows and could generate a large result set after executing the joins. A materialized view is a physical table that holds the results of the SQL that a view would normally be constructed from and can be generated periodically. A materialized view can improve performance by reducing the execution time of complex queries that involve multiple joins, aggregations, or calculations. A materialized view can also reduce the load on the database server by storing the query results in advance. A materialized view can be refreshed at regular intervals or on demand to reflect the changes in the underlying tables. References: [Materialized Views], [View Performance]

The question is about referencing and using arrays of a CDT (Custom Data Type). The following statements are true:

• There is no difference between using “dot notation” and the index() function. Both methods can be used to access elements of an array by their position. For example, if a is an array of CDTs, then a[1] and index(a, 1) will return the same element.
• An array of integers can be passed as the second parameter to the index() function to return the data at those positions in the array. For example, if a is an array of CDTs, then index(a, {1, 3, 5}) will return an array of CDTs containing the elements at positions 1, 3, and 5 in a.

The following statements are false:

• Other Appian functions can be used within the square brackets “[]” when using dot notation to return specific data from the array. This is not possible, as dot notation only accepts integers or integer arrays as indices. For example, if a is an array of CDTs, then a[length(a)] will cause an error, as length(a) is not a valid index.
• The function wherecontains can act on operands of different types. This is not true, as wherecontains only works on operands of the same type. For example, if a is an array of CDTs and b is an array of integers, then wherecontains(a, b) will cause an error, as a and b are not of the same type.

References:

• Dot Notation
• index()
• wherecontains()

The best process model design for a case management application is to use a case record and a related action. This way, the process flow does not have to wait for the reviewer to complete the task, which can take up to 7 days. This reduces the memory impact of the process, as well as the risk of process timeouts or errors. The case record also provides a better user experience, as the reviewer can access the case details and the related action from one place. Therefore, the best answer is A.

References:

• Case Management
• Related Actions

 Two true statements are:

• It is not possible to undo changes from an import to all types of objects. Once a package is imported to an environment, it applies changes to the existing objects or creates new objects based on the package contents. There is no built-in mechanism to revert these changes or delete these objects automatically. Therefore, it is important to test the package in a non-production environment before importing it to production, and to backup any objects that may be overwritten by the import.
• It is possible to import the same package multiple times. A package can be imported to an environment more than once, as long as it does not contain any conflicts or errors that would prevent the import. However, importing the same package multiple times may not have any effect if there are no changes in the package contents or in the target environment since the last import. References: Prepare Deployment Packages, Application Deployment Guidelines

 The requirement is to use space efficiently in a user interface where the meaningful order of components is vertical. A columns layout is the most appropriate layout component for this requirement, as it allows you to arrange components into columns that stack vertically on smaller devices. A columns layout also provides options to control the width, alignment, and visibility of each column. The other options are not suitable for this requirement, as they either do not preserve the vertical order of components or do not use space efficiently. References:

• Columns Layout

When building a process model that transforms a large data set, two things that should be ensured to include in the process model are an XOR gateway before the transformation node, to check for empty/null values, and a transformation applied with an expression rule that takes the data set as an input, and loops through the dataset using a looping function, such as foreach. These things can help to improve the performance and reliability of the process model. The XOR gateway can prevent unnecessary processing of empty or null data sets, which can save time and resources. The expression rule can perform the transformation in one transaction, instead of using multiple nodes or subprocesses, which can reduce the memory footprint and the database load of the process model. Therefore, the correct answers are B and D.

References:

• [XOR Gateway]
• [Expression Rules]
• [foreach() Function]

 The question is about troubleshooting slow response times on a SAIL interface. The following are two potential causes of the performance issues:

• Multiple a!save operations: This means that the interface has multiple expressions that use a!save to store data in variables or update components. This can cause performance issues, as each a!save operation triggers a server round-trip and refreshes all dependent components on the interface. You should minimize the use of a!save operations and use local variables or component parameters instead.
• Configuration of refresh variables: This means that the interface has components that use refresh variables to control when they should be refreshed based on changes in other components or variables. This can cause performance issues, as some components may be refreshed unnecessarily or too frequently due to incorrect or excessive refresh variables. You should optimize the refresh variables and use them only when needed.

The following are not likely causes of slow response times on a SAIL interface:

• Multiple rule inputs: This means that the interface has expressions that use rule inputs to pass data or parameters to expression rules. This does not affect the performance of the interface, as rule inputs are evaluated on the server and do not cause additional server round-trips or refreshes.
• Stacked button layout: This means that the interface has a layout component that arranges buttons in a vertical stack. This does not affect the performance of the interface, as it is a simple layout component that does not require any server interaction or refresh logic.

References:

• a!save()
• Refresh Variables
• Rule Inputs
• Stacked Button Layout

Two valid suggestions regarding this process are:

• We should consider adding a timer exception which skips the “Edit/Credit Invoice” node after 24 hours. This suggestion would improve the user experience by preventing users from editing or crediting an invoice that is too old or has been already processed by another system. A timer exception can be added to any activity node to specify a deadline for completing the task. If the deadline is reached, the process flow will follow the exception path instead of the normal path.
• We should add this process model as a related action on the Invoices record called “Edit Invoice.” This suggestion would make it easier for users to access and execute this process from the context of a specific invoice record. A related action is a process model that can be initiated from a record or a record list in Tempo or sites. A related action can use record data as inputs and update record data as outputs. References: Timer Exception, Create Record Actions

The most appropriate action to display a Gender dropdown whose choice label may change in the future as per the business requirement is to create these entries in a table and reference them through a query entity rule as per the business requirement. This is because storing the choice labels in a table allows for easy maintenance and modification of the data without affecting the transactional database tables that rely on this data for reporting. Using a query entity rule allows for retrieving the data from the table and populating the dropdown component dynamically and consistently across different interfaces or processes that use this data. References: Dropdown Component, Query Entity Rule, Data Management

A connected system is an Appian object that is designed to allow you to share base URL and authentication details across multiple integrations4. A connected system represents an external system that is integrated with Appian. Connected systems allow you to easily connect to external integrations and data sources. They also allow you to deploy connection information across environments and use different connection information for each environment. You can choose from different types of connected systems, such as HTTP, SQL, or pre-built connected systems for common services like Google Drive or Salesforce5.

According to Appian best practices, environment-specific constants should be used to define values that vary from one Appian environment to another. For example, if you want to generate an email body that contains the environment name, you can create a constant named ENVIRONMENT_NAME and assign it different values for DEV and TEST environments. This way, you can avoid hard-coding values in your expressions or rules, and simplify your deployment process by using automatic constant value mapping.

 The type of plug-in that should be created to perform a job in the background and not be available under an expression rule, connected system, or the process model is a servlet plug-in. A servlet plug-in is a plug-in that allows you to create custom servlets that can be accessed through a URL. Servlets are Java classes that run on a web server and handle requests and responses. Servlet plug-ins can be used to perform background tasks, such as sending notifications, logging events, or integrating with external systems, without exposing them to the end users or developers. References: Servlet Plug-ins, Appian Suite Plug-ins

 The question is about improving the memory usage of a process model. The following are three things you can do for this purpose:

• Reduce the number of process variables. This means using fewer or smaller process variables to store data in the process model, as each process variable consumes memory and resources. You should only use process variables that are necessary for the process logic or data flow, and avoid storing redundant or temporary data in process variables.
• Avoid storing large blocks of text in process variables. This means using other methods to store or handle large blocks of text, such as documents, constants, or expression rules, rather than process variables. This can reduce the memory usage of the process model, as large blocks of text can consume a lot of memory and resources, and affect the performance or stability of Appian.
• Pass data directly to activity nodes and smart services. This means using parameters or inputs to pass data to activity nodes and smart services, rather than process variables. This can reduce the memory usage of the process model, as parameters or inputs are only evaluated when needed, and do not persist in memory.

The following are not things you can do to improve the memory usage of a process model:

• Configure process variables to be parameters. This is not possible, as process variables and parameters are different types of data elements in a process model. Process variables are used to store data throughout the process model, while parameters are used to pass data to or from a subprocess or an expression rule.
• Split large nodes into many smaller nodes. This is not advisable, as it can increase the complexity and maintenance overhead of the process model, and may not reduce the memory usage significantly. You should only split nodes when it makes sense for the process logic or functionality, and not for the sake of reducing node size.

References:

• Process Variables
• Documents
• Constants
• Expression Rules
• Parameters

 The context type that should be chosen for the Task Report Type is Tasks attributed to user. This is because this context type allows you to display information for pending tasks for each individual in an application. You can filter the tasks by application name, process model name, or task name. This context type also supports drilldown functionality, which enables users to view more details about a specific task or complete it directly from the report. References: Task Report Types