ACD300 Appian Certified Lead Developer Question and Answers

The error message indicates that the object with UUID ending in 18028821 has a dependency on another object with UUID ending in 7t00000i4e7a, which is missing from the target environment. Therefore, the first action to investigate the issue is to check whether the object with UUID ending in 7t00000i4e7a is included in this package or not. If not, then it should be added to the package or imported separately before importing the current package. Verified References: Appian Certified Lead Developer study guide, page 17, section “Importing and Exporting Applications”.

To design a process that is anticipated to be executed multiple times a day, that retrieves data from an external system and then calls various utility processes as needed, you should use Process Messaging to start the utility process and minimize the load on the execution engines. Process Messaging is a feature that allows you to send and receive messages between processes in Appian. By using Process Messaging, you can start the utility process asynchronously, which means that the main process does not have to wait for the utility process to finish before continuing. This way, you can improve the performance and scalability of your process design, and reduce the load on the execution engines.

The other options are not as effective. Option A, using the Start Process Smart Service to start the utility processes, would also start the utility process asynchronously, but it would require more configuration and maintenance than Process Messaging. Option B, starting the utility processes via a subprocess synchronously, would start the utility process as a part of the main process flow, which means that the main process would have to wait for the utility process to finish before continuing. This would reduce the performance and scalability of your process design, and increase the load on the execution engines. Option D, starting the utility processes via a subprocess asynchronously, would also start the utility process as a part of the main process flow,but it would not wait for the utility process to finish before continuing. However, this option would still create more overhead than Process Messaging, as it would create more instances of processes in Appian.

When creating a script to add a new field to a table, you should consider two actions:

• Create a rollback script that removes the field. A rollback script is a script that can undo the changes made by the original script, in case something goes wrongor the changes need to be reverted. A rollback script is a good practice to have, as it can help to restore the previous state of the database and avoid any errors or inconsistencies. In this case, the rollback script should remove the new field from the table, and any other changes that were made by the original script.
• Create a script that adds the field and then populate it. A script that adds the field and then populate it is a script that can create the new field in the table, and then fill it with data from another table or source. This way, you can ensure that the new field has valid and consistent data, and that it can be used by the report in the upcoming release. In this case, the script should add the new field to the customer table, and then populate it with data from another table that contains the data used in the calculation.

Requirement: Read barcode values from images containing barcodes and QR codes. Correct approach: C. Smart Service plug-in Exact explanation of correct approach taken from Appian Documentation: A smart service plug-in is a type of plug-in that allows you to create custom smart services that can be used in process models. A smart service can perform complex logic, interact with external systems, or manipulate data in Appian. A smart service plug-in can also leverage Java code to implement the functionality of the smart service. A smart service plug-in would be suitable for reading barcode values from images, as it can use Java libraries or APIs that can scan and decode barcodes and QR codes from image files. A smart service plug-in can also return the barcode values as outputs that can be used by other nodes or processes in Appian. A smart service plug-in can also be configured with input parameters, such as the image file, the barcode type, or the output format, that can customize the behavior of the smart service. A smart service plug-in can also have error handling and logging features that can handle any exceptions or failures that might occur during the barcode reading process.

Requirement: Display an externally hosted geolocation mapping applications interface within Appian to allow users of Appian to see where a customer (stored within Appian)is located. Correct approach: A. Web-content field Exact explanation of correct approach taken from Appian Documentation: A web-content field is a type of user interface component that allows you to display web content from an external source in a SAIL interface. A web-content field would be suitable for displaying an externally hosted geolocation mapping applications interface, as it can embed the web content in an iframe and render it within the Appian interface. You can also pass parameters to the web content, such as the customer’s location, using the url parameter of the web-content field. A web-content field can also interact with other components in the Appian interface, such as buttons, grids, or forms, using the postMessage API. This way, you can create a seamless user experience that integrates the external geolocation mapping applications interface with the Appian functionality.

Requirement: Display an externally hosted geolocation mapping applications interface within Appian to allow users of Appian to select where a customer is located and store the selected address in Appian. Correct approach: A. Web-content field and C. Smart Service plug-in Exact explanation of correct approach taken from Appian Documentation: A web-content field and a smart service plug-in would be suitable for displaying an externally hosted geolocation mapping applications interface within Appian to allow users of Appian to select where a customer is located and store the selected address in Appian. A web-content field would be suitable for displaying the external geolocation mapping applications interface, as explained above. A smart service plug-in would be suitable for storing the selected address in Appian, as it can use Java code to receive the address data from the web content, validate it, and write it to a data store entity or a process variable.

Requirement: Generate a barcode image file based on values entered by users. Correct approach: B. Component plug-in Exact explanation of correct approach taken from Appian Documentation: A component plug-in is a type of plug-in that allows you to create custom user interface components that can be used in SAIL interfaces. A component plug-in can also leverage Java code to implement the functionality of the component. A component plug-in would be suitable for generating a barcode image file, as it can use Java libraries or APIs that can encode values into barcode formats and generate image files. A component plug-in can also display the barcode image file in the Appian interface and allow users to download or print it. A component plug-in can also interact with other components in the Appian interface, such as text fields, buttons, or forms, using the a!refreshVariable() function. This way, you can create a dynamic user experience that updates the barcode image file based on the values entered by users.

The best way to divide the work between the teams, avoiding issues caused by cross-dependency, is to group epics and stories by feature, and allocate work between each team by feature. This way, each team can focus on a specific feature and minimize the need for coordination or integration with the other team. This also reduces the risk of conflicts or errors when merging the code from both teams. Verified References: Appian Documentation, section “Agile Development”.

This is the best risk mitigation effort that both teams can employ to ensure that Team A’s capital project is only minorly interrupted, and Team B’s critical fix can be completed and deployed quickly to end users. By communicating with Team A, Team B can identify which component is causing the critical error in PROD, and check if there is any overlap of changes with Team A’s enhancements. If there is an overlap, Team B can version the component to its PROD state, which is the last stable version, before making any changes to fix the error. Then, Team B can deploy the fixed component to PROD, and version it back to its latest development state, which includes Team A’s enhancements. This way, Team B can avoid overwriting or losing any of Team A’s work, and ensure that the component is consistent across all environments. If there is no overlap, Team B can simply make the changes to the component and deploy it to PROD, without affecting Team A’s work.

The other options are not as effective. Option B, having Team A analyze their current codebase in DEV to merge the hotfix changes into their latest enhancements, would delay the deployment of the critical fix, as Team B would have to wait for Team A to finish their analysis and merge. Option C, having Team B address the changes in TEST, would interrupt Team A’s UAT process, and could cause conflicts or errors in TEST or PROD. Option D, having Team B address the changes directly in PROD, would be risky and not recommended, as it could introduce new errors or inconsistencies in PROD.

Verified References: [Appian Deployment Guide], [Appian Best Practices]

The two formats that are available for data generation using an out-of-the-box Appian smart service are:

• A. CSV. This is a comma-separated values format that can be used to export data in a tabular form, such as records, reports, or grids. CSV files can be easily opened and manipulated by spreadsheet applications such as Excel or Google Sheets.
• C. Excel. This is a format that can be used to export data in a spreadsheet form, with multiple worksheets, formatting, formulas, charts, and other features. Excel files can be opened by Excel or other compatible applications.

The other options are incorrect for the following reasons:

• B. XML. This is a format that can be used to export data in a hierarchical form, using tags and attributes to define the structure and content of the data. XML files can be opened by text editors or XML parsers, but they are not supported by the out-of-the-box Appian smart service for data generation.
• D. JSON. This is a format that can be used to export data in a structured form, using objects and arrays to represent the data. JSON files can be opened by text editors or JSON parsers, but they are not supported by the out-of-the-box Appian smart service for data generation. Verified References: Appian Documentation, section “Write to Data Store Entity” and “Write to Multiple Data Store Entities”.