iSAQB CPSA Foundation Level case studies
iSAQB CPSA Foundation Level · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The CPSA®-Foundation Level (CPSA‑F) is the entry certification in the Certified Professional for Software Architecture program run by the International Software Architecture Qualification Board (iSAQB), a non-profit association of software architecture experts. iSAQB owns the scheme but does not teach or examine itself: it defines training and examination standards and accredits training providers and independent certification bodies, so you book training and sit the exam through those partners. The credential is aimed at software developers, aspiring software architects, and IT professionals working on software projects who want the fundamentals of designing, documenting, and evaluating software architectures for small- to medium-sized systems. It is not a vocational qualification; iSAQB describes it as proof of knowledge and suggests the title "Certified Professional for Software Architecture by iSAQB". The iSAQB CPSA Foundation Level case studies are 5 cases and about 3,919 words.
1The Deployment Diagram Is Not the Architecture
A mid-sized insurer runs PolicyHub, a policy administration system built from nine services, two shared databases and three external partner integrations. The architecture is described by a deployment diagram in Confluence and a wiki page last changed two years ago.
817 words, about 4 min2The Architect Who Codes 80 Percent
At a 55-person product company, Mira is called 'the architect' but also tech lead of team A. She spends about 32 of her 40 hours per week coding.
739 words, about 4 min3The 300-Page Document Nobody Reads
A public benefits agency is procuring a new case-management system. Fourteen stakeholders are involved: three business representatives, two security auditors, four developers, two operations engineers, two supplier architects and one data protection officer.
783 words, about 4 min4Seat Reservation: Strong Consistency vs. 50x Peak
An online ticketing platform sells seats for events. Average load is 120 requests per second, but a popular concert produces 6,000 requests per second at onsale, with 1.2 million users and an 80,000-seat arena.
802 words, about 4 min5Quality Goals Without Numbers
A hospital is building a scheduling system for 2,000 clinicians. Stakeholders demand 'fast, secure, user-friendly and maintainable'.
778 words, about 4 min