Pega CPSSA study guide
Pega CPSSA · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Pega Certified Senior System Architect (SSA) credential is aimed at experienced Pega application developers who design and govern enterprise-scale solutions rather than only building individual case types. Pega Academy lists the System Architect learning path across four knowledge areas: Digital process automation, Data management, User experience design, and Security. Candidates typically arrive after earning a lower-tier certification and after substantial hands-on delivery work on Pega Platform, including recent releases such as Pega Infinity '26. Preparation is self-directed through Pega Academy missions, which combine modules, hands-on challenges, a capstone Mission Exercise, and a Mission Test. Topics on this exam: Digital process automation, Data management, User experience design, and Security. The Pega CPSSA study guide has 4 sections and about 1,489 words.
01Digital process automation in Pega CPSSA
Digital process automation in Pega CPSSA focuses on modeling work as case types and controlling how work moves, waits, escalates, and is routed. Expect questions on case type inheritance, stages and processes, optional actions, routing, service levels, and urgency. A case type defines a lifecycle. Stages are the major phases; processes hold the steps that people and automations perform.
382 words, about 2 min02Data management in Pega CPSSA
Data management covers how a Pega application models, retrieves, caches, maps, and persists data. Senior architects are tested on data types, data pages, data transforms, data sources, scope, refresh, and write-back behavior. A data type is a reusable data model backed by a class; case types and data types should not duplicate the same customer or product structure. A data page is a named clipboard page with a data source.
395 words, about 2 min03User experience design in Pega CPSSA
User experience design tests how Pega screens are assembled and governed: portals and navigation, harnesses, sections, layouts, views, styling, responsiveness, accessibility, and localization. The exam favors designs that separate presentation from business logic and remain maintainable. A portal defines the user's navigation and landing experience; a harness composes the case-processing screen; sections and layouts organize fields. Reuse sections and views, and use circumstancing or inheritance for variations instead of cloning screens.
352 words, about 2 min04Security in Pega CPSSA
Security tests authentication, authorization, and data protection in a Pega application. Senior architects must choose access groups, roles, privileges, and attribute-based policies that enforce least privilege without breaking case work. Authentication proves identity (for example, SAML, OIDC, LDAP, or local authentication with MFA); authorization decides what that identity may do. An operator has access groups; access groups carry access roles.
360 words, about 2 min