PEGA Interview Questions and Answers

1) What is a Work Group? What is the primary function of a Work Group from a business perspective? Ans: A workgroup is a logical collection of operators having a common supervisor i,e. a workgroup can identify a user who is a supervisor and a set of workers and workbaskets that report to that supervisor. Use – For the supervisor of a workgroup, the My Group area of the Process Workspace provides quick access to the work lists and workbaskets associated with the group (In the workbasket tab of workbasket data instances we enter the name of a workgroup that uses the workbasket. This field determines which workbaskets appear in the View Queue list on the My Group area of the Process Work workspace for managers). Also, workgroups facilitate for better monitoring and reporting of tasks on the Monitor Activity workspace. 2) What are workbaskets? What is the relationship between a Work Group and Workbasket? Ans: Assignments for work objects may be associated either with individual users (and appear on their work lists) or with a workbasket. All users who are qualified to work on work objects from that work basket may remove an assignment from the workbasket to process the assignment.  The “contents” of a   workbasket is a set of assignments awaiting processing, ordered in decreasing urgency, similar to the contents of a worklist. Few other important things to keep in mind about workbaskets are (If only the specific question is asked then answer as below): Assignments leave a workbasket in three ways: Users who are qualified can remove an assignment from the workbasket to process the assignment. An application can automatically route assignments in a workbasket to users based on work schedules, due dates, skills, workloads, and other factors. Managers can transfer assignments from a workbasket to user worklists. **  During execution of a flow, a router task can choose which workbasket is most appropriate to receive a newly created assignment. ** The relationship between workgroups and workbaskets is one-to-many i.e. one workgroup can be associated with multiple workbaskets. (In the workbasket tab of workbasket data instances we enter the name of a workgroup that uses the workbasket. This field determines which workbaskets appear in the View Queue list on the My Group area of the Process Work workspace for managers). 3) How do you associate an operator with a workbasket? Ans:  Each operator may have a list of workbaskets that they can view. Normally users can fetch assignments directly from any workbasket defined for their own organizational unit. However, if the roles are specified in the roles array on the workbasket tab of the workbasket data instance, the operator must possess at least one access role that matches an access role in the Roles array. 4) What are the primary configurations that you do in an Access Group? Ans: The primary purpose of an access group is to make a set of RuleSet versions available to requestors. Also, the access group associated with a user affects access control by determining: The portal layout that a user sees first after logging in. The local customization RuleSet name and RuleSet version. These usually are defaulted when this user creates a new rule instance. The application rule for this user. Optionally, the access roles available to this user. Workpools available to the user. 5) What is the difference between a Workpool and a Work Type? Can a workpool belong to another workpool? Can a worktype belong to a work pool? Ans: Different work types (classes derived from the Work- base class) are grouped into one class group and when this class group is added to auser in his access group, the user can work on each work type of each class group added. Class groups so added are called as Work pools. A workpool cannot belong to another work pool. Multiple work types can belong to a work pool ** Class Group – A class group instance causes the system to store the instances corresponding to two or more concrete classes that share a common key format in a single database table. The name of the class group is a prefix of the names of the member classes. Class groups and work pools are basically the same things and class groups added to an access group are called work pools. 6) What do you mean by Case Management in PEGA? When do you use folders? Ans: Case Management involves managing work that, for processing and reporting purposes, differs from classic BPM work objects. Cases may involve: 1. Less rigid structure. 2. More flexibility in the order of tasks or which tasks are needed. 3. Interrelationships with other work. 4. Process Commander facilities supporting sophisticated case management include covers, folders, and case type rules. 5. Case Management design is governed by the Case Type Definitions gadget, which is used to configure the following case type and work processing configurations. Using the gadget, you can: 6. Construct covering relationships and build new case types using a standard tree gadget. 7. Add entirely new case types: Creates Class and Case Type rules, provides standard starting flows for the new case type. 8. Reuse existing case and work types. Manage various aspects of work processing, including: Service levels Attachments Categories(and automatic attachments when work objects are created). Automatic and conditional instantiation of covered items when a new cover(case) is created. Mapping roles to object access for your various case and work types. 7) What are declarative rules? Few examples. Ans: A declarative rule describes a computational relationship among property values that are expected to be valid “always” or “often” or “as needed”. Declarative rules will be in force automatically and hence you need not call these rules explicitly. The primary benefit of declarative processing is that the system controls when computations are processed. Some examples are : Constraints rules (Rule-Declare-Constraints rule type) Declare Expression rules (Rule-Declare-Expressions rule type) Declare Index rules (Rule-Declare-Index rule type) Declare OnChange rules (Rule-Declare-OnChange rule type) Declare Trigger rules (Rule-Declare-Trigger rule types) ** Keep in mind the concept of forward chaining and backward chaining and out of the above rules only Declare Expressions can use both FW Chaining as well as BW chaining. Rest all use only forward chaining. 8) From an activity how do you call a decision table? Ans: In an activity, you can call a decision table using the Property-Map-DecisionTable method. 9) Migration of patches from one environment to another? Ans: For Migration of rules from one environment to another we create a ZIP file containing rules from one or more RuleSets. For this, we use a product rule (Rule-Admin-Product rule type) or a product patch rule (Rule-Admin-Product-Patch rule type) and then import the zip file into the target environment. Also, we can use the export gadget to create the zip file for rulesets. ** The data instances (such as access groups, operator ids etc.) can be included in the product or patch rules. 10) What do you mean by exposing a property? Did you use any SQL tools or does Pega provide some means to expose columns? Ans: A Single Value property that is visible as a column in a database table is said to be exposed. Only exposed properties can be used for the record selection operations in list view and summary view rules. In PEGA  we can use the ‘Modify Database Schema’ wizard to expose properties. Also, the database administrator can cause a property previously stored only inside the Storage Stream column to become a separate exposed column using SQL tools such as TOAD. ** Aggregate properties, properties within an embedded page, and properties that are not exposed are contained in a specially formatted Storage Stream or BLOB column. Most Pega Rules database tables contain a Storage Stream column named pzPVStream. ** Exposing too many properties in a table may speed reporting and searching operations, but make the insert and update operations slower. The tradeoff and relative impact depend on hardware and software and no general guidelines exist. 11) What is the concept of database table mapping? Why do we do that? Do you do any additional table to class mapping (apart from the existing mappings) during development? Ans: In database table mapping a database table instance associates a class with a relational database table or view, in the PegaRULES database or an external database.  This is done to map a class to a database table and thus store the instances of the class in the table. Yes, we have done an additional table to class mappings for several application specific classes during development. 12) What are SLAs used for? How do you configure an SLA? Ans: SLAs are rules in PRPC that indicate the expected or targeted turnaround time for the assignment, or time-to-resolve for the work object. Each service level rule defines one to three-time intervals, known as goals, deadlines, and late intervals. Late intervals are repeated. Service level rules can be associated with assignments in a flow and with the entire flow. For example, we can set a goal of 2 hours to process an assignment and a deadline of 4 hours. (The time interval starts when the assignment is created, not when a user begins processing the assignment.) For assignments, the service level rule is referenced in the Assignment Properties panel of the assigned task. For the overall work object, the service level rule is identified in the standard property .pySLAName, typically set up through a model for the class. (The default value is the Default service level.) ** The Pega-ProCom agent detects service levels not achieved — unmet goals or deadlines — promptly. If an assignment is not completed before the time limit, the system can automatically notify one or more parties, escalate the assignment, cancel the entire flow, and so on. 13) Can you call one section from another section? Ans: Yes it is possible to call one section from another. A section rule can appear within another section, panels and containers within a harness rule, or within a layout cell. 14) Which harness would you use to present the work object to the users only for viewing? Ans: Review harness. Review harness is used to display the work objects in display-only mode, with no fields changeable. 15) What are Work Parties? How do you send correspondence to work parties?  Ans: Work party is a person, organization, or other actor identified in a work object, who can be the recipient of the email or other forms of correspondence.  A work object may identify no work parties, one, or many work parties. The work party role associated with each work party identifies why a party is present and may determine which properties are defined for that party. A Notify activity, when referenced in a flow, sends out correspondence, such as an email message, when a flow execution creates an assignment. Typically, the system addresses correspondence to a work party identified in the work object and reports progress to that party. 16) In the flow, what is the difference between local and connector flow action? Ans: Flow actions specify the choices that user has when performing an assigned work object. Flow actions are mainly of two types i.e., connector actions and local actions. Connector flow actions advance the flow. They are associated with the connector that exists at the assignment, so selecting them causes the flow to advance along with the path. Local actions allow the user to update the work item but don’t advance the flow. After the assignment is committed, the flow remains at the same assignment from which the local action was performed. 17) Have you integrated any external systems with Pega? How do you make a SOAP call? Briefly mention the steps to connect to an external system using SOAP. Ans: To make a SOAP call from PRPC we import the wsdl from the external web service and create SOAP connector rules in PRPC to invoke the external web service. We use the Connector and Metadata Accelerator to generate the connector rules. The Connector and Metadata Accelerator imports information about an external application or system and generates rules and data objects that the PRPC applications can use to communicate with that external system. Before you use the Connector and Metadata Accelerator to generate connector rules, follow these steps: Identify the RuleSet and version to contain the generated rules — classes, properties, connector rules, activities, and so on. Identify or create the following class rules to use for the generated rules. An abstract class rule — typically one that inherits from the Database class — for the accelerator to use as the container or base for the generated items with the exception of the connector activities. (If you do not create this class before you begin, the accelerator can create one for you.) A concrete class rule for the connector activities. If you plan to call the connector from a flow, choose a class that inherits from the Work- base class, so that the connector activities can be called directly from an Integrator task. Next, start the Connector and Metadata Accelerator and provide the URL to the WSDL document of the Web service that you want to connect to. Complete all the steps on the wizard to generate the connector rules and data mapping rules. ** Also, be familiar with Soap Service rules. You may also get questions on that. 18) Which rules does the Connector Accelerator create while building a connect soap interface? Ans: When your Process Commander application uses a SOAP connector to interact with a Web service, you set it up by using the Connector Accelerator. The Connector Accelerator imports the WSDL of the Web service and generates rules as follows: Class and property rules that represent the data model of the external system One connector rule for each operation that you selected One connector activity for each connector rule 19) What are Connect HTTP rules used for and how are they different from connect SOAP rules? Ans: PRPC 5.2 introduces two new integration rule types: Rule-Connect-HTTP Rule-Service-HTTP These rules are used when you want your PRPC application to send XML or string data (regular text) as messages to an external system without having to comply with standards messaging protocols such as SOAP. The rules currently work very similar to the SOAP rules but, do not create or consume WSDLs, nor can they be generated using the integration wizard. Use these rules instead of custom Java code for making HTTP requests to external systems. Purpose – The HTTP integration interface supports interactions between your Process Commander applications and other systems through HyperText Transport Protocol. Use HTTP connector rules when you want your Process Commander application to send XML or string data (text) as messages to an external system without the need to comply with messaging standards or protocols like SOAP. 20) How can we achieve reusability in Pega? Typically what kind of rules go in at the enterprise level and what rules would you create at the implementation level?  Ans: We can achieve reusability in Pega by creating rules which are to be used by different applications within an organization at an enterprise level. Typically rules that are generic and are to be used by multiple applications such as connectors and services go in at the enterprise level and rules which are specific to an application such as flows and activities go in at the application level. 21) What are screen flows and screen tabbed flows Ans: Many computer input procedures are most effectively handled by presenting a user with a series of simple forms that each require only one or a few questions to be answered. After submitting a form, a user receives with another simple form (with more questions) that may depend on previous answers. At any point, users can backtrack to review, or change, previous answers. Process Commander can support such interactions with screen flows, a flow rule with specific settings. Three runtime presentations are available to allow users to navigate within a screen flow execution at runtime: Completed tasks (that are designated as entry points) appear as blue rectangles in a breadcrumbs control. A user selects a rectangle to return to that task. Tabs for both completed and future tasks (that are marked as entry points) appear at the top of the action area. Completed tasks contain with a check mark. No breadcrumbs control or tabs appear. A user can return to a completed task that is marked as an entry point when the button appears. 22) Can you call an integrator from screen flows? Ans: No an integrator shape is not allowed in a screen flow. 23) Can you use an unexposed column in criteria of a report? Ans: No. However, if the application needs a column corresponding to embedded property values, the values can be copied to the top level or exposed indirectly through instances of an Index- class and then used as criteria of a report. 24) Different types of harnesses available in PRPC. Ans: Some of the standard harnesses in PRPC are : New — Support initial entry (creation) of the object. Perform — Support users completion of assignments. Review — Display the work objects in display-only mode, with no fields changeable. Confirm — Accept a text note explaining a user’s reasoning about a recently completed assignment. Reopen — Support reopening a previously resolved work object. PrintReview — Support printing of all the fields. 25) What are Agents and how to configure them? Ans: An agent is an internal background process operating on the server that runs activities on a periodic basis. Agents route work according to the rules in your application; they also perform system tasks such as sending email notifications about assignments and outgoing correspondence, generating updated indexes for the full-text search feature, synchronizing caches across nodes in a multiple node systems, and so on. Agents are defined by Agents rules (Rule-Agent-Queue rule type). Agents are enabled and are scheduled through Agent Queue data instances (Data-Agent-Queue class). The pattern (periodic/recurring) and interval (amount of time, in seconds, that the agent waits before restarting) for the Agent rule is configured in the Agent Queue data instances. Meanwhile, you can checkout our other blogs and videos.