Free CPSA-F sample questions

Correct answer: Adopting the Strangler Fig pattern to incrementally carve out business functions into separate, containerized microservices, fronted by an API Gateway.

The Strangler Fig pattern is the optimal choice as it allows for an incremental, risk-managed migration. It directly addresses the goals of improving time-to-market and fault isolation by creating independent services. It also respects the team's Java skills (new services can be in Java) while allowing them to learn containerization gradually. A big-bang rewrite is too risky, a lift-and-shift doesn't solve the core architectural problems, and a modular monolith improves code structure but not independent deployability or fault isolation as effectively.

Correct answers: Distributed tracing for correlating requests across service boundaries.; Centralized, structured logging for observability.; A standardized mechanism for service-to-service authentication and authorization.

Cross-cutting concerns are aspects of a system that affect multiple components. Distributed tracing, centralized logging, and security (authN/authZ) are classic examples that require a consistent, system-wide approach to be effective. Inconsistent implementation would render them useless. Business logic and database schemas are specific to the bounded context of an individual service and are not cross-cutting.

Correct answer: True

This statement is true. A core advantage of the Pipes and Filters pattern is the decoupling of individual processing steps (filters). Because each filter only depends on the input data format and produces an output in the agreed-upon format, they can be developed, deployed, and tested independently, which enhances modularity and maintainability.

Correct answer: Open/Closed Principle (OCP)

The Open/Closed Principle states that software entities (classes, modules, functions, etc.) should be open for extension but closed for modification. This directly addresses the requirement to add new functionality without changing the existing, core code, thus avoiding complex conditional logic. Patterns like Strategy or Decorator are common implementations of OCP.

Correct answer: Dependency Inversion Principle (DIP)

The Dependency Inversion Principle states that high-level modules should not depend on low-level modules; both should depend on abstractions. By changing `UserService` (high-level) to depend on `ILogger` (abstraction) instead of `PostgreSQL_Logger` (low-level), the architect is directly applying DIP. This decouples the services from the concrete logging implementation, making the system more flexible and easier to test.

Correct answer: Context View

The Context View is specifically designed to show the system as a 'black box' within its environment. It focuses on defining the system's scope and its relationships with external actors and systems, making it the ideal view for providing a high-level overview to a broad audience without delving into internal implementation details.

Correct answers: The context explaining the problem or forces driving the decision.; The consequences of the decision, both positive and negative.

A well-formed ADR must capture the 'why' behind a decision. This includes the 'Context' (the problem, constraints, and requirements) and the 'Consequences' (the resulting trade-offs, benefits, and drawbacks). This information is crucial for future architects and developers to understand the rationale and avoid re-litigating past decisions. Implementation code and developer names are not core components of an ADR's purpose.

Correct answer: A set of quality scenarios describing potential future changes to the system.

Qualitative analysis, especially for a quality like modifiability, relies on structured reasoning rather than purely quantitative metrics. Quality scenarios provide concrete, hypothetical changes (e.g., 'A change to the tax calculation algorithm should be deployable within one day and affect only one component'). Analyzing the architecture's ability to handle these scenarios is a primary method for assessing modifiability. Server logs relate to performance, and support tickets relate more to usability or reliability.

Correct answer: Architectural goals often have a longer-term focus, while project goals are typically tied to more immediate constraints like time and budget, creating potential for conflict and requiring negotiation.

Architectural goals (the 'ilities' like scalability, maintainability) focus on the long-term health and viability of the system. Project goals (time, scope, budget) are often short-term and tactical. A key responsibility of an architect is to manage the tension between these two. For instance, achieving high scalability might require more time, directly conflicting with an aggressive launch date. This necessitates trade-offs and clear communication with stakeholders.

Correct answer: Pipes and Filters

The Pipes and Filters pattern is ideal for processing streams of data where the processing can be broken down into a series of sequential, independent steps (filters). The data flows through channels (pipes). This pattern provides excellent decoupling between the steps, meeting the architect's requirement to reorder or replace them easily. MVC is for UI, Broker is for distributed component communication, and Layered is for separation of concerns in a more general application structure.