MuleSoft Certified Platform Architect - Level 1 Certification: An Overview 2023

The role of a MuleSoft Certified Platform Architect is to design and oversee the implementation of an organization’s Anypoint Platform strategy.

The MuleSoft Certified Platform Architect - Level 1 certification exam verifies that an architect possesses the necessary knowledge and skills to guide the development of an efficient application network that follows API-led connectivity principles across an organization using the Anypoint Platform.

The MCPA – Level 1 certified candidates should be able to:

• Collaborate with business, infrastructure, InfoSec, and other teams to tailor and enhance the Anypoint Platform deployment for the specific organizational context.
• Establish how the Anypoint Platform integrates with other tools and applications in the organization.
• Recommend the best practices of Anypoint Platform usage and the related organizational and process changes needed to ensure the platform’s sustainability.
• Lead and support the development of standards, reusable assets, and automation required for scalability and cross-LoB adoption.

Exam format

Format: Multiple-choice, closed book, proctored, online Length: 60 questions Duration: 120 minutes (2 hours) Pass score: 70% Language: English Cost: $400

How long MuleSoft Platform Architect certification is valid?

The MuleSoft Certified Platform Architect - Level 1 certification is valid for two years from the date you pass the exam. You can renew the certification validity after the expiration by taking the MuleSoft Certified Platform Architect – Level 1 MAINTENANCE exam.

What topics are covered in the MuleSoft Platform Architect certification exam?

The MuleSoft Certified Platform Architect - Level 1 certification exam validates that the candidate can perform the following tasks effectively:

Explaining application network basics

• Identify and differentiate between technologies typically used to implement API-led connectivity.
• Describe the role and characteristics of web APIs.
• Correctly assign APIs to tiers according to ownership, functional focus, and rate of change.

Establishing organizational and platform foundations

• Advise on establishing a Center for Enablement (C4E) and identify KPIs to measure its success.
• Describe the high-level structure and benefits of MuleSoft Catalyst.
• Compare and contrast Identity Management and Client Management options on the Anypoint Platform.
• Identify data residency of different kinds of data (payload, metrics, and others).

Designing and sharing APIs

• Identify dependencies between an API, its API specification, its implementation, and its clients.
• Describe the creation and publication of reusable API-related assets using API specifications and Anypoint Platform components.
• Identify changes to an API that would require or not require changing the major/minor/patch component of its semantic version.
• Given a specific power relationship between two Bounded Contexts, choose the most appropriate strategy for mapping between the API data models of these Bounded Contexts.
• Identify idempotent HTTP methods and HTTP-native support for optimistic concurrency.
• Recognize the important features and functionality of API Designer to design API specifications.

Designing APIs using System, Process, and Experience Layers

• Identify appropriate APIs to implement a business process and assign them to layers of API-led connectivity.
• Assign APIs to layers according to ownership, functional focus, and rate of change.
• Recommend the most appropriate approach relating the API data model of System APIs to that of their backend system based on specific requirements and organizational characteristics.

Governing APIs on Anypoint Platform

• Make appropriate use of API instances and environments in the API manager, considering the nature of the API and the underlying data and system.
• Select appropriate API policies and other components of the AP to support specific non-functional requirements (NFRs).
• Identify any change(s) required to an API specification to reflect the application of an API policy with specific characteristics.
• Select an approach to API policy enforcement based on specific preferences and constraints, including, but not limited to, API proxies/API gateways and Anypoint Service Mesh.
• Secure web APIs using API policies appropriately chosen for the API's tier (System, Process, Experience).
• Describe in what circumstances and how to pass client ID and secret to a web API.
• Explain how to request access to an API version for an API client and how that access is approved and revoked.
• Select appropriate API policies to enforce non-functional security constraints on web API invocations.
• Explain the relationships of Anypoint Platform, external Identity Providers, AP Business Groups, and API clients in the context of OAuth 2.0.
• Identify scenarios needing custom API policies.

Architecting and deploying API implementations

• Explain how to use auto-discovery to link a web API implementation to an API instance managed with API Manager.
• Identify requirements that call for the use of an Anypoint VPC.
• Compare and contrast options for hosting and managing Anypoint Platform runtime planes.
• Compare unit and integration tests and specify where MUnit is best employed.
• Explain options for automated build, test, and deployment of API implementations and related artifacts in a DevOps setting.

Deploying API implementations to CloudHub

• Describe the scenarios for which Object Store should be used with CloudHub.
• Select CloudHub worker sizes and configurations as appropriate.
• Given an app deployed to the CloudHub shared worker cloud in one or more regions, describe and predict its reliability and performance characteristics.
• Identify the defining differences between the CloudHub Shared and Dedicated Load Balancers.
• Compare and contrast the options for CloudHub networking in the presence of customer-owned Amazon VPCs and on-premises data centers.
• Identify and avoid single points of failure in CloudHub deployments of API implementations.

Meeting API quality goals

• Design, describe, and differentiate between scenarios that use the object store or caching.
• Select resilience strategies that help web API clients guard against failures when invoking APIs.
• Describe when horizontal scaling of an API implementation is or is not likely to benefit response time and throughput as seen by API clients.

Monitoring and analyzing application networks

• Identify the components of the Anypoint Platform that generate data for monitoring and alerting.
• Describe the metrics collected by Anypoint Platform for API invocations.
• Specify alerts to define key API invocations metrics for all API-led connectivity layers.
• Specify alerts to define Mule applications.

What are some skills required for the MuleSoft Platform Architect role?

Some skills required for the MuleSoft Platform Architect role are:

• MuleSoft Developer Level 1 certification with aspirations to achieve Architect level certification12
• Advanced knowledge of programming languages such as JavaScript, HTML5, Java, C++, and PHP1
• A thorough understanding of IT Standards, including COBIT, ITIL, and compliance topics such as Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), GDPR, etc12
• Experience with different methodologies, tools, and processes for integration solutions3
• Curiosity, eagerness to learn, and problem-solving skills

What are the benefits of earning the MuleSoft Platform Architect certification?

Th MuleSoft Platform Architect certification can help you:

• Show your expertise and skills in MuleSoft and its features.
• Stand out from other job seekers and candidates.
• Design and implement an effective Anypoint Platform strategy for your organization.
• Build an application network that follows the principles of API-led connectivity and enables seamless integration across systems and devices.

What are some popular companies that hire MuleSoft Platform Architects?

There are many popular companies that hire MuleSoft Platform Architects for various roles and projects. Take a quick look at some of the organizations that have posted MuleSoft jobs recently are:

• Albireo Tech System
• Vivid Edge Corp
• Kellton Tech Solutions Ltd
• ESK Technologies
• Infosys
• Community Brands
• Hudson’s Bay Company

The final say

The MuleSoft Certified Platform Architect - Level 1 certification badge is highly sought-after and widely accepted when it comes to landing a high-paying job.

The MuleSoft Certified Platform Architect (MCPA - Level 1) candidates have demonstrated their ability to guide the Anypoint Platform strategy to create an application network using API-led connectivity.

If you want to boost your career with MuleSoft, and are ready to take the MuleSoft Certified Platform Architect - Level 1 certification exam, you are in the right place.

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