10 AEM Interview Questions (Including Sample Answers)

Updated 26 October 2022

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Adobe Experience Manager, or AEM, is a widely used content management system. Adobe Inc. offers this tool as part of its Adobe Experience Cloud (AEC) digital marketing management software. If you are preparing for an interview for a design, development or marketing role, reviewing some questions and answers about AEM can be helpful. In this article, we list 10 AEM interview questions and share their answers.

10 AEM Interview Questions With Answers

Here are the answers to 10 AEM interview questions you may encounter when applying for a job:

1. What is AEM?

This is a basic AEM question to test your understanding of the tool. In your response, you can explain what AEM is, discuss its uses and talk about why many professionals may prefer using it over other content management systems.

Example: 'AEM or Adobe Experience Manager is a Java-based hybrid content management system that helps manage and optimise content for building websites, pages, forms and applications. It is a part of Adobe Marketing Cloud and was called CQ5, where CQ means Communique. Many designers, developers and marketers use AEM because it offers advanced features, user-friendly development and digital asset management. Besides being cost-effective, AEM also helps reduce reliance on third-party services as many features are available within the Adobe Experience Cloud.'

2. Define a component in AEM.

A component is a vital AEM feature that help builds pages quickly. Through this question, the interview is trying to assess your knowledge of fundamental AEM concepts. In your answer, you can define a component and discuss its purpose.

Example: 'Components are an essential part of AEM that work as reusable modules for creating website content. Components are a collection of scripts that implement specific application logics that help render the content for the user. All information on web pages is stored, edited and rendered using AEM components, allowing website authors to manage and change content easily.'

3. What is the role of a dispatcher in AEM?

Dispatchers play the crucial role of caching and load balancing in AEM. This question pertains to the basic functioning of an essential tool in AEM, and the hiring manager is probably trying to assess your expertise in the subject. In your response, you can explain both the roles of a dispatcher and discuss why they are important.

Example: 'Dispatchers are the caching and load balancing tools in AEM. They aim to cache as much content as they can so that the requirement to access the layout engine reduces. As dispatchers cache pages and content, they also help protect the AEM server from attacks.

Dispatchers also help distribute the computational load of the website between different instances of AEM. Using dispatchers for load balancing helps increase the processing power as the document request gets shared between several instances of AEM, and this increases the fail-safe coverage. Dispatchers also balance the load by keeping track of performance statistics like the response of each instance and maintaining connections to provide personalised pages for a viewer.'

4. Explain AEM Testing.

AEM Testing allows users to test their AEM user interfaces or UIs. In your response, you can explain the framework AEM offers for testing and why it is helpful.

Example: 'AEM Testing enables the testing of UIs. It offers the Bobcat testing framework to perform automated tests. This allows the user to write and run UI tests directly in the browser. AEM testing uses the Hobbes.js, an open-source Javascript-based web application functional testing package.'

5. What are some of the most useful features of AEM?

AEM provides comprehensive content, digital asset management, social media and multi-channel collaboration features. By asking you this question, the interviewer may be assessing whether you are aware of some key benefits of using AEM and can leverage them when using the system. In your answer, you can highlight some useful features of AEM and explain how they can help simplify work.

Example: 'Many professionals choose AEM for managing content as it offers integrations with other Adobe products and services. Besides providing an easy-to-use interface for front-end development, AEM offers a high degree of content and design customisation. It also helps create, design and modify interactive and responsive digital experiences for users. Data from Adobe Analytics is also valuable for professionals to assess their performance and create personalised experiences. AEM also offers several valuable features such as reduced risk, real-time monitoring, increased flexibility and quick scalability.'

6. What is the technology stack used in AEM?

This is a fundamental question about the different technology stacks that AEM uses as its foundation. You can describe the three central technology stacks in AEM in your response.

Example: 'AEM or the CQ5 technology stack primarily uses three technologies. The first one of Apache Sling, a RESTful framework to access a JCR over the HTTP protocol to map request URLs to the JCR node. The next is the OSGi framework for Java-based application development that enables each module or bundle to stop or start independently. The Java Content Repository, or JCR, is the third technology stack that enables accessing content using Java without physical implementation.'

7. Explain the overlay or override component in AEM.

The overlay or override component is a useful AEM function that can simplify customising a component. Through this question, the hiring manager is evaluating how well you understand different aspects and features of AEM. In your answer, you can define this component and explain its utility.

Example: 'Overlay is the process of changing an existing functionality by redefining and customising it. Modifying the existing foundation component creates a custom component that can meet the expected requirements. When working with out-of-the-box components, you can add more functionality and change its instances using the overlay or override component. This helps prevent modifying the original code each time and incorporate the desired functionality without developing a new component.'

8. What is a content repository in AEM?

Content repositories are essential in all content management systems. The recruiter may want to understand if you are aware of the specific nature and benefits of the content repository in AEM. In your answer, you can define content repositories and briefly explain JCR.

Example: 'Content repositories store digital content using a hierarchical structure. Each node in this hierarchical tree structure stores content. Java Content Repository or JCR helps access content repositories in AEM in a platform-independent and vendor-independent manner. The javax.JCR API enables access to content repositories through different classes and interfaces.'

9. Define replication agents and explain their utility.

Replication agents are vital to activating content in different environments. In your response, you can explain their role and other related features of replication.

Example: 'Replication agents publish content from an author into a publish environment. They also explicitly flush content from the dispatcher cache and return user input from the publish to the author's environment, which is under the control of the author's environment. Reverse replication uses an agent from the publish environment, which references the author's environment. In the event that AEM replication fails, the author can check the queued replication by accessing the /etc/replication/agents.author.html.'

10. Explain the importance of the Multi-Site Manager.

Content management tools usually enable users to manage several websites simultaneously. In this question, the interviewer is asking you about the Multi-Site Manager function of AEM. You can explain this feature in your response and discuss a situation where it can be helpful.

Example: 'AEM's Multi-Site Manager (MSM) allows users to seamlessly manage different websites that use common content. By defining the relation of different websites, you can replicate any content changes automatically across different websites. This functionality can be helpful when a website is available in multiple languages. In such a situation, it can be easier to automate the process of synchronising content across different websites. This makes the process of managing different websites more efficient and reduces the effort of replicating changes manually.'

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