10 Pega Interview Questions And Answers (With Helpful Tips)

Updated 31 October 2022

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Pega is a popular, low-code business process management (BPM) tool for building enterprise applications and automating business processes. Several companies use Pega to build applications that facilitate data-driven business decisions. If you are a software engineer applying for jobs in business process application development, knowing the answers to popular interview questions about Pega can help you prepare for an upcoming interview. In this article, we review a list of expected Pega interview questions and their answers and share interview preparation tips to help increase your confidence.

Top 10 Pega Interview Questions And Sample Answers

Irrespective of whether you are a fresher, experienced programmer or enterprise app developer, knowing the answers to these common Pega interview questions can improve your chances of securing the role:

1. What are the different types of classes in Pega?

The interviewer might include this question as a warm-up before moving on to the more advanced ones. Pega allows developers to reuse rules across cases and applications. Reusing rules decreases development time while increasing application quality. The platform classifies rules as various classes based on their reusability level. You can answer this question by listing the three different classes and their key features.

Example: "There are three major classes in Pega. They are the data class, integration class and work class. The data class specifies the rules for data types and objects. The integration class contains the rules that oversee how the application interacts with external resources and services. Finally, the work class contains the interfaces, data items and other resources that govern the processing of test cases."

2. Explain the differences between forward and backward chaining

Questions highlighting the differences between two concepts are common in a technical interview. The interviewer asks these questions to check if you have a strong knowledge of the basics and can apply the right concept based on the requirement. This is a crucial skill that can help you later in the role. You can structure your answer by explaining the definitions of both concepts and then highlighting their similarities and differences with examples.

Example: "Forward chaining allows a change in one property to be automatically propagated to other property indexes or values. For example, the area of an object depends on its length and width. Forward chaining automatically recalculates the area if either the length or width changes. Backward chaining allows for automatic calculation by executing the declarative rule rather than relying on input changes. Backward chaining calculates the area of the property only when it is required and not every time the length or breadth changes."

3. How do you create a workbasket in Pega?

This question tests your working knowledge in Pega. You can answer this question by listing the various steps of creating a workbasket and explaining each step briefly.

Example: "The first step to create a workbasket is to click on 'Record.' Next, choose 'Workbasket' under the organisation category. Right-click the 'Create' option and then create a name for the workbasket instance. While naming the workbasket, it is a good practice to choose a name that conveys its content and purpose to other users."

4. Why did you choose to become a Pega developer?

This question helps the interviewer know more about your experience in Pega and your passion for the role. You can answer by describing a situation or factor that influenced you to pursue a career as a Pega developer. You can also elaborate on the answer to include your expertise on the platform and your future career goals.

Example: "During the final year of my computer science engineering programme, I got interested in artificial intelligence (AI) and business process automation. This led me to choose enterprise application development for my final semester project. It is when I started using Pega and decided to focus on it to build my career. Since then, I have completed the Pega Certified Business Architect certification and have worked on the platform for over three years in various roles."

5. Can you list the advantages of using Pega for application development?

This question helps the interviewer evaluate if you understand the advantages of Pega and its role in enterprise application development. To answer this question, you can list as many advantages as possible and explain each one briefly. It also helps to be aware of the limitations of Pega, as that is another common interview question.

Example: "Building software applications is risky, time-consuming and expensive. Organisations look for ways to reduce risk during application development. Pega makes it easy for businesses to achieve these objectives by focusing on developing a Minimum Lovable Product (MLP) with a quick turnaround. Once you develop and deliver the MLP, Pega allows for further iterations and improvements to the application as the business needs change and evolve. It is a low-code alternative with good community and platform support for businesses to develop custom applications quickly."

6. Which inheritance method is important, direct or pattern?

The interviewer might ask tricky questions like these to try to confuse you. To answer such questions, take a few seconds to decide which is the better option and then explain why you think it is better.

Example: "Pega provides two types of rule inheritance, such as directed inheritance and pattern inheritance. Pattern is automatic inheritance and uses the class name structure to determine which rules to reuse. In direct inheritance, the developer explicitly specifies the parent class. Unlike pattern inheritance, which is automatic, direct inheritance is explicit. Both are important and you use them for different scenarios based on the requirements. That said, you give preference to direct inheritance as you cannot leave it blank."

7. How do you pass a parameter to a data page when it is referred to in an activity?

This question tests your coding knowledge in Pega. The interviewer might ask you to write code snippets during the interview to check your programming expertise in the Pega platform. To answer this question, explain the syntax of the corresponding function for passing parameters.

Example: "To pass parameters to a data page, we can use the D_AXASTATES function. The format for this function is D_AXASTATES [Param1:Value1, Param2:Value2]"."

8. How do you create a temporary object in Pega?

The interviewer might ask this question, especially if the role requires you to work with temporary work objects. Temporary work objects are beneficial in several business scenarios, as the system stores them in the database only when certain conditions get met. They help in database maintenance by not storing unnecessary data.

Example: "As the name implies, temporary work objects are impermanent and not stored in the database. Rather, they remain on the clipboard. Temporary objects do not have an associated case ID. Any history addition that you perform on a temporary object does not impact the flow. You can create a temporary work object by clicking on a case type, navigating to the 'settings' tab, selecting the 'general' category and then choosing 'enable temporary case'."

9. Can you explain Pega's security policies?

Security is a significant concern for all businesses. The interviewer might ask this question to assess your security knowledge and evaluate if you take data security seriously. You can answer this question by explaining the different security protocols available in Pega and how it helps in securing enterprise applications.

Example: "Pega offers several inbuilt authentication types like PRBasic, PRSecuredBasic and Custom to secure applications developed in the platform. Besides these authentication procedures, we can implement other security policies like password policies, multi-factor authentication using a onetime verification code, lookout policies, CAPTCHA policies, audit policies and operator disablement. These security policies are available in the Designer/DEV studio by navigating the 'OrgAndSecurity' tab under the 'Authentication' sub-tab."

10. Which Pega feature is best to send daily messages to end-users?

This question tests your knowledge of Pega functionalities. You can expect the interviewer to ask such in-depth questions to check if you have knowledge about the various inbuilt functionalities of Pega.

Example: "Broadcast data instance displays daily updates and announcements to end-users. It is available under the 'records' tab under the 'technical' category. It allows messages up to 70 characters in length."

Tips To Prepare For A Pega Interview

Here are a few tips that can help you make a good impression during a technical Pega interview:

Ensure that your responses demonstrate your problem-solving and logical reasoning skills.
If you do not understand a question, you can request more information that might help you answer.
If you are unsure of an answer, be candid and let the interviewer know that you do not know the answer but are willing to learn more about it.
Prepare for coding assignments and scenario-based Pega interview questions for advanced roles.
Use the situation, task, analysis and result (STAR) method to create your answers effectively.

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