Claude Certified Architect — Foundations · Study Course

CCA-F Study Course

24 lessons + 6 quizzes across all 5 domains, built from the official Exam Guide. Work top to bottom; take each quiz after its domain; finish with the mixed exam.

Start here Read the Glossary and keep the Decision Cheat-Sheet open. Exam: multiple choice, 720/1000 to pass, one attempt, 4 of 6 scenarios shown. Aim for 900+ on the practice exam first.

Domain 1 — Agentic Architecture & Orchestration 27%

  1. L1The Agentic Loop Lifecycle
  2. L2Coordinator & Subagent Orchestration
  3. L3Enforcement, Hooks & Handoffs
  4. L4Task Decomposition & Session Management
  5. QuizDomain 1 — Cumulative Quiz

Domain 2 — Tool Design & MCP Integration 18%

  1. L1Designing Tool Interfaces
  2. L2Structured MCP Error Responses
  3. L3Tool Distribution & tool_choice
  4. L4MCP Server Config & Built-in Tools
  5. QuizDomain 2 — Cumulative Quiz

Domain 3 — Claude Code Configuration & Workflows 20%

  1. L1CLAUDE.md Hierarchy & Path Rules
  2. L2Slash Commands & Skills
  3. L3Plan Mode vs Direct Execution
  4. L4Iterative Refinement & CI/CD
  5. QuizDomain 3 — Cumulative Quiz

Domain 4 — Prompt Engineering & Structured Output 20%

  1. L1Explicit Criteria & Few-Shot
  2. L2Structured Output & Validation Loops
  3. L3Batch Processing & Multi-Pass Review
  4. QuizDomain 4 — Cumulative Quiz

Domain 5 — Context Management & Reliability 15%

  1. L1Preserving Context
  2. L2Escalation & Error Propagation
  3. L3Human Review, Confidence & Provenance
  4. QuizDomain 5 — Cumulative Quiz

Capstone & Mastery Loop

  1. ExamFinal Mixed Practice Exam (16 Q) + exam-day strategy
  2. SimFull-Length Mock Exam Simulator (129-question pool; realistic 4-of-6 scenario mode, timed, scored)
  3. DrillDistractor Drill (justify why every wrong option fails — the exam's core skill)
  4. TrackProgress Dashboard (readiness check, per-domain accuracy, most-missed questions)
  5. LabsHands-On Labs (4 build exercises across all domains)
  6. CardsSpaced-Repetition Flashcards (50 cards, Leitner, saves progress)

References

📖 Glossary 🧭 Decision Cheat-Sheet 🎬 Scenario Playbook ⚙️ API & SDK Essentials ✅ Coverage Matrix 📄 Official Exam Guide
The mastery loop: mock exam (realistic mode) → dashboard shows where you leak points → drill your misses until you can explain all three distractors → repeat. Book the real (single-attempt) exam only when the dashboard's readiness panel is all green — that means two things: 900+ on a realistic mock, and no unexplained distractors left. Quiz and drill results now record automatically; you don't need to report scores to me, but tell me your weak domains and I'll generate targeted content.