Anthropic Claude Certified Architect – Foundations Sample Questions:

1. You are building a customer support resolution agent using the Claude Agent SDK. The agent handles high- ambiguity requests like returns, billing disputes, and account issues. It has access to your backend systems through custom Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools ( get_customer , lookup_order , process_refund , escalate_to_human ). Your target is 80%+ first-contact resolution while knowing when to escalate.
Your agent is handling a billing dispute. After calling get_customer and lookup_order , it identifies that the dispute involves a promotional pricing error requiring manager approval-beyond the agent's authorization level.
How should the workflow handle this mid-process escalation?

A) Attempt the refund with process_refund anyway, escalating only if the system rejects the transaction.
B) Compile a structured handoff with customer details, order info, and the identified issue before calling escalate_to_human .
C) Call escalate_to_human , passing only the customer's original message.
D) Persist the complete conversation and tool response history to a database, then call escalate_to_human with a reference ID.

2. You are using Claude Code to accelerate software development. Your team uses it for code generation, refactoring, debugging, and documentation. You need to integrate it into your development workflow with custom slash commands, CLAUDE.md configurations, and understand when to use plan mode vs direct execution.
Your team is configuring MCP servers in Claude Code. You want to add a shared venue lookup server that all team members should have access to, and you personally want to add an experimental music playlist server that only you are testing.
Which configuration approach correctly applies MCP server scopes?

A) Add both servers to the project-level .mcp.json file.
B) Add the venue server to ~/.claude.json and the playlist server to .mcp.json .
C) Add both servers to your local ~/.claude.json .
D) Add the venue server to .mcp.json and the playlist server to ~/.claude.json .

3. You are using Claude Code to accelerate software development. Your team uses it for code generation, refactoring, debugging, and documentation. You need to integrate it into your development workflow with custom slash commands, CLAUDE.md configurations, and understand when to use plan mode vs direct execution.
Your team wants Claude to follow a detailed code review checklist (8 items covering API changes, test coverage, documentation, security, etc.) when reviewing pull requests. The team also uses Claude extensively for other tasks: writing new features, debugging production issues, and generating documentation. Currently, developers paste the checklist at the start of each review session.
Which approach best addresses this workflow need?

A) Configure plan mode as the default for code review sessions.
B) Add the checklist to the project's CLAUDE.md file under a "Code Review" section.
C) Create a dedicated review subagent with the checklist embedded in its configuration.
D) Create a /review slash command containing the checklist, invoked when starting reviews.

4. You are using Claude Code to accelerate software development. Your team uses it for code generation, refactoring, debugging, and documentation. You need to integrate it into your development workflow with custom slash commands, CLAUDE.md configurations, and understand when to use plan mode vs direct execution.
You're implementing a caching layer for API responses to speed up the /products endpoint. You have a rough idea-Redis with a 5-minute TTL-but you're new to production caching and aren't sure what other considerations a robust implementation requires.
What's the most effective way to start your iterative workflow?

A) Write a specification with your known requirements and "TBD" markers for uncertain areas, having Claude propose solutions for each TBD as it implements.
B) Ask Claude to interview you about the caching requirements before implementing, surfacing considerations like invalidation strategies, cache layers, consistency guarantees, and failure modes.
C) Use plan mode to analyze the current /products endpoint implementation, then provide your caching requirements once Claude explains how the existing code is structured.
D) Start with a minimal request: "Add Redis caching to /products with 5-minute TTL." Add features and fix issues through follow-up prompts as problems surface during testing.

5. You are using Claude Code to accelerate software development. Your team uses it for code generation, refactoring, debugging, and documentation. You need to integrate it into your development workflow with custom slash commands, CLAUDE.md configurations, and understand when to use plan mode vs direct execution.
Your team's CLAUDE.md includes a rule: "Use 4-space indentation and always run Prettier formatting." Despite this, code reviews reveal that roughly 30% of files Claude Code generates use inconsistent formatting-sometimes 2-space indentation, sometimes missing trailing commas. Adding emphasis ("IMPORTANT: You MUST use Prettier formatting") reduces violations to about 15%, but doesn't eliminate them.
What is the most effective way to ensure all generated code is consistently formatted?

A) Add a Stop hook with a prompt-based check that evaluates whether generated code follows formatting standards and prompts Claude to fix violations.
B) Extract the formatting rules into a dedicated skill that Claude loads automatically when generating code, with more detailed examples of correct formatting.
C) Split the formatting rules into path-scoped .claude/rules/ files that load when Claude works on matching file types.
D) Configure a PostToolUse hook with an Edit|Write matcher that automatically runs Prettier on each file Claude modifies.

Solutions: