QSDA2024 Qlik Sense Data Architect Certification Exam – 2024 Questions and Answers

In this scenario, the data architect wants to transform the input dataset, which is in a key-value pair structure, into a table where each attribute becomes a column with its corresponding value under the relevant key.

Understanding the Requirement:

Theinputdata consists of three fields: Key, Attribute, and Value.

The desiredoutputstructure has the Key as a primary identifier, and the Attributes (like Color, Diameter, Height, etc.) are spread across the columns, with corresponding values filled in each row.

Best Method to Achieve this Transformation:

The appropriate method to convert key-value pairs into a structured table where each unique attribute becomes a separate column is theGeneric Loadfunction in Qlik Sense.

Why Generic?

Generic Loadis specifically designed for situations where data is stored in a key-value format (like the one provided) and needs to be converted into a more traditional tabular format, with attributes as columns.

It creates a separate table for each combination of Key and Attribute, effectively "pivoting" the attribute values into columns in the output table.

How it Works:

When applying a GENERIC LOAD to the input dataset, Qlik Sense will generate multiple tables, one for each Attribute. However, in the final data model, Qlik Sense automatically joins these tables by the Key field, effectively producing the desired output structure.

References:

Qlik Sense Documentation on Generic Load: The documentation outlines how to use the Generic Load to handle key-value pairs and pivot them into a more traditional table format.

During the transition from QlikView to Qlik Sense, the analytics team has the opportunity to improve the overall reporting. To ensure a smooth migration while optimizing the new environment, the data architect needs to consider several key factors.

Option Cis the best choice because it encompasses the essential aspects of a migration project:

QlikView Archival:

Archiving QlikView applications is crucial to ensure that historical data and applications are preserved and can be referenced if needed in the future. This step is important to maintain continuity and provide a fallback option if required during the transition.

Source Data Architecture:

Understanding the existing source data architecture is critical to ensure that the new Qlik Sense applications can seamlessly connect to the data sources. This also helps in identifying opportunities to optimize or re-architect the data pipelines for better performance in Qlik Sense.

Load Script:

The load script from QlikView might need to be revised or optimized for Qlik Sense. It's important to ensure that the script is compatible and takes advantage of Qlik Sense's capabilities, such as improved data handling, better inline transformations, and enhanced scripting functions.

Data Model:

Reviewing and possibly redesigning the data model is essential during the migration. Qlik Sense's associative engine allows for more flexibility, and this is an opportunity to improve the data model for better performance, scalability, and user experience.

Business Use Case:

Understanding the business use case is vital to ensure that the new Qlik Sense applications meet the business requirements effectively. This includes making sure that the new reports and dashboards are aligned with the business goals and provide the necessary insights.

References:

Qlik Migration Guide: When migrating from QlikView to Qlik Sense, it's important to consider not just the technical aspects but also the business implications and opportunities for improvement.

Qlik Documentation on Data Modeling and Load Script Optimization: These resources provide best practices on how to optimize load scripts and data models during migration to ensure smooth operation and better performance in Qlik Sense.

In the provided data model, there is an issue where certain types of analysis over time are not showing the expected data. This problem is often caused by a mismatch in the data formats of the OrderDate field between the Orders and MasterCalendar tables.

Option A:DatefFloor(OrderDate)) would round down to the nearest date boundary, which might not address the root cause if the issue is related to different date and time formats.

Option B:TimeStamp#(OrderDate, 'M/D/YYYY hh.mm.ff') ensures that the date is interpreted correctly as a timestamp, but this does not resolve potential mismatches in date format directly.

Option C:TimeStamp(OrderDate) will keep both date and time, which may still cause mismatches if the MasterCalendar is dealing purely with dates.

Option D:Date(OrderDate) formats the OrderDate to show only the date portion (removing the time part). This function will ensure that the date values are consistent across the Orders and MasterCalendar tables by converting the timestamps to just dates. This is the most straightforward and effective way to ensure consistency in date-based analysis.

In Qlik Sense, dates and timestamps are stored as dual values (both text and numeric), and mismatches can lead to incomplete or incorrect analyses. By using Date(OrderDate) in both the Orders and MasterCalendar tables, you ensure that the analysis will have consistent date values, resolving the issue described.

In the script provided, the alt() function is used to handle various date formats. The alt() function in Qlik Sense evaluates a list of expressions and returns the first valid expression. If none of the expressions are valid, it returns the last argument provided (in this case, '31/12/2022').

Step-by-step breakdown:

The alt() function checks the Date field for three different formats:

YYYYMMDD

YYYY/MM/DD

DD/MM/YYYY

If none of these formats match the value in the Date field, the default date '31/12/2022' is assigned.

Values in the Date field:

20210131: Matches the first format YYYYMMDD.

2020/01/31: Matches the second format YYYY/MM/DD.

31/01/2019: Matches the third format DD/MM/YYYY.

9999: Does not match any of the formats, so the alt() function returns the default value '31/12/2022'.

The issue described is that not all orders for a selected date are shown. This issue arises because the original script uses the Date(OrderTime) function, which only extracts the date part of the OrderTime timestamp, potentially resulting in incorrect matching when filtering by date due to the time component still being present in the underlying data.

Explanation of Option D:

Floor(OrderTime): The Floor() function truncates the OrderTime timestamp to remove the time component, leaving only the date part. This ensures that all orders on the same date are treated equally, without any interference from the time component.

Date(Floor(OrderTime), 'YYYY-MM-DD'): The Date() function formats the floored value into a date format (YYYY-MM-DD), which is essential for consistent date comparison.

This approach ensures that when you select a date in the application, all orders for that date are shown, as the time component has been effectively removed.

In the scenario presented, a major healthcare organization needs an app that allows users to filter AdmissionDate and DischargeDate by all fields in the Master Calendar table, while also ensuring that users cannot filter on dates that have no associated encounters.

To meet these requirements, the most appropriate approach is to:

Load the Master Calendar twice,once as AdmissionCalendar and once as DischargeCalendar. Each instance should have its fields appropriately aliased to reflect whether they pertain to Admission or Discharge dates.

Load the Encounters tableas usual, but now you have two separate calendar tables that can be linked to the appropriate date fields (AdmissionDate and DischargeDate) in the Encounters table.

This approach ensures:

Users can filter both AdmissionDate and DischargeDateindependently using the fields in their respective calendar tables.

Only relevant datesassociated with actual encounters will be available for filtering, as the calendars are linked specifically to the AdmissionDate and DischargeDate fields.

Efficiency and clarityin the data model, as the fields from the Master Calendar are distinctly assigned to either Admission or Discharge, avoiding any confusion or incorrect filtering.

This method avoids unnecessary complexity and directly meets the healthcare organization's requirements in a straightforward and scalable manner.

In the scenario described, the goal is to load all CSV files from a directory into Qlik Sense, while ignoring the log files that are also present in the same directory. The correct approach should allow for dynamic file loading without needing to manually specify each file name, especially since the log files change regularly.

Here’s whyOption Bis the correct choice:

Option A:This method involves manually specifying a list of files (Day1, Day2, Day3) and then iterating through them to load each one. While this method would work, it requires knowing the exact file names in advance, which is not practical given that new files are added regularly. Also, it doesn’t handle dynamic file name changes or new files added to the folder automatically.

Option B:This approach uses a wildcard (*) in the file path, which tells Qlik Sense to load all files matching the pattern (in this case, all CSV files in the directory). Since the csv file extension is explicitly specified, only the CSV files will be loaded, and the log files will be ignored. This method is efficient and handles the dynamic nature of the file names without needing manual updates to the script.

Option C:This option is similar to Option B but targets text files (txt) instead of CSV files. Since the requirement is to load CSV files, this option would not meet the needs.

Option D:This option uses a more complex approach with filelist() and a loop, which could work, but it’s more complex than necessary. Option B achieves the same result more simply and directly.

Therefore,Option Bis the most efficient and straightforward solution, dynamically loading all CSV files from the specified directory while ignoring the log files, as required.

In Qlik Sense, the TRACE statement is used to print custom messages to the script execution log. To output the value of a variable, particularly one that is dynamically assigned, the correct syntax must be used to ensure that the variable's value is evaluated and displayed correctly.

The variable vMaxDate is defined with the LET statement, which means it is evaluated immediately, and its value is stored.

When using the TRACE statement, to output the value of vMaxDate, you need to ensure the variable's value is expanded before being printed. This is done using the $() expansion syntax.

The correct syntax is TRACE #### $(vMaxDate) ####; which evaluates the variable vMaxDate and inserts its value into the log output.

Key Qlik Sense Data Architect References:

Variable Expansion:In Qlik Sense scripting, $(variable_name) is used to expand and insert the value of the variable into expressions or statements. This is crucial when you want to output or use the value stored in a variable.

TRACE Statement:The TRACE command is used to write messages to the script log. It is commonly used for debugging purposes to track the flow of script execution or to verify the values of variables during script execution.

In the scenario where the startup company is preparing for an IPO, there is an increased need for meticulous record-keeping, including the recording of variable values used in Qlik Sense applications. The TRACE statement is the most suitable option for logging variable values during script execution.

TRACE: This statement writes custom messages, including variable values, to the script execution log. By using TRACE, you can ensure that every reload log contains the names and current values of all relevant variables, providing the necessary transparency and traceability.

For example, the script could include:

TRACE $(VariableName);

This command will output the variable's value in the script log, ensuring it is recorded for audit purposes.

When dealing with a database that is continuously updated with new records, updates, and deletions, an efficient data load strategy is necessary to minimize the load time and keep the Qlik Sense data model up-to-date.

Explanation of Steps:

Load the existing data from the QVD:

This step retrieves the already loaded and processed data from a previous session. It acts as a base to which new or updated records will be added.

Load new and updated data from the database. Concatenate with the table loaded from the QVD:

The next step is to load only the new and updated records from the database. This minimizes the amount of data being loaded and focuses on just the changes.

The new and updated records are then concatenated with the existing data from the QVD, creating a combined dataset that includes all relevant information.

Create a separate table for the deleted rows and use a WHERE NOT EXISTS to remove these records:

A separate table is created to handle deletions. The WHERE NOT EXISTS clause is used to identify and remove records from the combined dataset that have been deleted in the source database.

In the scenario, two tables (OrderDetails and Customers) are being loaded into the Qlik Sense data model, and these tables are related via the fields CustomerID and CustomerKey. The goal is to ensure that the relationship between these two tables is correctly established in Qlik Sense without creating synthetic keys or data inconsistencies.

Option A:Renaming CustomerKey to CustomerID in the OrderDetails table ensures that the fields will have the same name across both tables, which is necessary to create the relationship. However, renaming is done using AS, which might create an issue if the fields in the original data source have a different meaning.

Option B and C:These options use AUTONUMBER to convert the CustomerKey and CustomerID to unique numeric values. However, using AUTONUMBER for both fields without ensuring they are aligned correctly might lead to incorrect associations since AUTONUMBER generates unique values based on the order of data loading, and these might not match across tables.

Option D:This approach loads the tables with their original field names and then uses the RENAME FIELD statement to align the field names (CustomerKey to CustomerID). This ensures that the key fields are correctly aligned across both tables, maintaining their relationship without introducing synthetic keys or mismatches.

The goal is to display the aggregated sales for each sales representative, with all aggregations being performed in the script. Option C is the correct choice because it performs the aggregation correctly using a Group by clause, ensuring that the sum of sales for each employee is calculated within the script.

Data Load:

The Data table is loaded first from the Sales table. This includes the OrderID, OrderDate, CustomerID, EmployeeID, and Sales.

Next, the Emp table is loaded containing EmployeeID and EmployeeName.

Joining Data:

A Left Join is performed between the Data table and the Emp table on EmployeeID, enriching the data with EmployeeName.

Aggregation:

The Summary table is created by loading the EmployeeName and calculating the total sales using the sum([Sales]) function.

The Resident keyword indicates that the data is pulled from the existing tables in memory, specifically the Data table.

The Group by clause ensures that the aggregation is performed correctly for each EmployeeName, summarizing the total sales for each employee.

Key Qlik Sense Data Architect References:

Resident Load: This is a method to reuse data that is already loaded into the app’s memory. By using a Resident load, you can create new tables or perform calculations like aggregation on the existing data.

Group by Clause: The Group by clause is essential when performing aggregations in the script. It groups the data by specified fields and performs the desired aggregation function (e.g., sum, count).

Left Join: Used to combine data from two tables. In this case, Left Join is used to enrich the sales data with employee names, ensuring that the sales data is associated correctly with the respective employee.

Conclusion:Option C is the most appropriate script for this task because it correctly performs the necessary joins and aggregations in the script. This ensures that the dashboard will display the correct aggregated sales per employee, meeting the data architect’s requirements.