The PSA System Administrator 2023 exam validates your ability to configure, manage, and optimize Certinia's Professional Services Automation platform. This certification is essential for system administrators and technical consultants who support PSA implementations and day-to-day operations. This landing page provides a comprehensive study roadmap, covering the core topics you'll encounter on the PSA-Sysadmin exam within the SysAdmin Certifications path. Whether you're preparing for your first attempt or refining your knowledge, the resources and guidance here will help you build confidence and demonstrate mastery of PSA administration.
Use this topic map to guide your study for Certinia PSA-Sysadmin (PSA System Administrator 2023) within the SysAdmin Certifications path.
The PSA-Sysadmin exam measures both conceptual knowledge and your ability to apply administrative reasoning to realistic situations. Questions are designed to reflect the decisions you'll make as a PSA system administrator.
Questions progress in difficulty, moving from foundational concepts to complex decision-making that mirrors actual PSA administration work.
An effective study plan breaks the four topic areas into weekly milestones, allowing you to build depth progressively. Combine focused reading with hands-on practice and realistic question sets to reinforce learning and identify gaps before exam day.
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Configuration Management and User Management tend to have the highest question density, as these are core to daily PSA administration. However, all four domains are tested, so balanced preparation across PSA Custom Settings, Configuration Groups, Metadata, Automated Jobs, and Scheduled Maintenance is essential. Focus on understanding how these areas interconnect rather than memorizing isolated facts.
Custom settings and metadata define the data model, configuration groups organize these settings logically, and configuration management ensures these definitions are deployed consistently across environments. In practice, you'll use custom fields to capture client-specific requirements, organize them into groups for clarity, and manage versions so that changes roll out safely without disrupting live operations. Understanding this workflow helps you answer scenario-based questions that test practical decision-making.
Hands-on experience with a PSA instance is invaluable; if available, prioritize labs covering user provisioning, custom field creation, and job scheduling configuration. Even without a live environment, studying configuration screens, understanding navigation paths, and working through scenario questions builds the mental model you need. Focus on labs that let you see the impact of configuration changes on workflows and user experience.
Many candidates underestimate the importance of understanding how configuration changes cascade through the system. Overlooking security implications of user role assignments, failing to consider performance impact when scheduling automated jobs, and not recognizing when metadata customization is the right solution versus a workaround are frequent pitfalls. Read scenario questions carefully, consider all stakeholders affected by each decision, and think about long-term maintainability, not just immediate fixes.
In your final week, shift from learning new content to reinforcing weak areas and building speed. Retake practice tests in timed mode, review explanations for any questions you answer incorrectly, and create a quick reference guide of key definitions and processes. Spend 15-20 minutes daily reviewing one topic area in depth rather than skimming all four. The night before the exam, review your reference guide lightly and get adequate rest to ensure mental clarity on test day.
A Services manager has asked you to set up a unique "FF Navigation" lightning component on the "Services Delivery Workspace" that will provide separate options to users based on which team (business unit) they belong to.
Which two of the following actions would successfully accomplish the required setup? (Choose two.)
Understanding the FF Navigation Component
The FF Navigation component provides a tailored navigation experience for users.
It can be customized based on business units (teams) to show different navigation options.
Option 1: Clone the Page for Each Team (Correct - Option B)
Step 1: Navigate to Lightning App Builder.
Step 2: Clone the existing Service Delivery Workspace page.
Step 3: Modify the FF Navigation component in each cloned page to fit the respective team's needs.
Step 4: Assign different pages to different teams using Lightning Page Assignments.
Option 2: Use Component Visibility Rules (Correct - Option C)
Step 1: Open Lightning App Builder.
Step 2: Add two instances of the 'FF Navigation' component to the Service Delivery Workspace page.
Step 3: Configure component visibility rules based on User Profile, Role, or Business Unit.
Step 4: Save and activate the page.
Incorrect Option (A: Hide Navigation Sections)
The 'Hide Navigation Sections' setting does not support team-based navigation customization.
Instead, cloning pages or using visibility rules is the correct approach.
PSA Sys Admin Essentials Student Guide Fall 20 (2).pdf, Pages 78-80.
When setting up a Utilization calculation, what does the "Is Report Master" field mean?
The 'Is Report Master' field in utilization calculation determines whether the results of the calculation are displayed on the Contact (Resource) record.
Purpose of 'Is Report Master':
If checked, the calculated utilization values appear directly on the Contact record for each resource.
If unchecked, the utilization calculation is still processed but is not displayed on the resource's profile.
Utilization Calculation Process:
Utilization is calculated using timecards (historical utilization) and assignments (scheduled utilization).
The system determines billable and available hours based on Work Calendars and time-tracked activities.
Common Use Cases:
Organizations often check 'Is Report Master' to ensure resource utilization is visible on Contact records for reporting purposes.
If unchecked, utilization can still be accessed via reports and dashboards but won't appear on the Contact record.
Certinia PSA Utilization Calculation Guide
PSA System Administration Essentials
Your company is rolling out Skills and Certifications to encourage employees to track their skills and also decide which skills they would like to acquire. After rolling this feature out, end-users have noted they can't add their assignments to build their "Experience". What could be causing this problem?
To allow end-users to add their assignments to build their 'Experience', the following configuration setting must be enabled:
Navigate to Configuration Options.
Locate the setting 'enable-skills-experience'.
Ensure that the 'Enable Experience' checkbox is selected.
Save and apply changes.
Option B (Skills Management custom setting) is incorrect because experience tracking is not controlled at the custom settings level.
Option C (Enable Experience on PSA Contact record) is incorrect because this setting does not exist on the contact record.
Thus, the correct answer is A.
PSA Sys Admin Essentials Student Guide Fall 20
A user is having an issue where the Utilization report has inflated hours. The billable hours, calendar hours, and credited hours are double their actual values.
Which of the following is a possible cause of this issue?
Why is Utilization Reporting Showing Inflated Hours?
Inflated utilization hours often occur when the report aggregates hours incorrectly.
Cause 1: Report Not Grouped by Resource (Correct - Option B)
If the Resource grouping is missing, billable, calendar, and credited hours might be summed multiple times.
Solution: Edit the report and add 'Resource' as a grouping field.
Cause 2: Incorrect Time Period Type Filter (Correct - Option C)
Utilization calculations are based on specific time period types (month, quarter, year).
If a report is missing the correct filter, hours might be duplicated across different time periods.
Solution: Apply a filter for the correct 'Time Period Type' (e.g., Month, Quarter, or Year).
Why Not the 'End Date' Filter? (Option A Incorrect)
The End Date filter controls the date range but does not impact hour duplication.
PSA Sys Admin Essentials Student Guide Fall 20 (2).pdf, Pages 113-116.
A Resource Record is required to perform which two of the following actions? (Choose two.)
A Resource Record is a critical entity in PSA that allows individuals to be allocated to projects and log their time and expenses.
Being Assigned to a Project:
A resource must be registered as a PSA Resource to be allocated to a project.
Assignments link Resources to Projects and Tasks for scheduling and workload planning.
Entering a Timecard and Expense Report:
Resources must exist in PSA for time and expense entry.
If a Resource Record is missing, users cannot log timecards or submit expenses.
What a Resource Record is NOT Required For:
Creating a milestone does not require a Resource Record. Milestones are financial events linked to a project, not individual resources.
PSA System Administration Guide