About the QSDA Exam: Current Facts, Objectives & How to Use This Guide
Key Takeaways
Qlik's current Qlik Sense Data Architect exam has 45 multiple-choice questions, a 120-minute limit, and a 60% passing score.
The exam costs US$250 per attempt, is taken online through Qlik Learning, and has been proctored through Kryterion Webassessor since July 2026.
Qlik certification exams are open book, but AI tools are prohibited during the exam.
Candidates get up to three attempts per exam, with a 48-hour wait after the first failure and a 14-day wait after the second.
Qlik certifications are valid for two years from the pass date, and the current exam page publishes five domains and 19 objectives without percentage weights.
Why the Exam Facts Matter
The Qlik Sense Data Architect certification tests whether you can turn business requirements into a working Qlik data model: choose sources and connections, design the associative model, write the load script, and prove the data is right. Qlik describes the exam as platform-neutral: the content applies to both client-managed Qlik Sense and Qlik Cloud. This guide therefore teaches both deployment styles wherever they differ, for example QMC security rules versus Qlik Cloud spaces, or INTERNAL\SA_SCHEDULER versus USER.EMAIL rows in Section Access.
Current Exam Facts (checked against Qlik on October 15, 2026)
| Item | Current official detail |
|---|---|
| Delivery | Purchased and launched through Qlik Learning; online only, with no test-center option |
| Proctoring | AI-proctored and recorded; Qlik moved proctoring to Kryterion Webassessor in July 2026 (no separate Webassessor account is needed) |
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Questions | 45 multiple-choice questions |
| Passing score | 60%; Qlik adjusts the cut score to keep a consistent standard as content changes |
| Price | US$250 per attempt, paid by card or voucher; exam access lasts one year after enrollment |
| Language | English only; non-native speakers can request extra time through Qlik Support |
| Open book | Qlik Learning courses, Qlik product documentation, knowledge articles, your own notes, and web searches are allowed; AI tools are prohibited |
| Scoring | No partial credit: on a multiple-answer item you must select exactly the number of answers requested |
| Retakes | Up to 3 attempts; wait 48 hours after the first failure and 14 calendar days after the second; each attempt needs full payment or a new voucher |
| Validity | 2 years from the pass date; recertify by passing the current exam before it expires |
| Recommended experience | Practical experience building several production-quality Qlik Sense apps; Qlik's FAQ suggests about six months of on-the-job experience |
Qlik's exam page warns that "the number and difficulty of questions may change," so confirm these details on the official page before you buy. Earlier versions of the same page listed 50 questions, a 62% passing score, and percentage weights for each domain. The current page lists the domains and objectives without weights, so treat any weighting you see in third-party material as unofficial.
The Official Blueprint: 5 Domains, 19 Objectives
Qlik lists the objectives below (it repeats "script organization and cleansing" twice, so there are 19 distinct objectives). The right-hand column shows where this guide teaches each one.
| Domain | Official objective (Qlik wording, shortened) | Where this guide teaches it |
|---|---|---|
| Identify Requirements | Primary requirements for business users | 1.1 |
| Identify Requirements | Stakeholders in a given scenario | 1.1 |
| Identify Requirements | Metrics and levels of granularity and aggregation | 1.1 |
| Identify Requirements | Dimensionality and slowly changing dimension support | 1.2 |
| Identify Requirements | Appropriate level of security | 1.3 |
| Data Connectivity | Data sources and connectors needed | 2.1, 2.2 |
| Data Connectivity | Method to create connections for data sources | 2.3 |
| Data Model Design | Measures and attributes from each data source | 1.1, 3.1 |
| Data Model Design | Appropriate type of data model | 3.1, 3.2 |
| Data Model Design | Optimize the data model for Qlik Sense | 3.3, 4.1, 4.2 |
| Data Model Design | Implement data structures efficiently | 4.2, 4.3 |
| Data Transformations | Build data content based on requirements | 5.1 to 5.4, 7.1 |
| Data Transformations | Null and blank handling to support filtering | 7.2 |
| Data Transformations | Document data load scripts | 5.5 |
| Data Transformations | Date handling techniques | 6.4, 7.2 |
| Data Transformations | Script organization and cleansing | 5.5, 7.2 |
| Data Transformations | Variables for incremental loading in the extract layer | 6.1 to 6.3 |
| Validation | Validate and test scripts | 7.4 |
| Validation | Validate and test data | 7.3 |
How the Questions Work
Questions are scenario-based: a short description of a business need or a failing script, followed by options that name a technique, a statement, or a setting. Because the exam is open book but timed, at about 2.7 minutes per question (120 minutes divided by 45), you cannot research every item. Know the core patterns well enough to answer from memory, such as what keeps a QVD read optimized, how WHERE NOT Exists() merges an incremental load, how the * wildcard behaves in Section Access, and when to use a link table. Save documentation lookups for exact syntax details.
How to Use This Guide
- Work through the chapters in order. Requirements (Chapter 1) drive connectivity and model design (Chapters 2 to 4), which drive the script techniques in Chapters 5 to 7.
- Build as you read. Recreate the scripts in any Qlik Sense environment you can use, then inspect the result in the data model viewer and the reload log. Most exam traps, such as synthetic keys, auto-concatenation, or a missing optimized marker, are obvious once you have seen them happen.
- Use the practice questions. Each section ends with exam-style questions; the explanations name the trap behind every wrong option.
- Use Qlik's own preparation material. The exam page points to the instructor-led Data Modeling for Qlik Sense course and the self-paced Data Architect collection in Qlik Learning (a Qlik Learning subscription is required for the courses), and Qlik's FAQ recommends its practice test before booking.
A candidate fails the Qlik Sense Data Architect exam for the second time on March 2. Under Qlik's current certification retake policy, when can they sit the third and final attempt?
After 48 hours, on March 4, the same waiting period as after a first failure.
After 14 calendar days from the March 2 attempt, with full payment or a new voucher.
Immediately, because the waiting period only applies when the same voucher is reused.
After 90 days and only once a Qlik instructor-led course has been completed.
Qlik certification exams are open book. Which resource is a candidate NOT allowed to use while taking the Qlik Sense Data Architect exam?
Qlik product documentation on help.qlik.com
Personal study notes prepared before the exam
A web search for a script function's syntax
An AI assistant that drafts answers to the scenario questions
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.