Developing Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 Advanced Solutions Free Practice Test — 30 Questions

Question 1

A development team is tasked with creating a highly interactive project management dashboard for a SharePoint 2013 environment. This dashboard must display real-time status updates from a custom list, allowing users to filter and sort project data dynamically without full page reloads. The team anticipates significant user interaction, including inline editing of certain project details that should immediately reflect across the dashboard. Which architectural approach best supports the requirement for immediate, interactive data reflection and UI manipulation within the constraints of SharePoint 2013?

Accepted Answer

Implementing a client-side rendering framework using JavaScript to fetch data via SharePoint's REST API and dynamically update the DOM.

Question 2

A senior developer is tasked with optimizing a custom SharePoint 2013 web part that displays a list of over 50,000 items from a document library. Performance testing reveals that the web part\'s data retrieval process is a significant bottleneck, causing noticeable delays for users and contributing to overall farm latency. The current implementation iterates through each item in the library, performing individual operations on each, without any mechanism for batching or pagination. Which of the following strategies would most effectively mitigate this performance degradation by enabling efficient retrieval of all items from the large document library?

Accepted Answer

Implement a paged retrieval mechanism using `SPQuery.RowLimit` and `SPQuery.ListItemCollectionPosition` to fetch items in manageable batches, iteratively processing each batch until all items are retrieved.

Question 3

A senior developer on a complex SharePoint Server 2013 enterprise solution is managing a critical project phase where a key third-party integration module, essential for core business processes, is experiencing persistent performance degradation and has not met agreed-upon quality benchmarks despite repeated vendor interventions. The project timeline mandates the commencement of user acceptance testing (UAT) within three weeks. The development team has identified that without a stable version of this module, UAT will be inconclusive, potentially delaying the entire rollout. What strategic approach should the development team prioritize to ensure project continuity and mitigate the risk of significant timeline slippage?

Accepted Answer

Develop an interim, internally supported SharePoint feature that replicates the essential functionality of the problematic third-party module, allowing UAT to proceed with a stable, albeit reduced, feature set, while concurrently engaging the vendor in a formal dispute resolution process.

Question 4

A seasoned development team, tasked with modernizing a critical, performance-sensitive business process automation solution built on SharePoint Server 2013, encounters severe scalability limitations. Their initial attempt to refactor the solution using the SharePoint Add-in model resulted in unacceptable latency and frequent system timeouts, particularly during peak usage periods. The existing architecture relies heavily on custom server-side code for orchestrating complex, multi-stage workflows involving data synchronization with external enterprise systems. The project lead recognizes the need for a significant strategic shift to address these architectural shortcomings. Which of the following approaches best reflects a robust, adaptable, and scalable solution for this advanced SharePoint development scenario, demonstrating a pivot from the initial failed strategy?

Accepted Answer

Migrating the core workflow logic to a scalable, external service such as Azure Functions or a WebJob, and integrating it with SharePoint via secure APIs.

Question 5

Anya, a senior SharePoint solutions architect, is leading a critical project to develop an advanced document management system for a global non-profit organization. Midway through the development cycle, the client introduces significant, previously unarticulated requirements concerning multi-language support and granular permission management, which directly impact the existing architecture. Simultaneously, her geographically dispersed development team is experiencing communication breakdowns and differing interpretations of the project\'s evolving scope, leading to a dip in morale and productivity. Anya must quickly re-align the team and adjust the project\'s technical direction while managing the inherent ambiguity and potential conflict arising from these changes. Which of the following strategic responses best reflects the application of advanced problem-solving and leadership principles for this scenario?

Accepted Answer

Convene an urgent cross-functional team meeting to collaboratively redefine project priorities, conduct a rapid technical assessment of the new requirements' impact on the existing SharePoint 2013 architecture, and establish a revised, iterative development plan with clear communication protocols for ongoing feedback and adaptation.

Question 6

A development team is tasked with migrating a complex, on-premises SharePoint Server 2013 solution that heavily relies on custom C# code deployed to the Global Assembly Cache (GAC) for critical business logic. The target environment is SharePoint Online. Considering the architectural differences and security constraints of SharePoint Online, which of the following strategies is the most appropriate for ensuring the continued functionality of the custom business logic while adhering to best practices for the cloud environment?

Accepted Answer

Re-architect the custom business logic to leverage client-side SharePoint frameworks like the SharePoint Framework (SPFx) or utilize the SharePoint REST API and CSOM, potentially orchestrating backend processes with Azure Functions.

Question 7

A development team is building a custom client-side web part for SharePoint 2013 that needs to display aggregated data from a geographically distributed set of microservices. The user experience must remain fluid, with no perceived lag during data loading. The web part\'s logic is entirely client-side, leveraging JavaScript and the SharePoint client-side object model. Which approach best facilitates this requirement, ensuring both data retrieval efficiency and a responsive user interface?

Accepted Answer

Execute an asynchronous HTTP GET request using JavaScript to the microservices' endpoints, expecting data formatted as JSON, and process the response client-side.

Question 8

Consider a scenario where a development team has successfully deployed a complex custom solution, built using SharePoint Server 2013\'s server-side object model and client-side object model, to a client\'s production environment. Six months later, the client mandates an immediate migration to a newer SharePoint platform, requiring significant architectural shifts. The custom solution, which includes custom web parts, event receivers, and extensive use of JavaScript for UI interactions, exhibits critical functional failures post-migration. Which of the following actions is the most crucial first step to address these failures and ensure the solution\'s operational integrity in the new environment?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a thorough code audit and refactor the custom solution's components to align with the updated SharePoint API and best practices of the target platform.

Question 9

A team of developers has recently deployed a sophisticated custom solution to a SharePoint Server 2013 farm. This solution incorporates custom event receivers that trigger on item modifications and custom workflows that automate complex business processes. Post-deployment, administrators have observed significant performance degradation during periods of high user activity, characterized by slow page rendering, unresponsive custom web parts, and elevated server CPU utilization. Analysis of server performance counters confirms a direct correlation between the deployment of the custom solution and these performance issues, with CPU usage frequently exceeding 90%. Which of the following strategies is most likely to effectively diagnose and mitigate the performance bottlenecks within this SharePoint 2013 environment?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a thorough code review and profiling of the custom solution's event receivers and workflows to identify and optimize computationally intensive operations, inefficient object model calls, and potential resource leaks, while ensuring proper management of asynchronous operations.

Question 10

A developer is building an advanced SharePoint 2013 solution that involves a custom web part designed to allow multiple users to concurrently edit and save properties of a list item. The list has versioning enabled. During testing, the web part occasionally throws an `OptimisticConcurrencyException` when two users attempt to save changes to the same item within a very short timeframe. Which strategy would best ensure data integrity and a resilient user experience in this scenario, adhering to best practices for developing against the SharePoint 2013 client-side object model (CSOM)?

Accepted Answer

Implement a retry mechanism that re-fetches the latest version of the list item, reapplies any user-specific modifications, and then attempts the save operation again.

Question 11

A distributed development team is tasked with creating a complex custom workflow solution for a large enterprise using SharePoint Server 2013. Several team members, working remotely across different time zones, have independently begun developing components without a clear, shared understanding of the overall architecture or integration points. This has resulted in conflicting approaches to data handling and security protocols, and a growing sense of frustration due to perceived duplicated effort. Which behavioral competency, if effectively demonstrated by the project lead, would have most significantly mitigated this situation?

Accepted Answer

Proactive problem identification and systematic issue analysis, coupled with clear articulation of project objectives and expectations to foster cohesive cross-functional team dynamics.

Question 12

A SharePoint 2013 custom workflow is designed to integrate with an external Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system by calling its REST API to update customer records. During periods of high network traffic, the workflow intermittently fails to connect to the CRM API, resulting in incomplete data synchronization. The business requires that the workflow automatically attempts to re-establish the connection and retry the update a reasonable number of times before marking the record as unsynchronizable, and all retry attempts and any final failures must be meticulously logged in the workflow history for auditing and troubleshooting. Which combination of workflow activities and configurations would best satisfy these requirements for resilience and traceability?

Accepted Answer

Implement the CRM API call within a `Try-Catch` block, with the `Catch` block containing a loop that includes a delay and the API call, logging each attempt to the history list before the loop, and if the loop exhausts retries, log a final error.

Question 13

A development team is tasked with resolving intermittent performance degradation in a SharePoint Server 2013 farm, specifically impacting custom web parts and search functionality during periods of high user concurrency. Initial infrastructure diagnostics indicate that the underlying SQL Server and IIS are operating within acceptable parameters, and no recent code deployments directly correlate with the onset of these issues. The team suspects that the custom solutions, particularly a complex search web part that aggregates data from multiple sources using asynchronous operations, are contributing to resource contention. What systematic approach should the development team prioritize to pinpoint and rectify the root cause of the performance bottlenecks within their custom code?

Accepted Answer

Utilize .NET profiling tools to identify specific code sections exhibiting blocking I/O operations or inefficient thread management, and subsequently refactor these sections to correctly implement asynchronous programming patterns.

Question 14

A team is developing a complex SharePoint 2013 workflow to automate a client onboarding process, which relies heavily on data synchronization with an external, legacy customer relationship management (CRM) system. Without prior notification, the CRM vendor deploys a patch that subtly alters the data schema for customer contact information, causing the SharePoint workflow to fail during data validation. The project timeline is aggressive, and formal clarification on the new CRM schema is not immediately available. Which approach best exemplifies the developer\'s adaptability and flexibility in this situation?

Accepted Answer

Implement a temporary data transformation module within the SharePoint workflow to normalize the incoming CRM data to the expected format, while simultaneously logging the discrepancies for future analysis and communicating the issue and interim solution to the project manager.

Question 15

A custom SharePoint 2013 application, initially performing optimally within a consolidated data center, exhibits significant performance degradation and intermittent failures upon deployment to a geographically dispersed infrastructure with higher network latency. The application heavily utilizes asynchronous operations for content aggregation and custom workflow execution. What strategic approach would best address these emergent issues, focusing on architectural resilience and adaptive performance tuning for distributed environments?

Accepted Answer

Re-architect asynchronous operations to utilize server-side caching for frequently accessed data, optimize data serialization for reduced payload size, and fine-tune workflow execution configurations to accommodate higher latency, while ensuring appropriate search topology and load balancing.

Question 16

A multi-tenant SharePoint Server 2013 farm, hosting several custom-built applications that utilize complex workflows, integrated third-party services via custom connectors, and extensive client-side object model (CSOM) interactions for data manipulation, is exhibiting sporadic performance degradation and unresponsiveness during periods of high user concurrency. Initial investigations have ruled out basic infrastructure issues like network latency or insufficient hardware. The development team suspects that the interaction between the custom components and the SharePoint runtime environment is the primary driver of these issues. Which of the following diagnostic and remediation strategies would most effectively address the nuanced performance challenges in this advanced SharePoint solution, reflecting a need for adaptability and deep technical insight?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a thorough code review of all custom workflows and event receivers, profiling their execution against the SharePoint object model and identifying potential resource contention points, coupled with analyzing ULS logs and relevant performance counters to correlate application behavior with system resource utilization during observed performance dips.

Question 17

A critical business process in your organization relies on a custom SharePoint Server 2013 workflow designed to automate the approval of expense reports. This workflow needs to update a central \"Approved Expenses\" list, which requires write permissions. However, many users submitting expense reports do not have direct write access to this central list, only read access. The workflow must reliably perform these updates regardless of the initiating user\'s individual permissions on the \"Approved Expenses\" list. Considering the principle of least privilege and the need for auditable, consistent execution, which of the following configurations is the most secure and effective for ensuring the workflow can successfully modify the \"Approved Expenses\" list?

Accepted Answer

Configure the workflow to execute using a dedicated service account that has been granted explicit write permissions to the "Approved Expenses" list.

Question 18

A development team is tasked with creating an advanced SharePoint 2013 solution that requires deep integration with a proprietary, on-premises legacy system. Direct database access to the legacy system is strictly prohibited due to security policies and its complex, undocumented internal structure. The integration needs to support bidirectional data synchronization and allow users to perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations on the legacy data directly from a SharePoint interface. Which architectural approach would be the most effective and compliant for achieving this complex integration requirement?

Accepted Answer

Implementing an External Data and Operations solution utilizing Business Connectivity Services (BCS) to define external content types and map operations to the legacy system's exposed APIs or services.

Question 19

A team developing a critical document management solution on SharePoint Server 2013 is informed of an impending regulatory change that mandates a parallel approval process for a subset of documents, a significant departure from the system\'s current sequential approval workflow. This change introduces ambiguity regarding the precise order of parallel reviews and the criteria for advancing a document if one parallel reviewer is unresponsive. Considering the need for rapid adaptation and minimal disruption, which strategic adjustment to the SharePoint workflow implementation would best address these evolving requirements while demonstrating flexibility and problem-solving under pressure?

Accepted Answer

Reconfigure the existing sequential workflow to incorporate conditional branching logic, allowing for parallel task initiation based on document type, and define a quorum-based progression mechanism to manage varying completion times of parallel reviewers.

Question 20

A development team has built a complex SharePoint 2013 solution featuring a custom event receiver attached to a high-volume document library. This receiver synchronously executes logic that includes updating metadata in a separate list, dispatching email notifications via an external SMTP service, and logging transaction details to a SQL database. Users are reporting severe performance degradation and intermittent unavailability, particularly during peak usage periods. What is the most appropriate strategy to mitigate these issues while maintaining the core functionality?

Accepted Answer

Refactor the event receiver to trigger an asynchronous SharePoint 2013 workflow that handles the metadata updates and email notifications.

Question 21

A SharePoint development team is consistently experiencing project delays and a dip in overall productivity. This is primarily attributed to shifting business requirements that are frequently introduced mid-sprint, coupled with a lack of clearly defined long-term objectives for the solutions being built. Team members express frustration with the constant need to re-evaluate tasks and the perceived lack of stable direction, impacting their ability to plan and execute effectively. Which behavioral competency, when cultivated and applied, would be most instrumental in helping the team navigate and succeed within this dynamic and often uncertain project landscape?

Accepted Answer

Adaptability and Flexibility

Question 22

A multinational corporation\'s SharePoint Server 2013 farm, hosting critical project documentation and collaborative workspaces, has begun exhibiting erratic behavior. Users across different departments report experiencing slow response times, frequent session timeouts, and, in some instances, the inability to access specific document libraries or list items, which appear to be corrupted. The IT operations team has confirmed no widespread network outages or general infrastructure failures. Considering the advanced nature of the environment and the potential for subtle underlying issues, which of the following diagnostic approaches would most effectively initiate the troubleshooting process to identify the root cause of these multifaceted problems?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a thorough diagnostic review of SharePoint Unified Logging Service (ULS) logs, Windows Event Logs on all farm servers, SQL Server performance metrics, and execute SharePoint's built-in content database integrity checks.

Question 23

An organization utilizes a highly customized SharePoint 2013 solution for managing critical financial transaction approvals. A recent, unexpected regulatory mandate requires significantly enhanced data logging and stricter access controls for all financial data processed through the platform, effective within three months. The existing solution incorporates complex custom C# event receivers and asynchronous workflows for approval routing. Which strategic approach best balances the urgent need for compliance with the inherent risks of modifying a live, intricate system, while also considering long-term maintainability and adherence to advanced solution development principles for SharePoint 2013?

Accepted Answer

Implement a phased migration of core approval logic to SharePoint's built-in workflow engine where feasible, refactor critical custom code components to incorporate enhanced audit logging and access control mechanisms, and conduct rigorous user acceptance testing for each phase, prioritizing compliance features.

Question 24

During a critical period of user activity, the SharePoint Server 2013 farm administered by the enterprise solutions team exhibits significant performance degradation, characterized by prolonged page load times and frequent request timeouts. Initial investigations reveal that the introduction of several custom solutions, including asynchronous event receivers attached to high-traffic lists and a resource-intensive custom timer job scheduled to run hourly, coincided with the onset of these issues. The team needs a robust strategy to identify and rectify the performance bottlenecks without compromising ongoing business operations. Which of the following approaches is most likely to lead to an effective resolution?

Accepted Answer

Establish a pre-issue performance baseline, systematically analyze ULS logs and SharePoint Health Analyzer reports for custom code-related errors, utilize SharePoint diagnostic tools and profilers to identify inefficient code execution paths, and conduct targeted code reviews and optimizations based on these findings.

Question 25

A senior developer is tasked with enhancing a custom SharePoint 2013 application that relies on a critical utility assembly. The development team has just released a new, backward-compatible version of this utility assembly, which includes performance optimizations and bug fixes. The current version is already deployed and functional within the SharePoint farm. The developer needs to deploy this updated assembly to ensure all custom solutions can leverage its improvements without introducing runtime errors or conflicts with existing deployments. What is the most appropriate deployment strategy for this updated custom assembly within the SharePoint Server 2013 farm?

Accepted Answer

Deploy the updated assembly to the Global Assembly Cache (GAC).

Question 26

A development team is crafting a bespoke document repository in SharePoint Server 2013 for a multinational corporation. The solution must comply with diverse international data localization mandates, requiring specific data to reside within defined geographic boundaries. Concurrently, the marketing department insists on highly dynamic content rendering and personalized user experiences, necessitating complex client-side scripting and data aggregation that could inadvertently bypass standard SharePoint data handling controls. The project timeline is aggressive, and the available development resources are constrained. Which of the following strategic responses best addresses the inherent conflict between stringent regulatory requirements and ambitious business functionality demands?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a thorough impact analysis of each proposed marketing customization against specific data localization regulations, prioritizing compliant solutions and negotiating scope adjustments or alternative, compliant implementations for those that pose a risk, while maintaining transparent communication with all stakeholders regarding trade-offs and resource implications.

Question 27

During a critical SharePoint Server 2013 upgrade initiative, the primary client unexpectedly introduces a significant set of new workflow requirements that fundamentally alter the scope of content management functionalities. The project lead, Anya, must navigate this challenge while ensuring the upgrade remains on track and the team\'s morale is maintained. Considering the need for adaptability, strategic vision, and effective problem-solving, which course of action best exemplifies Anya\'s leadership potential and advanced solution development approach?

Accepted Answer

Implement a phased approach: prioritize and integrate the most critical new workflow requirements into the current upgrade timeline, clearly communicating the revised scope and timeline for subsequent, less urgent requirements in a follow-up project phase.

Question 28

During a critical incident, a SharePoint Server 2013 farm administrator discovers that all custom web parts deployed via a specific farm solution have ceased functioning across numerous site collections, displaying generic error messages. The business has mandated immediate restoration of core site functionalities. Which of the following actions would be the most prudent first step to rapidly restore service while enabling subsequent root cause analysis?

Accepted Answer

Deactivate the farm solution containing the problematic custom web parts at the solution level.

Question 29

A development team is tasked with creating a custom SharePoint Server 2013 solution that requires a background process to periodically scan all document libraries across multiple site collections for specific metadata inconsistencies. This process must be resilient to user session timeouts, capable of resuming after server restarts, and ideally manageable through the SharePoint Central Administration interface. Which of the following approaches would be the most suitable for implementing this functionality?

Accepted Answer

Developing a custom SharePoint Timer Job that executes the scanning logic.

Question 30

During the development of a custom SharePoint 2013 workflow for a financial services client, a significant, unanticipated regulatory change is announced, mandating real-time validation of all transaction data against a new, external, and frequently updated compliance ledger. The original workflow was designed with static validation rules and a predictable sequence of operations. Given the need to adapt to this evolving requirement and maintain the solution\'s integrity, which of the following approaches best reflects the principles of adaptability and flexibility in advanced SharePoint development?

Accepted Answer

Refactor the workflow to incorporate custom activities that query the external ledger dynamically, implement robust error handling for data inconsistencies, and utilize state management to gracefully handle transitions based on validation outcomes, while also documenting the new decision points and potential failure modes.

Developing Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 Advanced Solutions Free Practice Test — 30 Questions

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