CCAO-F // Claude Certified Associate, Foundations
Exam Domains
CCAO-F tests how well you use the claude.ai product at work: prompting, checking outputs, choosing features and models, building repeatable workflows, and using Claude responsibly. It does not cover the API, SDK, MCP, agent systems, or Claude Code.
Start with the diagnostic, work through the domains by weight, then sit a mock exam.
14%
of exam
Domain 1: Prompting and Task Execution
Write prompts that give Claude what a capable colleague would need, break big requests into checkable steps, improve results with specific feedback, and tune your approach to the kind of task.
21%
of exam
Domain 2: Output Evaluation and Validation
The heaviest domain. Judge whether outputs answer the question, spot hallucinations and bias, verify against a source of record, know when a human must review, and shape outputs for the audience.
12%
of exam
Domain 3: Product and Model Selection
Choose the right claude.ai feature for the job, understand the Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus tiers, balance cost, speed, and quality, and work within context limits and memory.
16%
of exam
Domain 4: Workflow Integration and Solution Design
Turn Claude into part of how work gets done: define the deliverable first, pick strong-fit use cases, pilot and expand, augment or redesign processes, and explain value and limits to stakeholders.
12%
of exam
Domain 5: Configuration and Knowledge Management
Set up Projects so Claude starts every conversation informed: know which layer holds what, choose between uploads and live connectors, write short standing instructions, and keep configurations current.
15%
of exam
Domain 6: Governance, Risk, and Responsible Use
Use Claude within the rules: separate what it can do from what you may do, protect sensitive data, follow organisational policy, and take responsibility for ethical outcomes.
10%
of exam
Domain 7: Troubleshooting and Optimization
When results disappoint, diagnose before rewriting: map symptom to cause to first fix, change one variable at a time, and make workflows cheaper and faster without losing quality.