- Solution design is the largest AEMSAM domain at 44% - build your entire study plan around it.
- The exam pulls from four domains: Discovery (18%), Solution design (44%), Implementation (22%), Maintenance (16%).
- You need 29 of 50 scored questions correct (58%) within a 100-minute window that may include up to 10 unscored items.
- Registration costs USD 225 globally, USD 150 in India, with 33% discounts for eligible partners and verified students.
AD0-E117 Exam Overview: How the Domains Fit Together
The Adobe Experience Manager Sites Architect Master credential is validated through exam AD0-E117, administered by Adobe under the Adobe Customer Experience Certification Program. The blueprint is organized into four content domains, and Adobe weights them unevenly on purpose - the exam is designed to test whether you can architect a full AEM Sites solution, not just recall isolated facts about templates or components.
If you've read our AEMSAM Study Guide, you already know the exam has 50 scored questions, a passing score of 29/50 (58%), and a 100-minute time limit that can also include up to 10 additional unscored questions mixed in. What that guide doesn't break down in depth is exactly what lives inside each domain - that's what this article does.
| Domain | Weight | Core Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | 18% | Requirements gathering, stakeholder analysis, current-state assessment |
| Solution design | 44% | Architecture decisions, content models, integration patterns, scalability |
| Implementation | 22% | Build-phase guidance, dev/ops collaboration, deployment considerations |
| Maintenance | 16% | Ongoing governance, upgrades, performance monitoring, lifecycle management |
Domain 1: Discovery (18%)
Discovery is the smallest domain by weight, but it sets up everything that follows in solution design. Questions here test whether you can translate business requirements into technical constraints before a single component of the AEM Sites architecture is drawn.
Discovery
Candidates must understand how to run a structured discovery process for an AEM Sites Architect Master-level engagement - identifying stakeholders, documenting existing content ecosystems, and surfacing constraints that shape architecture decisions later.
- Assessing current content architecture and identifying migration risk
- Capturing multi-site, multi-language, and multi-brand requirements
- Recognizing when a requirement implies AEM as a Cloud Service versus another deployment model
- Identifying integration touchpoints (DAM, personalization, commerce, third-party systems) early
Because Discovery only accounts for 18% of the exam, don't over-invest study time here relative to Solution design - but don't skip it either, since discovery scenarios often reappear as setup context for solution-design questions.
Domain 2: Solution Design (44%)
Solution design is, by a wide margin, the domain that determines whether you pass. At 44% of the exam, nearly half of every scored question you see will test architecture judgment rather than rote product knowledge.
Solution Design
This domain evaluates your ability to design a complete, defensible AEM Sites architecture - one that balances performance, editorial flexibility, and long-term maintainability.
- Content modeling: templates, components, editable templates, and content fragments
- Multi-site management and shared content strategies across brands or regions
- Integration architecture with DAM, commerce, and headless/hybrid delivery patterns
- Deployment topology decisions across Adobe Managed Services and AEM as a Cloud Service
- Performance, caching, and Dispatcher-level design decisions
- Security and permissions models for enterprise content authoring
Key Takeaway
Spend roughly half of your total prep time on Solution design alone. It carries more weight than the other three domains combined, and its scenarios are the longest and most layered on the exam.
Solution design questions are typically scenario-based: you're given a business constraint (a global retailer needing localized content governance, for example) and asked to choose the architecture pattern that best satisfies it. Understanding trade-offs - not just feature lists - is what separates passing scores from failing ones.
Domain 3: Implementation (22%)
Implementation questions shift from "what should we design" to "how does this get built correctly." At 22% of the exam, this is the second-largest domain, and it often trips up candidates who studied architecture theory but haven't spent time on delivery-phase realities.
Implementation
Expect questions that test how an architect guides development teams through build, configuration, and rollout without introducing technical debt.
- Translating architecture decisions into implementable component and template structures
- Guiding CI/CD and environment strategy across AEM as a Cloud Service pipelines
- Coordinating with development teams on custom component build standards
- Anticipating implementation risks tied to third-party integrations or legacy migrations
If you're unsure how heavily to weight Implementation prep, our breakdown in How Hard Is the AEMSAM Exam? discusses where candidates commonly lose points across this domain versus Discovery and Maintenance.
Domain 4: Maintenance (16%)
Maintenance is the smallest domain at 16%, but it covers ground that's easy to underestimate: keeping an AEM Sites implementation healthy long after go-live.
Maintenance
These questions test long-term stewardship of an architecture - governance, upgrades, and monitoring rather than initial build decisions.
- Planning upgrade paths and version compatibility across an AEM Sites deployment
- Establishing governance models for ongoing content and component changes
- Monitoring performance and identifying architectural drift over time
- Documentation practices that support handoff between architecture and operations teams
Because Maintenance is the lightest domain by weight, treat it as a review-pass topic rather than a primary study block - a solid grasp of Solution design and Implementation will carry over into most Maintenance scenarios.
Building a Study Plan Around Domain Weight
The single biggest mistake candidates make is studying all four domains equally. Given that Solution design alone is worth more than Discovery and Maintenance combined, your study calendar should mirror the exam's own weighting.
Discovery + Foundations
- Review requirements-gathering scenarios and stakeholder mapping
- Confirm baseline AEM Sites architecture terminology
Solution Design (Primary Focus)
- Work through content modeling, multi-site, and integration scenarios
- Practice comparing Adobe Managed Services vs. AEM as a Cloud Service deployment choices
Implementation
- Study CI/CD, environment strategy, and build-phase governance
Maintenance + Full Review
- Cover upgrade planning and governance
- Run a full-length practice pass across all four domains
For a structured, week-by-week walkthrough of this exact approach, see the AEMSAM Study Guide. If you want a one-page reference to keep the domain weights and key facts in front of you during final review, the AEMSAM Cheat Sheet condenses all of it.
Question Format, Registration, and Fees
AD0-E117 is delivered online through the Adobe Certification Portal in partnership with easyProctor, or can be scheduled through a proctored testing option depending on your region. It's a closed-book, remotely proctored exam, so you'll need a working camera, a physical government-issued photo ID, whole-screen sharing enabled, and a completed system check through Process Tracker before you're allowed to start. If you use Guardian Browser for other purposes, remove it before your session - it can interfere with the proctoring check.
The exam itself runs 50 scored questions with a passing score of 29/50 (58%), and Adobe's program policy allows up to 10 additional unscored questions to be mixed in - all within the same 100-minute limit. You won't know which questions are scored versus unscored, so treat every question with equal seriousness. For the exact scoring mechanics and what happens if you're borderline, read AEMSAM Passing Score 2026.
Adobe recommends at least 3 years of hands-on AEM Sites architecture experience - including exposure to Adobe Managed Services and AEM as a Cloud Service - before attempting the exam. That's not a hard gate, but it's a strong signal of the depth these domains expect. Full eligibility details are covered in AEMSAM Requirements 2026.
The credential is valid for 2 years. Your renewal window opens 180 days before expiration, and you'll need to complete the renewal requirements assigned in your Adobe portal before the expiry date - an expired credential requires retaking the full paid exam from scratch. Testing is currently available in English and Japanese. Adobe's official prep guide for this exam is EPG-E117, which pairs well with the practice questions on our practice test platform.
Who Hires for AEMSAM-Validated Skills
Because the domain weighting leans so heavily toward Solution design, the credential signals something specific to employers: this person can make defensible architecture decisions across multi-site, multi-integration AEM environments - not just configure components. That's why the roles most commonly associated with AEMSAM-validated skills sit at the senior technical or architecture level, working alongside Adobe Managed Services teams, systems integrators, and enterprise marketing technology groups.
If you're weighing whether the investment in exam fees and prep time pays off for your career track, our ROI analysis and Salary Guide both dig into how the credential is positioned in hiring conversations. For current opportunities that reference this credential explicitly, browse AEMSAM Jobs.
Key Takeaway
Employers evaluating this credential are really evaluating your Solution design judgment - 44% of the exam and, not coincidentally, the majority of what senior AEM Sites architecture roles actually do day to day.
FAQ
Start with Discovery to build foundational context, then move immediately into Solution design, since it carries 44% of the exam and takes the longest to master.
Adobe doesn't publish an exact question count per domain, only percentage weights: Discovery 18%, Solution design 44%, Implementation 22%, and Maintenance 16% of the 50 scored questions.
At 16%, Maintenance is the lightest domain. A solid grasp of Solution design and Implementation typically covers most of what Maintenance scenarios require, so treat it as a final review topic.
Adobe's program policy allows up to 10 additional unscored questions mixed into the same 100-minute session alongside the 50 scored questions, and you won't know which is which.
Our practice test platform organizes questions by domain so you can target Solution design and Implementation, the two highest-weighted areas, before your scheduled exam date.