- How the Assistant Route Is Organized: Two Exams, Twenty Headings
- The Six IS Core Domains
- The Fourteen Data Management Domains
- What the Issuer Does Not Publish
- Allocating Study Effort Without Published Weights
- Domains That Overlap and Reinforce Each Other
- Registration and Pricing Facts That Affect Planning
- Domain Questions Answered
- The Assistant (Foundational) route uses two separate exams: Information Systems Core and Data Management, each 60 minutes.
- Six IS Core headings plus fourteen Data Management headings make the twenty unweighted content areas.
- ICCP publishes no percentage weights for these headings, so any weighting you see is editorial, not official.
- The published passing requirement is 50% or higher, and the ICCP Code of Ethics must be followed.
How the Assistant Route Is Organized: Two Exams, Twenty Headings
The Certified Data Professional - Assistant (Foundational) credential, issued through ICCP, is not built around a single exam with one blueprint. It is a two-part route. Candidates sit the Information Systems Core Exam (Foundational) and the Data Management Exam (Foundational), each with a published 60-minute limit. The current published passing requirement is 50% or higher, and adherence to the ICCP Code of Ethics is required.
The twenty content areas in this guide come directly from the headings on ICCP's public examinations page: six under Information Systems Core and fourteen under Data Management. We prefix each with "IS Core" or "Data Management" so you can tell which paper a subject belongs to. The underlying titles reproduce the published headings. If you are still orienting yourself on the credential itself, start with what CDP certification is, then return here for the domain-level detail.
| Component | Information Systems Core (Foundational) | Data Management (Foundational) |
|---|---|---|
| Published time limit | 60 minutes | 60 minutes |
| Published headings used here | 6 | 14 |
| Published percentage weights | None | None |
| Published passing requirement | 50% or higher | 50% or higher |
The Six IS Core Domains
The Information Systems Core paper tests the broad technology and organizational context in which data work happens. Think of it as the "how information systems function" paper. These six areas are the foundation that the Data Management paper builds on.
Domains 1 and 2: Information Systems, and Data and Information Management
Domain 1: IS Core: Information Systems
This area covers what information systems are and how they serve an organization.
- Components of an information system: hardware, software, data, people and processes
- How information systems support operations and decision-making
- The vocabulary you will need for every other IS Core heading
Domain 2: IS Core: Data and Information Management
This is the IS Core paper's bridge to the Data Management paper, so expect conceptual overlap.
- The distinction between data and information
- Basic ideas about storing, organizing and retrieving data
- How organizations treat data as a managed asset
Domains 3 and 4: Enterprise Architecture and IT Infrastructure
Domain 3: IS Core: Enterprise Architecture
Enterprise architecture is the discipline of aligning business structure with technology structure.
- Why organizations model their business, data, application and technology layers
- How architecture supports consistency and planning
- The relationship between enterprise-level architecture and the data architecture covered in Domain 9
Domain 4: IS Core: IT Infrastructure
Infrastructure is the technical foundation that systems and data run on.
- Core infrastructure categories such as computing, storage and networking
- How infrastructure choices affect availability and performance
- Why data professionals need working literacy here even if they do not administer systems
Domains 5 and 6: IS Project Management, and Systems Analysis & Design
Domain 5: IS Core: IS Project Management
This heading covers how information systems work is planned and delivered.
- Project lifecycle concepts and common planning elements
- Scope, schedule, resources and risk as recurring themes
- How data initiatives are typically organized as projects
Domain 6: IS Core: Systems Analysis & Design
Systems analysis and design is about understanding requirements and shaping a solution.
- Gathering and documenting requirements
- The general flow from analysis to design to implementation
- How this connects to the data development material in Domain 10
The Fourteen Data Management Domains
The Data Management paper carries most of the twenty headings, and it is where the credential becomes distinctly about data as a discipline. The headings are organized as functions, which is a useful clue: the exam expects you to understand what each function is responsible for and how the functions relate to one another.
One important caution: ICCP also lists a separate thirteen-topic Data Foundations outline. That is a different examination outline. For the Assistant route, rely on the fourteen Data Management headings below and do not swap in the thirteen-topic list. For a practical look at turning these headings into a study plan, see our CDP study guide.
Domains 7 through 10: Process, Governance, Architecture and Development
Domain 7: Data Management: Data Management Process
The framing heading for the whole paper.
- What data management is and why organizations formalize it
- How the individual functions fit together into an overall process
- The vocabulary that later headings assume
Domain 8: Data Management: Data Governance Function
Governance is the decision-rights and accountability layer.
- Roles such as owners and stewards, and what each is accountable for
- Policies, standards and the idea of oversight over data assets
- Why governance underpins quality, security and ethics
Domain 9: Data Management: Data Architecture Management Function
This is the data-focused counterpart to the enterprise architecture material in Domain 3.
- Models and blueprints that describe how data is organized and flows
- The role of architecture in keeping data consistent across systems
Domain 10: Data Management: Data Development Function
Data development is the work of designing and building data structures and the solutions that use them.
- Data modeling concepts at a foundational level
- Moving from requirements to implemented data structures
Domains 11 through 14: Operations, Security, Reference/Master Data and Warehousing/BI
Domain 11: Data Management: Data Operations Management Function
Operations covers keeping data environments running reliably.
- Day-to-day care of data stores and databases
- Concepts such as backup, recovery and performance
Domain 12: Data Management: Data Security Management Function
Security is about protecting data and controlling access to it.
- Confidentiality, integrity and availability as organizing ideas
- Access control and the principle of limiting who can see or change data
- How security policy ties back to governance
Domain 13: Data Management: Reference and Master Data Management Function
This heading deals with the shared, widely reused data that many systems depend on.
- The difference between reference data and master data
- Why a consistent version of core entities matters across systems
Domain 14: Data Management: Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence Management Function
Warehousing and BI turn operational data into something analyzable.
- The purpose of a data warehouse versus an operational database
- How reporting and analysis build on integrated, historical data
Domains 15 through 20: Content, Metadata, Quality, Big Data, Integration and Ethics
Domain 15: Data Management: Document and Content Management Function
This covers managing unstructured information such as documents and other content.
- How managing documents differs from managing structured records
- Lifecycle ideas such as creation, storage, retention and disposal
Domain 16: Data Management: Metadata Management Function
Metadata is "data about data," and this function governs how it is captured and used.
- Why metadata makes data discoverable and understandable
- Its role in supporting governance, quality and integration
Domain 17: Data Management: Data Quality Management Function
Quality management is about whether data is fit for its intended use.
- Common quality dimensions such as accuracy, completeness and consistency
- Measuring, monitoring and improving quality over time
Domain 18: Data Management: Big Data
This heading addresses data at large scale and variety.
- What distinguishes big data from conventional data handling
- How the established management functions still apply at scale
Domain 19: Data Management: Data Integration
Integration is about combining data from different sources into a usable whole.
- Why integration is needed and the problems it introduces
- Its relationship to master data, warehousing and quality
Domain 20: Data Management: Data Ethics
Ethics addresses the responsible handling of data and the people it describes.
- Fairness, privacy and appropriate use as core concerns
- How ethical thinking connects to governance and security, and to the ICCP Code of Ethics that credential holders must follow
What the Issuer Does Not Publish
A domain guide is only useful if it is honest about its limits. For this credential, several things that candidates often assume are published are not established in the sources we reviewed:
- Percentage weights: ICCP does not publish weights for these twenty headings on its public examinations page.
- A foundational-only scored blueprint: A separately detailed blueprint for the foundational level, and an exhaustive mapping of every shared heading to the foundational papers, remain unverified.
- Live question counts and item formats: Scored versus unscored splits and item formats are not confirmed.
- Pass rate: No current pass rate is established. See our discussion in CDP pass rate: what the data shows.
Because of these gaps, treat any claim that "Domain X is worth Y% of the exam" as editorial speculation. Our practice-question allocation on the CDP Exam Prep practice test site is an editorial study aid, not a reproduction of an official blueprint.
Allocating Study Effort Without Published Weights
With no official weights, the sensible approach is to distribute effort by structure and by dependency rather than by invented percentages. The Data Management paper has more than twice as many headings as IS Core, so it naturally deserves more total study time, but each IS Core heading still needs real coverage because it is its own separately timed paper with its own 50% requirement.
If you want a short sequencing plan, order it by which domains unlock others. Here is one CDP-specific way to do it over five weeks:
IS Core vocabulary and context
- Domains 1 and 2 first, because every later heading assumes this vocabulary
- Domains 3 and 4 to understand where data sits within architecture and infrastructure
Finish IS Core, then sit a practice pass
- Domains 5 and 6 on project management and systems analysis & design
- A timed practice set against the 60-minute IS Core limit
The governing and structuring functions
- Domains 7, 8, 9 and 10: process, governance, architecture and development
Running, protecting and consolidating data
- Domains 11 through 16: operations, security, reference/master data, warehousing/BI, content and metadata
Quality, scale, integration and ethics, then review
- Domains 17 through 20, followed by a timed Data Management practice pass
For a one-page recap to use during this process, the CDP cheat sheet condenses the must-know facts, and CDP training covers learning resources in more depth.
Domains That Overlap and Reinforce Each Other
The twenty headings are not twenty isolated silos. Several clusters appear repeatedly, and recognizing them makes scenario-style questions easier to reason through. Rather than memorizing each heading separately, learn the relationships.
| Cluster | Domains involved | The connecting idea |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | 3 (Enterprise Architecture), 9 (Data Architecture Management) | Enterprise-wide structure versus the data-specific view of it |
| Building solutions | 6 (Systems Analysis & Design), 10 (Data Development) | Requirements flow into designed and implemented data structures |
| Trustworthy data | 8 (Governance), 12 (Security), 17 (Quality), 20 (Ethics) | Accountability, protection, fitness for use and responsible handling |
| Consolidating data | 13 (Reference and Master Data), 14 (Warehousing and BI), 19 (Integration) | Bringing consistent data together from multiple sources |
| Understanding data | 16 (Metadata), 15 (Document and Content) | Describing and managing both structured and unstructured information |
Key Takeaway
Governance (Domain 8) is the most connected heading. When a scenario question seems ambiguous, ask who is accountable and what policy applies; that framing often points toward the right answer across quality, security, metadata and ethics topics.
These cross-domain links are also why the foundational level is a reasonable entry point. You are not expected to be a specialist in any single function, but you are expected to understand how each function contributes to the whole. Wondering how demanding that is? Our piece on how hard the CDP exam is gives a qualitative view of the difficulty.
Registration and Pricing Facts That Affect Planning
The current official CDP Basic Foundational Exam Purchase is listed at USD 498 and includes the two foundational examinations, IS Core and Data Management Foundations. Treat that as the combined listed product price. It is not a per-paper fee, and it is not a verified total that includes every possible proctoring, retake, renewal or membership charge. Bundle and sale prices are separate offers and may change, so confirm the figure on the official page before you commit. For a fuller discussion, see the CDP certification cost breakdown.
On eligibility, the Assistant-specific section of the program states no numerical experience minimum. Do not substitute experience requirements that apply to higher levels. Our CDP requirements guide and the CDP passing score article go through those points in more detail, and CDP exam dates covers scheduling questions as far as they are documented.
If you hold the foundational credential and want to advance, ICCP states that you must retake the extended 90-minute examinations to qualify for higher levels. Those are different papers from the two 60-minute foundational exams, so factor that into longer-term planning. Weighing whether the credential is worth the investment? Read is the CDP certification worth it. Note that general data-role salaries and the earnings of higher-level credential holders do not establish what an Assistant holder earns, so approach any figures with that caution.
Domain Questions Answered
Twenty. Six come from the Information Systems Core headings and fourteen from the Data Management headings published on ICCP's examinations page. They are split across two separately timed 60-minute exams.
No. The twenty headings are unweighted in the sources we reviewed, and a separately detailed foundational-only scored blueprint remains unverified. Any weighting you encounter elsewhere should be treated as editorial.
No. ICCP lists a separate thirteen-topic Data Foundations outline. The Assistant route uses the fourteen Data Management headings described above, so do not substitute one list for the other.
The current published passing requirement is 50% or higher. Details on question counts, scored versus unscored items and item formats are not established in the reviewed sources, so rely on the official pages for current specifics.
Begin with the IS Core vocabulary in Domains 1 and 2, then move to Domain 7, the Data Management Process, which frames the rest of the paper. Once you have those foundations, you can test yourself on the CDP practice test site and revisit weaker areas.