Ask an architect

Ask an Architect sessions offer customers a valuable opportunity to engage with SailPoint experts for consultation sessions.

These sessions, designed to address various needs, excluding hands-on implementation or remediation work, provide support in areas such as how-to advising, product Q&A, rule configuration advising, root-cause analysis, documentation review, and mentoring.

This guide outlines the purpose, usage, and procedures for these sessions, ensuring you get the most value from your allocated Ask an Architect sessions.

Submit an Ask an Architect request →

Purpose of Ask an Architect sessions

Ask an Architect sessions are designed to assist customers with the following activities:

How-to advising

• Get step-by-step guidance on how to use SailPoint features and capabilities effectively.
• E.g., designing identity profiles and lifecycle states.

Product Q&A

• Have your questions about SailPoint products answered by an expert.
• E.g., questions about Active Directory IQ Service and Upgrade Service.

Rule configuration advising

• Receive advice on configuring rules to meet your specific business requirements.
• E.g., reviewing Identity Security Cloud cloud LifecycleState rules.

Root-cause analysis

• Understand the underlying causes of issues and receive recommendations for resolution.
• E.g., troubleshooting aggregation issues with authoritative sources.

Documentation review

• Receive feedback and advice on your internal documentation.
• E.g., providing feedback on design and implementation documents.

Mentoring and customer-specific coaching

• Personalized coaching to enhance your team's understanding and capabilities.
• E.g., teaching capabilities of web services sources.

When to request an Ask an Architect session

Proactive

• For implementation milestones (e.g., onboarding sources, lifecycle state configuration).
• SailPoint and/or your implementation partner may suggest session topics based on your implementation progress.

Reactive

• When issues arise (e.g., incorrect attribute selection, aggregation schedule problems).

How sessions are structured and counted

Session duration

Each session is counted per ticket submitted and consist of a one-hour consultation session with a limited amount of pre-session preparation and post-session follow-up. Multiple sessions can be scheduled back-to-back for comprehensive discussions.

Proactive communication

If SailPoint determines the topic requires more pre-session preparation or post-session follow-up than allotted, you will be notified in advance and can split up the topic into multiple tickets/sessions.

Cancellation policy

Sessions canceled with less than 24-hour notice will be deducted from your session balance.

Requesting an Ask an Architect session

You can submit your Ask an Architect request by logging a Success Acceleration Service ticket in SailPoint's customer support portal and selecting 'Ask an Architect' as the 'Request Type'.

See an example →

Tips for submitting effective Ask an Architect requests

When creating your Ask an Architect request, be as specific and detailed as possible while following the structure outlined below. This will ensure the architect can assist you as soon as possible.

Subject

To help SailPoint quickly identify and understand your request, use the following structure for your subject line: '[Session Type] - [Session Context]'.

• E.g., How-to Advising – Designing Identity Profiles
• E.g., Root-cause analysis – Troubleshooting aggregation issues with Active Directory

Description:

• Be specific: Clearly state your requirements to help the architect prepare.
• Avoid combining multiple/unrelated topics: Focus on specific issues to get the best value from each session.
• Provide your availability: Please provide 3-4 dates and times you are available for these sessions over the next 1-2 weeks.

Note: Ensuring your request is appropriately detailed will help the architect direct you to the appropriate resources if the issue is better suited for support or services, which will save the session being incorrectly counted as an Ask an Architect session from your total allocation.

What to expect after submitting your request

1. We try our best to prioritize but cannot guarantee a timeline for AAA ticket assignment. However, the team proactively will reach out to you as part of onboarding your ticket to set expectations on ticket assignment timeline.
2. Once the ticket is assigned, the assigned architect will review the request and schedule a one-hour consultation session. (Should the architect determine additional time will be needed, they will notify you prior to scheduling.)
3. The architect will conduct the meeting in accordance with your request.
4. At the end of the meeting, the architect may answer additional questions, note follow-up items, and/or schedule additional sessions if needed.
5. Once the meeting is complete, the architect will provide a summary of the meeting and a session recording link.

In a nutshell

Ask an Architect sessions are a strategic resource designed to help you navigate and optimize your SailPoint implementation. By understanding how to request and utilize these sessions effectively, you can ensure that you receive targeted, high-value support tailored to your specific needs.