Lately people have been discussing various aspects of the part II assignment and seeking help and advice to arrive at the solution. While discussion and collaboration has a positive effect on problem solving, it is unclear how Sun perceives such things. Since the assignemnt is a part of the whole
SCEA process, the same privacy and copyright statements that you consent to while taking the part I
test extend to the rest of the test.
Unlike
SCJD where Sun explicitly encouraged collaboration( but not sharing code and solutions ), there have been no specific guidelines about SCEA case study and the final essay. In the absence of any guideline, it is best to adopt
"that which is not explicitly allowed should be considered prohibited" policy. I have requested Kathy "the CowGirl" who works at SunEd to get some directives from the management. Until we hear from them one way or the other, we will be operating in the
guarded mode.
I know it is really hard to draw the line between a friendly guide-me discussion and the one that compromises the confidentiality of the assignment by exposing
too much details. How much is too much is another debatable issue. Personally I feel SCEA assignments tests
ability of the individual to approach a business problem from the architectural perspective. It is not a group assignment! In real life you may not get additional help when you're in the hot seat and paid top dollars as an architect. Therefore it is prudent to say if you cannot solve the problem independently then you're less of an architect than someone else who can. It is not that piece of paper that makes you an architect, but your own ingenuity and ability. I am sure the designers of the test at SunEd agree with my inferences.
Please watch this
thread for updates on this matter. In the meantime, and to an extent even after a decision has been made, the moderators of this forum reserves the exclusive right to silently remove any discussion that is perceived to have crossed the line and has a potential to expose the details of the test. I urge those who have already taken the assignment, or in the process of doing so to watch out for such posts that talk
too much about the assignment and bring it to the attention of moderators immediately.
I am trying not to sound like a cop, but I don't like SunEd coming after JavaRanch with a copyright infringement lawsuit.
[ July 24, 2003: Message edited by: Ajith Kallambella ]
) to help walk the fine line. 
