IMPORTANT - Position on real assignment (Part 2) questions

[Ajith Kallambella]

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 ]

[Kathy Sierra]

Howdy all,
This is still being discussed at Sun, but one of the certification managers just tole me that they do not believe that an open discussion of specific details of the SCEA assignment are appropriate here. That is NOT to suggest that discussion isn't helpful or encouraged. It is a matter of degree, and nobody has an official statement to try to determine what that degree is.
All of us here want to preserve the integrity of the exams, and I do not personally know how that should be done (after all, I wrote a certification book myself). So, for now, until we get more specific input from Sun, I would say that everyone should use their best judgement, and try not to be harsh with Ajith, who is doing the best he can (as a volunteer, remember ) to help walk the fine line.
It's my personal opinion that he is not being a cop, but is helping to preserve the value of the exam, which is good for all of us. I am involved in a very tough battle right now to convince people (including O'Reilly) that Java certifications *are* difficult to get and reflect hard work and knowledge.
Not all certifications have that reputation, and as a result those certifications aren't taken very seriously, and they hurt the reputation of the Java exams.
So we have to police ourselves, to maintain value.
Before I worked for Sun, I was just another person struggling to get certified and get a Java job, so I understand the perspective.
cheers!
Kathy

[Ajith Kallambella]

Resurrecting an old but important thread ... just to emphasize this again!

[Ajith Kallambella]

Here it goes again. Play by the rules folks !!

[Ajith Kallambella]

I wish I don't have to keep reminding this policy, but we all have to play by the rules. I have seen some blatant discussions about Part II assignment in the past. I will have no choice but to simply delete them. This is a great place to learn, but please respect our position on this issue.

[Ajith Kallambella]

Playing the police once more.

[Ajith Kallambella]

Okay, here is the deal. If your question/post has any verbatim reference to assignment text, it will be nuked. It will be deleted if you used some specific terminology straight from the assignment - use case names, subsystem names, interview excerpts etc. General discussion about flight reservation system is fine, and so is the use of common terms like flight, leg, segment etc. It is very difficult to draw the line, so I will be using my own judgement.

There will be no email/notification sent individually. If you notice your thread vanished, just assume that it had some content that violated or had a potential to violate the copyright agreement.

Remember, it is in the best interest of you, already certified folks and JavaRanch that we play by the rules.

[Ajith Kallambella]

Pay attention folks. This still holds water. I'm going to get trigger happy for some time. If your post is missing, it means I spotted something unacceptable.

Do not ask for real questions. Posts of this type will simply be deleted!

Study Hard and Good Luck!

[Andrew Monkhouse]

Bumping to the top yet again.