UML - IBM exam

[Anonymous]

Hai everybody!
this is my first message in this forum...
i have cleared sun jcp. i am planning to take up IBM OOAD exam.
i have read UML distilled one time. at present am reading 'applying UML and patterns' by larman.i have written the IBM mock exam once -managed to take only 50%.
i would like clarifications regarding:
1. what other books should be read?
2. is there any other mock exam sites available?
3. what is the ideal preparation period in terms of months/days?
4. the value of JCP+UML certification in present scenario?
thanx in advance
vasan

[Cindy Glass]

vasan, you sure are ambitious. Good Luck with your studying.
However:
The Java Ranch has thousands of visitors every week, many with surprisingly similar names. To avoid confusion we have a naming convention, described at "JavaRanch Naming Policy" . We require names to have at least two words (not just letters), separated by a space, and strongly recommend that you use your full real name. Please choose a new name which meets the requirements and re-register.

[Joshua Liu]

Hi Vasan,
Applying UML and Patterns by Craig Larmen is an excellent book, and I highly recommend it. I passed the IBM OOAD exam about a month ago, after reading UML Distilled and Applying UML and Patterns.
The only mock exam site I used was the IBM "ICE", which I thought was pretty close to what you'd see on the real exam. The ICE database is pretty substantial and you can take the mock exam many times.
I'm not sure what to tell you in terms of ideal preparation time. If you work full-time and only have a couple of hours to study each day, then I'd say a month.
As for the value of SCJP + UML, again, it depends on your situtation and company. By studying for the UML test, it helped solidify my OOAD skills, which I was able to put into use recently in designing some of the software systems in my company.
Good luck on your studies!

[vasan dinesh]

hai Joshua !
thanx for the info. btw, in the real exam no of correct answers to be chosen in the case of multiple select will be given - am i right?
regards
vasan

[Joshua Liu]

You're welcome, Vasan. Yes, in the real exam, the number of correct answers are displayed for multiple select, which is a real life-saver sometimes
Just one note about the exam, though. When I took the exam, sometimes the exhibits (class or sequence diagrams, etc) don't fit on the screen, so you must scroll horizontally and vertically to see everything.