Jeanne Boyarsky wrote:My blog post from last month reviews the available mock exams.
Are you taking the regular part 1 or the upgrade exam? (My blog post addresses the regular part 1) If the former, why aren't you just taking the upgrade exam?
I didn't find the current exam to focus on the details. There were a few detailed questions, but most seemed conceptual. Now the SCEA 1.4 seemed to focus on details given the old mock exams I saw.
When you read the study guide, did everything sound familiar? If not, you need to read some of the references given in those chapters. I included what I read in the blog post. Much of it was read before I decided to take the exam, but was read at some point.
Teja Saab wrote:
sriram sankar wrote:If we get all the answers in the forum ( Not saying it is bad). Does it really measure individual expertise?
Many people undertake the SCEA certification in order to keep their skills updated or to sharpen their current skills. Just like you cannot learn to drive a car by reading all the car manuals on the internet, you cannot become an architect by just reading about it.
At least in my company, the architect role is only about 50 percent technical in nature. The remaining 50 percent involves a variety of activities that involve an intimate understanding of the business since architecture always has a business context to it. Also an architect needs to be able to conduct a conversation using the business language and not just technical speak. Unless executives see the business value of anything that is proposed by the architect, chances are they would consider any meeting with the architect a waste of time.
My point is that there is more to being an architect than one could ever get from reading material from a forum or even the entire internet. Also remember that when you are making a presentation in front of your company's executives, you cannot go back to read material from a forum to answer a question that might be posed.
SCEA being an assignment based exam will force the candidate to go through the process of creating a series of architectural artifacts. In the process of creating these architectural artifacts, you will learn a lot of new things that you probably would not have learnt on your own since they may not be required for your day job.
In the end, remember that it is the journey to being a certified architect that matters rather than the destination.
Just my thoughts....
Henry Naftulin wrote:Congratulations!
For some reason I cannot get the link to the simulator - source forge is acting up on me... Did you have similar problem?
Henry
Kengkaj Sathianpantarit wrote:If your goal is to be an excellent PM, I think SCJA is enough. SCEA is not necessary.
You are a PMP, so you already know that HR management is your job. If your company doesn't have competency software architects/technical leaders it's time to recruit more.
You also have to create training/learning plan for team members. But it's not PM's jobs to create software architecture and design.
Either project manager or software architect is a tough role and requires TIME to work, I don't think it's a good idea to do these 2 roles at the same time.
I've seen a guy try to be a PM and technical leader at the same time, and the result is pretty bad, but that doesn't apply to everybody.
Cameron Wallace McKenzie wrote:My suggestion, if you have a copy to the book through 24/7, you might want to spend other money on Whizlabs or Enthuware's exam simluator.
But if the question is whether you should have the K&B book, well, everyone should have the K&B book. The exam simulator is good, but not the best on the market.
-Cameron McKenzie