In talking with people in the community, there seems to be a bit of uncertainty and confusion about the how to appropriately prepare for the MCTS exam, "70-400 Operations Manager 2007, Configuring". So, as a user group, we have decided provide to help you understand more about what the exam is about, and provide a strategy and resources to help you prepare for the exam. Let's get started!
What is the exam about:
After some observation, at this point a couple of things are clear.
- People are somewhat confused about the content of this MCTS exam
- People are making preparation more complicated than necessary
With that in mind, it is time to help clear up any confusion, and help those of you in the community who want to pass the test to pass the test.
Just as the title states, the exam is about configuring Operations Manager 2007. We can see further evidence of this by looking at the skills tested as published on the Microsoft web site. Nowhere in the list of skills tested will you see the words architect, design, develop...in short, this exam is about use and configuration, not design and architecture.
Furthermore, Microsoft defines an MCTS exam as follows: Microsoft Certified Technology Specialists are consistently capable of implementing, building, troubleshooting, and debugging a particular Microsoft technology
Thus, being familiar with how to configure Operations Manager 2007 features listed on the "skills measured" list is going to be important.
How to Prepare:
It may be best to start by explaining how NOT to prepare for the exam:
- Do not study material from brain dump sites - Memorizing test answers doesn't help you learn how to actually use the product. It cheapens the certification
- Do not focus too much energy studying practice test questions - What good comes from exam simulations? Well, they do have some value in helping you get accustomed to the format of the questions. But do not spend too much time on practice exams; they take away from the most effective means of preparing for the exam - using the product!
So how can you effectively prepare for the exam?
- Spend time with the product - There is no better way to prepare for the exam on configuring the product than through spending time configuring the product.
- Get familiar with the concepts on the "skills measured" list - To speed you preparation for the exam, focus your time in the lab practicing on the features listed on the skills measured section of the 70-400 exam homepage on the Microsoft site.
- Use an MS-approved practice exam - While we do not think exam simulations are necessary for MCTS exams, if you do choose to use one, select a Microsoft-approved source, such as MeasureUP or Self Test Software. Sadly, as of the time of this article was written, neither vendor offers a practice exam.
- Hands on training - The best training I am aware of the is Operatations Manager 2007 Bootcamp.
Your Exam Study Guide:
With these two facts in mind, the System Center Virtual User Group has asked a few subject matter experts to assist in providing study notes to help you master the key product features on the list of skills tested on the exam, creating a 70-400 Exam Study Guide. A new exam study note will be published about twice weekly, each providing key points about a featured skill, and pointers to the best resources on the web to help you master that product feature.
To make it easier to keep track of all the exam study notes published, we'll link to each post on the 70-400 Exam Study Guide here on the System Center Virtual User Group web site on the 70-400 Exam Study Guide Homepage. Watch the System Center Virtual User Group blog for regular updates