How to Pass any Certification (Microsoft, AWS, Google Cloud, Alibaba, S..)
Overview
We are in the world of Digital Transformation of Enterprises which deals with organizations, technology, data processes, costs and especially value back to the organization. Value to the organization comes in many forms, enhanced security, modernization, lower TCO, new capabilities like AI, Machine Learning, containers, Better operations, etc.
But I personally think Digital Transformation is not only related to enterprises but also individuals ONE SELF, through continuous learning and upgrading his skills to meet the demands of tomorrow.
Learning has many dimensions in multiple fields. But ONE who is assessed of the skills related to a field of interest by Enterprises like Microsoft, AWS, Google, Alibaba would be given more opportunities to succeed and grow to new roles and opportunities. But there is a misconception in the market that certifications are tough and need to prepare like hell to succeed. Not exactly. We have done much more than this 15-25 years ago with better planning and preparation and succeeded.
The article is explained in phases
However the same approach can be applied to any exam
I had interaction with many people during my last 22 years professionally and personally. I carry lot of passion for education, learning and sharing.? when I raised the topic about getting certifications and upgrading our skills professionally and move to more senior roles, i find some of them saying
Well, if you just jump back to your school days, knowingly or unknowingly we had handled much intense tasks, performed much better in many ways, learnt many more, tight schedules and shown successful results than attempting a certification and PASS.?
We all had fundamental ways of learning things, apply it and tasted Success. Let me take you to your school days.
Nostalgia
Here Let's go back to our school days. School, The wonderful place on earth where I have spent 12 years from my primary to 10th. The thought of the school brings back many memories
However from our Home perspective, activities and schedules were mostly fixed?
Those days have gone. Wish those days come back.
Subjects
Well, School is the temple for learning and teachers and principal(s) have set the platform for our better future. During school days, this point was never clear even though I strictly followed the guidelines laid by the school and parents.
When we speak about school, the most important is subjects. we used to have 6 (+1) subjects. Telugu, Hindi, English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Moral Science (No Exams)
While the 1st 3 Telugu, Hindi, English are languages and we used to have text books, non-detail (remember Gulliver's Travels, Trojan War, Great Expectations, Hound of Baskerville for English, Barrister Parvateesam for Telugu), and most important Grammar books.
Mathematics had Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus, and Geometry. Sin square Theta + cos square Theta=1. In Science, we were taught Biology, Physics and Chemistry and in Social studies had Geography, History, Civics and Economics.
Moral science is an independent subject with stories and phrases focused on building character and become a better citizen.
Here as a STUDENT, we used to deal with 6 subjects, 15 Topics mentioned above and 10-15 chapters in every subject and topic.
Learning Methods
Well, so many subjects to learn every year. But are the learning strategies same for one and all subjects??
Answer is a Big NO.
?For Languages, we used to read stories, learn grammar, read stories, introduction to strong characters, improve the way we communicate. The more we learn the languages, the more easily we could present our ideas or grab others for better understanding.
Mathematics, It's all about Practice. Equations, calculations, measurements, etc. the more we practice, the more is the understanding. However we used to read and understand the ideas in books but profess the concepts in the subject only by practice more and more.
Science, my favorite subject has Biology, Physics and Chemistry. Knowledge about plants, animals, living beings, gravity, newton's laws, elements periodic table and their compounds. Learning at school involve science labs where we used to do experiments while at home we used to study and practice through writing.
Social studies covers geography, history civics and economics where we used to learn how geographies have changed, War of Panipat, Shivaji, Aurangzeb, Akbar, Babar, their administration, politics, economic difference, why rich become rich and poor become poor, policies, laws of citizen, etc. Here we used to spend lot of time reading and understand they way how things gradually changed across centuries.
Moral science guided us through stories and messages to become a better individual, better character and eventually a good human.
How were the Assessments conducted in Schools??
Assessment or exam is the toughest or most enjoying moments in school days. Across the education year in a class, with passing time we used to have different types of tests aka assessments during the whole year. quizzes, slip tests, unit tests, quarterly, half yearly, pre-final and annual exams. the scope of the syllabus varied from a simple topic in a unit/chapter to the whole subject. also the format of the exams were quite different for each assessment. duration of the assessment, scope of syllabus, total score, # of questions, question types, passing score were quite different for each type of assessment.?
Every assessment was to analyze the skills on a scope of a specific subject at hand and reward result.
The best part of the assessments was sometimes, there were assessments in 2-3 subjects on the same day. that's the real fun. The Fun is about keeping our head straight to look into teacher's eyes and smile while collecting the results with the proudness we carry based on the self assessment we did after the exam. of course sometimes, I had shocks (results not up to expectations).? But efforts were sincere even though its a slip test or an annual exam.
Planning & Preparation
Best part is planning and preparation for the assessment until we attempt.? There is a catch here.
As said earlier, every assessment format is different aka scope of syllabus, duration of the exam, total score, # of questions, question types, passing score.?
While planning deals with understanding assessment format - duration of the exam, total score, # of questions, question types, passing score, establish scope for the assessment, know the resources needed to improve the knowledge, set learning durations, change in waking up timings and especially 0-less play hours. Preparation is focused on upgrading the skill around the scope at hand using all the resources, build the knowledge into veins on specific scope, practice and practice more. learning the topic at scope was irrespective of location and timing until we attempt the assessment (early hours, late nights, travelling, watching tv, eating, etc.).
The goal is to exhibit the best performance in the assessment and get awarded with best result.
Results
The day of the results, both overwhelming and some times sad. The struggle across the year to be number 1 will be known that day. However i was ok until i was in 1st 3 who will get medals for their performance.
However one year, one of my friends failed the annual exam. I lost him for good, never met him till date. He left the school by the time we we back in June in next class. Later we came to know that he failed in 2 subjects.
But why were we taught so many subjects in school?
Every subject comes with some skills for us to equip. Languages helped us better communicate locally, regionally and internationally, especially you can present your viewpoint through the language you and others understand. Mathematics helps us with accounting, commerce, maintaining our bank balances, daily transactions, etc.
while science explained us nature, food, detergents, chemical reactions and social studies explained us with geographical and historical moments and monuments and introduced us places to visit, politics, how socio economic conditions influence our life and especially $ fluctuations. Moral science taught us live in harmony and peace.?
Life skills like problem solving, critical thinking, communication skills, decision-making, creative thinking, interpersonal relationship skills, self awareness building skills, empathy and coping with stress skills stand us a better human and individual.
With so many skills at hand, we strive to live. The more we are good at a skill, the better you execute specific tasks in that function.??
However we cannot survive with being best in 1 skill and a failure at other skill. People will appreciate only about that skill in you and ignore you at all other instances. Some times they may not even appreciate the one you have.
Moral of the story is with the knowledge we have, we have to apply and improve our skills in every field to be successful in life.
Moral of the story
Failure teaches success. That day of my friend's result taught me one thing.?
School expects you to exhibit performance in all the skills (subjects) taught. Professing in 1 skill does not mean you can ignore other skills. You need to exhibit performance in every skill that is measured.
Let me share progress cards of we 4 friends. Skipping languages failed 2. Especially see Result 4. He out-performed in all the subjects except 1 language.
When your skills are measured, don't be negligent with any skill. Negligence has a price to pay.
Key Learnings
Application to the current certification (Microsoft AI-102)
Let us understand Microsoft Associate Exam format first we jump into understanding skills measured, objectives and capabilities expected
Exam Basics
# of Questions
Microsoft Certification exams typically contain between 40-60 questions. Typically based on the type of the exam, the # of questions that may appear in the exam may vary. You can expect around 50 questions
Scores
Microsoft Associate Exam is graded for 1000 and 700 is the Passing score?
Exam Duration
Exam duration varies on the type of the Microsoft certification exam we appear for. For a Microsoft certification exam, we have 2 durations aka Exam Duration and Seat Duration.
Associate and Expert role-based Exams comes in 2 formats
Well, Let us go with 2nd format which gives us 120 mins and roughly 50 questions
Expected Performance?
Well, Let us go with an assumption that Exam : AI-102 is an Associate and expert role-based exams with labs
Question Types
Microsoft tests the candidates by presenting questions in different formats thereby simplifying or complicating the requirement pertaining to objectives and skills listed. However exam would be a pleasant experience when you are equipped with couple of things
The following are the types of questions that may appear. Click the buttons to get more information. Please go through them and understand the formats
Skills Analysis & Design
Fundamentals
Every Microsoft exam measures Candidate's skills. Every skill comes with capabilities to achieve mentioned objectives pertaining to the specific role and their responsibilities mentioned in the overview section of the course.??
Well, every skill has multiple objectives to achieve, which can be accomplished only with relevant capabilities.?
Microsoft exam base design is defined on 3-7 skills to measure, with 4-10 objectives for each skill and 4-15 capabilities for each objective. Generally Microsoft exam has 4+ skills to measure, 20+ objectives to achieve and 100+ capabilities to build/acquire.
Identifying relevant skills to the role based on the responsibilities to deliver?
The skills measured on an exam are identified by subject matter experts external to Microsoft. the list of skills is called "objective domain" (achieve specific objectives)? is the basis for the exam design & development.? The number of questions that measure each skill area is determined through the blueprinting process.?
Skills can be identified based on their criticality or usage
However the assessment of skills is based on this fundamental design. More critical more questions, less important less questions
You can clearly understand from the above example, Skill 1 is more important compared to skill 3 and 4. Maximum allocation to skill 2 signifies criticality of the skill. while skill 5 is less frequently used.
You can expect 15-18 questions from "skill 2" being a critical skill while only 3-5 from "skill 5" being less frequently used skill.
Exam Development & Scoring (Microsoft approach)
Exam Development
Microsoft Certification exams are carefully developed with input from industry professionals (SME's external to Microsoft) to reflect the skills needed to be successful in critical job roles that leverage Microsoft technology to support an organization’s digital transformation objectives.
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The key steps during an exam development includes
What is Blueprinting?
Blueprinting is the process of distribution of skills under skills domain on the exam which is the critical tasks performed within specific job roles or functions that leverage Microsoft technologies and solutions.?
The skills identified above are evaluated by additional technical and job experts from around the world and their evaluation becomes a Blueprint for the exam.?
Skills Matrix
Based on the Blueprint of the exam, questions are written by Microsoft SME's to evaluate the accuracy, clarity, appropriateness, etc. of each question ?and evaluated by panel of experts who did not write questions review the questions based on technical accuracy, relevance, and alignment to the skill domain.
However the skills matrix is built with critical and more important having higher allocation versus less important and least used skill with less allocation.
Performance Based Testing (for Question Type : Labs)
Performance based testing is tagged specific to the question type "Labs".? It gives an opportunity for candidates to demonstrate their skills by completing tasks in the technology to support the functions they perform in their day to day life. For e.g. Create blob storage, Create a VPN named "vpn-sales"
Relevance of a Skill whether Critical, Less Used, Most Important or Less Important)
As per Microsoft, every skill is needed and important whether critical or less used since it helps fulfill specific responsibilities of a specific role. We need to learn every skill if we need to succeed in the exam. Not having a skill reflects disability of executing a role in full function.
Learn all skills and capabilities to achieve objectives mentioned.
Scoring
Microsoft will indicate if a question is scored differently in the text of the question?
All technical exam scores are reported on a scale of 1 to 1,000 and are scaled such that the passing score is 700. Any score of 700 or greater is a "pass." Any score below 700 is a "fail."
Basic Parameters for Success
The following are the parameters for success. let us map responsibilities of a role versus skills, objectives and capabilities.
Identify the Successful Result
Here we list the results of 3 candidates who appeared for Microsoft exam. Please pick the result who passed the exam, Result A, B or C?
Yes, You are right. Its Result C. Well, Check your Microsoft Learning Dashboard. This is YOUR Result.
Microsoft AI-102 Exam (Designing and Implementing a Microsoft Azure AI Solution )
Let us jump into Microsoft AI-102 Exam to apply what we learnt above
Exam AI-102 is a Microsoft Associate Certification Exam.??
The Exam is designed to test the skills of a candidate appearing for the exam in designing and implementing Microsoft Azure AI solutions which include build, manage and deploy AI solutions that leverage
While Azure Cognitive Services comprise various AI services that enable you to build cognitive solutions that can see, hear, speak, understand, and even make decisions without having AI or data science skills, Azure Applied AI Services are high-level services focus to empower developers to quickly unlock the value of data by applying AI into their business scenarios such as mining knowledge from documents, enhancing the customer experience through transcription analysis, monitoring and diagnosing metric anomalies, boosting literacy in the classroom, document understanding and many more built on top of the APIs of Azure Cognitive Services.
Skills Outline & Analysis
Fundamentals
For AI-102 exam, there are 5 skills, 26 objectives &? 138 capabilities. Being an associate level certification exam, we can expect around 50 questions with an exam time of 120 mins and seating time of 140 mins.?
Let us look at the skills outline.
There are 5 skills to be measured for AI-102 exam
# Questions, Objectives & Capabilities Per Skillset
With 26 objectives and 50 questions, we can expect 2 questions/ objective on average
Skill 1 : Plan and Implement Cognitive Services
The skillset deals with the following?
This skillset applies to both Azure Cognitive Services and Applied AI Services
We can expect 2-3 questions per objective
Skill 2 : Implement Computer Vision Solutions
The skillset deals with the vision solutions which includes the following services
This skillset applies to 3 Azure Cognitive Services and 2 Applied AI Services
We can expect 2 questions per objective
Skill 3 : Implement Natural Language Processing Solutions
The skillset deals with the services related to NLP solutions
This skillset applies to 4 Azure Cognitive Services and 0 Applied AI Services
We can expect 2 questions per objective
Skill 4 : Implement Knowledge Mining Solutions
The skillset deals with the knowledge mining solutions?
This skillset applies to 0 Azure Cognitive Services and 1 Applied AI Services
We can expect 1-2 questions per objective
Skill 5 : Implement Conversational AI Solutions
The skillset deals with the Conversational AI solutions
This skillset applies to 1 Azure Cognitive Services and 1 Applied AI Services
We can expect 1-2 questions per objective
Segregation of Azure AI Solutions?
Based on the analysis of skills, objectives and capabilities above, we understand that we need to learn around the following?
What are Objectives?
Objectives are comprehensive set of specific and measurable knowledge, skills, and abilities that are the basis for assessment of an individual to perform specific function related to a skill. These objectives when? met as part of the assessment will also influence the performance objectives of a candidate to deliver responsibilities of a role.?
Every skill measured may have 1 or more objectives that need to be achieved.
For e.g. To measure performance of the skill "Plan and Implement Cognitive Services" , The candidate need to be capable to meet the following objectives and exhibit or deliver relevant capabilities.
What are Capabilities?
Capability is the ability to perform or deliver a task which meets a specific objective and assures the performance of a skill.? Every objective to meet need to have more than 1 capability.
For a simple understanding of the definition, a capability can be one of the following
For e.g. To assess whether the candidate can meet the following objective "Select the appropriate Cognitive Services resource" in the skill "Plan and Implement Cognitive Services" , The candidate need to exhibit knowledge and performance in the following capabilities?
Capability Building through available resources?
Microsoft provides you a long list of resources that helps you build your knowledge and acquire skills and capabilities needed to perform the role and its responsibilities. Here you go
However there are many other tools out in the market which provide you content to support your learning objectives (Free/Paid)
Skip Learning a ....
We understand the importance of skills, objectives and capabilities we need to acquire to perform our role and deliver responsibilities assigned.
However while preparing exam, due to multiple factors, we may prefer to skip some topics aka few capabilities, some objectives or 1 or 2 skills required.
What is the impact?
Impact can simple to complex to very complex making it a tough result between PASS and FAIL.?
Ignoring learning a capability will definitely create in the way we attempt the exam and perform our function later.? Ignorance is not bliss.
As you know, the exam is for a total of 1000 points while passing score is 700. if we go with uniform distribution of capabilities versus scores. Skipping the following will allow you to attempt for the following marks in total instead of 1000.?
Conclusion
Continuously Learn for SUCCESS in the Exam and Life.