What should I study to try this certification? I would like to know the best book, tutorials and study notes. Can someone helop me?
Thanks!!
Alfred Jayaprakash
Greenhorn
Joined: Jan 11, 2008
Posts: 10
posted
0
Being myself an IBM SOA Test-667 aspirant, these are the materials i have consolidated and I believe should be used in that order,
1. These are the introductory material on SOA. Maybe some one who has already gone through these material can comment on this a. SOA Redbooks => Try in IBM Website. You can find them here http://www-03.ibm.com/certify/tests/edu667.shtml b. SOA for Dummies
4. From what i saw in the other messages in JavaRanch and IBMSOA Yahoo groups, looks like in addition to the material above we have to read and be informed about upcoming SOA Initiatives e.g SIMM. I am trying to hit upon the IBM page which highlights some of the new initiatives in SOA that will be spearheaded by IBM. Please note that this is an IBM exam and therefore we will be tested on SOA from IBM point of view and what initiatives/standards IBM supports (through its products). Knowing this, certainly helps.
If we read all these, we still may not be able to get 100%, as the complete list of topics that are sufficient for the exam is still unclear. However we may pass the exam with scores around 80-85%. This is my personal opinion . While I believe I am correct for the most part of it, someone who has already cleared the exam would be the best bet to comment on it. [ February 14, 2008: Message edited by: Alfred Jayaprakash ]
-------------------------------
Alfred Jayaprakash
Sun Certified Enterprise Architect
IBM Certified Solution Designer - RUP 7.0
-------------------------------
Call it 'Component' when others understand what you have coded
Call it 'Framework' when you don't understand what you have coded
Justin(lijun) wang
Greenhorn
Joined: Apr 19, 2007
Posts: 6
posted
0
Hi Alfred,
how did you find the link for sw717,sw718,sw719 from the page 'http://www-03.ibm.com/certify/tests/edu667.shtml'
Reply for Alfred � Thanks for the information, however, I think that the links that you have provided would not do justice to the preparation.
I have been preparing (off-and-on) for this certification. I began for 665 and later switched to 667. I find that this study material caters more to 665 (which you mentioned correctly is easier) rather than 667. I have mostly read the entire stuff, and I recently took the sample exam for 667 where I failed. There can be two reasons for that:
-Maybe I am incredibly stupid ( which could be a high possibility ) -Or, the maybe the preparation wasn�t based on the right material
The questions on the sample exam (or the ones that I faced atleast) are entirely on architectural issues - why, what, where, how, whom etc � which can be answered by (a) experience or (b) with the knowledge gathered from correct reading sources such as design/architecture guides.
There is no single place where all this information is provided which makes 667 a difficult exam to crack. It requires a thorough research on all materials presented on the 667 webpage. Even then it can be confusing, time consuming, and sometimes repetitive. I believe IBM itself doesn�t have a coherent source for the preparation of this exam and therefore has dumped the entire library on it. Or perhaps, it wants to motivate people to take the online/classroom courses (which I doubt).
In any case if some one there gets some good information please do share with others. As for me I continue toiling.
The book seems to have the basic info needed for 667 and helps one come up with reasoning on why a certain solution should be selected.
I too took the mock test and failed. It seems that all questions in the mock were scenario based and more often then not there are multiple possible answers for every question.
Ramu Meda
Greenhorn
Joined: Aug 06, 2003
Posts: 18
posted
0
Does any body used any exam simulators? or any simulators do you recommend?
Regards<br />Ramu Meda<br />moderator of yahoo groups scdjws_meda,scjp_meda,scwcd_meda,scbcd_meda,java-architect,ooad_meda, weblogic_meda, oracle9isql_meda, oracle9idbf1_meda<br /> <br />You will find Excellent resources there !
Vinay<br />IBM Certified Solution Designer � OOAD, vUML 2<br />IBM Certified Solution Designer - IBM RUP V7.0<br />IBM Certified SOA Associate<br /> <br />"Live as if you were to die tomorrow; Learn as if you were to live forever" - Mahatma Gandhi
I took the test.. I was hoping that at the end of the test I will be given the the correct answers, but it looks like the answers are not given out .
Now I am left wondering if the $10 I paid for the test is worth it or not. Has anyone else checked out the test?
IF anyone who has taken the 667 exam can comment on how similar the sample questions are to the real ones that will be very helpful
Chris
patrick jiang
Ranch Hand
Joined: May 28, 2003
Posts: 39
posted
0
i visited ibm site for soa certification. they list 30 books (links). i downloaded 3 books and found every book has 500 pages. it's funny for me to go though all these heavy books.
Pravin Kumar
Ranch Hand
Joined: Feb 26, 2008
Posts: 45
posted
0
Originally posted by patrick jiang: i visited ibm site for soa certification. they list 30 books (links). i downloaded 3 books and found every book has 500 pages. it's funny for me to go though all these heavy books.
Anybody have any updates regarding materials, simulators, CBT ?
Sorry but can you tell me how to access the course? i created login id. i see enrollment date of june 24th. can i enroll right away and access it? can you give me brief steps on how to get to the actual training
thanks
Alfred Jayaprakash
Greenhorn
Joined: Jan 11, 2008
Posts: 10
posted
0
Any 667s yet? The prep material for this exam has been completely remaining under the wraps.
Appu Chan
Greenhorn
Joined: Aug 29, 2002
Posts: 28
posted
0
I have cleared 667 last month. I have some course material along with some of related ebooks for preparation. It was sufficient for me as I also have good experience in SOA using IBM technologies.
Vijayagopalan Raveendran
Ranch Hand
Joined: Apr 18, 2005
Posts: 41
posted
0
Congrats Appu Chan !
Can you please update me with the list of ebooks you referred for 667? I'm planning to take the certification next month...
Originally posted by Howard Chan: I have cleared 667 last month. I have some course material along with some of related ebooks for preparation. It was sufficient for me as I also have good experience in SOA using IBM technologies.
Congrats!
I am planning to take the test by this month end. Let me know, on which areas we need to concentrate more. I have almost covered SW718 and 719. I am not going though the red books. It could be great, if you can throw some light on it.
regards, Murugan
Appu Chan
Greenhorn
Joined: Aug 29, 2002
Posts: 28
posted
0
I have studied the IBM course material that was supplied to me by my employer. Did not go through much other e-books. I initially took the 664 exam, which was pretty easy and doesn't need much prep other than understanding the terminologies used by IBM. 667 was a bit more involved and there were a few questions on IBM specific methodologies and tools. See a few sample questions below from various training sites. Actual Qs are not very different.
********** Question: A mortgage loan provider currently has legacy applications utilized by a network of branches and franchised agents. They want to expand by adding a new channel to allow independent mortgage brokers to submit mortgage loan applications. They realize they must provide a differentiating offering to the independent mortgage brokers to attract participants and grow the new channel. How can SOA benefit their requirement?
A. By building an SOA with a secure connectivity layer, they could quickly enable the mortgage broker channel to use their applications without any changes to the legacy system. B. They could reduce the cost to develop new applications needed for each independent broker by reusing services as integration code that is written for each broker's system to expedite development. C. By service enabling the legacy applications and offering a Web-based portal for independent brokers, they can minimize the impact to existing channels, minimize changes to existing code, and quickly create an offering for the new channel. D. By implementing security and governance as part of an SOA deployment, they can control access to the current system to determine which brokers are using the system and personalize their marketing to the high usage brokers.
********** Question: Several design considerations have to be taken into account when designing services in an SOA. Which statement, as applied to those design considerations, is true?
A. Stateless implies that service operation parameters should be allied to the operation semantics. B. Loose coupling implies that services should be designed using standardized interfaces and with the adoption of open standards. C. Service granularity implies the service consumer does not hard-code the specific location of the service. D. Encapsulation implies that services should hide the implementation details from their interface design.
********** Question: A rapidly growing retail company recently outsourced their package delivery to a very reputable package delivery company. The two companies are integrated using SOA and Web services. However, the retail company is having customer satisfaction issues as the call center is not reliably calculating delivery dates. Which portion of the SOA Foundation is the focus to resolve this issue?
A. Information Services B. Process Services C. Partner Services D. Interaction Services
Pravin Kumar
Ranch Hand
Joined: Feb 26, 2008
Posts: 45
posted
0
Hi, I gave the Test and Failed. I got exactly the same percentage(55%) as i got in sample test. Unfortunately, the sample test was down(wanted to give again) and i got frustrated and decided to give a try only to know that questions are way to practical and not very technical. Questions a very practical scenarios, Scenarios that i do face and we require weeks to figure out right solution.
Knowing the pattern's and product's usage is just tip of iceberg. You need to have your concepts very clear on when to use one pattern over others and also know all the products and how they work with these patterns.
I have been studying for couple of months only to find that test was only 10% technical, 20% when and where to use specific products, and 70% hypothetical pratical problem's.
All the best!
Pravin Kumar
Pravin Kumar
Ranch Hand
Joined: Feb 26, 2008
Posts: 45
posted
0
Appu,
Can you please answer the questions you just mentioned? These questions are very tricky. Can you also give us tips on how to go about solving these problems (what thinking pattern, basic steps in solving a problem)
Thanks
Pravin Kumar
Pravin Kumar
Ranch Hand
Joined: Feb 26, 2008
Posts: 45
posted
0
Any idea why sample test ( which they charge $10) not working?
Anyone else who attempted this exam. I am thinking about appearing within a couple of month. Right course material is still a questions. Can anyone help?
Pravin Kumar
Ranch Hand
Joined: Feb 26, 2008
Posts: 45
posted
0
Originally posted by Piyush Chawla: Anyone else who attempted this exam. I am thinking about appearing within a couple of month. Right course material is still a questions. Can anyone help?
Taking the course ( which is $2000 or so) is only way you will get the "right" material for certification ELSE you need to read 12 books of 500 pages each.
chris zielinski
Ranch Hand
Joined: Sep 22, 2007
Posts: 41
posted
0
Originally posted by Vijayagopalan Raveendran: Try this link : http://ibt.prometric.com/ibm
Saw some IBM 667 questions in the yahoo groups.. not sure how helpful they are..
------------------------------------ A rapidly growing retail company recently outsourced their package delivery to a very reputable package delivery company. The two companies are integrated using SOA and Web services. However, the retail company is having customer satisfaction issues as the call center is not reliably calculating delivery dates. Which portion of the SOA Foundation is the focus to resolve this issue?
A. Information Services B. Process Services C. Partner Services D. Interaction Services
I think Answer - Partner Services ---------------------------------------------------------------
Question: Several design considerations have to be taken into account when designing services in an SOA. Which statement, as applied to those design considerations, is true?
A. Stateless implies that service operation parameters should be allied to the operation semantics. B. Loose coupling implies that services should be designed using standardized interfaces and with the adoption of open standards. C. Service granularity implies the service consumer does not hard-code the specific location of the service. D. Encapsulation implies that services should hide the implementation details from their interface design.
I think Answer - B --------------------------------------------------------
Question: A mortgage loan provider currently has legacy applications utilized by a network of branches and franchised agents. They want to expand by adding a new channel to allow independent mortgage brokers to submit mortgage loan applications. They realize they must provide a differentiating offering to the independent mortgage brokers to attract participants and grow the new channel. How can SOA benefit their requirement?
A. By building an SOA with a secure connectivity layer, they could quickly enable the mortgage broker channel to use their applications without any changes to the legacy system. B. They could reduce the cost to develop new applications needed for each independent broker by reusing services as integration code that is written for each broker's system to expedite development. C. By service enabling the legacy applications and offering a Web-based portal for independent brokers, they can minimize the impact to existing channels, minimize changes to existing code, and quickly create an offering for the new channel. D. By implementing security and governance as part of an SOA deployment, they can control access to the current system to determine which brokers are using the system and personalize their marketing to the high usage brokers.
I think Answer A and D
If any one is having query regarding the answer, we can have a discussion.
Cheers, Bala
Rosalin Pattnaik
Greenhorn
Joined: Aug 26, 2008
Posts: 2
posted
0
Hi appu,
Can you please guide me regarding the course material for IBM 667? I passed the assessment test by very small margin and would be taking the actual test before sept 30. But i am yet clueless abt the training material.
If we were ready to take up IBM Test 665, then why again do we want to go through the redbooks and classroom training?
Can someone who prepared using offline training material, please help the aspirants with your extensive study material and invaluable advices for the test?
I tend to end up nowhere if I keep navigating through SOA related links!!!
Cheers,
Naren
Cheers,
Naren (SCJP, SCDJWS and SCWCD)
Ajay Chowdary Kandula
Greenhorn
Joined: Aug 16, 2007
Posts: 12
posted
0
Thanks Naren for your Reply.
The link that I have provided is just a Roadmap to help show others what does this certification Require and I have explained in detail ( I think in my Previous Post)
was for people preparing for Certification of Test 664 and 665
I don't know what you want.
You are the right person to guide us in regards to the certification material and links, If you have already prepared for Test 665.
I shall do my best to get the material and the relevant links posted .. might take some more time.
my inference is that the test is quite basic than what you would expect after going through the material bang on. Be thoroughly familiar with the Information service patterns, SOA reference architecture, SOA quality management and service lifecycle management, IBM products which are used in each phase of SOA, SOA governance, and WS specifications. Most questions are scenario based and upon using analytical skills and elimination of seemingly/outright wrong options, one can zero in on the correct answer to most questions....
all the best!
Ajay Chowdary Kandula
Greenhorn
Joined: Aug 16, 2007
Posts: 12
posted
0
Would like to know any mandatory Certification apart from the Basic level certification to go for SOA 667
Thanks
Ajay
Saswata Ch
Greenhorn
Joined: Mar 24, 2010
Posts: 2
posted
0
Can anybody please send me all the materials required for IBM 667 certification as I was unable to open the links provided ....
0
. While I believe I am correct for the most part of it, someone who has already cleared the exam would be the best bet to comment on it. 
. 
Ajay Chowdary Kandula 
