Hello all, First I want to thank the forum members for giving several guidances. Yes, surely it was a relief for me to clear this certification even though I did not get the marks I expected, but passing is more important I guess. This certification was conducted in a very broader area where the different thoughts/understanding/nature can trigger various kinds of results which can be debated for a very long time, but this still remains a very interesting area to me. About the Certification: * The certification first contains a lot of diagrams, as several members commented before the prometric screens should be made better. * There are around 50-60% questions with exhibits. * For some questions there were more than one diagram for reference. * The number of questions asked as per the requirements given by IBM are given below Section 1 - Development Process = 12% Section 2 - Requirements Modeling = 18% Section 3 - Architecture = 12% Section 4 - Static Modeling = 22% Section 5 - Dynamic Modeling = 24% Section 6 - Design & Implementation Techniques = 12% So as you see the more questions are from Dynamic modeling. * There was one question asked for CRC cards. * There were 2 questions asked on Refactoring. * There are also questions which were straight forward, like what diagram should be changed for a scenario. ( questions more or less similar to asked in the IBM mock exam) * Some of the diagrams repeat in the exam. * Make sure you are able to identify various classes that can be placed suitably in a interaction diagram. * There were 2 questions (if I remember correct) which had your knowledge tested on deployment diagrams. Exhibits: * There were use cases (both textual and diagrammatical), class diagrams (make sure you are used to seeing huge diagrams in a small screen), sequence diagrams, no package diagrams, no collaboration diagrams, no component diagrams, no deployment diagram. * Make sure you understand the parts of the Class & Sequence diagram very very well. * Do not miss the grouping of classes, how it can be done. Maximum 3 choice questions, and I was always specified how much correct answers to choose. * Do not miss knowing about how navigation affects the understanding of your relation to class associations. I was bit confused with this when it came to a real life scenario. My Preparation: * Fowler book very well, at least 5 times. * Larman book very well, at least 3-4 times. * Object Oriented Design Heuristics by Arthur.J.Riel (a very good book) * UML in a Nutshell * Applying Use Cases by Geri Schneider and Jason.P.Winters Recommendation: * "It is not enough if you know generalization is represented using a certain symbol, but how to use it is the KEY to exam." (or) * Make sure you learn things by applying it in a real life solution, do not read it as A & B, but learn how/where/why we can use the A & B. * Do not miss the Fowler and Larman book, they contain a lot of input to this certification exam. * Go with a fresh, non-tensed mind as you are made to think a significant amount in the exam. Timing: * I was able to get through all the questions in the exam the first swipe with 45-50 minutes left. * Time is surely a very high criteria to be considered for this exam as MOST of the questions are testing your knowledge on how you apply it to a real life scenario. Hope I had given my best input to the members about my experience with this certification. I will do my best to answer any questions you may have about this certification. Please do post your questions in this message and I will try to answer my best. I wish you all success and peace in life. I once again thank the various members of the forum for helping me out in various ways. Thanks Ramakrishnan Seshadri [ February 11, 2002: Message edited by: Ramakrishnan Seshadri ]
Thanks<br />Ram.
Ram Dhan Yadav K
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Congratulations Ramakrishnan, that was a good explanation. well, i want to know what would be optimum time needed for preparation of the exam! thanks,
Ram Dhan Yadav (SCJP, SCWCD, SCJA-I, IBM EC(483))
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
james edwin
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congrats for clearing the exam.
Regards,
James
Ramakrishnan Seshadri
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Hello Ram Dhan, Thanks for your wishes. I had taken around 1 month and 10 days with 4-6 hours of study every day for the preparation of this certification exam. The preparation time changes for everyone based on their experience and knowledge. I belv. you must make your own best estimate on the time that you may need for preparing. Thanks Ramakrishnan Seshadri.
Ramakrishnan Seshadri
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Thanks James Edwin for your wishes.
Maulin Vasavada
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hi rama, congrats for ur passing the test. can u tell me the book names written by Larman and Fowler (2 books. right?) i'm too thinking of taking IBM486 test. regards maulin.
hey! sorry for shortening ur name w/o ur permission. but one of my other friends name is the same (Ramakrishnan) and i call him Rama. hope u didn mind it. regards maulin.
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