My friend is looking for a C# Content Strategist for his team @ MSDN... This person needs to be a developer at the same time needs to understand what content developers need in this space... The selected candidate will have to relocate to Redmond, WA, USA...
For more information about the job Click Here
If interested email me with the subject "Position in MSDN Team"
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Monday, November 28, 2005
Why MCITP for DB & BI Developer??
Why is "Database Developer" and "Business Intelligence Developer" Tracks PRO credential called "Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) and not Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD)?
I have been asked this question n number of times... Let me try to present the rationale:
With the New Generation of Certifications job roles are separated from technical skills... The technology specialization is accredited generically Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), but same cannot be done with the job role skills as professionals in different IT space relate themselves in different ways...
There were lots of surveys, interviews and focus groups conducted around this... Professionals working in the job roles of database developer and BI developer were interviewed to find out the credential that they could relate to... Survey results indicated that MCITP resonated more with SQL Server professionals... After further supporting research, discussions and approvals MCITP was chosen for Database Developer and Business Intelligence Developer...
MCITP and MCPD are both Professional job role focused credentials...
Both the credentials need MCTS credential as pre-requisite...
For IT Pro audience the PRO credential is MCITP and for Developer audience the PRO credential is MCPD...
SQL Server professionals liked MCITP more and so MCITP is the new PRO series credential for the SQL space...
I have been asked this question n number of times... Let me try to present the rationale:
With the New Generation of Certifications job roles are separated from technical skills... The technology specialization is accredited generically Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), but same cannot be done with the job role skills as professionals in different IT space relate themselves in different ways...
There were lots of surveys, interviews and focus groups conducted around this... Professionals working in the job roles of database developer and BI developer were interviewed to find out the credential that they could relate to... Survey results indicated that MCITP resonated more with SQL Server professionals... After further supporting research, discussions and approvals MCITP was chosen for Database Developer and Business Intelligence Developer...
MCITP and MCPD are both Professional job role focused credentials...
Both the credentials need MCTS credential as pre-requisite...
For IT Pro audience the PRO credential is MCITP and for Developer audience the PRO credential is MCPD...
SQL Server professionals liked MCITP more and so MCITP is the new PRO series credential for the SQL space...
SQL 2005 Certification Track
SQL Server 2005 Certification Track - Quick Look
This is the quick and dirty visual representation of SQL Server 2005 Certification Tracks... The three major tracks here will be Database Developer, Database Administrator and Business Intelligence Developer...
This figure does not include upgrade exam details...
VS 2005 Certification Track
Visual Studio 2005 Certification Track - Quick Look
Just a quick and dirty visual representation of VS 2005 certification tracks... The three major tracks are Web Appps, Windows Apps and Distributed Apps...
This diagram gives you a quick understanding on which exams you need take and pass to complete a particular track... Upgrade exams are not included in this diagram...
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
MS Developer Exams Branching
Code Language Branching in Developer Exams
With Visual Studio 2005 Microsoft has taken a step ahead in Developer Certifications... Remember the days when similar topic exams had different numbers based on code language... for e.g. 70-305 and 70-315...
That is going to change now... With new Code Language Branching Technology for Exam Deliveries we will have just one exam with an option to choose the code language at the time of exam delivery...
With Branching in place, developers will be asked to choose the code language of their choice (ofcourse from select set of options) before they begin the exam and all the code snippets within the exam will appear the code language selected. It will not be possible to change the language in the middle of the exam though!!
The advantage of this is that there will be only one exam number to remember... With .Net which code language you use should not matter right (ofcourse with some ifs and buts :-)) so it will not matter which code language you choose while you take the exam too...
Currently most of the new generation exams (MCTS & MCPD) will be available in VB.Net, C# as well as Managed C++ (Yes!! Managed C++ too)... Although Managed C++ might not be an option for exams where there are technology limitations... But overall pretty cool huh!!
Well all this doesn't sound pretty huge to developers right!!... Putting a few radio buttons in the beginning and showing some code based on the choice made, how big deal can it be... Believe me, I have been developer all my life appearance can be deceptive, it was definitely a big deal doing it technically...
Consider changing source code of 3rd party Windows based applications and then deploying it to more than one centers of all the cities, of all the countries in the world (which use IT enough)... Now consider that if you did not have the source code and you had to ask someone else to change it...And then on and on... Well that was not what we actually faced but I was kind of showing you the magnitude of affect such small things can have... Don't ask me what we did, but our team did a great job and you guys will now have branching available in developer exams...
Hurray!!
With Visual Studio 2005 Microsoft has taken a step ahead in Developer Certifications... Remember the days when similar topic exams had different numbers based on code language... for e.g. 70-305 and 70-315...
That is going to change now... With new Code Language Branching Technology for Exam Deliveries we will have just one exam with an option to choose the code language at the time of exam delivery...
With Branching in place, developers will be asked to choose the code language of their choice (ofcourse from select set of options) before they begin the exam and all the code snippets within the exam will appear the code language selected. It will not be possible to change the language in the middle of the exam though!!
The advantage of this is that there will be only one exam number to remember... With .Net which code language you use should not matter right (ofcourse with some ifs and buts :-)) so it will not matter which code language you choose while you take the exam too...
Currently most of the new generation exams (MCTS & MCPD) will be available in VB.Net, C# as well as Managed C++ (Yes!! Managed C++ too)... Although Managed C++ might not be an option for exams where there are technology limitations... But overall pretty cool huh!!
Well all this doesn't sound pretty huge to developers right!!... Putting a few radio buttons in the beginning and showing some code based on the choice made, how big deal can it be... Believe me, I have been developer all my life appearance can be deceptive, it was definitely a big deal doing it technically...
Consider changing source code of 3rd party Windows based applications and then deploying it to more than one centers of all the cities, of all the countries in the world (which use IT enough)... Now consider that if you did not have the source code and you had to ask someone else to change it...And then on and on... Well that was not what we actually faced but I was kind of showing you the magnitude of affect such small things can have... Don't ask me what we did, but our team did a great job and you guys will now have branching available in developer exams...
Hurray!!
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Microsoft BETA Exams
MCROSOFT BETA EXAMS FAQs in my own words
With launch of Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 we will be having a lot of BETA exams rolling out from November 7th 2005 to May-June 2006... I receive a lot of emails asking below questions about BETA Exams... I thought it would be easier to emphasize the significance of BETA Exam to everyone via a single blog post...
BETA Exams provide valuable feedback to MS
BETA Exam are a very good way of providing feedback to Microsoft on the Exam questions, topics, content area etc... We look at every feedback seriously and try to make sure that it is incorporated within the final version of the exam (if the feedback is relevant and applicable)... If you spend time writing all the good things in the exam feedback, be rest assured that someone will read it...
BETA Exam As Good As Released Exam
BETA Exams are free to a candidate and they are Free because Microsoft Values the time a candidate puts in providing feedback about the exams... It is not because they are trial launch and they really mean nothing to MS... BETA EXAMS SHOULD BE TAKEN AS SERIOUSLY AS RELEASED EXAMS... They are not meant to try anyone's passing luck, they are meant to give benefits to early adopters of product and help raise the quality bar of the exam... Passing a BETA exam gives a person equal credit as regular exam... From my personal perspective I would appreciate a person passing BETA exam quite a bit as he/she is probably working on the BETA verion of the product...
Learning Material for Beta Exams
Many a times we do not have a lot of learning material available to support certain Beta exams... Again it is because we believe that people who are taking beta are self motivated folks... They have been making their hands dirty with Beta Product usage... They are ahead of the crowd and have been reading beta documentation... We do try that our learning material is available as early as possible...
We do have some early e-Learning, ILTs and Books available for Whidbey and Yukon... Click here
BETA Exam Invites are not public
BETA Exam invites are not public... BETA Exams are meant for qualified candidates only and qualified candidates should receive Beta invites via direct or proper forwarding channels... Selling of BETA codes is also strictly prohibited...
BETA Exam Registrations
BETA Exams are delivered via our standard Exam Delivery Partners (Thompson Prometric and Pearson VUE)... Candidates will have to schedule the Exam with either Prometric or VUE... BETA Exam invites usually go out approx one month before the Beta Date of the exam... There are fixed slots for a particular BETA Exam and they get filled up within 3-4 days of invites going out... Be prompt in registering for BETA Exams, we usually are not able to help much in case the slots run out...
BETA Exam Results
We go via a very comprehensive process of evaluating Beta Exams, this is the reason why Beta Exam Results do not come out at the same time when you appear the exam... You will not immediately know whether you passed or failed a Beta exam but will most likely know it before the final version of the Beta Exam is released (usually 6-8 weeks after the Beta Exam)...
BETA Exam can be taken once during Beta period
A person can appear a particular Beta exam only once during its Beta period... Although, do note that it is possible for the same person to appear Beta version of more than one unique exams... Also note that there are limited seats in Beta Exams, it is important that as many different people get a chance to take the exam and provide their feedback to us... Please take Beta Exams as seriously as you would take a live exam after paying for it... Do not use them for hit and trial purposes...
BETA Exam Test Taker Issues
If you faced problem at the test center; for e.g. you could not appear an exam due to exam download problems, exam availability at the test center etc you should let us know... We want to make sure that a candidates exam appearance experience is as smooth as it possibly can... Reach your Microsoft regional service center and let them know of the issue... Click here If you see no resolution to your problem you can definitely mail me... (But please do contact the regional service center first... :-))
With launch of Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 we will be having a lot of BETA exams rolling out from November 7th 2005 to May-June 2006... I receive a lot of emails asking below questions about BETA Exams... I thought it would be easier to emphasize the significance of BETA Exam to everyone via a single blog post...
BETA Exams provide valuable feedback to MS
BETA Exam are a very good way of providing feedback to Microsoft on the Exam questions, topics, content area etc... We look at every feedback seriously and try to make sure that it is incorporated within the final version of the exam (if the feedback is relevant and applicable)... If you spend time writing all the good things in the exam feedback, be rest assured that someone will read it...
BETA Exam As Good As Released Exam
BETA Exams are free to a candidate and they are Free because Microsoft Values the time a candidate puts in providing feedback about the exams... It is not because they are trial launch and they really mean nothing to MS... BETA EXAMS SHOULD BE TAKEN AS SERIOUSLY AS RELEASED EXAMS... They are not meant to try anyone's passing luck, they are meant to give benefits to early adopters of product and help raise the quality bar of the exam... Passing a BETA exam gives a person equal credit as regular exam... From my personal perspective I would appreciate a person passing BETA exam quite a bit as he/she is probably working on the BETA verion of the product...
Learning Material for Beta Exams
Many a times we do not have a lot of learning material available to support certain Beta exams... Again it is because we believe that people who are taking beta are self motivated folks... They have been making their hands dirty with Beta Product usage... They are ahead of the crowd and have been reading beta documentation... We do try that our learning material is available as early as possible...
We do have some early e-Learning, ILTs and Books available for Whidbey and Yukon... Click here
BETA Exam Invites are not public
BETA Exam invites are not public... BETA Exams are meant for qualified candidates only and qualified candidates should receive Beta invites via direct or proper forwarding channels... Selling of BETA codes is also strictly prohibited...
BETA Exam Registrations
BETA Exams are delivered via our standard Exam Delivery Partners (Thompson Prometric and Pearson VUE)... Candidates will have to schedule the Exam with either Prometric or VUE... BETA Exam invites usually go out approx one month before the Beta Date of the exam... There are fixed slots for a particular BETA Exam and they get filled up within 3-4 days of invites going out... Be prompt in registering for BETA Exams, we usually are not able to help much in case the slots run out...
BETA Exam Results
We go via a very comprehensive process of evaluating Beta Exams, this is the reason why Beta Exam Results do not come out at the same time when you appear the exam... You will not immediately know whether you passed or failed a Beta exam but will most likely know it before the final version of the Beta Exam is released (usually 6-8 weeks after the Beta Exam)...
BETA Exam can be taken once during Beta period
A person can appear a particular Beta exam only once during its Beta period... Although, do note that it is possible for the same person to appear Beta version of more than one unique exams... Also note that there are limited seats in Beta Exams, it is important that as many different people get a chance to take the exam and provide their feedback to us... Please take Beta Exams as seriously as you would take a live exam after paying for it... Do not use them for hit and trial purposes...
BETA Exam Test Taker Issues
If you faced problem at the test center; for e.g. you could not appear an exam due to exam download problems, exam availability at the test center etc you should let us know... We want to make sure that a candidates exam appearance experience is as smooth as it possibly can... Reach your Microsoft regional service center and let them know of the issue... Click here If you see no resolution to your problem you can definitely mail me... (But please do contact the regional service center first... :-))
Where is Vishal Joshi??
It has been a long long time huh!!...
Well I have been busy doing a lot of stuff... Finally "Have been there, did that..."
I joined Microsoft on June 6th 2005...
It made my life gears change so much that I could not find any time to write about anything...
I have joined MS as Technical Product Planner for Developer and Database Certifications... The obvious next question "What do you do there...??" well folks don't ask... I do whatever I feel needs to be done... Jokes apart I take care of planning & designing the next generation of certifications in Developer and Database Space... Just found some time to breathe after Whidbey and Yukon new certification family launch..
Wanna check out some stuff that we did???...go to... Next Generation of Certifications
What am I gonna do next with my blog... I am going to give it a work spin... I am going to start writing about certifications, how to prepare for certifications... Answer questions that people have about Microsoft Certifications... Give news that is worth sharing and so on...
I do not know whether I will be able to come back with VJs Tip of The Day yet (I guess time will not permit)... But still I bet there will be more interesting things on my blog then before...
Revitalizing myself...
Well I have been busy doing a lot of stuff... Finally "Have been there, did that..."
I joined Microsoft on June 6th 2005...
It made my life gears change so much that I could not find any time to write about anything...
I have joined MS as Technical Product Planner for Developer and Database Certifications... The obvious next question "What do you do there...??" well folks don't ask... I do whatever I feel needs to be done... Jokes apart I take care of planning & designing the next generation of certifications in Developer and Database Space... Just found some time to breathe after Whidbey and Yukon new certification family launch..
Wanna check out some stuff that we did???...go to... Next Generation of Certifications
What am I gonna do next with my blog... I am going to give it a work spin... I am going to start writing about certifications, how to prepare for certifications... Answer questions that people have about Microsoft Certifications... Give news that is worth sharing and so on...
I do not know whether I will be able to come back with VJs Tip of The Day yet (I guess time will not permit)... But still I bet there will be more interesting things on my blog then before...
Revitalizing myself...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)