This poast has two things in it.
- The Q&A from the SharePoint meeting that some of you have requested. There's not much here, and it hasn't been edited or proofed, she disclaims wildly. These fast-typed, Live Meeting answers don't always have the full picture--so consider yourself warned. Point out anything that looks particularly fishy.
- Your verbatim comments from the meeting. I post this because maybe you think we don't read your comments? But we do. And now you can too.
Your friend,
Trika
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1. Q&A
ASKED: Does the exam have a number of questions on Sharepoint Licensing and do the training courses provide concise training on licensing? I have talked to three different people at Microsoft Licensing about a Sharepoint 3.0 situation I am trying to configure and gotten three different licensing answers one not requiring any additional licensing, one with a fairly inexpensive license option and one that is completly out of my budget range ( > $10,000). If Microsoft Licensing gives such diverse answers how can a test question be created with an answer? Answered: No, the exams do not cover licensing. We have developed seperate licensing exams for LARs/VARs (also in development this week). I would reccomend you bring this up with your microsoft Sales rep if you have one and they should be able to sort out the descrepancy.
ASKED: We hired a Corporate Technology expert (first and new position) He wants to install SharePoint on the successful installation of it in his previous job. We are having a bitter tug of war with an element of the staff prefering to grow FileMaker Pro for enterprise solutions. Suggestions? We brought in a consultant who indicated FMP should be limited. Answered: Obviously I'm more partial to SPS than FMP. :) I'm not sure what help you are looking for, but you can find comparisons and case studies of other companies that have successfully deployed SPS and what benefits they've seen at microsoft.com: http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/
ASKED: You should really avoid the term IT pro when speaking about a Technology specialist cert.. (ambiguos) Answered: Great point! it is sometimes confusing using the royal "IT Professional" in the same context as the specific IT PRO exams.
ASKED: Are there particular skills that are helpful to have if going down this route - ie knowledge of SQL? Answered: SQL can certainly help. several features of SPS leverage SQL. However, it isn't strictly neccessary. there is much that can be done with just a basic knowledge of SQL. What is very helpful is basic server knowledge for IT Professional exams and basic development terminology and familarity for DEV exams
ASKED: Is there a certain logical order if you plan to take all 4 tests? Answered: not really. A lot of the skills overlap between the SharePoint Services exams and the SharePoint Server 2007 exams. as you would imagine, they share a base technology. Generally, we see people either test in one or the other. But you can certainly take both!
ASKED: I recently aquired a MCTS in SharePoint Services 3.0. Was wondering if it would be beneficial to also aquire the certification for MOSS (lot of similations between WSS 3.0 and MOSS) or pursue one of the test for developing applications in WSS? Answered: It depends on your interest. I would definately reccomend certifying on MOSS (SPS) as that is what a lot of companies are upgrading to/deploying. But if you're more of a programmer, going that route if fine too.
ASKED: If I am certified on Sharepoint V3, will I need to recertify for the next version from scratch. Answered: Since it is only one exam, there is no "upgrade" exam. either way it would be one test, so we're just making the standard test. but many of the skills are similar.
ASKED: Do you have business success stories about introducing sharepoint in an organisation to get an idea what kind of benefits sharepoint can bring to the employers? Answered: Yes. customer evidence has tons: http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/
ASKED: Is there a website, that shows all the features included in SharePoint 3.0/MOSS? Answered: Look here for differences between WSS 3.0 and MOSS. here. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/FX102473161033.aspx
ASKED: How does Visual Studio link in with SharePoint? Would a background of VS or Visual Basic help with the developer side of SharePoint? Answered: Good question, having a solid background in VS absolutely help, Be a good ASP.NET developer.
ASKED: How/Who do we register for the exams? Answered: From the prep guides, there is a link to our partner, Prometric, whre you can register. Prep guides look like: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/exams/70-XXX.mspx
ASKED: FYI - Some end user online resources: http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2007/09/07/customizable-everyday-productivity-education-epe-content-developed-by-microsoft-it-for-end-user-training.aspx. Answered: thank you!!!
ASKED: How do you develop in SharePoint? And how should we provide SharePoint development environment to our developers? Answered: ASP.NET is the way to go, a good place to start is http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/default.aspx
ASKED: SharePoint designer Replaced Front Page? Answered: for developing pages on sharepoint, yes.
ASKED: Do the SharePoint exams contain simulations or are they all traditional multiple choice tests? Answered: We're can't discuss that level of detail about the exam. sorry. EDITED: Microsoft doesn't publish that info specifically about each exam (partially because we expect people to know the material no matter what form its presented in, and partially because sometimes the format changes, or is different for different customers); but you can ask your peers about their experience--that's something people can share about the testing experience.
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2. YOUR FEEDBACK ABOUT THE MEETING:
- Great presentation - may take the test for MOSS Configuration. I love SharePoint, first started with version 2.0 and now working with 3.0 and MOSS. Also just aquired the MCTS - and offer to those pursuing the certification - tools that were helpful: of course actually having SharePoint installed on a Server (walk through the steps of installing, adding templates, solutions, to review); using Technet Virtual Labs for ForeFront, SQL, and SharePoint; and the company MeasureUP has the practice exams that can be purchased (cost is about $100.00) which really digs deep into all the aspects of SharePoint - SQL, Server Farms, Load Balancing, etc. It helps to review over all these. I created a book with all the info I researched, found, etc. - would be interested in sharing? THanks for sharing the good advice; I an hook you up with the MS press team to check it out...
- I am a new MCP and still learning about what is available. These type of webinars are great.
- I felt that this presentation was more about pushing the Microsoft certification then showing the benefits that would come out of using SharePoint and what certification can do for the organization in regards to SharePoint. Our focus was the certifications and how to earn them- not the technology benefits; but good point that we didn't communicate that specifically enough in the abstract, or spend enough time on how the certs will help in the org. Good point.
- I have passed over 20 certification exams and I generally do it with hands on experience and self paced training from Microsoft Press. I am sorry to see you have cut the self paced training materials out of the certification program. By no means cut out of the program--I think it just comes down to resourcing. We publish a lot of exams--and each one gets the mix of training based on what volumes we expect, what is most important to the industry, and how much $$ and time we have in each product line. Agree its a bummer for SP with no training kits.
- If not doing already then send email to all MS Certified members.
- It could be interesting to have some examples of the questions asked in the exam.
- It may be due to an assumption I made and nothing on Microsoft's part. I assumed that it would be a more in depth analysis of SharePoint certifications and not just a gloss over of SharePoint itself.
- It seems that the material communicated in the presentation is newer than that on the Microsoft traincert site. It would have been nice if they were in synch. My Internet audio didn't work either. It would have been nice to be able to listen via the computer's speakers.
- Maybe some sort of intelligent tool with a number of questions, the answers then prompting some appropriate suggestions of courses and certifications? I find the number of courses bewildering, as well as the types of certifications and levels that they are at, and hence I never know where to start.....maybe something like "Q1 - are you interested in configuring SharePoint, or Developing SharePoint applications?", "Q2 - Do you have a programming background?" etc etc. This would help narrow down to the most appropriate courses.
- more direct examples of who should take one certification over another
- more webcasts, and emails sent out.
- No, I have get my answer on everything about this webcast when it was about were I can find some slides who was missing and in this case slide 4 and 5, who i shall take a llok at very soon.
- No, the presentation was very well organized and completely informative.
- RSS
- Sample Tests
- Simplify you slides!! My fault. We ended up with a lot more content at the last minute - and no time to reformat. Very sorry.
- Thank you very much for having this session. I am not familiar with Microsoft tests, and did not know how to properly prepare for each respective test. Now that I know the website to know in advance the test curiculum, I can prepare to pass tests when ready. SharePoint is getting a lot of attention, so learning how to install and configure this will surely bring value to the company.
- the presented promotions (about special discounts for book by Microsoft Press books) are limited to US only. It would be highly appreciated if such promotions would become available for EMEA region (or even worldwide ?) too - I'd suggested: interrested partners for the presented MCTS certfications should be able to order - for example - via AMAZON - with some kind of promotion vouchers sponsored by Microsoft.
- This event was a complete waste of time. The answer to an overwhelming majority of the questions asked was something to the effect of "We'll put that in the post event email" or "we can't answer that". I asked if the SharePoint exams contain simulations or are they traditional multiple choice tests. The answer that I received was "We can't discuss that level of detail about the exam". I translate that to mean that you don't have a clue about these exams because http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcpexams/simulations/default.mspx lists a some exams that contain simulations, so part of Microsoft is willing to talk about that information. Most Microsoft Webcasts are very useful, but this one really let me down. I guess the learning and certifications folks don't prepare for their presentations as well as the MSDN team. I hate having my time wasted and so I hate that's how you felt, since I'm the folks in question. feel free to give me a call 425-703-9198 and I'll see if I can make it right.
- This was very good
- Was looking for Free elearning on all topics from Microsoft not just Work Flow. To bad you do not have that.
- Yes, please make sure that all areas that are being tested on are relected in the objectives. Too often items show up in Microsoft exams that were never indicated in the objectives.
