MCTS For SharePoint: Exam 70-630, 70-631

There is one constant in the Technology industry, and that is change.  Change can make it difficult to evaluate who is truly skilled on a specific software package, much less its multiple versions.  I have been a longtime skeptic of certifications, fearing the hordes of “paper engineers” who competed against practical experience with a slue of letters and numbers behind their names.  Recent happenstances at work have forced me to re-evaluate my stance, and although there is no replacement for experience, the certifications help perform a technical sanity check letting you evaluate consultants and employees on other critical criteria, such as communication skills.

With all that being said, I have decided to tackle the MCTS for MOSS – Exam 70-630.  This is the first exam I have taken in six years and has left me a bit unnerved, despite working with the product for many years!  The urge to take this exam is spurred more by the need for self advancement than any career goal, and that is good considering SharePoint 2010 and its related certification is not far off.

The exam itself seems very straightforward when examining the goals (see below) but the devil is in the details.  All the prep material forces you to consider separate logical groupings of commands and features, as well as memorizing the Microsoft best practices for configuring the software.  This is the main challenge I am facing with the exam, seeing the software from Microsoft’s eyes and being aware of all their potential scenarios.  While daunting, this has forced my eyes open to some new possibilities with the MOSS platform, possibilities that I will soon turn to practice.

To study, Microsoft makes available a recommended learning path of classroom, e-learning, and self-study materials (see below).  Taking all, or even most, of the recommended material would be a feat in time management and a burden on the training budget.  I chose two e-learning packages and a third party book to round out my curriculum.  The e-learning was subsidized by Microsoft’s “Second Shot” program, which unfortunately expires on June 30th.  If you wish to take advantage of it before the deadline, follow this link.

E-Learning from Microsoft:

• 3376AE: Implementing Enterprise Search Using Sharepoint Technologies
• 5251AE: Deploying and Configuring Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007

The book I chose, while not from Microsoft Press, was excellent.  It is published from Sybex, which is a company I have come to appreciate after studying for the CCNA (another saga for another post).  It features in-depth chapters that covers an excess of material.  While some may argue that it makes studying more difficult, it also doubles the usefulness of the book as a reference source.  The included CD provides the entire book in PDF format as well as a testing engine for all self-tests and end of chapter assessments.

MCTS: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 20…
by James Pyles

Although the exam is a week away, I am feeling very confident in my preparation.  The “Second Shot” safety net helps alleviate the pressure of potentially flushing away the not-so-bad-but-not-insignificant testing fee.  In the end the only tangible result will be an extra four letters in my resume, but the true reward is the pride of overcoming a challenge and the added confidence I bring to work.  Sometimes you just need a gold star.

This exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical tasks listed below.The percentages indicate the relative weight of each major topic area on the exam. Configuring Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

• Configure site management

• Configure personalization

• Configure users and groups

• Configure alerts

• Configure Single Sign-on (SSO)

Managing Search

• Configure Search Center

• Configure Search settings

• Monitor Search activity

Configuring Content Management

• Configure document management

• Configure records management

• Configure Web content management

• Manage policies and compliance

• Configure workflow

Configuring Business Forms

• Configure Forms server

• Manage data connection files

• Configure Web service proxy

• Manage form templates

Managing Business Intelligence

• Configure Excel services

• Configure Report Center

• Configure Web parts

• Configure Business Data Catalog (BDC)

Managing Administration

• Manage the central administration interface

• Manage the shared service provider

• Use the STSADM tool

• Configure usage analysis and reporting

Deploying or Upgrading

• Manage Microsoft Content Management Server (CMS) assessment

• Configure shared services

• Manage Business Intelligence tools

• Manage portal and site migration

• Finalize upgrades

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 20th, 2009 at 8:09 pm and is filed under SharePoint, Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.