My torn data pages - 70-445 prep and result

Today I sat the 70-445 exam and completed those 53 questions with the minimal required passing score of 700 points. Now how did I get to that meager (but satisfactory) result?

First of all, I didn't allocate enough time for my preparation, so out of the initial things I mentioned, I only completed the MOC courses 2791 to 2794 (on a hindsight, the time spent with 2794 was wasted towards this exam). I also purchased the MS Press Training Kit for the 70-445 exam, but didn't really get to using it. In total, I only read the chapters 9 and 17 and ran through all 209 MeasureUP questions once. The reason for picking only chapters 9 and 17, besides time constraints, is the amount of Data Mining in the exam versus the (lack of) coverage of the subject in the MOC2791. The reason for running through the MeasureUP questions in study-mode was to get some exam-focus on the subjects and cover them all (see if there were things I missed from the MOC's). I should add that many of MeasureUP tests do not resemble the exam, like providing non-existent options or asking for trivial look-up fact... actual Microsoft exams have better quality.

Having that extra bit of exam-focus really helped, the MOC's tend to strongly focus on the development part of SSIS, SSRS and SSAS. The actual exam is more balanced between development and administration. The training kit too, seems to be more geared towards the administration part and definitely has a more task-based (or hands-on) approach than the MOC's. So in total, I think you need both for a proper preparation (or be able to compensate development or administration with in-depth practical skills).

Luckily the score report includes those scoring bars that indicate a little on your relative score. What is my experience based on the 7 topics tested;

• Managing SSAS
  • My relative score; 5th
  • Impression, 2791 definitely is shallow on this subject. And since I don't have to much real-world experience managing Analysis Services...
• Developing SSAS Solutions by Using BIDS
  • My relative score; 3rd
  • Impression, 2791 gives you all the handles you need, for the hands-on I can recommend taking a look at the tutorials in SQL Server Books On-Line. Again, no real-world experience on for me here either. Some applied MDX, nothing shocking.
• Implementing Data Mining by Using BIDS
  • My relative score; 6th
  • Impression, next to no coverage in 2791, you really need the 70-445 training kit here (mind, I just read it, didn't do the exercises). Very little basic DMX.
• Managing SSRS
  • My relative score; 2nd
  • Impression, some help from real-world experience, though I wasn't prepared for dealing with farms. Also, be prepared to modify the RSReportServer.config.
• Developing Reporting Solutions by Using SSRS
  • My relative score; 7th
  • Impression, 2793 gives you all the handles you need, but you should also to develop reports and care about how they look (questions included some beatifications of reports). Also, take a good look at URLs. If you only have this covered with the training kit, it seems to me (based on a quick glance), it's not going to be enough.
• Developing Business Intelligence Solutions by Using SSIS
  • My relative score; 4th
  • Impression, pretty well covered from the 2792... which was pretty helpful to me, as I'm used to solving a lot of stuff in the database (using views and stored procedures). Especially focus on transactions, checkpoints and logical combinations between expressions and constraints.
• Administering SSIS Packages
  • My relative score; 1st.
  • Impression, my real-world experience helped me out here, not the 2792. Focus on things like supplying configurations on run-time, securing parts of packages and the differences between storing in SQL Server vs. on the file system. Also be prepared for some dtutil and dtexec syntax.

As Ronald Kraijesteijn noted on his blog-entry (in Dutch) on the exam, it's pretty tool-oriented (like how you do something, even in which order). I felt this was particularly true on the developing with SSAS and SSRS. A couple of months experience are definitely going to prove advantageous. This was not the case for me, SSAS real-world is non-existent and SSRS already dates back a year. But hey, a 700-point pass still is a pass.