In this talk, Humphrey Sheil explains how the SCEA exam has been designed, what it does and doesn’t test, and how to prepare for and take the exam. The talk also contains tips for exam preparation, including preparation materials and tips for taking each specific part of the exam.

The candidates are supposed to have at least 5 years of experience. Most of the candidates take the exam to formalise the experience they already have. Objectives of the exam include: Application design concepts and principles, common architectures, integration and messaging, business tier technologies, applicability of Java EE technology, Patterns and Security.

Part one of the examination contains 64 multiple-choice questions, which treat candidates as architects rather than programmers. Part two is the main part of the exam. It requires candidates to construct the best solution to a business problem they can by using JEE 5. After a solution is submitted, the results are declared in a couple of weeks. Part three is a follow-up to part two and aims to test the candidate’s knowledge of the solution submitted.

To preparing for part one, candidates should read a lot of reference material. When the assignment for part two is received, it should be clearly understood, and every step should be questioned if it is relevant with solving the problem or not. For part three, most of the questions can be predicted from the answer to the previous section. Therefore, candidates have the opportunity to prepare themselves for these final questions with much more focus than the previous sections.

The process of getting a certificate makes people better architects but it doesn’t necessarily mean that every certified person is a good architect. If someone has a good industrial experience, getting certified enhances his or her resume and it shows commitment to career development.

Slides available here

For more information see All About the Sun Certified Enterprise Architect (SCEA) Exam or find out more at http://www.skillsmatter.com