Last Monday I made the trip to London to take the EPiServer CMS certification exam (version 6). I passed but it was quite a tricky exam so I thought I’d post some tips that may be of help to others taking the test.

The questions are randomised so you won t get asked the same as me but the areas will probably be similar. There were 70 multiple choice questions split into four sections. I can’t remember the exact breakdown but these numbers are close:

Installation / deployment (~10 questions)

These questions are not particularly difficult but if, like myself, you haven’t needed to use the features much previously you might get stuck.

• Deployment center make sure you know everything you can do from here
• Initialization module What is it, when does it run etc (this is new to version 6, I missed the tech note and wished I’d read it)
• Multi-Site installations
• Upgrading to v6 What versions can you upgrade from, what is backed up / updated.

General Product Knowledge (~15 questions)

If you are familiar with the system and its features there is not much to worry about here

• Load balancing
• Page type & page template concepts
• XForms - How to make one, how it works
• Online center and gadgets

Standard Development (~25 questions)

Again, if you have developed a couple of sites then most of these are not too bad. However the customisation questions will be sticking points unless you are familiar with the tech notes.

• Wiring up EPiServer / .NET web controls
• Wiring up master pages
• Custom membership provider
• Custom virtual path provider
• Globalization What language is used in various scenarios

Advanced Development (~20 questions)

These questions are really tricky, and may involve quite a bit of guess work!

• Mirroring How is it setup / configured, what is mirrored
• Scheduler service What can and can t be run
• Dynamic data store
• Page Objects (I missed this one completely)
• Filters adding code to a filter web control
• Quick publishing configuration
• Plugins / Modules Installing

Preparing for the exam

To help pass I d recommend in order of priority:

1. Install the example site and run everything you can in the deployment center
2. Try everything out in the CMS Online center (the Start page and menu bar) editor and admin sections while reading through the editor and admin manuals (particularly the admin manual)
3. Read all the tech notes and try to setup what they are describing. I wouldn’t worry about spending too much time on each though as long as you understand the concepts.

There are quite a lot of resources available online and it can be a bit overwhelming. But don’t despair, Jonathan’s handy exam bookmarks post is a good place to start!