Catching up with the
times
It would be easy to
write a motivational post, but that is not really my way of doing things,
rather, I will just tell my story.
As I related in my
previous blog on passing my PRINCE2
Practitioner certification last Thursday morning, I was suddenly furloughed
a month ago and rather than sit at home twiddling my thumbs, I considered going
on a PRINCE2 course and when I was booking the course, I was offered a bundled
deal to do both PRINCE2 and TOGAF certification which just happened for fall on
consecutive weeks.
Like project
management, I was first introduced to TOGAF just a few months after recovered
from cancer by an ex-colleague. I went as far as buying the study guides and
registering on The Open Group website, that was just 9 years ago, but nothing
really came of it. I even explored doing the course in South Africa then, I
eventually went to India instead to attend courses for Microsoft and Cisco
certifications.
Keeping the faith
I suppose what made
TOGAF a bit of a chore was the volume of theoretical processes that I thought
only a classroom training environment could help ameliorate. The Knowledge Academy for all
its poor customer service record does appear to have some really good trainers.
Mustafa Ahmed took our TOGAF course and from the first day, I began to have
confidence, it could be done.
This was my second
week of courses and something seemed to have triggered an immune response in me
that by the third day of the course, I was coughing, spluttering and running a
fever that I had to return home early without acquiring anything. The trainer sent
me an update of what was covered for the day and I was able to return for the
fourth and last day of the course.
His advice was to take
the test within two weeks of the course, or we’ll begin to forget what we had
learnt. I first had to get PRINCE2 done from before I could begin to think of
scheduling the TOGAF test.
Brought to the edge
It was an exasperating ordeal to get the Exam Bookings department of The Knowledge
Academy to forward me the test voucher, it took 3 emails and 4 phone calls over
8 days to get that resolved. The service is an atrocity that makes an appalling
review appear too generous for words.
You’re tested to the
point of losing your cool and in my view, the staff care not a jot about the
frustrations of their customers. It is a test of patience that one has to pass.
When the voucher
arrived, I found I could not get a test window at any of the Prometric Vue test
centres up north in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds or Birmingham. Only one test
centre London had availability and so I chose to travel to London to take the
test today. The test centre could do with bigger monitor screens.
Tested to the limit
I was caught in a
quandary of my preparedness, having acquired the official study guides, the
full standard documentation and a pocket guide. Something seemed to be missing
until I found a YouTube video TOGAF® Level 2 Exam
Questions – Tackling Those Effectively! This in addition to the tips I got
on the course meant I could be boxing clever to win this match.
The TOGAF®
9 Combined Part 1 and Part 2 Exam is 40 questions for Part 1 in 60 minutes,
immediately followed without results for 8 scenario questions for Part 2 in 90
minutes. I raced through Part 1 reviewing a few thorny questions and was done
in just under 33 minutes. Part 2 was harder, the recommended approach is 10
minutes per question, I spent 18 on the first and had squandered 30 minutes
without a satisfactory answer for the second. Open book tests don’t mean easy
results. You will in some instances be told where to go in the TOGAF standard
document, it doesn’t make it any easier.
I tried some and
skipped some that I returned to for review, by the end, I had just 3 minutes to
spare and passed both Parts. Part 1 presents a bit more difficulty as it relies upon memory and specifics from the TOGAF documentation, Part 2 is about the application
of the TOGA methodology and I did much better on that by far.
They helped me do it
On reflection, I marvel
at the determination and daring that saw me decide to take two highly process-driven
courses with much documentation, standard and theory, just 4 weeks ago and in
that time clear both tests that give me certifications in project management
and enterprise architecture.
Yet, without the amazing
support of Brian my partner and my friends Funmilola and Kola, I probably would
not have had either the courage or determination to see this through. They are
my cheerleaders, constantly telling me I can do it and do it well. It gave me
such great pleasure to share my successes with them.
Now to new challenges
and rewarding prospects. There is the minor issue of a holiday in South Africa
to plan now. Phew! It’s done.
