PASSED: 70-695: Deploying Windows Desktops and Enterprise Applications

Step 3 of 3 completed - I passed the 70-695 exam! I am now a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert! So, before I jump into this exam coverage, it has been awhile since I have posted an update here. Following my last post in August, I traveled to Tokyo to visit my brother and sister-in-law to meet my new nephew. After a great trip, I came back and there were some items in my personal life that took some time away from my studies. Luckily nothing awful, just items that needed my attention and that took a lot of time and energy. That brought us to and through the holidays, after which I began to get back into my study-routines and kicked this process into gear. And here we are. I would say that for me, studying for the 70-695 exam was definitely more labor-intensive than for the previous two exams, as it required much more hands-on lab studying than the others. If you do not use SCCM 2012 R2, MDT, WDS, OCT, ODT, WSIM, DISM, or Powershell in your workplace, then it is time to build a lab environment. When it comes to the actual exam though, I actually found this to be one of the easier exams of the three in this certification path. It is also worth noting that after completing 698 and 697, which focus on Windows 10, 695 primarily focuses on deploying Windows 8.1 and upgrading to 8.1 from Widows XP, Vista, and 7. The exam was updated to include some Windows 10 coverage, but 8.1 is absolutely where your attention needs to be when studying. So, let's break down what I used to study. If you are unfamiliar with System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2012 R2, then I highly recommend Learn System Center Configuration Manager in a Month of Lunches. Also check out the Manning Publications website when buying. They often have sales in which all of their books are half-off. Buying through the website gives you access to the physical book, live book, and eBook. Buying the physical copy through other vendors will also allow you a free copy of the eBook. My current position doesn't have me working in SCCM regularly, so I worked through this book before jumping into other resources and found it to be truly beneficial. You do need to be familiar with SCCM 2012 R2 for this exam. Not only with the how and why of processes, but with where to go in the console to access certain settings and features, and how to integrate MDT. You do not need to know how to install SCCM from scratch, but you do need to know how to work with it. After utilizing the book, I signed up for a free three-month trial to Pluralsight. If you sign up for Visual Studio Dev Essentials, there is usually a free trial to take advantage of. Pluralsight has a great course that covers the original 70-695 objectives. Note that the objectives have changed since the recording of the videos, but only slightly. These videos were a great resource and included video walkthroughs of the topics. It is still recommended you walk through the steps in your own lab. There is a surprisingly limited amount of study material available for the 695 exam, so grudgingly I also ordered the official Exam Ref book from Microsoft. After my experience with the Exam Ref for 697, I was suspect as to what I would be receiving. Luckily this book was much better than the 697 ref. My only complaint is that this book only covers the original exam objectives and has not been updated to cover the new objectives. As the official reference guide from Microsoft, I find this unacceptable. In the end though, the book did its job, and I found it to be highly beneficial. If you are taking this exam you are likely already an MCP, so order it directly from Microsoft and save 40%-50% off the list price. Lastly, as usual, when you buy your voucher for the test, I highly recommend going with the package that includes the MeasureUp practice test. I found the MeasureUp practice test to be invaluable when preparing for this exam. If you have never taken a Microsoft exam before, their tests are not the general "How do you do this? Pick A, B, C, or D" type format. While most of the questions are multiple choice, each question is a scenario - "You are a Systems Administrator in X-type environment, you have Y-number of computers, and you need to acheive the following. What is the best solution for your situation?" When the exam is 50-60 questions, if you are not prepared for this type of questioning you can easily mismanage your time or be left cross-eyed by the end of the exam. The 695 exam relies heavily on case studies. The practice exam will help you adapt to this format. Generally you are given 3-6 pages of information, describing a company, its network, systems, environments, change plans, business and technical requirements, issues, and then need to answer 5-10 scenario questions utilizing the information that was provided to you. This can be incredibly time-consuming (and the clock is ticking when reading this information), between ingesting the information and then clicking back and forth between the information and questions. The practice exam will help prepare you for this. The MeasureUp practice exams for 695 include 155 questions, covering all (original objective) topics and in all questioning formats. You can set the number of questions you are asked, what types of questions, and many other configurations. The most beneficial part however, is that each question fully explains why each answer(s) is correct and why the other options are not. This will help expand your knowledge in trouble areas tremendously! Unfortunately, like all of the other resources for 695, the practice exam has not been updated to cover the new objectives, only the original. I personally always opt for the Exam Replay Pro + Practice Test package. This package comes with the practice test and also (if-needed) a "free" exam retake. It's not really free, but much cheaper than paying for a second single-exam voucher. Now, I have luckily never needed to take a retake, I study until I am confident that I will pass, but knowing you have a free retake definitely reduces some of the anxiety when taking a certification test. I don't know about you, but taking a test where I not only have a certification on the line, but one in which I have invested a lot of time in studying for and also have hundreds of dollars at stake, for me it can definitely cause some test-anxiety. As a quick side note, to help save a little bit of money on those exam fees, I recommend GetCertified4Less. They aren't paying me for this plug, just me letting you know where I go to save a little cash. As we just mentioned, becoming certified is not a cheap process between study materials and vouchers - save money where you can! You now have recommended study resources, and information on where to buy discount vouchers, so what exactly do you need to know? Unfortunately, I cannot give specifics due to the Non-Disclosure Agreement you agree to when you test. However, I will say this - go to the following link: Exam 70-695 On that page, under "Skills Measured" expand all five sections. This is the MINIMUM you need to be comfortable with in order to pass the test. You will see just about all, if not all, of this on the exam, and you will see things on the exam that are not listed here. In addition to what is listed, and not only for this exam but for all Microsoft exams, I highly suggest you become familiar with Powershell if you are not already. This exam was much more straight-forward than 698 and 697. If you use the resources I outlined earlier, you can be confident you will have covered what will be on the exam, except for the minor updates to the objectives from the original. I actually finished this exam with more time remaining than when I took the 697 exam, and finished with a little less then 30 minutes remaining. However, I have heard from other test-takers that this test took them down to the wire, so definitiely watch your time. One thing that took me by surprise was that in the MeasureUp practice exam, you always are presented with your case studies first, and the last part of the test is your individual questions. You may not experience this on the actual exam. Thinking I had completed all of my case studies, and pacing myself to finish the exam with individual questions, I was quite surprised to find another case study waiting for me at the end of the exam. I am glad I had some extra time on the clock! If I had to do it all over again, the only thing I would do differently is add in more lab time. Watch the video courses, read the book, but also actually do everything you are being shown. Finally, the best advice I can offer is this: Breathe. Many certification exams, not just from Microsoft, will throw in questions meant to fluster you. If you understand that and comprehend that it is part of the test design, you are one-step ahead of the exam already. Deep breaths, take your time, ensure you are thinking clearly. It is not uncommon to feel like you are bombing a test, which in turn can cause you to panic, only at the end to get your score and find out you rocked it. Also, read each question very carefully. There is often a clue, or a slight way they have phrased either the question or the scenario that will change what the appropriate answer should be. Read carefully. That goes for the answers to the question as well, not just the question itself. If you are unsure what the answer is, you can almost always use the process of elimination to get rid of at least two of the answers. That is about the extent of information I can share regarding the exam. If you decide to take it - best of luck! Study hard and be confident in your knowledge of the topics and you will succeed!