Over the years, I’ve taken a lot of Microsoft exams. I’ve also spent a lot of time writing exams for Microsoft exam providers. And while I’ve been doing that, I’ve spent a lot of time in forums where I’ve been checking out what people say about the exams. 

What amazes me is the number of misconceptions that people have about these exams. So, I thought it would be helpful to write about the most common ones. Unlike what I see (but shouldn’t see) in the forums, I can’t discuss specific questions, but the majority of this is unrelated to the actual questions or the specific exams. 

DOMC (Discrete Option Multiple Choice) Questions

I wanted to start by talking about a specific type of question that seems to really confuse people. With these types of questions, you are presented a single scenario, then given (usually) four possible solutions. For each solution, you’re asked if it would actually solve the issue.

I’ve heard people complaining: “why are there 4 questions on the same thing?”  What they’re missing is: that’s the whole point of this type of question. I’ve also heard people say “but there were two options that would have worked”. That could well be true, as there is no suggestion that only one is correct, but the question wasn’t about which one was correct. Each question presents an option and asks if it would solve the solution or not.

I also see people complaining that, once they answer any of the set of questions, they can’t go back to the previous options. That’s not a bug – it’s by design.

Hint: If you’re answering this type of question, make sure that the answer you picked satisfies the criteria – not just part of it. 

Background of Test Takers

There is a persistent misconception that you can just read about these topics, then do the exams. That was true about some of these exams in the past.

Recently, I’ve seen people complaining that to do the exam, they need actual implementation experience. Again, that’s by design. You should get practical experience with using the product or service before you do the exam. 

Level of Complexity

I remember one person complaining that an exam was too hard for a novice. The irony is that he was taking an expert level exam. So, I’d hope it was too hard for a novice.

I often see people complaining that the way a concept was implemented in the exam was different to how it was presented in the Learn content. You need to get used to the fact that there isn’t just one way to do anything.

Exam Preparation

There also seems to be an expectation that if they purchase exam preparation guides, they’ll get to see all the real questions. While there are sites selling these, you shouldn’t use them, for two core reasons:

On a similar note, I hear people complaining that they purchased preparation guides from ‘XYZ’ company, and there were questions that weren’t in those summaries. Microsoft aren’t the people to complain to if ‘XYZ’ company has sold you a guide that isn’t useful.  

Official Preparation Materials

Perhaps closer to the point, I hear people complaining that there were questions that were not covered in the online Learn content. “Why wasn’t that in the official course?”

That might seem a fair complaint perhaps, but every exam has a study guide, and invariably the topics they are complaining about were mentioned in that guide. In addition, Microsoft’s Learn content often has links to additional reading -yet people don’t seem to follow and read them.

A similar complaint points out a topic that wasn’t ever mentioned anywhere. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but it’s very unlikely. Exam writers must write rationales for each question and point to where the relevant content is. 

I’ve heard people complaining that they thought the content on the Learn pages wasn’t clear enough. If it’s online training content on the Learn site, use the feedback link at the bottom of the page to send this feedback to Microsoft. If it’s a documentation page, consider learning how to raise a pull request, then suggest a fix for the page. It’s surprisingly easy to do. 

Practice Tests and Knowledge Check Questions

I often hear people complaining that the exam was different to the online practice test at the Learn site. Yes, it will be, and that’s also by design. For a start, you’ll notice that almost all the online practice tests just have simple multiple-choice questions, but the real exams have a mixture of question types.

My only potential concern here is that the practice exams can at times give people a false sense of how prepared they are.

People regularly complain that the exam was much harder than the knowledge check questions in the Learn content. That’s true and, again, is by design. The knowledge check questions are there to clarify that you understand what you just read. The exam is looking to see if you can apply the knowledge more broadly. 

I had to laugh when I heard someone saying, “I’ve heard others arguing about this question, and even ChatGPT didn’t know the answer”. Well, try using the product or service and finding out for yourself. 

Real-World Relevance

I hear people complaining, “I never use any of these options in my job.“ That’s highly likely, because the exam isn’t just about your job. 

I also hear complaints like, “I’ve been in the industry XX years, and I’ve never heard anyone mention YY”. Sorry, but perhaps your experience isn’t enough preparation on its own. Part of certification preparation involves delving into a wide variety of areas around the products and services, and it’s unlikely that anyone’s normal job would entail that.

If you are a professional, though, you should know enough about all the core areas of a product or service to be able to express opinions about what to use, or not use – and to be able to justify why.

Key Takeaway

It’s important to set your expectations appropriately and avoid these types of misconceptions. In a future article, I’ll discuss techniques that have worked for me when taking these exams.