IBM Certified Advanced Solution Expert - Cognos TM1

Vendor: IBM

Certificate Overview

The certification has been withdrawn by the IBM since 30^th November, 2013. The certificate was awarded to those who showed the excellent skills in the Advanced Solutions. The certificate like any other certificate is the proof that one has passed the required exam with good marks and hence is eligible for the related posts offered in any company.

Who can do this certification?

The main target market for the certification was that part of the IT people who were interested in the TM1 software and they wanted some job in the company where their responsibilities were supposed to be designing, customizing and developing some really high con-currency applications.

Benefits

The benefit of this certification is that this certificationis notof the beginners since it can be estimated form looking at the requirements which are mentioned later.

Associated Exams

There are three exams which are associated to the certificate. They are;

1. Test COG-300Cognos Analyst
2. Test COG TM1 developer
3. COG-385 TM1 Master Exam

Some of the tests are still there which belong to other exams now, but these are the ones which used to be taken for the sake of testing the abilities.

The first exam compromised of the 42 questions and the period for this long list was one hour. The second exam contained the 63 questions and candidates were supposed to answer them within one and the half hour. Third exam consisted of the 6 questions as well; the time period to answer the question was same as well, which was 90 minutes.

Besides these exams, there were several classroom exams and the activities were available too which were provided by the IBM so that the candidates could benefit from them and could understand all the topics. As there are three exams so many of the people complained about the lengthy procedures.

Prerequisites

Before getting into the preparation, there are some conditions which had to be fulfilled bythe candidates because without them, no matter how good knowledge they had, they were not allowed to sit in the examination room. These requirements are mentioned here;

1. Minimum 18 months experience of a role played in TM1
2. The role should be the senior one
3. Having the design experience in the last 3 months of the TM1 application
4. Having the implementation of the design
5. Focusing on the defining of the customer's needs
6. Cognos Suit's working knowledge

They were the mandatory experience and the knowledge that was required. Also, there were some recommendations about the classes training andthe virtual classes. Those classes consisted of the training materials and instructors which helped students getting the most out of themselves by providing them some practical knowledge and enlightening them with the advanced level of the expert solutions. Since the students on those classes are not the basic students so the material provided is the high level. The virtual classes were also introduced, like they are for many othercertification preparations, to help students train while they sit at their homes or the offices and hence they were able to get some time for the preparationthrough the busy schedule. For every virtual class, the policy stays same by the IBM that is that the student is granted the access to the videos and data only for 30 days and after it, the access is revoked. So students get a whole month to prepare themselves for the upcoming exams.

Examination Overview

The exam is the one of the most comprehensive one since it is the advanced level exam so lots of experience and the working knowledge Is required. Also, the classes were designed to help the people go through the exams and those classes covered all the topics.

Validity of Certificate

As mentioned below, the verification now doesn't exist anymore as it was withdrawn at the end of last year, 2013. There is no information available that what happened to those who already had earned the certificate. Whether they had to update or they were simply diverted to some other certificate.

Steps Involved in Certification

For the certifications, one had to follow the following confirmed steps;

1. Understanding what are the requirements
2. Checking if requirements were met
3. Preparing for each exam
4. Giving the exam and clearing each to get to the next exam
5. Earning the certificate

Expert Reviews

The exams are difficult ones and the earning of this certification is kind of undertaking. But those candidates, who have the systematic and strategic approach, can earn this by making lots of practice and doing much study. Of course, once done, this coursereaped some really good benefits out of it.

Susanna Quinn, Idacorp Inc.

Karlsruhe, Germany