OK, I cannot avoid this anymore. The time has come to get a formal recognition of my ability to do pretty much anything with BizTalk Server. I’ve been working with BizTalk since approx. 2002 AD, with increasing levels of success and understanding, very interesting projects, a wide range of clients, in teams or on one man gigs. I have designed and implemented good solutions from scratch, as well as understood, debugged, fixed existing ones that sucked, even delivered an eight hours a day, five days BizTalk course on Microsoft material.

I am not seeing the certification as something mandatory, but as a help for my current and potential employers to assess the value of a possible collaboration without having to understand deep technical issues.

As BizTalk technical lead at Logimethods, part of my job is to mentor and train developers on the team, helping them arrive at a level of BizTalk understanding that would allow a quick ramp-up when the time for action comes.

Since my current job is of Lead Technical Architect for Telus/Emergis, it’s been a few months since my last contact with BizTalk, other than the recent BizTalk 2009 installation and befriending. Therefore, I am looking at this certification path as a good opportunity for finding some room in my brain’s active daily buffer for some BizTalk related activities and for re-invigorating the synapses to some older dusty storage there.

Some basic details about the exam, as provided by Microsoft:
The available BizTalk exams, according to this page, are:

- Exam 70-241: MCTS: Developing Business Process and Integration Solutions by Using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2
- Exam 70-235: MCTS: Developing Business Process and Integration Solutions by Using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006

These are MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist) exams. By earning this credential, you can prove your ability to successfully implement, build on, troubleshoot, and debug a particular Microsoft technology, such as a Windows operating system, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL Server, and Microsoft Visual Studio.

Microsoft recommends these resource for the BizTalk 2006 version:

Preparation Tools and Resources: To help you prepare for this exam, Microsoft Learning recommends that you have hands-on experience with the product and that you use the following training resources. These training resources do not necessarily cover all of the topics listed in the “Skills Measured” tab.

Classroom Training
• 2933A: Developing Business Process and Integration Solutions Using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 (5 Days)
• 2933AD: Developing Business Process and Integration Solutions Using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 (5 Days)
• 2933AO: Developing Business Process and Integration Solutions Using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 (5 Days)

Microsoft E-Learning: There is no Microsoft E-Learning training currently available.
Microsoft Press Books: There are no Microsoft Press books currently available.

Practice Tests
• MeasureUp
• Self Test Software

Microsoft Online Resources
Learning PlanGet started with a step-by-step study guide that is based on recommended resources for this exam.
Microsoft Learning Community: Join newsgroups and visit community forums to connect with peers for suggestions on training resources and advice on your certification path and studies.
Microsoft Online: Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 Help: Find a variety of resources that can help you learn to develop, deploy, administer, and use BizTalk Server 2006.
TechNet: Designed for IT professionals, this site includes how-to instructions, best practices, downloads, technical resources, newsgroups, and chats.

The exam for BizTalk 2006 R2 does not have any recommended resources, but the 2006 ones will still apply and you will have to get up to speed with the delta (as in the Greek letter) between BizTalk 2006 and BizTalk 2006 R2. The new features in R2 are listed here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb743854(BTS.20).aspx. Lucky me, I’ve covered most of them during my engagement at Trans Canada Pipelines, right before the Telus contract.

After answering the questions in the MeasureUp free demo, it is obvious to me that the focus is on being able to demonstrate hands-on development/configuration experience with BizTalk.

Since the recommended practice tests are not free, my next step is to look into finding some examples, so I can figure out the style, level of complexity, etc.

(to be continued)

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrum_(development)

Scrum is an iterative incremental framework for managing complex work (such as new product development) commonly used with agile software development.
During each “sprint”, typically a two to four week period (with the length being decided by the team), the team creates a potentially shippable product increment (for example, working and tested software). The set of features that go into a sprint come from the product “backlog,” which is a prioritized set of high level requirements of work to be done. Which backlog items go into the sprint is determined during the sprint planning meeting. During this meeting, the Product Owner informs the team of the items in the product backlog that he or she wants completed. The team then determines how much of this they can commit to complete during the next sprint.[1] During a sprint, no one is allowed to change the sprint backlog, which means that the requirements are frozen for that sprint. After a sprint is completed, the team demonstrates the use of the software.

Scrum enables the creation of self-organizing teams by encouraging co-location of all team members, and verbal communication across all team members and disciplines that are involved in the project.

A key principle of Scrum is its recognition that during a project the customers can change their minds about what they want and need (often called requirements churn), and that unpredicted challenges cannot be easily addressed in a traditional predictive or planned manner. As such, Scrum adopts an empirical approach—accepting that the problem cannot be fully understood or defined, focusing instead on maximizing the team’s ability to deliver quickly and respond to emerging requirements.

There are several implementations of systems for managing the Scrum process, which range from yellow stickers and whiteboards, to software packages. One of Scrum’s biggest advantages is that it is very easy to learn and requires little effort to start using.

A number of roles are defined in Scrum. All roles fall into two distinct groups—pigs and chickens—based on the nature of their involvement in the development process. Amongst them, the Scrum Master (or Facilitator).

Scrum is facilitated by a Scrum Master, whose primary job is to remove impediments to the ability of the team to deliver the sprint goal. The Scrum Master is not the leader of the team (as the team is self-organizing) but acts as a buffer between the team and any distracting influences. The Scrum Master ensures that the Scrum process is used as intended. The Scrum Master is the enforcer of rules. A key part of the Scrum Master’s role is to protect the team and keep them focused on the tasks in hand. The Scrum Master is NOT responsible for the transition from traditional methods of working to Scrum or the implementation of Scrum.

Meetings: daily scrum, scrum of scrums, sprint planning meeting, sprint review meeting, sprint retrospective.

The only accepted organization providing Scrum training and certification seems to be “Scrum Alliance”.

The journey to mastery begins with a Certified ScrumMaster or Certified Scrum Product Owner course. These courses provide a solid foundation to help you make the paradigm shift to managing a project using Scrum.

CSM or CSPO course is essential for moving toward the more advanced certifications of Certified Scrum Practitioner, Certified Scrum Coach, and Certified Scrum Trainer®. Details of the program are shown below:

Certified Scrum Master (CSM)

Prerequisites: Prior to attending the CSM course, students should have read the Scrum Guide. Download a copy at no cost. http://www.scrumalliance.org/resources

Intended For: Individuals who will work on a Scrum team. The course has a strong emphasis on the role of the ScrumMaster.

Certification Process: Currently, an individual is certified when he or she has attended, participated in, and completed a Certified ScrumMaster course, and passed/completed the CSM online exam.

Certification Duration: The online Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) exam launched October 1, 2009 and is a part of the CSM course certification. It is not currently available without a course by one of our CST’s. The exam link is located within the members completed profile.

Recertification Process: To recertify, CSMs who have not previously passed the CSM exam will be required to do so. CSMs who have previously passed the CSM exam will not be required to retake it, but will be required to provide some evidence of continuing education. ( this process to be determined). The recertification fee is $150.