Certification bootcamp for C_SUPDEV_01
Last week I’ve participated in a certification bootcamp for SAP Mobile Platform.
Well, they invited us to SAP Mobile Platform, but in fact it was the somewhat outdated SUP521 classroom training. The bonus offering was 2 extra days especially for the preparation to the certification exam.
Unfortunately I’m afraid these additional days didn’t help too much for our class. The majority of the participants came without any knowledge about the SUP, so learning the whole stuff during a single week was kind of hybris. Several labs are included in the SUP521 training, but for example the DCN lab was missing.
I’m glad I’ve passed the exam, but several other participants didn’t succeed – the preparation was performed with old questions found in
http://dneses.education.sybase.com/assessment/default.aspx?type=pre
And the questions in the exam differed from the old questions – most participants were puzzled as nobpdy expected this! We wished that the preparation would be more appropriate for the certifcation.
For information about the certification, see http://scn.sap.com/community/mobile/blog/2013/02/01/readiness-guidelines-for-sap-mobile-platform-associate-certification-exams
Wow, what a lengthy certification name:
SAP Certified Development Associate – Sybase Unwired Platform (SUP) 2.1 Mobile Application Developer
BUT – how valuable is this certification while version 2.2 has already GA status and version 2.3 is in Ramp-Up?
A certification at least proves that you once learned the content. Basic understanding of the architecture, capability and how to use it are still valid for the next releases.
The actual value of a certification depends on your requirements. If you work with SUP 2.x, it's of value. Many topics covered by the training and exam are still valid for 2.2 and 2.3. They will even stay valid for SMP 3.x, as MBOs won't go away, and oData & HWC knowledge needs to be adjusted all the time as the technology evolves.
When you work with Syclo or SMP 3, of course the actual knowledge gained and tested with the SUP 2.1 cert isn't 100% helpful. But of course it is still something you can build on, more than nothing.
The BIG question here is of course why it takes SAP Education time to adjust the exam for newer releases. Either replace the 2.1 part in the exam title by 2.x or offer an exam for 2.2, 2.3, etc.
Hi Tobias, thanks for your reply. I agree completely with your general remarks about the documented learning progress. Measuring knowledge or expertise is nearly impossible though: a certification just documents that somebody was able to answer the correct questions with a combination of knowledge and luck.
As for the version number: the innovation speed in the SAP Mobile platform seems to be so high that even internal SAP departments are unable to follow. And this applies to a lot of customers too, in my opinion - SAP is ahead of the majority of the customers.