Introduction

“How to become SAP Certified Design Thinking Associate” is precisely what I searched for a few months back on google. Being an Enterprise Architect, I have been involved in the SAP solutions and architecture space for a long time and was planning for this certification from January 2022. Last week (19th May 2022), I completed this certification. Unfortunately, there was not much helpful content available at that time.

Sudhakar Jha, SAP Certified Associate – Design Thinking

SAP Certified Design Thinking Associate Badge

In this blog post, I will share my experience and details about “SAP Certified Associate – Design Thinking.” Please feel free to post your query in the comment section if you want to know more.

• Why do I plan for this certification exam?
• Brief bout the Certification
  • Introduction
  • What skill is evaluated in this exam?
  • What are the different sections to focus on?
  • How do I prepare for the exam?
    • Before the exam
    • On exam day
  • Recommended SAP Course
• Conclusion
• References

Why do I plan for this certification exam?

Design thinking redefines the user experience(UX) by keeping the User (human) at the center of the system/application design and keeping the UI as simple as possible. For those new to this Design Thinking, it is a problem-solving method or, by some definitions, a process for resolving problems. SAP Fiori, which is gaining massive popularity for enhanced user experience, is based on DT principles.

I was always curious and wanted to go deeper into this and understand SAP Design Thinking methodology and processes in detail. This was one of the triggers for planning for this certification. Another motivation for this certification was that when someone achieves the “SAP-certified” designation, SAP recognizes their competency, expertise, and skill. SAP Certification is highly specialized, showing customers that consultants have the particular expertise to meet their needs.

 A study of SAP-certified consultants revealed that they typically complete implementations 15% faster than their non-certified peers, which correlates with a 10% to 20% increase in productivity.

SAP-certified consultants can assume the role of “trusted advisor” with their clients, building more robust, long-lasting relationships and customer lifetime value (LTV).

Brief about the Certification

Introduction

The “SAP Certified Associate – Design Thinking” certification exam verifies that the candidate possesses the required knowledge in the SAP Design Thinking methodology, processes, and workshop organization/facilitation for the consultant profile. This certificate builds on the knowledge gained through the related Design Thinking training. The candidate should demonstrate the successful use of Design Thinking principles in projects.

If you are planning for SAP certification for the first time, you can refer to the below post for registration steps.

Registration Steps for SAP Certification

What skill is evaluated in this exam?

Below are the essential skills which are being evaluated in the certification exam:

• Design Thinking Methodology And Principles
• Post Production & Facilitation
• Research and Observe
• Scoping and Understanding
• Synthesis and Define point of view

SAP recommends combining education courses and hands-on experience to prepare for your certification exam as questions will test your ability to apply the knowledge you have gained in training.

To clear the exam, one has to score a minimum of 66% from 80 questions. The total duration of the exam is 180 mins, but as per my experience, you will be able to complete the same within 60 mins (including review time).

What are the different sections to focus on?

SAP Education has created this certification exam to assess SAP design thinking skills; such assessments are defined based on the understanding of SAP design thinking. The SAP offers certification for associate, professional, and master levels; they have defined these certification levels considering the candidate’s actual experience and domain expertise.

How do I prepare for the exam?

Before the exam

if you have hands-on experience in design and architecture or you are a Technical Consultants (generally, all people who work with others to solve problems)

• Always plan for the certification exam in advance and set a weekly goal.

• Learn, revise and repeat. Practice Questions are essential. 

• Important sections to focus on:

  • overview and Introduction of the Design Thinking topic.
  • Working in groups on simulated challenges and going through the whole Design Thinking cycle.
  • Scoping: Brain dump of the knowledge of the team members to get a common understanding of the challenge
  • Research: Preparation and execution of interviews to gather relevant user data and generate an emphatic understanding of the user.
  • Synthesis: Communicate the collected data in the team (storytelling), compression of the data with the help of Persona Definitions and Point of View techniques.
  • Ideation: Generating solution ideas using various creativity-enhancing techniques (e.g., brainstorming, Remember the Future, etc.).
  • Prototyping: Building a “low-fidelity” prototype that addresses the challenge
  • Validation: Presentation of the prototype; learning from the feedback

• Recommended SAP course:

  • openSAP Design Thinking courses
  • Design Thinking in a Nutshell

On exam day:

If you have opted for an online exam (CER006 or CER001), log in at least 15 minutes before your exam and run pre-checks on your system. Login into SAP Training, Navigate to “Access Purchased Subscription,” then “Access the Certification hub” on your scheduled exam, you will find “Start Exam.” Be sure to be a quiet place without any disturbance, and your desk/room be clean. Please take 2 valid ID cards for the identification.

Once you are done with the exam, you can click on “Submit,” and you will see the results.

Below is my sample result post the exam is over:

Exam Result

Also, at the same time, you will receive a mail with the link, which is valid for 6 weeks for this result. At the same time, you will receive a mail from Credly with your certification and badge details.

Credly certificate (My Account-> Dashboard -> Select Download):

My Final Certificate – SAP Certified Associate, Design Thinking

Conclusion

SAP certifications are worth spending time and money on. If you are planning for this certification, then start in advance. Having prior hands-on experience in the design role will definitely help you quickly understand the key concepts. But it is not mandatory for this exam.

Design Thinking is a creative problem-solving approach to solve individual customer challenges, like defining new strategies, organizations, processes, and of course, defining new customer individual IT solutions.

If you have any further questions feel free to post them in the comment section.

Wish you good luck!

About the Author

Sudhakar Jha has over a decade of experience and expertise in helping clients across multiple industries to adopt emerging technologies. He is a technology leader who combines his innovative mindset to enable enterprises to leverage cutting-edge solutions. Sudhakar is an experienced solution leader and certified in multiple SAP technologies, including SAP S/4HANA, CX, CPQ, etc.

References

C_Think1_02 Sap-Certified-Associate–Design-Thinking

Credly Badge

open sap Course – Ko1-tl

Open Sap Courses – DT2

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Have Questions? Please post as comment. And share to your circle if someone is planning for this.