Are you Active Directory-proficient? In the greater Seattle area?

We are always working on ways to improve our exams, as you know. We are doing a pilot of a very cool new development in testing called emulations, another type of performance-based testing along with simulations (a little more about PBT here). Instead of performing tasks in a simulated version of the technology, where the scenarios are built out only to certain extent--with emulations you are performing exam tasks in a live, full version of the software when you take the exam. Read on to participate in emulations exam pilot if:

  • you can get to campus in Redmond Washington between Oct 31 and November 16
  • you have experience with Active Directory
  • you have interest in keeping the value of certification, and quality of certification exams, really high

If you answered NO to any of the above - stay tuned. I'll poast more about emulations and we'll have a live meeting on the subject in the next few months so you can hear from the team working on this project. btw if you answered NO to the third bullet, we're not talking anymore.

Pilot runs October 31 – November 16, 2007

Free pilot exam, be the first to experience it, and provide your valuable feedback!

Microsoft is looking for volunteers who know Active Directory to participate in a pilot of our new, innovative MCP emulation lab exam technology. During this pilot, you will take an exam in which you will perform a variety of tasks using Active Directory, answer multiple choice questions, and provide feedback about your experience with this new technology. The purposes of this pilot are to: 1) understand how emulation lab-based items function in relation to multiple choice items, 2) determine how much time is needed to complete each lab, and 3) evaluate our scoring strategy.

As an incentive, all participants will receive a thank you gift after completing the exam as well as breakfast or lunch. To encourage you to do your best on the exam, the top 5 highest scorers will receive a 100 GB USB 2.0 external hard drive. Additionally, participants who demonstrate their expertise on Active Directory may be invited to future (paid) MCP exam development events.

We will be conducting this pilot project from October 31 through November 16 on Microsoft’s main Redmond campus. To ensure that all participants have sufficient time to complete both sections of the exam and provide feedback, each slot is scheduled for 4 hours. However, we anticipate that most participants will finish in less time. Two time slots are available per weekday (Monday – Friday from 8:30am-12:30pm and 1:00pm-5:00pm). To register for the exam:

DO NOT REGISTER IF YOU ARE NOT IN THE REDMOND AREA--YOU MUST BE ON SITE TO PARTICIPATE.

  1. Go to: https://www.pickatime.com/client?ven=11601148
  2. Create a ‘pickatime.com’ account if you do not have one. This information is used solely to send you a confirmation and reminder email. Microsoft will not use it to contact you in any way.
  3. Select the location where you want to take the exam.
    1. Microsoft employees should register for sessions at Building 25 unless all slots for your desired date and time are filled.
    2. Non-Microsoft employees must register for sessions in Building 40.
  4. Select a day and time for your appointment.
  5. Click “Confirm.” A  confirmation message containing specific details about the location of the exam and other relevant information will be sent to the email address provided when you created your account.