CRCP XI exam experience 5

[pbateman]

I have just taken the two CRCP exams for CR XI and felt the need to comment.

First some info / comments that maybe useful to others taking this route.

Pass marks:

Exam 1: 70% (45 questions)
Exam 2: 75% (40 questions)

Time: about 80 ish minutes each, I was finished in 30, including checking my answers.

The CRCP book by Annette Harper is still well worth a read for anyone taking these exams. The few things that are unique to XI and not in the book are in the help files. In fact I would recommend her book alone for the chapter on trouble shooting and the third party utilities, as this comes up in the exam (more than once).

The Exams:

Many of the questions were just plain strange. A few had a paragraph of text describing a scenario or functionality, then a question that was totally unrelated, two questions required to you answer based on how proficient a fictional ‘someone’ was at their job. A few also had numerous right answers, but you could only pick one so you are left guessing what they really meant.

A couple of questions were also down to a matter of opinion, and if I’m honest I would have answered one of them:

“Work in secret to make yourself as indispensable as possible.”

But am sure that is not the answer they wanted :-D.

In my opinion, the high number of questionable questions and the high pass marks make this exam more luck based than any professional qualification should be.

The overall pitch of the questions was more to do with familiarity with the interface than reporting knowledge.

Anyone planning to take this exam to prove their abilities will be disappointed and I would not suggest basing any recruitment decisions on this qualification.

Incidentally, I did pass both exams, so this not a bitterness thing.

And all said and done, I will be adding it to my CV, so any employer looking for a reporting consultant with a dodgy qualification and who likes to “Work in secret to make yourself as indispensable as possible.”: here I am…..

 

[RakuAnarchy]

I've had some difficulty passing some of Bobj's certification exams and have many of the same feelings about their questions and answers.

I've never had trouble passing a test before. Is there a different way to prepare for a certification exam (especially a Bobj certification exam) than how you'd prepare for a more 'normal', academic exam?

Assuming one has to prepare, what is the best way to prepare?

 

[pbateman]

Of course BO hold courses aimed specifically at the CRCP, but I haven’t done any of them so can’t comment. What I did do though, was download the course content list from their website and then lookup everything in the Crystal’s help file. That pretty much gets you 90% of what you need (it is just a case of learning it).

I recommend the Annette Harper CRCP book, it is based on version 10, but is still a good source of study for XI and covers the other 10% (like the third party ODBC utilities).

A key thing to studying for these exams is not just to learn how to do something, but learn every different way of doing something. And while my previous post is not too complimentary of CRCP, I have learnt a lot through studying for it, despite having five years solid experience of Crystal Report development.

 

[gav12345]

I'm disappointed to hear about the XI CRCP exams. It seems bizarre that a multinational like BO apparently does not have the time, resources or inclination to have their exams thorougly tested and reviewed before release.

I'd finally made the decision to get myself certified but am now left wondering whether its worth it. Although I'm sure I would, as pbateman has said, learn a great deal from the study process anyway, I would still be very disappointed not to have something to show for it at the end. If the wording of the exams makes them both difficult to pass and slightly meaningless anyway, the motivation to study for them seems that much harder to find.

 

[Trixie2004]

OK, so I just finished taking the two exams as well for XI. I passed them both; the first with an 88%, and the second with an 82%. Yes, they weren't easy, the second was very tough for me. As far as preparation, I would agree with what's been said; read Annette's book. A few other tips -

1 - Know all of the different ways of doing things. ex: The Database Expert can be accessed from... Perform Grouping on Server can be done by....

2 - A multiple choice strategy I saw on the BO Webinar I found to be helpful... Go through the test the first time, do not spend too much time on any one question, and answer the ones you are 100% sure of (this builds confidence). Mark the ones you are not 100% sure of and go back and use process of elimination. One thing they also say is multiple choice answers that are changed are frequently changed to the wrong thing. Read every word of the question! Look for keywords like not, etc. Then I went back through all of the questions one last time to double check my answers, and make sure I hadn't missed any blatantly obvious keywords. I also left comments on any of the questions I thought the language was questionable on, just in case I was borderline passing I could contact them and tell them to read my comments.

Anyways, I am glad this is over with. I sure wish I could know which of the questions I got wrong so I could potentially learn...

 

[pepperdec]

I just took CR XI Level One exam and passed.

One question in there is if the number of parameters a report can have has a limit, like 64 parameters. Does it have a limit? I havent read it from the Help File. I think I got it wrong. I answered True coz I think there must be a limit.


~pepperdec

 

[bg26275]

If I get 2 of the 3 correct answers on a multiple-choice question, do I get any "credit" for that question or is it considered a "wrong answer"?

 

[chelseatech]

The exam is very black or white. If you don't choose all the correct options, the answer is marked wrong.

I think some more quality control on the exam questions was needed but Bo are adamant that its a good exam this time around. I found problems with a few of the questions.

Put comments in on any questions you find doubtful.

Editor and Publisher of Crystal Clear

http://www.chelseatech.co.nz/pubs.htm

 

[pbateman]

In answer to the 64 parameters question:

I also got that question, can't remember what I answered, but when I got home I put 70 parameters in a report (I'm sad like that) and it didn't complain. Granted, I don't know if the question meant just putting them in the report or using them, which makes the question vague as well as irrelevent in my opinion.

The point has to be: who is ever going to use that many parameters to know?

And I still haven't received my certificate....

 

[gshadz37]

So, in your opinion, the Certification isn't worth going after?

 

[pbateman]

Difficult to answer that. Some places/people like qualifications a lot and so it could make all the difference but it doesn't prove you know anything much about report writing.

It depends on your own situation really, but don't get disheartened if you don't pass first time because there is a good chance you won't, even if you have solid Crystal knowledge.

 

[ns130]

Hi,

I am looking to take my CRCP exams soon and have been reading through Annette's book. I have only ever used version 9 but am not too worried as not too much seems to have changed in 10 and XI. What does worry me is that the exam seems very much about how thoroughly you know the product (menus/methods/names etc) rather than how well you can construct reports.

Can anyone confirm whether the questions on the CD that comes with Annette's book are actual exam questions, or whether they cover everything we need to know?

Are there any other ways to get hold of practice/past exam papers?

Thanks

 

[MJRBIM]

There's supposed to be a new release of some sample exams from

http://www.examhints.com

 

[pepperdec]

I finished taking the exams last Oct. 9 and I'm just waiting for my certificate now. pbateman, did you already get yours? How long have u been waiting?

The 2nd exam of the CRCP XI mostly covers multi-pass reporting, sub-reports (linked and un-linked and what happens to saved data when linked/unlinked), table joins, odbc & ole connections, and 3rd party tools (SQLcon, etc). i still encounter some vague questions.. but so few. I can say version 10 exam is harder than this one.


-pepperdec

 

[Trixie2004]

I had to wait several months to get my certificate, but it could have been slowness on the part of the partner I am affiliated with. I think, overall the certification is worth it. I do think some of the RD 4 topics are questionable, though. Has anyone used the Dependency Walker lately?

 

[pbateman]

To answer pepperdec, no: I am still certificate-less. I have been waiting 4 months. At least they are consistent with their ineptitude.

And to anyone thinking of taking the exams, don't. Just say you have, as no one has a certificate to prove it anyway...

 

[pepperdec]

I wonder, any link or contact you could follow-up your certificate?

-pepperdec

 

[pepperdec]

To everyone concerned:
I have my certificate now, in exactly 1 month. I passed all exams on Oct. 9 and received my certificate on Nov. 9. I dont know why it takes too long for others to receive.. Im not w/ a BO partner.

-pepperdec

 

[pbateman]

I emailled BO a few weeks ago, have still not received my certificate, or had any response back from them.

 

[pbateman]

Hooray. Turns out that my updated details on Vue had not been transfered to BO, so my original certificate had gone to an old address.

I am now the proud owner of a CRCP certificate. :-/

But as a warning to anyone else, if you change your details on the Vue website, it may be worth contacting BO directly as well.