Customer Reviews

Analyzing Requirements and Defining Solution Architectures MCSD Training Kit (MCSD Training Guide)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Before buying this book I did read the customer reviews, many of which warned that this book was not worthwhile as preparation for Exam 70-100. I was skeptical of the reviews. After all, the book is so big and so official and described by Microsoft as a Training Kit for Exam 70-100. Now that I have taken (and passed) the exam, I realize that I should have listened to the other customer reviewers and not to Microsoft. Although reading this book will do you no harm, it is essentially worthless as preparation for Exam 70-100. The central focus of the book is the Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF). The exam did not have a single question about MSF. The practice exam on the CD which came with the book is a joke - only 25 questions and none of them in the case study format which dominates Exam 70-100. I would recommend the Transcender practice exams - they are very much like the real test. My last tip is brush up on database design. That's what Exam 70-100 is mostly about.

Just passed this exam with a good score. I have read/looked through almost all existing books for 70-100. Two books really help: this one and exam cram. This book covers a lot of theory and extra information but answers many questions like web authentication, security, etc. Exam cram just has similar questions with the real exam (especially those little pieces of text marked as "Tips" and "Alert"). And, of course, Transcender is a MUST! Several cases there are almost identical to the cases in a real exam. Just a little simpler than the real ones. Following note is just my opinion: around 70% of exam is about database (tables, relations, primary/foreign keys, attributes, normalization, etc.) Without good experience in it no one book will help to pass the exam.

This is an excellent book for many reasons. It is well thought out and provides rich content. The ongoing case scenario is a great tool to contextualize the material presented. The information is volumous and the CD allows for quick access to the entire book. The book defines a track and stays on track. This is good book to read through and then put on the shelf for reference. You will be picking it up often, even if you are an experienced solutions designer. The book has one negative feature. It offers little for taking the actual exam. You can download a demo of the exam from Microsoft's web site to get a feel for the questions. In reality, no book is going to teach you how to prepare for the exam. Honing your mind to analyze, see differences and similarities, and define relationships is essential. Experience and hard work, practicing these concepts, are required for the exam. My list of additional reference books has included "Instant UML" (gets you thinking in a good way), "Applying Use Cases" (helps to specify user and system requirements), and "Handbook of Relational Database Design" (Relational is the key word here). If you think you are ready but not quite sure, try the Transcender Solution Cert 3.0. This will bring everything together and will likely humble you at the same time. But it's a long test, I doubt you want to sit through it more than once.

This book should be required reading for anyone who is a member of a software development team in an enterprise environment. Based on the Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF), it provides in-depth, realistic examples and case studies. It does not, however, map very closely to the 70-100 exam. Most of the questions in the exam pertain to relational database design, yet the topic is covered very lightly in this book. You would be well-advised to study relational database design thoroughly before taking the exam.

Though this book is full of interesting information about application design, it will not help much in prepreation of the 70-100 exam. The transcender exam for this test will not only get you ready, but will also provide locations of the information required to answer all the questions you will face. Be warned, this exam is nothing like any other MCP exam you have ever taken before!

Lots of information is provided that can help you prepare for the exam (such as pros/cons of technologies to use, design methods to implement, security issues etc). However, I have used the book selectively as not all the information related is relevant to pass the test (especially concentrate on Ch7-11). Another book to supplement is "Test Success", as it will also give you a good view of what exam will cover. After I passed the test, in addition to two books mentioned above, you do need 1-2yrs of experience in software design (especially, data modeling) to pass, lots of concentration, and yes, do use up all the time you need. Don't rush through the exam. The book will definitely stay on our shelf to be referenced in the engagments to come to help the client design the system correctly. But, again, not all info in the book is needed to pass the test.

I wished I had listened to the other reviewers before buying this book.

In the books defense, it is very well written, has good examples, and cites plenty of sources if you want to read further.

The bad part, I read the first half of this book and the information had only the most remote connnection to the real exam. You should know, in fairness, that I gave up at this point and didn't read the rest of the book. It did look like the remainder of the book was more relevent to the exam, but I was too frustrated by that time.

I relied on Transcenders heavily to prepare me for this exam and did OK (I failed the first attempt by a small margin - 1%).

My advice: If you are getting your MCSD to go into distributed application development using MSF, it would be a good read. If you are not, find another tool.

This review was written 8/26/00. I can be reached at MGrosso@bwn.net if anyone has any further questions.

spent studying this book to pass exam 70-100. Good material in the book, but no resemblance to material covered in exam 70-100. Recommend transcender tests and 'MCSD Test Success' books instead.

I can definately say there is a lot of good information in this book. If you want an high level understanding of Microsoft Technologies, this is the book for you....BUT, if you want to pass the Microsoft exam (70-100), try Transcender.com. This is common theme that you will notice for the Microsoft Press Materials. Good Material... Bad Test Preparation.

After receiving and reviewing the transcender material, I immediately passed the exam. The exam test whether you know how to structure databases (fields and tables), if you understanding event sequences, etc....which is not covered in this Microsoft Press Book.

After reading this book and failing my first try at the exam, I was a little disappointed, so I called Microsoft. They suggested that I "use some of the Third Party Materials"...

Good Luck.

There is a BIG disconnect between what the book delivers and what its intended purpose is. This book will not help you in any way to pass the 70-100 MCSD exam. The book talks about MSF, which in it self is great but has almost no bearing to what is actually asked at the test. Having passed MCSE and MCDBA I was totally disappointed in this book as a training kit for MCSD