My CCDE Journey ...

[Chris Diebold]

Looks like it is official - CCDE #2015::2 !

After seriously underestimating the test in February 2014, I was able to pass the second time around.  Back in 2013, I had been studying most of what I thought were my weaknesses, but not enough of the right things and not enough of the 'why'.  That along with not really paying attention to the questions and context - I was answering questions the based on industry best-practice and not within the scope of the scenario.  It wasn't very pretty by the end of it.  I'll have to admit that I was a bit deflated after the fail in 2014 and took the summer off from studying (that and a new job kept me very occupied).  I decided last fall to pick up the pieces and try to pass the practical again.

Some key pieces of information that I found to be very helpful:

- BRKCRT-8001 - CCDE: The Cisco Certified Design Expert (Session 1) (2014 Melbourne)

- BRKCRT-8002 - CCDE: The Cisco Certified Design Expert (Session 2) (2014 Melbourne)

Four hours of discussion about the exam and a set of practice questions.  What I found to be the most interesting was the discussion about what was important - particularly Bruce's comment that he felt that not requesting the correct information during the scenario should be an automatic failure.  This isn't the case as explained during the session, but this along with other comments gives insight into the structure of the exam.  There is also some good detail on the branching nature of the exam.

- http://www.himawan.nu/2013/07/how-to-prepare-for-ccde-practical-exam.html

Himawan has some good comments and suggestions, especially - "You need a good reason to do it".  Find your reason.  He also has a good list of Cisco Live presentations and other resources.  

- Other Cisco Live sessions

A few among many that I found to be pretty good:

  BRKRST-2337 - OSPF Deployment in Modern Networks

  BRKRST-2338 - ISIS Deployment in Modern Networks

  BRKRST-2336 - EIGRP Deployment in Modern Networks

  BRKRST-3321 - Scaling BGP

- Other people's write-ups of their experience with the exam posted to this group

Richard Alexander's write-up from May 2014 was very good and has some great advice in it.

Some things I changed in my approach to the exam this time:

 - time management - I finished the first section in about 3 hours and the second section in about 3 hours, so I didn't feel rushed to come up with an answer quickly.  When I failed, I finished even faster - I took this as a sign that I wasn't using my time effectively.

 - justify your answer - After looking back at my first attempt and with insight from BRKCRT-8001 and 2, I decided that I needed to justify each answer based on the information I had from the scenario - know the why and how behind the answer and be able to defend your answer.  99% of the information you need to answer a question is in the scenario documents.

- stay focused - I hit an energy low about the time I started into the second scenario.  I ended up taking an unscheduled break to try to regain focus and get my brain going again.  An unscheduled break will count against your time, but don't be afraid to use it.

- I took some hand-written notes, but a lot less than I did the first time.  I used the highlighter function almost exclusively this time around and used hand-written notes to remind me of some key pieces of information (or to keep me focused on the objective).  I found that having the information tiled around the screen while answering questions was very effective.

Thanks again to everyone in this group who has shared their knowledge.  It has been invaluable to me and others.  As Richard Alexander said in his exam write-up, "... the certification is not the destination by any means, merely slightly cooler car in which to continue the journey." I couldn't agree more.

Chris

CCDE 2015::2

[dip]

Congrats and welcome to the club ..

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[Richard Alexander]

Well done Chris. At a year on the sense of achievement still lingers! Hopefully our paths will cross and we can compare scars ;)

[Orhan Ergun]

Congrats Chris. Welcome to the club ! 

Would like to see your contribution to http://orhanergun.net which is my last effort for helping to CCDE candidates.

Cheers,
Orhan Ergun

9 Şubat 2015 Pazartesi 02:21:03 UTC+3 tarihinde Chris Diebold yazdı: