New MCPD certification: Windows Phone Developer!

Introducing MCPD: Windows Phone Developer

Industry forecasts indicate that Windows Phone will become the second most popular mobile operating system by 2015. Do not get left behind! The new Microsoft Certified Professional Developer certification on Windows Phone helps validate a candidate’s knowledge and skills on designing and developing applications for the Windows Phone platform. Candidates can earn the Windows Phone Developer MCPD by passing these three required exams:

• 70-506: TS: Silverlight 4, Development
• 70-516: TS: Accessing Data with Microsoft .NET Framework
• 70-599: PRO: Designing and Developing Windows Phone Applications

Some Other Stuff You Should Know About This Certification

• Transcript visibility delayed. While customers can begin earning the MCPD: Windows Phone Developer certification at any time by passing the three required exams listed above, the certification will not be visible on a candidate’s transcript until late September 2011.
• Recertification required. Windows Phone technology is updated frequently. As a result, the skills required to be a successful Windows Phone developer will evolve rapidly. To ensure that developers who hold the MCPD: Windows Phone Developer certification keep pace with the evolution of Windows Phone skills, they will be required to recertify every two years in  order to demonstrate continued competence as the skills needed to develop applications on Windows Phone change. Through recertification, we can maintain the value of the certification as the technology changes over time. More information about this recertification requirement will be provided at a later date.
• Your beta exam scores. Though 70-599 is now available in Prometric testing centers, it does take awhile for them to process the beta rescores–up to two weeks after the live exam is published. If you don’t hear anything from Prometric in another week, give their customer service a ring, and have your registration ID handy.

Get Training on Windows Phone 7

Some great resources are available to help developers get started on the Windows Phone platform:

• Programming Windows Phone 7 ebook
• Windows Phone Training Course
• Windows Phone Jump Start videos
• Windows Phone Virtual Labs
• XNA Framework 4.0 for Windows Phones (MSDN)
• The Silverlight and XNA Frameworks for Windows Phone (MSDN)

See the table below for information about training materials and learning plans that map to these exams.

Exam	Classroom training	Microsoft Press books	Learning Plan
Exam 70-516 TS: Accessing Data with Microsoft .NET Framework 4	10265A: Developing Data Access Solutions with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010	MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-516): Accessing Data with Microsoft .NET Framework 4	Learning Plan for Exam 70-516
Exam 70-506 TS: Silverlight 4, Development	10553A: Fundamentals of XAML and Expression Blend1 10554A: Developing Rich Internet Applications using Microsoft Silverlight 42	Not available	Learning Plan for Exam 70-506
Exam 70-599 PRO: Designing and Developing Windows Phone Applications3	Not available	Not available	Learning Plan for Exam 70-599

1. Releases July 2011
2. Releases August 2011
3. Note that candidates who earn the MCPD: Windows Phone Developer certification will be required to show continued competence in this technology area by recertifying every two years.

Source: Microsoft Born to Learn Blog-post by Krista Wall

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Now available! 70-506: TS: Silverlight 4, Development

Exam 70-506: TS: Silverlight 4, Development is now available in Prometric testing centers. This exam is intended for software developers who are creating rich Internet-based applications using Silverlight.  The exam focuses mainly on Silverlight 4, but also covers core Silverlight concepts.

Candidates for this exam are developers who create and maintain rich interactive applications (RIA) using Silverlight 4.  Candidates may have additional experience with previous Silverlight versions.

The minimally qualified candidate typically:

• Has at least six months of experience with Silverlight development

• Has at least one year of experience with Microsoft .NET development

• Has experience consuming data services

To schedule your exam, visit Prometric’s Web site.

Silverlight beta exam coming soon — Submit your SME profile now!

Microsoft will be opening registration for the following beta exam soon:

70-506   TS: Silverlight 4, Development

As with every beta exam, seats are limited. Microsoft will be using their MSL SME database to recruit for the first round of beta participants. For your best chance of participating, create a SME profile by filling out the survey on the MSL SME site on Microsoft Connect. If you have already created your SME profile, make sure that you update it to reflect your interest in taking a beta exam and your experience with Silverlight 4.

A few days before registration opens, Microsoft will send a notification to qualified SMEs through Connect. The notification will include the beta code. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail mslcd@microsoft.com.

Microsoft calling all Silverlight experts–Update your SME profile now!

Do you have work experience with developing applications for Silverlight? Want to help us create the first Silverlight exam? Here’s your chance! We are looking for Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for the following exam:

• 70-506    TS: Silverlight 4, Development

We’ll be using the MSL SME database to find participants for blueprinting as well as other phases of development for this exam. For your best chance of participating, create a SME profile by filling out the survey on the MSL SME site on Microsoft Connect. (See this post for complete instructions.)

Please note that if you already filled out your SME profile, you’ll need to go back and update it. I changed the answer options for “Which technologies do you have work experience with?” to include Silverlight. We’ll be looking for folks who select Silverlight on this question to help develop these exams. If you filled out your SME profile awhile ago, this option was not available for you to select.

Source: Born to Learn