eTOM and SID Knowledge Certification Tests

I had the opportunity to return to one of my favorite cities this week – Melbourne, Australia.  And, to enjoy one of my favorite seafood treats – oysters, this time from Tasmania!  Traveling is hard on my old body, but, as you know, I like to eat.  Traveling around the world provides me with the opportunity to sample a glorious variety of, in this case, oysters.

From oysters come pearls.  So, I would like to share a few pearls of knowledge (I won’t be bold enough to call them pearls of wisdom!) regarding the Business Process Framework (eTOM) and Information Framework (SID) knowledge certification tests.

Although the tests are given after the eTOM and/or SID Distilled (introductory) training, there is no guarantee that you will pass the exam by taking these courses alone.  Students sometimes choose to defer taking the exam(s) so they can have time to do additional study.  However, many students travel to the site of open enrollment training and make the decision to take the test immediately after the training.  You do get a second chance if your initial test results don’t qualify for you for certification.  Some students, who are registered to take the tests, do opt out of taking the tests once they have some insight into the depth of the eTOM and SID to do some additional study.

What to study is a question often asked.  The Knowledge Certification web pages state that those taking the test should be familiar with the applicable framework’s document suite.  However, the suites are quite extensive.  There are “Getting Started” sets of documents available on the frameworks’ web pages that should be studied.  Those taking the test(s) should also possess a good knowledge of the basic structure of the frameworks, such as eTOM Level 2 processes and SID Level 1 Aggregate Business Entities (ABE).  An understanding of the definitions of the content of the framework(s) structure is also helpful.  For example, what is Order Handling (eTOM :Level 2 process) and what is a Customer Order (SID Level 1 ABE).

If you are attending training that is scheduled at the same time as the exams it is very important to stay focused during training.  Spending time during training texting and/or reading / responding to emails will most likely result in you missing or not understanding key points made by the instructor.  This could result in you not being able to answer certain questions on the test.

Don’t become stressed out about the test.  Remember that upon registering, you can take the exam twice.  Being overly stressed can have a negative impact on your success.  One student recently started becoming ill during a test.  That’s a little too much stress.

And lastly, the questions on the tests are all multiple choice.  A good rule of thumb is that your first answer is usually the correct one!

I’ll be back in China next week, so look for another blog from there…