How I cleared my CDMP certification with a good score
Data Management certification by DAMA International
I recently cleared CDMP with 75% which makes me a certified CDMP Associate and eligible for CDMP Practitioner. I have written on the exam format with all details in a separate blog. You can access it here.
This blog focusses on my preparation strategy to crack the exam. I have broken it into below points for ease of reading:
1.Read and Re-read — The syllabus is vast. It contains first 14 chapters of the DMBoK v2 which cover 11 Data Management Knowledge Areas. For working professionals, this is too much to go through. On an average, I read each chapter twice to familiarize myself with main components of each chapter. Few chapters pertaining to those knowledge areas on which I have worked the least like in my case they were Data Security, Data Governance I read even thrice. And chapters which form the core of my job like Data Warehouse, Data Modelling, Big Data etc. I read only once.
2. Time of preparation: I did not dedicate continuous time for preparation. I was on and off on it depending on my professional and personal commitments. However, during the last 2 weeks of my exam date I read some part of the syllabus every day. In my opinion, one requires at least two months of continuous preparation.
3. Choose the PDF version of DMBoK: As the exam is open book, it is advisable to buy the PDF version for easy search. If you are somebody who requires a hard copy book only then I would suggest to buy both but this option will be too costly. Searching in the PDF version comes very handy. I completed my exam in 95 minutes and spent remaining 15 minutes in searching which would have been impossible in a hard copy.
4. Practice exams are a boon: Since there is so much to read, you will need a guideline on the exam format. So, it is advisable to purchase exam beforehand so that you have access to the practice exams. Try to retake exams several times and try to score closer to 40 each time, at least when you are nearing your exam. You will be able to filter the important sections of each chapter once you are familiar of the format. I got 3 questions from practice tests as it is. For example: in chapter 9 — Document and Content Management there are a lot of terminologies around Taxonomy and Vocabulary, which are hard to remember. But once I went through the practice exams I understood what kind of questions can come from this chapter.
5. Don’t try to memorize: Don’t try to memorize the chapters instead try to correlate each theoretical concept with your on-job experience. For example: within your company, try to understand from relevant people how say your MDM system is architectured or how the Enterprise level Metadata is architectured. You will easily be able to draw parallels with the book.
6. Make notes for easy reference during last two days of revision: As per the exam guidelines you can have any one of the following — PDF copy of the DMBoK, hard copy of the DMBoK or your notes. Since I opted for the PDF copy I could refer to my notes during the exams, but I found them immensely useful during last 2 days of revision. You can also download and if required take prints of the DMBoK images here.
7. Choose the ESL version: I chose the ESL version of the exam which gave me additional 20 minutes. There are 100 questions to be answered in 90 minutes. So, if your eligible for the ESL version do choose it while booking your exam.
8. Selective focus- As mentioned above also, divide your preparation time such that you focus more on areas which you have least on job experience. Remember, your on-job experience will come very handy to get a good score because you will able to corelate the concept with your daily work else it is too hard to recall those concepts during the exam and do not depend on looking too much in the book or you will run out of time.
9. Join a DAMA chapter– Join a DAMA chapter as per your location. DAMA India (give linkedin link) is a newly formed group, but I got an idea of the exam format from members who have cleared the exam.
10. Additional Preparation Resources: There are a couple of trainers providing training for CDMP preparation. DAMA too offers a link to Registered Education Providers.However, I found them too expensive so I prepared by myself from DMBoK only.
Hope this was useful. Let me know if you have any further questions. This blog was only for the Data Management Fundamental (DMF) exam. I feel that for the Specialist exams going through the DMBoK only won’t suffice. Some additional reading will be required. However, that is a discussion for another time and blog, since I have yet not decided on the Specialist exams.
All the best!!
Disclaimer: Views expressed here are my own and are not related in anyway to the company I work with.
This blog was originally published at: https://ruchideshpande.in/
