With over 100 certifications to choose from, across two certification levels and three focus areas, navigating the SAP Certification landscape can be a daunting challenge in itself. Planning and executing your educational roadmap with SAP can also be as daunting, and likely overwhelming, if you are unable to dedicate the time, plan accordingly and prepare for the exams.
So, still interested to take that adventurous and brave leap into the “SAP World”, and earn your credentials in SAP? Yes? Then read on…
In summary, few credentials in the technology space carry the value of SAP certification. Those who hold it have managed to hone their skills through rigorous study or direct experience. They have demonstrated their abilities by passing demanding, process-oriented exams. SAP certification, without question, can give you the distinct competitive advantage you need to accelerate your career, sharpen your SAP skills and enrich your overall functional/technical background.
Below is a summary of SAPs three certification focus areas:
> Application Certification
This certification focus area is available for specific SAP solutions such as PLM, MDM, Netweaver, BW, Data Integrator, Accounting, Planning and Manufacturing etc. Ideally a good certification path for the more functionally-balanced candidates interested in sharpening their business-process skills within the SAP landscape.
> Technology Certification
This certification focus area is available for technologies such as PI, MDM, Security, Portal etc. Ideally a good certification path for the more technically-balanced candidates interested in sharpening their technical skills within the SAP landscape.
> Development Certification
This certification is available for individuals who are developing applications on SAP. It covers development languages/tools such as ABAP and Java, and caters to the development-type candidate who has an interest in refining their software development skills.
So how does one get started? Where and how do you get training? What is the certification exam like? Below is a breakdown of the training options available and a first-hand experience in the certification exam process…
Offline Training
Offline training involves classroom training primarily; these are 2 to 5-day instructor-led courses supplemented by PowerPoint presentations, lab-type exercises, hands-on SAP exercises and reading/referencing training manuals that are anywhere from 300 to 1,000 pages long (hehe, ya, i know).
These types of offline trainings are best suited for most courses in the application, technology and development focus areas. Every certification has a clearly defined training path, which often includes offline training prerequisites to get to the certification itself. There are some application certifications, for example, that offer training entirely online with a one-day certification exam held at a training facility.
Below are some useful tips and tricks to leverage when taking SAP classroom (offline) trainings:
> ASK For exercises and labs that have complex steps/scenarios, always ask the instructor for help and to conduct walk-throughs. They have done this enough times to know the work-arounds and tricks for a problem.
> BREAKS The in-between breaks during the morning and after lunch are crucial; you need some down-time and coffee to recharge your body and re-focus. Remember, there is a lot of information to absorb in very short amount of time; don’t underestimate it.
> CONTEXT Try to understand what your are learning fits in the context of your project and/or workplace. A good exercise is to take a specific example of a problem you are facing on your project, workplace or prior experience, and map it into what you are learning so you can figure out how to resolve it in the future.
> DIAGRAMS Review the diagrams for each section and try to understand what they mean; the instructor usually references them, and whatever explanation and walk-throughs they provide should be noted down to help understand what the diagram means.
> ENGAGE Most importantly, engage with your instructor and fellow-students. There is a reason for taking classroom trainings; it’s not just about learning in front of a teacher instead of a computer, it’s about interacting and really getting the most out of the experience.
> FOCUS During the presentation of the course, most instructors tend to walk through the chapters with the SAP-provided PowerPoint presentations supplemented with their feedback. It is important that you focus on the specific sections within a chapter that the instructor covers, as very often they know best what the certification covers.
> HIGHLIGHTS Take note of anything “flagged” as important in the training material (e.g. Hints, Tips, Notes etc.); they often provide that additional piece of information to help you get through the section and fill that “understanding gap” for a concept.
> INTERACT Ask questions to understand what is being presented. Often-times the last few hours of a class lead into absorbing so much information with nobody asking questions; this is a fatal risk that should be avoided by being more interactive and engaging with the instructor to review your understanding of the problem.
> NOTES Take hand-written notes in the training material, supplemented by a copy of the notes electronically in Notepad (if the training computer allows).
> READ Read ahead every step and VERY carefully in the exercises and labs; chances are if you missed a step in the exercises, the final result will fail completely. It is a common mistake to jump through exercises quickly and end up with a poor result.
> REPEAT If you think you understand it, you probably do not. Repeat the topic to the class to improve your understanding and take notes.
> REVIEW It sounds boring and exhausting, not to mention finding the time, but simply taking a day out of your weekend to review your training a week or a month after the course can be extremely helpful in retaining your memory.
> SCHOOL Use your best traits… Remember your school days? Ok, probably not, but if you do, try to leverage some of the very same studying techniques you did at school (e.g. repetition, studying the day before, staying later to review the day’s work etc.)
> Finally, and most importantly, have fun!
Online Training
The online training experience provided by SAP Education is surprisingly well structured and presented using animated presentations, point/click activities and hands-on training via SAP training instances through remote desktop-like sessions. This training delivery option provides only a handful of courses and certification options; best suited for obtaining your associate certification fairly easily and within your studying schedules to accommodate work hours etc.
The content of the online trainings are mostly based on the offline courses; typically the same material is used, and you can even download a PDF version of the large training handbooks for that specific course. The trainings walk through narrated slides and animations, backed by material from the training handbooks.
Below are some tips on how to best succeed with these types of courses:
> BREAKS Always take breaks; helps to refresh your body and mind so you can prepare for the next section. When you find yourself reading through material that stops making much sense (e.g. reading for the sake of reading), then is about a good time to take a break and re-motivate yourself.
> COMPLETENESS Studying through everything and conducting all the tests and exercises is essential. Complete the training from start to finnish; skipping sections/units (unless absolutely necessary) is a good practice to avoid missing key concepts.
> DEDICATION Dedication is one of the most important parts of online trainings. Keeping to a strict schedule and maintaining a steady momentum is usually hard to maintain, particularly when surrounded by work and personal distractions. Locking yourself in a room, or going to study elsewhere is often the best solution; you simply have to unplug from everything else and reserve a set amount of time to focus.
> NOTES Very much like offline training, taking notes is key. Being that the training is delivered via your computer, maintaining your notes in Notepad or Word can be much more effective than handwritten notes (e.g. searching text, formatting content etc.)
> REVIEW Revisit the review sections of each unit often. They provide key information for the unit that are excellent in referencing when you take the actual exam.
> LABS Always do the lab/interactive exercises, they are extremely helpful as a refresher and a way to secure concepts in your mind.
> TIME Taking the time to complete online trainings can often be hard. Usually weekends are your only option, and this can lead to a 2-3 month period for courses that are built across 5 to 10 full days of training material. So plan your time accordingly and execute.
In summary, online trainings are best suited for the more basic training and certification packages, and really best suited for those who have time on weekends to study. Dedication, repetition and avoidance of procrastination are some of the most important things to keep in mind while engaging with these formats of training delivery.
Taking the Certification Exam
The SAP certification exam is designed to be challenging; take my word for it! Most are offered as a 3-hour exam (breaks are optional), with 80 questions and typically a 55% pass-rate… Think about it, that’s about 2 minutes per question (excluding breaks), and each question is a complex multiple choice (e.g. a question can have one or more answers out of many, and most questions are scenario-driven). Given that amount of time, and necessity of thinking through questions methodically and carefully, you will need to be very prepared.
Worst case, you can take the exam up to three times per year, with an elapsed interval between each retake (rules might have changed already, so don’t quote me on that). In any case, below are some tips on how to prepare for the exam and use techniques during the exam to succeed.
> BREAKS Given the short amount of time, it is very hard to take a break. Inevitably, your body will need it, so try to plan for one break every hour; usually 2-3 minutes for a quick stretch and bathroom break works best.
> COUNT Keeping count of your answers is a handy method to gauge your possible pass-rate. If you feel 100% confident about at least 60% of the questions, then you are in a fairly good shape to get to the 60+% you need when doing the final review at the very end.
> FLAG Use the flagging functionality for questions you are not sure of. It is VERY helpful when revisiting questions at the end that your uncertain of.
> NOTES Use your note sheet to create diagrams of the scenarios presented in the questions. Also use it to keep count of confident/non-confident questions you answered.
> READ Read the questions very carefully; they are often scenario-based and you have to understand it very well before answering or considering the multiple choice answers.
> RELATIONSHIPS Believe it or not some questions have relationships to others, so it is good to keep a tab in your mind or note sheet of some of the more complex questions as others might be related and answers could be “deduced” if you are clever enough 😉
> SCENARIOS Since most questions are scenario oriented, requiring some effort of thinking, try to play them out in your mind as if you were doing them in real life. This can often help confirm your answers.
> TIMING Keep time; watch the clock on the screen, and time yourself with your own watch. Remember to keep it short, quick and efficient per question; 1 to 1.5 minutes per question is usually a good strategy, this way you gather enough buffer time for breaks and doing a final review at the very end.
> TITLES The titles of every question often provide a good context for what to expect, so make sure you read the title/topic before reading the question.
Last, but not least… Prepare, Prepare, Prepare. Before taking the test review your notes and training material. It is often very helpful to review the summary sections of each unit; you will find most of the complex concepts documented there that are often used in the exams.
Keep studying, and best of luck!