Architect Certification Program Launched

Microsoft has launched a new peer-review board certification program called the Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA).

The certification process to consists of five steps:

• You apply for the program by completing the program application and paying the application fee.
• Your application is assessed relative to the established criteria, such as years and type of experience, architectural knowledge, and complexity of technical solutions to determine whether the candidate will advance in the application process. If you do advance, the next step is a telephone screening with an MCA who will determine whether the candidate is accepted into the program.
• Upon acceptance into the program, you work with mentors to prepare for your review board interview. Additionally, you continue to work on your documentation. The documentation consists of a dossier that includes a work history, an architectural solution case study, and a document specifying instances in which you have displayed the program competencies.
• As soon as a mentor determines that the candidate is ready, you submit your final documentation and schedules the review board interview.
• At the conclusion of the interview and a positive vote from the review board, you are awarded the MCA credential.

The certifcation recognizes two types of architects--Infrastructure Architects and Solutions Architects. Certification candidates are evaluated on several criteria, including:

• Leadership (you must demonstrate that you can develop partnerships with stakeholders both inside and outside the organization on your projects, that you can mentor others, that you develop and form strong teams, and that you achieve successful results)
• Communication (you must demonstrate that you can maintain well-written and accurate project documentation, and that you can present information about a technical subject in a concise and measured manner)
• Organizational dynamics (you must demonstrate that you can recognize the key stakeholders on a project and that you can work with those stakeholders to drive the project to a successful conclusion)
• Strategy (you apply your knowledge of technology to further organizational goals within your vertical industry and understand the principles of project management and interact with project managers to complete projects successfully).
• Process and tactics (you demonstrate that you can gather and refine project requirements from both a technical and a business perspective. You design, create, maintain, and verify models of the deployed infrastructure)
• Technology breadth (you understand architectural best practices and can apply them across a breadth of technologies to solve an organizational problem)
• Technology depth (you demonstrate that you have a detailed knowledge of the concepts, application, and issues of at least two depth competencies. You must also demonstrate the ability to quickly assimilate information about new technologies)

To apply for Architect certification, go to http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/architect/archapp/default.mspx.

Posted by Jon Erickson at 10:07 AM  Permalink