Enterprises need a developmental method to use in planning, developing, and managing their Information Technology architecture. TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework), which was introduced in 1995, has provided this kind of method to enterprises to use it in designing a custom IT infrastructure that goes with their demands and requirements. Besides the framework, TOGAF also offers exams and certifications to professionals whose responsibility is to use their skills in providing services based on the TOGAF structure. To attain a certificate, a candidate must sit for and pass a number of exams. The certification issued would depend on the level of the test taken.
Exams and certifications offered by TOGAF
TOGAF offers three exams and two certifications based on its current 9.2 version. A candidate can choose to do two exams separately or can combine both of them. These exams are the following:
Exam OG0-091: This is the TOGAF foundation-level exam (Part 1) that leads to the award of the TOGAF 9 Foundation certification. This closed-book test has no prerequisites. It is a multiple-choice exam with 40 questions and allocated time of 60 minutes. One point is awarded for every correct answer. To qualify for the certification, a candidate must get at least 55%, which equals 22 out of 40 points. The cost of the EnglishOG0-091 exam is $320. The Open Group recommends a number of resources to help the students prepare for their exam. They include courses from their Accredited Partners, study guides, and practice tests. A student who passes the OG0-091 exam will be awarded the TOGAF 9 Foundation credential.
Exam OG0-092: This is the TOGAF 9 Part 2 exam. The prerequisite is the Foundation-level certification. The open-book exam comprises 8 questions and lasts for one and a half hours. The questions are scenario-based and have a gradient scoring. The best answer attracts 5 points. The second and the third best answers receive 3 and 1 points, respectively. There are also distractor questions that are awarded zero points. The passing score for this certification test is 60%, an equivalent of 24/40 points. This exam also costs $320. A student can make use of various training courses, practice tests, and study guides. Passing this exam leads to the award of the TOGAF 9 Certified credential.
Exam OG0-093: This is a combination of both TOGAF Part 1 and Part 2 exams. A student is allowed to sit for Part 2 the same day after sitting for Part 1 in the test testing centre. The combined exam has two sections with 40 and 8 questions, respectively. Part 1 is a closed-book format while Part 2 is an open-book format. The details of the duration and the passing score are exactly the same as for the individual Part 1 and Part 2 exams. There is no break in-between Part 1 and Part 2 of the test. A certification can only be issued upon successfully passing both exams. If a candidate fails to pass any of the two tests, they will only have to retake the failed one after a month. This combined exam costs $495. To prepare for the OG0-093 exam, an aspiring candidate can make use of available revision resources, as well as enrolling for training courses offered by TOGAF Authorized Training Centers. Note that the open book-format exam, in this case, implies that a candidate is allowed to use a reference material as they do their test. TOGAF provides an electronic version that comes with the exam. No hard copies are allowed.
Part 1 and 2 exams are administered in English, Simplified Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Latin American Spanish. The combined exam comes in English and Simplified Chinese only. A student who uses English as a Second Language (ESL) can be allowed extra time for its completion. It is recommended that a candidate first goes through the training before sitting for their exam.
The exam registration and scheduling are done by Pearson VUE. However, before scheduling the exam, a student must have an account at the Open Group website. After writing the test, a candidate receives the printed score results almost immediately. These results can only be accessed through the open Group page using the Pearson VUE account. The TOGAF certification does not require renewal.
Some tips for passing the TOFAG exam(s)
It is a dream of every aspiring candidate to sit and pass the exam at the first attempt. And this is possible, for sure. Let’s take a look at tips that can help you prepare and pass your TOGAF exam:
Allocate enough time for a preparation
Organise your study time well. Prepare a study plan and come up with the right goals to help you in studying. Start your exam preparation in advance. When you do this, you will be able to identify the troublesome areas. Once you are done with a self-preparation, you can ask questions from your trainer, if you choose to enrol for a course, do research on hard topics and focus on them more.
Take a training course
There are a number of online courses that you can use for your exam revision. It is important that you receive some training to make it possible for you to understand the exam topics well enough. Going through the topics with the help of an experienced and authorized trainer would be very beneficial to you. Most of the training courses require you to pay a fee before accessing them.
Make use of the Open Group website
The official TOGAF exam website has guidance on the exam requirements, how to register and prepare for your exam. Take a look at their guidelines and policies to make sure that you are adhering to the expectations and the objectives of your test. The FAQ section can also be of great help, so go through it in order to understand more about your TOGAF exam. You can also join such online platforms like the Open Group forum and blog. From these online groups, you can learn some useful statistics and information concerning the TOGAF certification. Take advantage of this important resource. Becoming part of a relevant community can be helpful to you in a big way.
Revise with study guides and practice tests
PrepAway (https://www.prepaway.com/togaf-9-certified-certification-exams.html) Exam guides and practice tests are some of the best resources for your revision. Past exam questions with answers can help you gauge your readiness for the actual test. Learn your weak areas and work to improve on them. While using the past tests, it is important that you time yourself. This way, you will manage to work on your speed so that by the time the exam day comes, your speed would be at the optimum.
Do not spend a lot of time on hard questions
If you come across hard questions during the test, skip to other sections first. Work on the easier questions and then come back to the harder ones. This will ensure that you answer the easier questions correctly to maximize on your overall score. If you focus on hard questions too much, you might end up answering the rest in a hurry, possibly giving wrong answers. Anyway, try to answer all the questions, as the incorrect or uncompleted ones do not penalize you.
In your tests, just like in any other kind of activity, finding the right information and making good use of it would bring great results. The TOGAF exams, certifications, and services have brought great transformations to the enterprise IT infrastructural needs.
