Becoming a Certified Enterprise Architect: Going to the Finish Line

OCMJEA Part 2 was the most fun part of the process. This part will give you a software problem and you are required to create the best solution possible for it, with considerations of course for all those concepts that you learned from Part 1. And you are given 6 months to complete it.

I was pretty sure that we'd ace part 2 easily because it's just our everyday thing: The making, breaking, editing and/or bashing of a Solution Design. After passing part 1, you'd get an email that you're eligible to proceed to part 2. Once you submit your application and payment for part 2, the clock starts ticking.

But we were wrong! :D

You know this part is really easy for professionals like us. The only problem was, just like your everyday work, how much commitment can you willingly put to finish up the design on time?

We did a lot of procrastination and one day upon checking, we discovered that our time's up. Long story short, we failed! :cry: I guess it became my most expensive failure up to date. We registered again for the Part 2 and we were given a new problem each. This time, we committed and submitted on time.

What did we submit and maybe some tips on it (this is common knowledge btw for those taking the certification).

• Class Diagram - didn't use/mention frameworks; although not necessary, I included JSP files (as mentioned by a lot of previous takers)
• Component Diagram
• Deployment Diagram
• Sequence Diagram - create individual sequence diagrams for all Use Cases

Just little things that applied to me well:

1. I used Visual Paradigm (5$/month subscription) for all my diagrams.
2. I made mine framework agnostic. This is the sort of discussion that study buddy and I encounters everyday - a particular architectural concept or design pattern is being done by Spring already, why should we reinvent it? We just went back in time and pretended that we're in an era when Spring, or even Struts, did not exist. It's the toughest one I think, going back to that dark "era".
3. Create the HTML skeleton with the links first-hand and just replace the images folder as you go along. This way you don't have to cram the HTML page(s) as you near the deadline, which avoids broken links and incorrect pages.
4. Do not forget your assumptions. This is not a one-time thing and you will get assumptions as you proceed with your design. Take note of every assumption that you encounter as you progress and add it to your Assumption page.
5. Use a simple, plain HTML page(s), with simple tables if you need to express your thoughts in a list. Do not spend too much effort on beautifying the pages. It's all about the content.
6. Do not draft in a MS Word document, just like how you would document a Solution Design. I would suggest using notes instead of a word processor... you end up copying the formatting stuff from Word and messes up your simple HTML page/s. It's a copy-paste process anyway for all your explanations.

The assignment is an individual effort. But, the study buddy helps a lot on the review. Papi and I would draw our diagrams on our white board and get feedback from each other. Our living room became a daily venue for a sort of EA-review.

When you submit the jar file, no results will be provided right away. You have to take the Part 3 - Essay in order to get your score.

OCMJEA Part 3 - Essay is another funny part. We thought that after the submission of the Assignment, we will be given another 6 months to sit on the Essay exam. But again, after checking, we discovered that BOTH OCMJEA Part 2 and 3 should be finished in 6 months! We almost threw away money there again! We took the Essay exam around a week before the deadline!

I forgot all the questions thrown to me. It's not allowed anyway to share them online. But it's like college thesis defense and/or EA review. Some tips..

• Be sure you understand your solution very well and review how did all the architectural concepts apply to the solution. These are kind-of common architectural questions:
  • How do you make sure that all data in your solution are secured?
  • Is your solution scalable, why?
• Also, prepare to answer questions related to what design patterns were demonstrated in your design, why did you use this particular design pattern over the other?