Chapter 12. Tips for Analyzing a Case Study

Terms you'll need to understand:

• "PASS MADE"

• MSDN Library

• Reading comprehension

• Google.com

Techniques you'll need to master:

• Effectively reading a case study

• Taking effective notes based on an exam case study

• Answering non-multiple choice exam questions

• Locating Internet and hard-copy resources for exam preparation

Part of the challenge in any "real-life" case study is breaking down the important points accurately, filtering out unimportant details, and organizing what is important in an efficient and usable fashion. The purpose of this chapter is to send you off to the exam with a few tips on drawing out the key words and design objectives from a case study. This should assist you in architecting quality software solutions.

This chapter has been organized around Microsoft's Solution Architectures exam (70-300). The principles, however, apply equally well to real solution design.

After discussing how to effectively break down a case study, the chapter offers a few general guidelines about the exam itself.