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Resources for the 74-137 exam "Developing Microsoft Office Solutions using XML with Office Professional Edition 2003"

I love certifications exams. In fact, in the last five years, I've passed more than a dozen of them. How was I able to do this? To achieve success with certification, preparation is the key.  So, before buying any books or software, I go hunting for the best resources on the web that relates to my exam. The site that has helped me the most with MS certification is codeclinic.com. You can find on this site a list of resources to study for some MS exams. The key element of this site is the listing of the exam's objectives with matching links to the MSDN library. I believe that by using only MSDN, you have enough material to get the passing grade for an exam. There is one slight problem with this approach: What do you do when you need to study for a beta exam?

I received an invitation last summer to participate in a beta exam from Microsoft numbered 74-137, Developing Microsoft Office Solutions using XML with Office Professional Edition 2003. The official preparation guide can be found here. This exam is not your typical Microsoft exam: it's an exam that only counts if you are an official Microsoft partner. By passing it, you will not receive any special status, like MCP or MCSD. However, if you (or your employer) is a Microsoft partner, you will receive credits indicating that you have achieved competency in a relevant field. Of course, you can still pass the exam only to show that you are an expert in Office 2003 with XML - most IT managers consider a certification a good indication of your level of knowledge with a technology.

UPDATE: After looking at my profile on the MCP Member site and the preparation guide, I saw that by passing this exam you can obtain the title of Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist (MCTS) - Office 2003 XML. The new logo has been added to my list of certification on this site.

So, after printing the lists of objectives, I searched through MSDN to find the most relevant articles relating to the exam's objectives. You will find these links in the colum "References & Links". You will also notice that in this column, there are references to three books that I owned:

Lenz: Office 2003 XML by Evan Lenz, Mary McRae & Simon St-Laurent, O'Reilly

Bunch: Introducing Microsoft Office Infopath with CDROM by Acey Bunch, Microsoft Press

Whitechapel: .Net Development for Microsoft Office by Andrew Whitechapel, Microsoft Press

If I had to buy only one book, I would be the Office 2003 XML. It gives a really complete coverage of the topic, the examples are clear, the book is well written and it is a great complement to the MSDN library. The two other books are good but, especially for the Infopath book, they are quite similar to the online help.

Finally, some strategies for studying for this exam:

  • When you read "data" in the objectives, you should be read instead "XML".  The exam tests more your knowledge about importing/exporting XML in Office 2003 than about using ADO.net
  • Since it's one of most important topic at Microsoft these days, be sure to focus on the security related objectives.
  • You will need to read and study in detail the online help for the Research Service.
  • Practice using the GUI XML tools in Word and Excel.
  • For the Infopath questions, if you haven't done it yet, use a tutorial to get a complete look at the product. A good tutorial is Beginning InfoPath 2003  by F. Scott Barker. The book will not help you study for the exam, but it is a very good introduction to this great collaboration application.  You can also find a complete online course on MSDN.  

So, here are the skills with the relevant references & links. If you have any suggestions or comments, don't hesitate to contact me by using the Contact form. Enter your name in the "Nom" field, your email in "Courriel", the subject in "Sujet". Click "Soumettre" to submit your question.

Good luck for your exam.

Skills measured by exam 74-137 References & Links
Design a customized Office products client solution
Identify the business requirements  
Choose the appropriate Office program(s). Considerations include Microsoft Office Excel, InfoPath, and Microsoft Office Word.   Lenz, p. 4-8
Choose the appropriate technology. Considerations include XML, smart documents, and Research Pane.   Whitechapel, p. 326 and 403-404
Create a Microsoft Office Word 2003 solution
Create and map a schema for a Microsoft Word 2003 document
  • Create a schema
  • Map the schema to documents
 
  • Create a schema, Lenz, p. 522-539
  • Map the schema, Lenz p. 180-181
Identify a strategy for extracting external data for import into a Microsoft Word 2003 document
Insert an external data flow into a Microsoft Word 2003 document
  • Create a document that displays data from other data sources
  • Add formatting by using WordprocessingML transforms
  • Insert external data into the document by using the object model
Create WordprocessingML transforms   Lenz, p. 110-114, 128-128
Create a user interface that supports the XML structure   Lenz, p. 129-204
Create an Excel 2003 solution
Create XML maps to external data sources   Lenz, p. 293-306
Import and export XML data programmatically   Lenz, p. 316-323
Create a user interface that supports the XML structure   Lenz, p. 290-316
Customize list features
Create an InfoPath 2003 Service Pack 1 solution
Create a basic form
  • Create a data source for the basic form
  • Add controls to the basic form
  • Use data validation in the form
  • Create multiple views for a form

Bunch, chapter 4 (basic form), 6 (controls),  8 (data validation),  10 (multiple views)

Create a form with advanced features
  • Add custom business logic and rules
  • Create custom submit capabilities
  • Create secondary data sources
  • Create a merge form
  • Use custom code for advanced form features. Features include: the editing environment; data validation; event handling; controls; error handling; security; data submission; business logic; and form integration
  • Use managed code or script
  • Add digital signature capabilities to a form
  • Create a custom task pane
Bunch, chapter 9 (p. 266, events), ch. 11 (digital signatures), ch. 15 (events),  ch. 8 (data validation),  ch. 10 (multiple views), ch. 11 & 17 (task pane)
Deploy and update InfoPath solutions  
Bunch, chapter 12 (p. 341, publishing) 
Create a Word or Excel smart document solution by using the ISmartDocument interface
Create a smart document DLL by using COM and/or managed code and the ISmartDocument API Whitechapel, chapter 11 (p. 406-420), Lenz, chapter 5 (p. 236-264)
Implement smart document security Lenz, chapter 5 (p. 270-273)
Deploy smart document solutions by using the XML expansion pack Lenz, chapter 5 (p. 270-273)
Build a Research service
Building a Research Web Service 
Respond to registration requests
Respond to queries
Add actions to query results
Authenticate Research service users
Install Research services
Implement a discovery service
Build a Research service by using the Research service development extras

Imprimer | écrit le 8 décembre 2006 23:20

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