A couple of months ago I got certified for Adobe Analytics Business Practitioner - Professional Certification AD0-E212. In this post, I'll describe what it is, who it's for and how I prepared.
I know this will be a bit ironic since I'm using Bear as a blog platform known for its privacy respecting approach to web analytics. Hope you forgive me and this post helps if you seek guidance around this topic.
Background
Adobe Analytics (AA) is a powerful and flexible enterprise-grade web analytics tool. It is similar to Google Analytics, but the latter is said to be easier for beginners to learn.
AA certifications cost $125 or $225 depending on the certification level, i.e. Professional або Expert. The exam takes 2,5 hour, and you'll have to get a minimum score of 31 out of 50 total.
A couple of things to note here:
* I'm talking here about Adobe Analytics Business Practitioner Professional, not the Expert;
* I got circa 4-5 years of experience working with some Adobe Analytics functionality. At first I used Reports, and then transitioned to Workspace. I don't have any implementation, classification and maintenance expertise;
* I barely passed! My score was 33. Interesingly, Adobe expects that folks going for the certification should have at least 3-month experience. Well, all I can say is quantity sure doesn't equal quiality, or, in my case, it doesn't equal usage depth and task complexity I tackle in my day-to-day work.
How to Prepare
- I looked through all the materials published on the official certification portal. I'd highlight the Readiness Questionnaire, Sample Questions and all the prep stuff mentioned in the Get prepped section.
- I read majority of articles and watched most of the videos mentioned in this blog post. Obviously, you should focus on topics which you're least experienced in.
The most useful prep method for me was working on the sample questions, including going through all the questions, isolating those I had challenges with and then find additional documentation for them. Nevertheless, I found real work experience to be the crucial success factor to pass the exam.
How did the exam go
I took the exam in a so-called online proctored format. There were a lot of measure taken by the exam company to ensure there's no way a person will manage to cheat. In case you studied at DMI or at a similar institution, you'll find some similarities with the Adobe certification process: * the exam is run in a separate browser that requires to turn on your webcam and mic, and close all the other applications on your computer; * you'll have to verify your identity before the exam by showing your ID, and then turn your camera around you to show the proctor your surroundings including what you got under and above the table. After that he'll check your ears to make sure you're not wearing any AirPods or something; * during the exam itself you cannot look away from the monitor screen for a long time or cover your mouth with your hands; * immediately upon completion, you will be informed about the preliminary result, that is, whether you have scored the required result or not, and the final number will arrive in the email within 72 hours after. I got it the next day.
My Overall Impression
In general, the experience was quite positive, and the questions were interesting enough. I don't really understand how you can get the required number of points if you have been working with the tool for less than a year or so. I lacked experience with eCommerce functionality, which is hardly used in the company I work for. There were also some very technical questions that business users almost never come across, especially since Adobe has separate certification options for Adobe Analytics developers.