Get with the Objectives
Once you've decided you want to take this exam, the first thing to do is read the official objectives, available on the Microsoft Web site (click here). As you can see from this list, the main objective areas are:

• Create a project plan
• Track a project
• Communicating project information·
• General project management concepts
• Customizing a project·
• Multi-project team management

The exam is a thorough test of the objectives; if you study these extensively, you won't encounter any surprises.

For further preparation, I used the study guide "Microsoft Project 2000 Step By Step" by Carl S. Chatfield, and Timothy D. Johnson. It's an excellent resource -- well laid out and logical in its sequence, with plenty of cross-reference to the official objectives. It also comes with a CD featuring practice questions for every chapter plus multimedia clips which explain certain concepts more clearly.

Questions, Questions and More Questions
As an instructor who has trained both Project 98 and Project 2000 to the advanced level, I was well prepared for the exam. However, I was quite surprised at its degree of difficulty and the limited time to complete it. The total number of questions was 26 in all -- to be completed in 60 minutes. I managed to finish about a minute before the time was up. Although 26 questions may not sound like much, most consisted of two to three parts, so I would estimate that there were about 60 altogether. Combining more questions per screen reduces download time and improves the flow of the exam; the downside is that the second and third questions in a section sometimes depend on getting the first part right!

Most of the questions are task-based. Each question is presented in a small pop-up box on the screen, with the application underneath for performing the task. Included in the question box is a counter -- this tells you how many questions have been completed out of the total, plus your remaining amount of time. (I found this to be beneficial, but if you find it a bit nerve-wracking, you can minimize it.)

Be prepared for a few multiple-choice questions in between the practical ones. These are mainly in relation to Project Central which is tested, I feel, quite superficially. However, given the complexity of setting up Project Central, I imagine that this would be difficult to test in more detail online. Having the multiple-choice questions was something of a surprise to me, but they provide a break from the practical components of the exam. In fact, I believe there could be more of these objective questions. When the multiple-choice questions appear, there are no Project screens available, so you don't need to test your answer!

As with most MOUS exams, the interface can be awkward at times. One thing I found irritating is the loss of highlighting in the exam-question box: Say you are highlighting a selection of tasks, if you click back in the question box to scroll and reread it after starting, the highlighting goes away and you waste time reselecting the data. In retrospect, I probably could have resized the question box to display all the data at once, had I thought of it at the time. Perhaps the programmers who develop the tests could give this some attention. Also, know that with this interface, you can't go backward -- once you move on to a new question, there's no way to go back and check your answers. I believe this is an unrealistic limitation in an exam to have everything right the first time -- ideal, but not a true reflection of what happens in real life!

As for the questions themselves, in general I found them to be worded fairly -- nothing too ambiguous or obviously tricky. Project management requires some abstract conceptualization, especially when it comes to things like scheduling and manipulating duration, hours worked, etc. Some of the exam questions demand that you think through carefully how to use the various scheduling options to obtain the desired result. Others are quite straightforward and practical in their application of user knowledge. I found one or two to be slightly obscure -- just give yourself extra time with these to ensure you've grasped exactly what is being asked. There was one question where the numbering system of the task name and number were incorrect; a little off-putting, but nothing that couldn't be worked around. There were also occasions when I was not sure whether to apply a customized item after creating it (i.e. a table/view/filter). Some of the questions require that you display what you have created, while others do not say whether they want you to apply the new item to the screen. In the older MOUS exams, you could be penalized for leaving a toolbar displayed when you didn't need it, so I was quite wary of showing my handiwork when it was not specifically asked for.

Tip: Screen tips do not always work in this exam (e.g.,, on the time-scale or in the indicators column), so do not rely on them to verify your answers.

Compared to previous MOUS exams I have taken, the preamble to the exam appears to be an improvement. The screens you have to read before starting are improved in their layout and easier to get through. There also seems to be less emphasis on the absolute correctness of every answer, as partial responses are now taken into account and can score marks for you. This is more realistic in terms of a real-life work situation, as sometimes you don't have all the answers, but you'll be credited for what you do know.

At the end of the exam you'll get a print out that serves as your proof of passing until your certificate arrives. This is also a vast improvement on the earlier MOUS print outs, which told you your score but not much more. You can now see how you performed percentage-wise in each of the main objectives, and a horizontal bar graph depicts your score relative to the pass mark (700 out of 1000). It would be helpful if Microsoft provided detailed feedback about the places you went wrong. I lost marks in two sections and don't know why -- and have no way of finding out.

Is It Worth It?
Despite some quirks, altogether I found the exam to be a pleasant experience. I came out feeling that it was well worth the efforts and an accurate reflection of product knowledge that can be used to gauge a person's ability in this field. Full marks to the ITIQ testing center in Durban, South Africa, for a thoroughly professional approach and a very comfortable, quiet, exam environment.