I used this book and Transcenders, studied a total of 5 days and took the exam and passed on my first try! I took it on July 22, 2003. Other reviews for this book led me away from using any other book. I found it to be easy to read, especially if you've passed at least one other MCSD exam. The book presents important information and insight as to the testing methods of Microsoft for this test. Although this information is helpful to read, you'll still want to run through some exam simulation software in addition to this reading. Reading alone cannot prepare you for the types of interaction you'll face in the exam environment... so get Transcenders too.

Hey...if you're stuck on finding a great book as a major StudyGuide, then pick this one for help on MS 70-100!

Worked like a charm for me...AND...I keep the book close-at-hand when I plan a new app for a client!

Great work and writing by Donald Brandt! Congrats! And if I tell you what exam I'm sitting for next, will you write me one for that one too!

Jim

I passed the real exam on January 8, 2001 with an hour to spare and a comfortable passing margin. I used this and the Ezzel book, combined with the Transcender practice exam (which is your best friend here), as my study aids.

Although it doesn't have scenario-type questions in the form of those found on the real exam, this book still has plenty of condensed, easy-to-read, very pertinent material that will be of assistance in passing the real exam.

I passed the real exam on January 8, 2001 with an hour to spare and a comfortable passing margin. I used this and the Ezzel book, combined with the Transcender practice exam (which is your best friend here), as my study aids.

Although it doesn't have scenario-type questions in the form of those found on the real exam, this book still has plenty of condensed, easy-to-read, very pertinent material that will be of assistance in passing the real exam.

I used a number of materials in preparing for the 70-100 exam, and found this to be the single most important book. The only thing this really lacked was practice on the "scenario-based" questions in the test, specifically the data-flow diagrams. But there was no other single book that came as close as this one to a complete working knowlege necessary for the test. Rather than buying multiple study guides, I would recommend purchasing this book and a practice test from either transcender or measureup.
Either way, if you don't have experience at defining requirements, nothing will help you.

I used a number of materials in preparing for the 70-100 exam, and found this to be the single most important book. The only thing this really lacked was practice on the "scenario-based" questions in the test, specifically the data-flow diagrams. But there was no other single book that came as close as this one to a complete working knowlege necessary for the test. Rather than buying multiple study guides, I would recommend purchasing this book and a practice test from either transcender or measureup.
Either way, if you don't have experience at defining requirements, nothing will help you.

Have the Transcender test exams at hand, because this book is *not* enough. Other than that, this book is quite good, organized, lists lots of topics and has good examples.

Have the Transcender test exams at hand, because this book is *not* enough. Other than that, this book is quite good, organized, lists lots of topics and has good examples.

If you have never analyzed requirements or defined solution architectures in an organizational setting, this is a good starting point. However, if you have a beginning knowledge, and believe you are ready to prepare for the 70-100...this book will not help you at all!

The questions in this book are nothing like the actual exam questions! If you are looking for a text that will be helpful, try the New Riders. The format of the questions on the CD in the New Riders book is very similar to some of the questions on the actual exam. Plus, the New Riders does a better job of getting you prepared for the format of the exam.

Best Resource for exam preparation: Transcender...BAR NONE!

Having already passed the 70-100 exam before reading this book, I reviewed it as a candidate for supplemental material for a course I teach. I found the book to have very worthwhile info in it that definitely will help people pursuing the 70-100 exam. Knowing the subjects covered in the book will certainly better prepare you to analyze the case studies that make up the bulk of the exam. However, don't expect the multiple-choice type questions throughout the book to look anything like the real test questions. The actual test is mostly case studies with tasks to complete like creating entity-relationship diagrams, data flow diagrams, drop and connect questions, with very few of the multiple choice questions like the ones this book uses throughout.

Still, there are narratives of several case studies in the book with discussions of analysis and solutions that are very similar to the thought processes you have to go through on the real test. Those case studies plus the summaries of terms covered that every developer should know make the text worthwhile.

You might want to supplement this text with a test-prep software package such as one from Transcender to get a real feel for the actual type of case-study questions included in the real test.

I used this book alone and I passed 70-100 with little problem. It does a great job of covering the Microsoft nomenclature and models, as well as general analysis and design. However, I agree with reviews for this and related books -- the 70-100 exam does not concentrate on the MSF models, and DOES heavily emphasize entity-relationship analysis. I recommend this book plus some hands-on database modeling work -- my exam had quite a bit of ERA.

The book was just a bunch of chit-chat. The exam involves diagramming, modeling, etc; none of which was covered in the book. Many details of other topics were overlooked. Try Transcender.

This book is not designed for beginners. Unless you have lots of experience designing and architecting solution architectures, you will definitely need additional supplementation materials to pass the 70-100 exam! This book just skims the surface of the knowledge needed to pass the exam, so if you do not have the knowledge base needed you should supplement this study guide with a more detailed book. Also, the book does a poor job actually preparing you for the type of questions on the test; it would be very beneficial to supplement it with practice tests from companies such as Transcender.

Overall, the book is not enough to pass the 70-100 test!

I had passed three other MCSD exams by studying just the Exam Cram book, so I thought I could do the same here with 70-100. In fact, I thought the architecture exam will be a pushover because this is such a thin volume. I took the exam and was humiliated by my first Microsoft certification failure.

This book covered all the subjects on the exam, but only on a very light level. Now, I don't know if everyone will get the same exam I got but the exam is composed almost exclusively of case studies. More than half of the questions involve matching or ordering, which made them extremely hard to follow on screen. There were only twenty questions on my exam, but only about eight multiple choices. I probably got all of these correct. It's those case studies that killed me.

I managed to pass the test on the second try, after two more weeks of studies. I would recommend the following approach: read this book, know it inside out, and memorize the terms. The exam did not have that many multiple choice exams, so it's not worth your while spending too much time memorizing terms. This book has enough of the important terms in it, but not so many that it's unmanageable. Don't try to memorize one of the study guides: you'll go nuts first. After you have a thorough understanding of the terminologies, master the following areas: physical/logical database design, gathering business requirements, and MSF concepts. There will be something that you don't understand very well in the exam, but if you know these subjects well enough that should be enough to pass.

I've used Exam Cram books on other exams and was impressed by their helpfulness for my exams. However, this book sorely disappointed me. This book did not help at all. I recommend not buying this book.

I am a programmer with 10 years experience in a non-MS environment. I started the MCSD recently and bought this book, because of the favourable reviews on this site. I passed this subject with a high score, but not becuase of this book. This book left me confused and with more questions than answers. I then got hold of the New Riders book and it much better, it is easy and nice to read and explained the subject very well. My advice is don't waste your money on this book. Not even the New Riders book prepares you well for the exam, but at least it will give you a very good understanding of this subject.

This book is excellent for preparing exam 70-100. it contains the points what you should know for the exam. The chapters or the outlines are so organized based on Microsoft guideline for 70-100. But, in order to pass, I suggest every candidate to: 1. experience in Visual Basic/SQL or passing the exam for Visual Basic/C++/SQL or any developer microsoft exams - related to visula studio - this book also mentions this except for passing the exam for vb,c++, and it is true. 2. experience in data modeling. knowing the basic for designing data base - this book gives enough guidance but not too detail. 3. downloading sample demo from microsoft website, and get use to the type of questions 4. have working knowledge in analyzing business requirement and designing solution architecture. I realize that everybody has different point of views about this, But you get to know data modeling, and how to program VB/SQL/C++ - visual studio. It works for me. Thanks Donald R. Brandt....

As mentioned previously, the Transcender exam was MUCH more helpful than this book. Unlike the VB exam cram books, this won't help you answer too many questions on the exam.

If you want a very intro book to databases, it is ok. If you want something to pass the Microsoft Architectures exam, this book won't help very much.

Just passed test today! If you must read a book?... read this one. It won't fully prepare you but at least get you started. This book is very small and does not contain sufficient sample questions on the case studies... particularly data modeling type questions. My advice... read this book then get Transcender and you will pass.

This exam cannot be passed by cramming. In my exam, only 15 questions were general. Rest were all based on the 4 Case studies that were presented. Try New Riders Book - it is a bit too detailed, but it does a great job in getting us ready for the exam format. The practice exam is also good.

This book covers all of the topics you will need to know for this exam. The other books do not contain half of the necessary information found in the Exam Cram (and most are twice as lengthly!). Use this and the Transcender practice tests, and put it together with a little bit of solution development experience, and you should pass this test on the first try.

Jonathan Corbett,

I am writing this review just after I passed the test. Many subjects on the test elapse those on the cores and the database elective (I took SQL Server). 80% of the test is about business analysis and tables design while the other 20% covers COM, classes, interface design, etc. No one book except the Transcender Exam will prepare you for the test. But if you feel obligated to read something, this is the book to read. The test asked nothing about MSF, so don't waste your money and time reading thick tomes. This book is succinct and very well written and the sections on COM and user-interfaces were pertinent to the test. I rated it 4 stars because it lacks simulated scenarios like those of the real test. Last point, Transcender is a must, I felt that Transcender CD better prep me for the test than any other reading materials.

I agree with most of the other reviewers.. I have used this book to cram for the exam (I have passed it -just! ) but there is nothing directly related to the questions found in the exam..However the paragrapgh about Data Normalisation and another paragraph about "Searching the internet for braindumps") have proven very useful even though the suggested sites are the subscription sites :( If you dont already know what is covered in the book and have extensive understanding and the experience in the subjects there is no point trying to learn them using this small book. I don't think any one particular book would cover the exam 100% (even the suggested microsoft course would cover about 30% of the exam) .And I see the mention of Transcender here and there for this exam.Honestly I don't think it is conclusive .Because there is apparently only one case which is similar to the real test (Which only is about database normalisation ,so this book is good enough for that and a cheap alternative).. If you download Microsoft sample for this exam it would be as useful as Trancender..Sorry for being negative about this book.. I have used other books from Coriolis for other exams and have proven really useful. But not this one..Good luck.

I used this book during my preparation and found it veryuseful. It provides a brief summary on all topics you need to know topass the exam.

The book uses a usual Exam Cram format, i.e. each chapter is finished with sample questions and a list of additional information sources (Internet, MSDN, etc.), so if you don't feel confident you know where to find more.

The last chapter is a sample test. The questions are very similar to the actual exam. However I strongly recommend trying the electronic simulation after reading the book, because the format of the real 70-100 exam is very different from any other Microsoft exam. Otherwise, on exam you may spend your precious time not analyzing the case studies, but mastering the user interface of the test.

Another big advantage of the book is that covering all exam objectives it has a comparatively small volume, just about 300 pp, of which at least 50 pp. are questions and answers,

I don't give it 5 stars only because I found a couple of minor inaccuracies in the book.

REMARK: I agree in many aspects with what Dr. Robert C.A. Goff, MCSD said below in his review, especially what he wrote about relation to 70-029 exam (I did the same way). What I don't accept is the necessity to pay extra money for Transcender practice exam. In my opinion using a simple demo simulation from Microsoft site will let you get familiar with the format exam and it's enough. At least it worked for me.

EXAM vs. BOOK: Looking over other reviews, you'll see wildly divergent opinions about this book. The problem is that this particular exam (70-100) is structured in a way that is unique among Microsoft's exams. Aside from the required knowledge, the mechanics of the exam process are counter-intuitive, confusing and require practice to master.

First, let me say that passing 70-100 requires a knowledge base that is too broad to be contained in a single book (or even 3 or 4 books). If you go into this exam with several years of software experience, and AFTER having passed the other exams needed for MCSD, then much of the background is already covered. To be more specific, SQL Server 7 Design (70-029), is superb preparation for the IMPORTANT entity and data modeling aspects of 70-100. Since you have to learn it for 70-100, you might as well do 70-029 first. (70-029 is one of the most marketable of the electives.)

Beyond that, the candidate is expected to be adept at sifting through a haystack of scenario verbiage in order to identify process flow, data flow, and the underlying "business" problem, as opposed to the technologic problem, with which we are all more familiar. This is where a book dedicated to solution architectures is useful.

Brandt provides us with a readable survey of approaches to projects (including Microsoft's way of truth), development models, the array of project deliverables, including context diagrams, entity-relationship diagrams, data flow diagrams, case-use scenarios, and the physical manifestations of these. You need to know this, as well as tier models and user interface standards.

Although the multiple choice questions throughout the book are not what you are likely to see on the exam, they are helpful in clarifying your understanding of topics you will definitely see on the exam. If you can sail through the big exam at the end of the book, then you have a good foundation. But you'll need more to pass the real test.

WEAKNESSES: The material on data normalization are only adequate as a review if you've already learned the concepts elsewhere (do 70-029 first!). Practical applications of performance, availability, security, scalability, maintainability, and extensibility are not covered in sufficient depth. These shortcomings are acceptable if Brandt is not your only reference. I would strongly recommend Cornish, et al. as a primary book. The two books cover the material from different perspectives, and mutually fill in the gaps.

EXAM MECHANICS: Build-a-tree questions usually force you to create a hierarchical answer for non-hierarchical objects -- a horrible metaphor! The drag-and-connect questions are intentionally sneaky, and unintentionally difficult to set properly without practice. (The blocks that must be shuffled around will toggle unpredictably, causing intended connections to be misdirected. Even when properly connected, the results are extremely difficult to read.) In the drag-and-drop reorder list questions, dragging will occasionally drag an object not highlighted, and will occasionally drop onto non-highlighted objects. One remedy (unlikely) is for Microsoft to recognize that these testing tools are not ready for prime time, and fix them. The other remedy, and the only realistic one I know of, is to download the free Transcender demo. I bought the Transcender product (SolutionCert) and was only able to pass the third Transcender test, after failing the first two -- and I've been doing this stuff for 22 years!

CONCLUSION: Brandt is an excellent choice for a small book. Consider getting a large book, and at least download the Transcender demo to see what you're up against.

This book won't really help you to pass the exam. (It may only help you for couple multiple choices during the exam). If you want to pass this tough exam, I strongly recommend you to get Transcender. Actually, I would like to say "you must get it"

I used this book to help pass the exam. Use of this book and the Transcender exam are probably the best tools out there. I bought several other books out there..none of them even came close to helping me prepare for the exam. (In fact, many were published before the exam ever came out.. especially the Osbourne ones.)

This is one of the best books on systems and database design I have ever read. However, it will not prepare you for the exam. The exam is a series of case studies and this book does not offer any practice at doing this. I was able to pass it on the first try, but only with the Transcender which mirrored the exam. My advice is to get the Transcender and read this book. It is an excellent book, but should not be your main study guide for this extremely challenging exam.

Having read the book and taken (and passed) the exam, I can honestly say that NO BOOK will help you with this exam. Like the reviewer below me says, the exam is all case studies - multiple choice questions are only a small part of it. You need to be a combination busines analyst / technical architect / DBA to pass this exam. I give this book two stars only because it's the best one out there, but it really won't help you at all. If you're serious about passing, get the Transcender Exam (or the free Transcender Demo) - it's identical in structure to the real exam and the questions are amazingly similar. I'm someone who felt obligated to buy some book (any book) to help me pass - it didn't help at all.

I'm sorry, but I disagree with the other reviewers. While this is generally a good book to read, it does absolutely NOTHING to prepare you for exam 70-100. NONE of the questions on the test (at least the one I took) can be answered by studying (or even MEMORIZING) this book. I'm not sure what will adequately prepare you for this exam, but this textbook definitely will NOT. The exam is comprised almost entirely of case studies which is very difficult to teach in a book.

I used this book as my #3 source; my primary source was the Transcender demo test (Transcender.com) and my secondary source was an IT developer who passed the test. I barely passed the test on my first attempt, and I think without this book I would have fallen just short. In our group, this book was considered to be the best for 70-100 - which isn't saying TOO much.

This book is great! The exam is real tricky - its the only one I have ever failed on first try - miserably! No book can prepare you for the Architectures exam fully but this book gets very close. I guess if you have a few years experience in data modelling you can pass with just this book. but if like me you have very little experience in data base design and data modelling, you definitely need something else. I bought and read the Data Modelling book by Lawrence Sanders after I failed this exam. That is a little book that fills in all the gaps! After reading these two book, anyone can pass this exam. Oh, one other thing you most likely will need is the Transcender sample tests. This exam is unlike the othe Microsoft exams and without the Transcenders it will be a shock the first time you do it and that may cause you to fail. So invest in the Transcender sample tests for this exam and you will be glad you did. Good luck!

I used this in conjuction with the Transcender exams and passed with flying colors. The content here was fairly true to the exam content, and it helped fill in some gaps. This is definitely NOT the book you want if it's your only resource.

This book provides excellent coverage of the exam. Beyond that, I recommended it to my coworkers as a general introduction to software architecture. I highly recommend it. For the exam, I also recommend using Transcender and the New Rider's book as well.

Good luck!

This book contained a lot higher concentration of what you need for the exam than the big books do. It still has a lot of stuff you don't need, but it's content is pretty reliable. Use this and the Transcender practice tests.

I was quite disappointed in the book. Although much of the information in the book could be generally useful, there is really very little that is direcly applicable to the exam.

As an example, chapter 3 describes the various development models under the Microsoft Solution Framework, but there are no questions on this in the exam!

Bottom line, don't rely on this book to help you pass 70-100.

This book is a great suppliment, which is what it is intended to be. I gave it five stars because because it's content is more in line with the actual test than some other full blown exam guides that seem to need 900 pages to say the same thing. Note: Although this is a great book, it is a suppliment/cram book. I recomend studying with Transcender, and filling in the gaps with this book.

I agree with Patrick and Mark. This book is the best study guide for the 70-100 exam but the sample tests are more important. This book contained the most concise and easy-to-read information. I bought three other guides which turned out to be a waste of time and money. If you are going to take the test, read this book once and then download the sample Transcender test. Without the Transcender samples, you will probably fail the exam, no matter how much you study.

I found this book to be easily readable and enjoyable. It had some case studys which are similar to the ones you see on the test. It is probably the best book out there but that is by default because there are really no good books which cover this test. I still think somoeone has to be able to do better now that the format of the 70-100 test is pretty well known to everyone. The Transcender test is still the best bet for this test. However this book is a good supplement.

If you are going to take the test, skim through this book and then download the sample Transcender test. If I had used *only* this book, I probably would have failed or passed by a slim margin. The information in the book is good, but it is hard for any book to provide a simulation of the new testing questions.

This is the best 70-100 study guide currently on the market. I actually bought two other study guides that were released earlier, and they were not helpful at all. The quality of the sample questions seems reasonable, and the case studies are helpful. For this exam you must have practised constructing DFDs and E-R diagrams. If you want to ensure that you give yourself the best chance of passing this exam first time, get Transcender for hands on practice.

Don't bother with other study guides for exam 70-100, most of which get mired in MSF details and needless filler. This succinct guide covers most exam material, presented in a manner directly transferable to skills needed on the actual test. A variety of case studies illustrate key chapter concepts corresponding to exam topics in a clear and to the point manner. The critical skill for this test is to read and analyse the case studies and questions carefully before answering. I read through this guide twice, did the sample tests and passed by a wide margin.

This exam cram is well laid out. It hits the highlights of the exam as well as any study guide can. Although this exam is experienced based, there are still questions regarding current technologies and concepts. The author does a wonderful job of covering DNA architecture which will be very important during case scenarios on the exam. This guide will get you 80% of what you need. The rest is intelligence, logic, patience and endurance.