MB-600 Dynamics 365 and Power Platform solution architect exam prep and beyond

The last couple of weeks of 2020 I have been prepping for Exam  MB-600: Microsoft Dynamics 365 + Power Platform Solution Architect which I passed end of December 2020. In this blog post I will share some resources I used to study for the exam. I will also share some thoughts on what you can expect on the exam (without breaching the confidentiality - so I can't give specific questions). 

It was the first time I took a Microsoft exam online  due to the exam centers being closed in Belgium due to Covid.  The online proctored exam went quite smoothly but it did make me a little more nervous  especially given some of the horror stories I had heart about these type of exams.

For any Microsoft exam you start by looking at the detailed skills outline document. The MB-600 exam skills outline document  contains an overview of the different topics, you can find this document on the exam details page. Make sure to always look for the latest version since the exam requirements might get updated a couple of times every year - which is logical given the rapid evolution of the platform.

As part of the preparation I started with the MB-600: Microsoft Power Apps + Dynamics 365 Solution Architect Virtual Training Series (May 2020) for Microsoft partners - a 3 part on-demand webinar series  of about 2 hours per topic:

• Becoming a solution architect for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform (116 minutes)
• Discover customer needs and propose a solution (114 minutes)
• Work with requirements and perform fit-gap (115 minutes)

There is an overlap of this training with the Microsoft Learn learning paths which are also outlined on the MB-600 exam details page - Architect solutions for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform

I also started following a number of sessions from the MB-600 virtual study group initiative where a number of consultants share their thoughts on the exam - they will cover all content in 10 different sessions/webinar sessions. The content of the study group is largely based MB 600: Microsoft Dynamics 365 + Power Platform Solution Architect - Revision Guide (Recording are only accessible for CRMUG members)

• Session 1 recording  MB-600 virtual study group Solution architect's role (November 6th 2020)
• Session 2 recording  MB-600 virtual study group Initiate solution planning (November 13th 2020)
• Session 3 recording MB-600 virtual study group (November 20th 2020)
• Session 4 recording  MB-600 virtual study group Capture requirements (December 4th 2020) 
• Session 5 recording MB-600 virtual study group Perform Fit gap analysis (December 11th 2020)
• Session 6 recording MB-600 virtual study group Design process and topology  (December 18th 2020)
• Session 7 recording MB-600 virtual  Lead the design process part 2 (January 10th 2021)

In hindsight (after passing the exam) all of these resources provide a lot of information about the role of solution architect, the type of activities he/she engages in during the different phases of a customer engagement (Initiate & design, Implement, Support and evolve) but they are not enough for passing the exam. The exam contains quite a few technical questions that you should be prepared for on some of the topics on integration patterns using Azure, Dynamics 365 security model, ALM for Power Platform and Dynamics 365, basic understanding of the capabilities of all of the different products in both Power Platform (Canvas and model driven apps, Power BI, Power Automate Flow, Power Virtual Agents, PowerApps Portals) and Dynamics 365 (Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, etc...), ALM for Power Platform and Dynamics 365, ... 

There are the standard multiple choice questions which you also encounter but what was new for me in this exam was the use of fictional customers case studies which will serve as input for a set of questions afterwards. Normally the MB-600 exam is the culmination in a series of exams for attaining the title of but I only took this last exam up until now. So probably there is an overlap in the technical content covered as part of the other exams.