How to pass TOGAF at first attempt

This certificate is not well-known in the job market but I still see quite a lot of senior IT professional owned it. Plus, there is a position named "Enterprise Architect" which TOGAF is widely recognized in that particular area. Of course, to be a successful Enterprise Architect, a certificate will not be sufficient and you also need comprehensive exposure in the industry. Therefore, this certificate will not give you an immediate impact on career advancement but in ten years time, it can bring positive effect.

Actually I completed the exam in 2015. At that time, I thought it can lead me to some IT strategy or operating model projects so I can escape from IT audit. Moreover, I can claim I have ten years experience as soon as I worked ten years. So there are some reasons for me to take the exam. I will share what I have done to pass the exam with you.

1. Classroom training/Text Books

I joined an online class for this exam and it was costly, around 5000HKD if I remember correctly. An Indian instructor spent 3 hours a week to go through the syllabus live. I would say the class is boring but it is quite useful because you get the summarized notes. The key idea of TOGAF is the framework to organize the planning. It gives you ideas to consider comprehensively when pushing a change in the organization.

Probably there is a text book available, but, again, I never read any pages. The exam consist of two parts, multiple choice and context questions. It take not long and the second part is open book. Therefore, you actually study for the first part and try your best to understand the concept to apply in different situations. It would help you to pass the second part as well.

2. Practice paper

As I remember, there are only 40+20 questions in the exam which last about 2 hours. Practice is important as I wrote in every "How to..." series. Get the practice paper from all the sources you can find, say taobao, online or classroom training. The same question will not appear in your exam but it is the best way to learn the sense. When I took the second part exam, a small issue happened that I cannot open the reference material. The exam center suggest me to reschedule the exam but I did not as I feel confident in finishing it without looking at the materials. And I did. Therefore, do not worry about memorizing too much before the exam. Apply the idea instead of memorizing the definition solely. This is one of the key difference between professional exam and school exam.

3. Notes

Preparing your own notes is always the best method to study especially for these type of exam. No matter which certificate you are pursuing, review the practice paper and understand your weakness.

Good luck!