VCAP5-DCD - VDCD550 - Failed in spectacular fashion and UPSET.

Question

I just sat through every last minute of the VDCD550 and had the exam actually run out of time on me.  I finished the VCP with 30 min to spare after reviewing questions.
I'm happy to take blame when I've clearly not studied enough.  I'll pay the exam fee and try again.  It's not even the fee that makes me so upset.  It's that I didn't feel like I even had a chance.  I've been administering a 5.5U1 environment since 5.5 shipped.  I've designed and installed countless more.  I sat through the 3 day vSphere Design Workshop which was suggested prior to the VCAP-DCD exam and had the instructor tell me he thought I was ready.  I studied for two weeks up the exam.  So why the hell did this test just steam roll me?  I think it was a few things.
1. Questions with some or more correct answers.  When you ask a question and I can apply multiple possible answers to a given category, you leave that open for interpretation.  Are you scoring me negatively or positively if I pick one too many things?  Who is to say that I'm not right?  What's to say something isn't a risk and a assumption.  Maybe it's both, maybe not.  Maybe I'm getting docked for it, maybe I'm not.
2.  Am I really supposed to draw 30 plus dependency connectors?  I know how to take an exam, which is to say, only answer exactly what is being asked.  Yes, you asked that I essentially draw that many connectors which makes the workspace basically unusable.  Maybe you didn't really want that many. Maybe what you asked for was too vague.
3. Topics not covered in any course ware.  Ok VMware, you like Storage I/O control.  I get it.  Maybe there should have been a section on detailed configuration for it in the 3 day workshop I took.  Same goes for storage tiers with storage DRS.
I guess I'm just venting, but good lord am I angry.  I guess now I know what to go back and study.  FML

Answer 1

Hey pcakes,
I had a very simular expereince,  I read over all the material I could get my hands on and still felt steam rolled even though I've been doing this stuff since Vmware 2.0/2.5
Here is my quick write up on it:
DCD5.1 or DCD 5.5?
Here is the coles notes of my experience:
1.). I found the test very open ended on many of the questions.  For instance when adding a nic into a design on a design question, it doesn't state weather its a single nic or dual nic or quad nic, so your left to guessing.  Also when connecting items in the design questions do they assume the switches are stacked or do you need to connect the switches?  This was never laided out in the instructions
2.). Building off my first point I found some of the design questions could of used more instructions as to where you want to leave items on the page when your stacking stencils.  This wasn't always bad on all questions but some where lacking
3.). There was some questions in the multiple choice section that doesn't test you on your design knowledge but on how much you can cram.  Ie stuff you would just look up or find in 1 min on a quick google search.  I strongly belive these sort of questions should reserved for different types of exams or just make poor exam questions over all as let's be honest, people just look this stuff up and don't permently memeorize this stuff.
4.). I would of liked to see the exam structured in chunks so you could better time manage it but i suspect it was built this way on purpose, so just my opinion I guess
5.). I think VMware should do a new flash demo of how the design tool works so you have a much better idea of how to
I feel a lot of people don't particularly fail this exam because they don't know the material, I feel its a lack of understanding how everythings works in this exam.  For me figuring out how I assume they wanted me to lay out the design questions gobbled up so much time, I ended up missing 10 questions, 1 drag-n-drop, 1 design question.  I think had I been able to finish those I would of squeaked by.
None the less I'm working on some photoshops / visio of how the exam is layed out with some practice quetions which I hope to post here soon(Nothing the current tutorial doesn't show, just a better explansion with a section where people could help each other plan out desings).  Once I have it finished I will submit it to the people at VMware to make sure its not breaking any NDA's and posted it, if it goes over well I will try and built an interactive piece for it to better prep people for the exam.  I feel this is this exams greatest downfall.  I don't feel I should have to burn an exam just to "know" how to do it.  I feel the blue print was concice don't get me wrong, I just felt the instructions where lacking greatly.  You never know if something is connected write in many times, or where to place things.  This wasn't always the case but on some of the design questions I just said "I hope this is all in the right place"  and moved on. 
After writing the VCAP-DCA 5.1 which I felt was extreamly well put together I felt this test really lacking.  I think if VMware wrote a new interactive tutorial on the drag-n-drop and design questions this would go a long way in helping people write this.  When I was at Vmware World prior to writing the exam I was sitting in the exam area and there was LOTS of people who have failed this exam 2-3 times and was writing again.  One guy I talked with said the first time he timed out on the exam, the next time he finished with an hour left.  That huge of a time difference simply shows how much time you burn the first time around figuring everything out.
None the less it is what it is, and I will be re-writing shortly as well.  I feel now that I know more so what i'm walking into and I should get it next time *hopefully *   If you want to bounce some questions off me shoot me a PM and we can bounce some study material off each other and see what we can come up with.
Cheers and good luck!!