| Date tip published: | 04/24/2006 |
| Description: | This tip covers the different certifications available to a Notes Domino 7 Application Developer and the best ways to prepare for the exams. It also covers how to get certified in Notes Domino 7 if you have an existing Lotus certification for an older version. |
To learn more about about getting certified use the following links:
JavaScript in Notes Domino 7
Notes Domino 7 Certified Developer Package
Notes Domino 7 LotusScript Package
 Notes Domino 7 Developer Certification Paths
This article will concentrate on the Notes Domino 7 certifications for developers. In a future article we will cover the administrator certifications.
Why get certified? Certification is a great way to show a level of competency. Certification is a great addition to your resume. Depending on the level of certification, getting certified requires passing one or a series of multiple-choice exams. You take these exams at a Pearson VUE or Prometric testing center. These testing centers are available world-wide in larger cities.
There are three levels of certification for Notes and Domino 7 for both administrators and developers. The entry level certification is the Associate level. The intermediate level of certification is the IBM Certified Professional. For the Lotus certifications this level is called "Certified Application Developer" or "Certified System Administrator". The Advanced level is typically called the Advanced or Enterprise level. The exact name used will vary by product. Below are the three levels of certification showing the typical certification titles used for each level.
Currently IBM has the following developer certifications available for Notes Domino 7:
IBM Lotus Notes Domino 7
- IBM Certified Associate Developer - Lotus Notes and Domino 7
- IBM Certified Application Developer - Lotus Notes and Domino 7
- IBM Certified Advanced Application Developer - Lotus Notes and Domino 7
The requirements for each level will vary based on the product and the actual certification. The entry level (Associate) certification requires one exam and the Application Developer level requires two additional exams. The Advanced Certification level requires passing one of three advanced exams.
 Preparing for the Exams
The best way to prepare for the exams is to obtain the product and learn how to use it. It may be possible to just read a book on Domino and pass the exam but the easiest way to ace the exams is to learn how to actually use Notes and Domino. If you have no experience at all with Notes and Domino get the Domino Designer client and learn how to develop applications. Develop some applications for use around the house to catalog your collection of CD's or a website on your favorite hobby. There is much that can be done without a Domino server. TLCC has courses to help you learn Notes Domino application development. There are also redbooks by IBM and many other books available. Finally, when it comes time to take the exam several vendors offer practice exams to help you test yourself before taking the actual examination. TLCC has been partnering with CertFX, one of the practice exam vendors, and has received good feedback from our students on the CertFX products.
Taking the Exams
The exams are available through two testing vendors, Pearson VUE and Prometric (formerly known as Sylvan.) The cost ranges from $75 to $175. Most exams are $150. Below are the links for each test vendor:
IBM Certified Associate Developer - Lotus Notes and Domino 7
This certification requires only one exam and is a good way to get started on the Domino certification path. The required exam is:
- Exam 710 - Notes Domino 7 Application Development Foundation Skills
The exam focuses on application development foundation skills as it relates to design elements like forms and views, application architecture, security, database management, and programming. The programming languages such as LotusScript, Java, or JavaScript are not covered. The exam objectives (from the IBM/Lotus website) are listed below. The cost for this exam is $125 at Prometric.
 Click here to see the 710 exam objectives
Practice Exam for the 710 Exam
Click here to see the suggested TLCC courses
IBM Certified Application Developer - Lotus Notes and Domino 7
Once you pass the 710 exam and become an Associate Developer, then passing two more exams will earn you the Certified Application Developer title. The required exams are:
- Exam 711 - Notes Domino 7 Application Development Intermediate Skills
- Exam 712 - Notes Domino 7: Development Web Applications
Information about each exam is shown below:
Exam 711 - Notes Domino 7 Application Development Intermediate Skills
The exam focuses on more advanced application development skills using Lotus Notes 7 as it relates to various design elements, application architecture, security, database management, and programming. This exam also covers how to develop workflow applications using Domino. The programming languages such as LotusScript, Java, or JavaScript are not covered (at least not in detail.) The cost for this exam is also $125 at Prometric.
Click here to see the 711 exam objectives
Practice Exam for the 711 Exam
Click here to see the suggested TLCC courses
Exam 712 - Notes Domino 7 Developing Web Applications
The exam focuses on how to develop Domino applications for use by web browser clients. The cost for this exam is also $125 at Prometric.
Click here to see the 712 exam objectives
Practice Exam for the 712 Exam
Click here to see the suggested TLCC courses
IBM Certified Advanced Application Developer - Lotus Notes and Domino 7
Once you pass the 710, 711 and 712 exams and become an IBM Certified Application Developer, then passing one more exam will earn you the IBM Certified Advanced Application Developer title. You have a choice of exams to take (pass just one of the following):
- Exam 273 - LotusScript in Notes for Advanced Developers
- Exam 513 - Using JavaScript in Notes Domino Applications
- Web Services (to be available later in 2006)
Information about the first two exams is listed below. Note that LotusScript and JavaScript exams are the same as those required for the Notes Domino 6 Advanced certification. The Java exam no longer counts towards Advanced Certification for Notes/Domino 7.
Exam 273 - LotusScript in Notes for Advanced Developers
This exam concentrates on the LotusScript language and the Domino Object Model. The cost for this exam is also $125 at Prometric.
Click here to see the 273 exam objectives
Practice Exam for the 273 Exam
Click here to see the suggested TLCC courses
Exam 513 - Using JavaScript in Notes Domino Applications
This exam concentrates on the JavaScript language and how to use JavaScript in Domino web applications. The cost for this exam is also $125 at Prometric.
Click here to see the 513 exam objectives
Practice Exam for the 513 Exam
Click here to see the suggested TLCC courses
Links for More Information
TLCC Notes Domino 7 Exam Suggestions - This page lists the various TLCC courses suggested for each Notes Domino 7 certification exams
Lotus Certification Page - This is the home page for getting information on Lotus certifications.
Lotus Exam Guides - This page has links to the different exams guides from Lotus. These contain the exam objectives (which were repeated in this article.)
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