Certifications

TOGAF 9 Certification Preparation – My Journey

by Chinmay

After 1.5 months of self-study I finally achieved my ‘TOGAF® 9 Combined Part 1 and Part 2 Exam’ on November 28, 2019. TOGAF 9 certification preparation is an interesting and complex endeavour, so it’s important to take it seriously and invest right amount of time and effort. I am really happy that it was an amazing journey and was totally worth it.

Please note this is not a detailed ‘TOGAF 9 Certification preparation Guide’. Let me share with you a set of summarised steps and hope it will help you out.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Lao Tzu

What is TOGAF 9 Standard?

The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) 9 is an Open Standard for developing Enterprise Architecture.

Find out more about TOGAF 9 Standard

Why TOGAF 9 Certification?

Ability to analyse and interpret business strategies, goals, and objectives at multiple levels of the organisation is critical. Knowing the big picture and the detailed picture plays a big role in the organisational agility.

In my opinion, TOGAF 9 certification can effectively compliment other industry certificates and help you add value to the organisation you work for as a valuable team member.

Find out more about TOGAF 9 Certification

Approach

There are two ways you can prepare for the TOGAF 9 Certified exam:

  • In-class, TOGAF 9 training from an accredited training course provider
  • Self-study

I chose self-study option as I wanted to be in control of how and when I study.

I used TOGAF 9 Self-study Pack from the Open Group shop. It is a valuable investment as all the material from the pack will work as a reference as well once you have cleared the exam(s).

TOGAF 9 Certification Preparation

Over 1.5 months, below are the steps I took to complete my TOGAF certification preparation.

  1. Read ‘TOGAF 9 Foundation’ self-study guide.
  2. Read ‘TOGAF 9 Certified’ self-study guide.
  3. Second read of ‘TOGAF 9 Foundation’ self-study guide. This time I took notes of important concepts as well.
  4. Reading ‘TOGAF 9 Certified’ self-study guide for the second time brought clarity to all the six parts of TOGAF 9 Standard given I had a very clear understanding of TOGAF 9 Foundation topics.
  5. Third read of ‘TOGAF 9 Foundation’ self-study guide to fill any gaps in the foundation knowledge.
  6. Very lightweight revision before the day of exam of both the study guides again.

You might have already noticed that I utilised spaced repetition as an underlying study technique.

There are practice tests as well available as a part of the aforementioned self-study pack. It is a great resource to reinforce your learnings.

Please do not fall for brain dumps. This is a subject worth mastering and just passing the exam should not be the KPI one should be after. There are some really good concepts, approaches, tools, and techniques you can acquire by studying TOGAF 9 Standard.

Please ensure that you make a note of exam policy and exam taking guidelines. You can reschedule the exams with Pearson Vue but only 48 hours before the scheduled exam.

The Outcome

Well, you might be curious as to how did I do with my exams? I received 93.5% for my TOGAF 9 Combined exam.

Feel free to reach out if you have any question.

Supporting Resources*

* I am not an affiliate of these websites/soruces nor I am getting paid to promote them.