Marty Zigman on "Reflection on NetSuite’s New Release 2015 Certification Exam"

Reflection on NetSuite’s New Release 2015 Certification Exam

By Marty Zigman , on September 19, 2015

This article is relevant if you have a NetSuite certification and you are required to take the 2015 New Release Quiz.

Background

For 2015, it is now official that any individual that obtained a certification before January 1, 2015 must take the exam. Having obtained all three of NetSuite’s certifications available over the last few years, I am certainly obligated to take the New Release Quiz. A hint that such a quiz was announced in 2014. Be sure that you are paying attention to any emails sent to you from certification@netsuite.com.

Preparing for Exam

In order to prepare for the exam, I reviewed the 2015.1 and 2015. 2 release notes offered in PDF form. In anticipation for the exam, I combined the two PDFs using a free online utility called SmallPDF Merge. I spent approximately 1.5 hours before the exam reviewing the notes. Naturally, some topics had natural interest to me over others as we have clients that need to know about specific updates. I can appreciate some of the new features which illustrate NetSuite is moving up market offering enhanced enterprise capacities.

Taking the New Release Exam

This exam is driven by Webaccessor by Kryterion; the same organization that administered the certification exams. In this case, it is not proctored. You do not have to setup a specific date time to take exam after you register. This also means that it is open book allowing you to review questions using what ever resources available. Combining the PDFs proved indispensable for searching on question topics. However, the new release notes will be insufficient to answer the questions. You may need to reference other material and the NetSuite application itself. I used two computers during the exam so that I could be efficient in my focus. I took may time to answer the 25 questions and finished within an hour.

General Reflections on the New Release Exam

I welcome the New Release Exam. I found that it reinforced my understanding of the platform’s evolution — very valuable for the NetSuite implementation leadership that I produce with my clients and professional team. In the same fashion as the standard certification exam, the questions can be tricky. Overall, I believe the standards are high which is valued in a certification program to distinguish individuals with skills and knowledge. I recommend taking advantage of the early offers which can reduce your out-of-pocket costs. I wish you success and welcome opportunities to get to know you if you too are certified. Please send me a note via our web site so we can connect; perhaps we can help each other on future projects.

Marty Zigman

Holding all three official certifications, Marty is regarded as the top NetSuite expert and leads a team of senior professionals at Prolecto Resources, Inc. He is a former Deloitte & Touche CPA and has held CTO roles. For over 30 years, Marty has produced leadership in ERP, CRM and eCommerce business systems. Contact Marty to set up a conversation.