I was contacted by uCertify requesting that I do a review of their certification PrepKit software. I agreed because I was already studying for the MCTS exam 70-528 and wanted to see if their software would really be an asset to passing the exam. Initially, I wanted to use only their software to study for the test and then write my review. I felt that would be a great way to write a quality review of their product. Since agreeing to do the review my study efforts have diminished (moving to Colorado, taking a new job, etc.) but I still wanted to put together a review of their product.

Product: 70-528-CSHARP PrepKit
Cost: $59.99 (use discount code “ERIKLA“ and receive 10% off)

Likes:

• The UI is very well done, easy to navigate, and easy to look at.
• The quiz feature is the strongest feature of the program. You can select the number of questions from each focus area and then take the quiz. One nice touch is that after you answer the question the timer goes directly to 5 secs. and then goes to the next question. That's enough time to see your answer but yet you don't have to take your hands off of the keyboard to go to the next question.
• Study notes are useful as they match up with the exam objectives. They state the objective and then provide a summary review of that objective.
• Exam objectives with notes are nice as well. It is similar to the study notes but instead of a summary it provides an in-depth review of the objective.
• Reports are a nice feature that show your progress from the diagnostic exam through the simulated test.
  

Dislikes:

• I didn't like the flash cards feature. The main reason is that it gives you a text area to type in your answer.  Although this may be helpful to some, I didn't want to take the time to type out my answer when I can just think it and then compare to the actual answer.

So-So:

• Articles are nice for further development but not critical for studying for the exam.
• Study tips, again, are nice for further development and are great for someone who has never written code associated exam but it's not critical for the exam.
• HowTo's are not critical but are a nice feature that walk you through, via screen shots, how to do a lot of the tasks associated with passing the exam.

Conclusion:

For me, the uCertify product is great add-on for prepping for the exam. I say add-on because I don't feel comfortable saying this tool could be used as the only source to prepare for the exam; especially if someone has no practical experience in the area covered by the exam.  My study style will still be to write code and use technical books and study guides to ensure I know how to do the tasks that are covered in the exam. I certainly would use uCertify for their quizzes and test simulations as I get closer to taking the exam. I think that's a good strategy and for $60 it's a good deal as well.

Update:  The great people over at uCertify will give a 10% discount on the uCertify PrepKit of your choice when you use discount code “ERIKLA“.