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Les merWhat You Need to Know About the MB-820 Exam: A Guide for Business Central Developers
Friday, March 1, 2024
Reading time: 6 minutes
You are interested in becoming a certified developer for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, a powerful cloud-based solution for managing your business. But how do you ace the Exam MB-820, which tests your skills and knowledge on this platform? I have taken the MB-820 (beta) exam myself, and I am here to share my insights and tips with you. In this blog post, you will learn what to expect from the exam, how to study for it, and how to pass it with flying colors.
General Feedback
The exam lasts for 2 hours and has around 40-60 questions, based on different sources. I had 54 questions in my exam, including two scenarios at the beginning, with 8 and 6 questions each. The scenarios took a lot of time to read and answer, and I had to hurry up with the rest of the questions to finish on time.
The tricky part was that the scenarios’ answers depended on the context… There were two correct answers for each question, but you had to read the scenario carefully to figure out which one they wanted. For one question, I skimmed through the scenario, but I couldn’t decide which answer to pick, because I didn’t see them mention that topic in the scenario… I went back and searched for it, but I still couldn’t find the clue that they wanted. Don’t let this happen to you. It’s better to skip the question and come back to it later if you have time.
You will need a score of 700 to pass, which basically means that you need 70% to pass the exam. Learn more about Microsoft exam scores.
KQL
The new query language used to query Telemetry for Business Central in Azure Application Insights was included in the exam. Even though there was not a lot of questions, it means that you would need to understand KQL at least at a basic level to prepare for the exam. Find out more about Telemetry and at least have a basic understanding of KQL queries, make sure you don’t lose these couple of points. If you really want to learn KQL properly there is a course on Pluralsight.
All Objects
Make sure that you have a good understanding of all the objects in Business Central. I’ve never really used the queries at all, but I have looked at it when showing people, the objects, and explained that they are there, and what they could be used for. This basic understanding together with the fact that you have access to the Microsoft Learn webpage as part of your exam, meant that I was able to answer the questions that they asked. There was one or two questions that was syntax related, and with the ability to lookup the correct page that contained the syntax of objects I was less familiar with, I was still able to answer the questions. Make sure you have a good understanding of all objects, even ones you’ve never used before such as possibly XMLPorts (talking about that, make sure you know how to configure XMLPorts for XML, variable and fixed-length files).
JSON Files
Make sure you know your JSON files pretty good, as there was quite a couple of questions with regards to these files in the exam. Especially as they relate to AppSource requirements and submissions. Just read through the articles on Microsoft Learn, and make sure you understand the options in the fields and what they are for.
Automated Testing
Automated Testing is one of the topics covered in the exam. You don’t have to be an expert on it, but you should have some basic knowledge. The questions are not very difficult, but they test your familiarity with Automated Testing concepts and tools. This is a good way to expose developers to different aspects of software development, even if they don’t use Automated Testing in their current projects. However, it also poses a challenge for those who have never worked with Automated Testing before and must prepare for the exam. Make sure you at least have a little experience with Automated Testing before attempting this exam.
Trick Questions
Pay close attention to the answers, as some of them are very similar. I almost fell for a trick question, where option A seemed to be the correct answer. I was about to choose A and move on, but I decided to check the other options first. To my surprise, I found another option that was identical to A. I was confused and wondered why there were two identical options. After reading the question and the answers a few more times, I noticed that one of the options had a missing single quote, which would cause an error. That option was wrong. Be careful not to fall for questions like this.
Docker and BCContainerHelper
There were also a couple of questions on Containers and BCContainerHelper, which is a problem if you’ve never used Docker containers for development, but you would need to have at least a rudimentary understanding of Docker and the BCContainerHelper commands for the exams. The only thing to keep in mind here is that you will not have access to any help on Microsoft Learn for the BCContainerHelper stuff, as documentation for this is not on the Learn Documentation website.
BC Certification Status
Below you will find a picture representing what exams and certifications are available for Business Central now. Obviously, the BETA exam will be replaced by the actual exam soon, but it will lead to the same certification at the end of the day. Having written the exam as a BETA, it means that I will only get my result 21 days after the exam has been officially released, but if you wait for the final exam to be released, should be in March, then you will get your results immediately. So, I’m still awaiting my results and hoping for the best, although I had a good feeling about the exam, so hoping for the best.
There are only 2 certifications available for Business Central, one Consultant and one Developer. Certifications are Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced, and both Certifications are only at an Intermediate Level. Read more about the Consultant Certification here, and about the Developer Certification here.
More resources
If you want to go to all the available Learning paths on Microsoft learn for Business Central that are Developer related to help you prepare for the Developer exam, click here.
To prepare for the exam, you can also use the following resources that I have found other people have suggested:
- Plataan has an MB-820 Exam Preparation Webinar that you can register for that will take you through what you need to know for the exam.
- Study guide for Exam MB-820: This document provides an overview of the exam objectives, skills measured, and links to additional resources.
- MB-820: Microsoft Business Central Developer Practice Tests: This course on Udemy offers practice tests with detailed explanations and references to help you assess your readiness and identify your knowledge gaps.
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Developer (MB-820) Practice Exam: This website provides another set of practice questions with instant feedback and score report.
- Exam MB-820: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Developer: This website offers an online tutorial for the exam with video lectures, quizzes, and exercises.
I hope that this post has been able to help you in your preparation for the exam, and that you will now be better prepared for the exam. Should you have any further questions or require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
For more information please follow the Learning Journeys Webinar for more preparation for the exam.
Dynamics 365 Business Central Partner Technology Strategist
Meet Berny During, our Partner Technology Strategist for Business Central at Companial. With over 27 years of experience as a Microsoft Certified Trainer, he brings a wealth of expertise and knowledge to his role. Starting as a Product Manager at Navision South Africa and subsequently at Microsoft, he later established his own successful partner. Joining Companial as a franchisee in the Middle East-African market, Berny once again played a crucial role in guiding partners to grow and develop their Business Central practices through mentoring and training. He holds qualifications in Business Management, Taxation, Law, Supply Chain Management, and Computer Sciences.
Meet Berny During, our Partner Technology Strategist for Business Central at Companial. With over 27 years of experience as a Microsoft Certified Trainer, he brings a wealth of expertise and knowledge to his role. Starting as a Product Manager at Navision South Africa and subsequently at Microsoft, he later established his own successful partner. Joining Companial as a franchisee in the Middle East-African market, Berny once again played a crucial role in guiding partners to grow and develop their Business Central practices through mentoring and training. He holds qualifications in Business Management, Taxation, Law, Supply Chain Management, and Computer Sciences.
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