I checked the start menu programs group for the ‘Uninstall link’ just after the installation. Yes, thank god it is there ;). It is one of my nightmares that most certification trainer softwares do not have a proper uninstall link. I usually end up in manually removing everything. Setup and apply of license key were very easy since it was all user-friendly. Also, I must say the software vendor gave me excellent support for this. I really liked their mails after their delivery asking ‘do you need any help’ :)

Being a Microsoft technology developer, I use Microsoft SQL Server as the main database. I started working on SQL Server 7.0 in 1999. After that I was a fan of 8.0 (the great SQL Server 2000) and mainly worked on SQL Server 2005 and doing small experiments with SQL Server 2008 Beta. I had not much knowledge in internals of SQL Server since I was concentrating more on the application developer side. But through the accidental experience gained through helping my friends and colleges, now I am able to install and troubleshoot an SQL Server. Well, it is a pleasure that I got the opportunity to use uCertify’s Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Implementation and Maintenance which focuses on Microsoft’s Certification – MCTS 70-431

I spent just one hour on this tool and this review is based on that. So this review is surely out of scope of all the features. Also, I'll try to project only those features that convinced me.

Help -> Contents

I must appreciate the people behind the ‘PrepEngine Help’ document. It is really a good reference for even non-techies. I even thought why I must write a review since all the information is right there on the help itself.

Usability

A small and user-friendly interface is the first thing I noticed after invoking the PrepEngine tool.



Since I am registered to only M70-431A, it was selected in the panel. The questions are categorized in groups. There is a small icon on the bottom of that panel which shows tips on the features of the application. Arrows are used to roll through tips, which will help the beginners to get a picture about the application.

Interactive quiz is of course an additional feature to help us increase the confidence. There is a study notes and articles section, which will help you to avoid keeping a writing pad and pen ;). When I read the articles, I felt that I was reading an eBook.

Want to know where you stand? You can track your progress from the front panel itself. It will show your reports in each topics graphically.



Well, access to these features are available as menu also. In PrepKits Menu, you can download new certification kits simply by choosing the ‘download’ in ‘PrepKits’ menu.



There is an ‘update’ feature that is not supported by most of the other certification helper tools. You can update certification kits as well as the whole software tool.

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Now let me go through step-by-step exploring of features.

Test and Learn mode

When I ‘start’ a section, it showed me a customization window that asks whether you need a test mode or learn mode. The difference I found is a ‘learn’ button at the bottom if I choose ‘Learn Mode’. And if we click on that button while testing in learn mode, it will show the answers with a detailed explanation.

The appearance of questions and multiple choice questions gave me a feeling I am using a white paper with questions printed and I am sitting in an examination hall.

If you are in learn mode, you can first answer the question and click ‘learn’ button to verify whether you answered correct or not. If it is an un-known answer, you can learn it by reading the explanation given.

You can bookmark questions as well as add comments. You can review the questions any time in between your testing/leaning. Also, there is a ‘pause’ button that will help you to attend your phone calls ;) Well do not forget you are not allowed to ‘do this’ at the time of real certification examination.

At the end of test, you will get a score card that shows your score, Question reports and summary. The worst thing is you will get your Grade also in the page, which tells you Failed or Passed. There is a print button that will allow you to print your reports.

Quality of Questions

Of course the quality of questions is very high. I am surprised to see much new information on SQL Server from this PrepKit. Personally I am against brain dumps. But I use them for conducting interviews for IT firms. I saw many different questions that we may fail to see in those brain dumps.

Interactive Quiz

I really enjoyed the quiz. May be it is because I successfully answered most of the questions ;). Well, do not expect detailed explanation on answers like in Test and Learn mode here. This is just a quiz. As usual you will get a detailed report on your scored here also.

Final! – Adaptive Test

I had gone through different types of tests. It is good that you can even ‘create a test’ of your own.
An adaptive test is useful for every person who prepares for a Certification Examination. This test is similar to the real test, which is of 120 minutes.