A Complete Microsoft Certification DA 100 Exam Guide

Data science is rapidly becoming popular among today’s professionals. Any job related to this stream is quite desirable in the IT industry. Many educational institutes, online education platforms, and major companies offer various certification programs related to data science and data analysis. One of the most popular choices for amateurs and professionals is the Microsoft Certification Exam DA 100. This article will learn all about the DA 100 exam – what it is, how to prepare, what to prepare, and more exam tips.

Let us learn to understand the DA 100 examination.

Microsoft online courses have been helpful for many professionals in recent times. Microsoft is offering many role-based certification programs like data engineer, data scientist, data analyst, developer, and many others. The exam of DA 100  is all about checking your knowledge of creating and designing scalable data models, cleaning and transforming data, assisting advanced analytic capabilities that offer meaningful business value through easily understandable data visualisations.

The DA 100 exam is a full-on test that comprises multiple-choice questions, case studies, and drag and drop questions. This examination is ideally suited for:

• If you want to have a comprehensive knowledge of Power BI.
• A business analyst who wants to increase their knowledge significantly.
• A data analyst who is willing to test their Power BI knowledge.

Know about the fundamentals before taking the DA 100 exam

Though there are no mandatory requirements for taking the Microsoft DA 100. But knowing the following will be helpful for any aspirant:

• You must have a thorough knowledge of Microsoft Azure cloud concepts.
• You should have preliminary knowledge of basic Business Intelligence concepts such as dashboarding, reporting, and authoring measures & KPIs using Power BI by Microsoft.
• You should also have an idea of data preparation and data cleaning.

Knowing the exam pattern beforehand is crucial.

A Microsoft-certified professional holds many exclusive work opportunities that others might not get. Preparing for any Microsoft certification courses can be both unnerving and hectic. Knowing the exam pattern and the examples of questions you might face can relieve you. Let us look at the exam requirements, basic information, and question modules that will be extremely useful to know in advance.

The DA 100 examination is divided into five major modules, which are listed below:

1. Prepare the data (20-25%) – In this module, you will get data using Common Data Service (CDS) from different parameters and data stores. You also have to profile, clean, transform, and load the data. You also need to solve irregularities, combine queries, and apply user-friendly naming conventions to queries and columns.
2. Model the data (25-30%) – This module will have questions on designing and developing the data model, generating measures using DAX, and optimising the data model’s performance.
3. Visualize the data (20-25%) – The questions will basically be on live dashboards, creating reports, increasing user-friendliness, configuring navigation, designing reports for mobile devices, and Sync Slicers. 
4. Analyze the data (10-15%) – The questions will be on performing advanced analysis by conducting Time Series analysis, improving reports to expose insights, applying Microsoft AI insights, cloud security, and others. This module will have fewer questions compared to the modules mentioned above. 
5. Deploy and maintain deliverables (10-15%) – This module will manage datasets, assign workspace roles, and configure, create, and manage workspaces. Updating a workspace application, publishing, importing, or updating assets in a workspace, and applying sensitivity labels to workspace content. This module, too, will have very few questions compared to the first three modules.

Here are some valuable tips on cracking the Microsoft DA 100 Certification Examination

• Study materials – If you are looking for reliable references and study materials for exam preparation, the best resource is Microsoft Learn. Microsoft Learn is a go-to choice when it comes to preparing for certification courses offered by Microsoft. It can benefit both amateurs and industry professionals to get the best learning process and exam guidance. 
• Prepare well – The preparation time depends on the person’s capability in using Microsoft Power BI. It can be anywhere between two weeks to two months. The learning paths that are best to follow to acquire in-depth knowledge are,

• Getting started with Microsoft data analytics
• Preparing data for analysis
• Modeling data in Power BI
• Visualising data in Power BI
• Data analysing in Power BI
• Managing workspaces and datasets in Power BI

• Hands-on practice is essential – Going through the learning mentioned above several times will make your exam journey relatively easier. Taking notes when going through the Microsoft certification training is also crucial. If you have any challenging areas, practice them more and allot more time.
• Exam day is important – On the exam day, keep a government identity proof handy for verification. Also, log in 30 minutes before the allotted time. Once the exam is in progress, answer the questions patiently and not panic. Go through the questions correctly, especially the case studies. You will receive your score once the examination is over. 

Summing up

Cracking the Microsoft DA 100 course can be a bit hectic for many. But the key is dedicated practice. Any Microsoft certification course adds an extra feather to your hat and professional career. Go through the guide well and create your practice schedule. Research as much as possible and from various resources. This will boost your confidence and give you the required assurance to complete the exam successfully.