Passing the Alteryx Server Administration Certification — Prep and Tips
Recently, Alteryx updated the Server Administration certification. As I use Alteryx Server on a daily basis, I thought to have a go, and then later go over and revise. To my surprise, I passed on the first go. I thought that it would be useful to share my thoughts and what I would recommend doing to prepare for those interested.
Firstly, the audience for this certification would be someone who uses Alteryx Server on a regular basis but generally is well versed with Alteryx Designer. The reason that I say this is, whilst most questions were Alteryx Server related, some questions such as data connections within the Server or credentials, did link to Alteryx Designer too. It is not an easy certification if you are not familiar with Alteryx Server, and all of the different settings. Experience, and being involved will pay off with this certification more than revision and notes.
You have 2 hours to do this certification, with 80 questions that are multiple-choice, single answers or the occasional drop-down and match. The pass mark is 67%. Note that the version of Alteryx Server the certification is being carried out on is 22.1. Just like the other Alteryx certifications, you can retake this every 7 days if you do not pass.
Personally, I think that the certifications are designed to encourage you to go off, learn, and then re-attempt if need be which is a great way to get better at something without the intense pressure of an ‘exam’. Also, I should note that this is entirely free to take, at your convenience. The certification is an open book one which makes it easy to go directly into the Server and find the answer.
What resources should I have open?
- Alteryx Server — Being a curator in terms of role type is best here as you can then go into Server Admin too.
- Alteryx Help — This is just a page with links to many areas however, a simple google will usually get you closest to the page you may need https://help.alteryx.com/20223/server/administer-alteryx-server
- Alteryx Forum — A lot of the questions that I googled did take me to a forum page where I would usually find the answer.
- Optional: Alteryx Designer — You should not need this at all but having it open to check something is useful.
What will I be tested on?
If you want a thorough answer to this, I would recommend taking a look at the preparation guide from Alteryx:
Generally, here is the high-level breakdown:
- Gallery Administration Settings: 55%
- Data Source Integrations: 25%
- Maintenance and Troubleshooting: 20%
Despite using the Server quite regularly, I was unaware of many features that came up within the questions. It can range from something quite broad like user roles to districts, collection creation by role to media, notifications and banners. I had to google and rely on trying out certain things within the Server to get to the answers. There are quite a few questions on Server Data Connections and the Data Connection Manager (DCM). But also best practices with file paths, and which logs do what.
Tips
Use Alteryx Server
Have this open, and ideally as a curator. Sometimes, you will need to go into the admin setting to view niche configurations e.g. knowing that each user has switch buttons that can be configured as such:
You could revise and cover the different elements within Alteryx Server however if you have good general knowledge, there is nothing wrong with using the certification to learn and explore.
Just Attempt it!
What is the worst that could happen? You will lose 2 hours and fail, but you may realise that you know more than you expected and even learn new things. This may set you up to then revise and try again. After all, Alteryx themselves say:
‘The exam is part of the learning process. On your first attempt, focus on learning instead of passing. Use your resources to look up answers you do not already know. Even if it takes a few attempts to pass the exam, you will still benefit from the process of preparing for the exam and improve as a user. Time spent preparing for the exam is time spent improving your skills and knowledge of all things Alteryx Server Administration.’
When attempting the core and advanced certifications, I made far too many notes. It is really easy to want to thoroughly prepare, which is completely unnecessary when the certification and usage are very hands-on. Saying that, if making notes helps you when revising, please do — just don’t exhaust yourself. Most Server admins will not know the thorough ins and outs themselves and instead rely on useful documentation when needed.
Keyword Searching is your Friend
Don’t search the whole question, it's a waste of time and impractical. Be clever with your search e.g. search:
‘Alteryx Server User Roles’
‘Alteryx Server Districts’
‘Tagging and Districts Alteryx Server’
‘Creating Subscriptions Alteryx Server’
Then, open the relevant Alteryx documentation and skim for those keywords or use CTRL + F. Generally, the Alteryx documentation has a summary at the top before it does a breakdown of that topic across different categories which have a subheading at the top. Skim to find the subheading relevant to the question that you are answering.
Use the Red Flag!
You have 2 hours to answer 80 questions. If you are familiar with Server, you might not take very long to answer certain questions, which means you will have enough time to search and then answer the ones that you are stuck on.
In any case, you should utilise the flag feature which allows you to come back to the questions that you are unsure about.
Either, answer everything you know, and flag what you are unsure of and do that next OR I also like to answer the ones I know, search and answer what I can, and where I’m not confident and I’d like a second look IF I have time when I finish, I do by using the flag. That was the approach I took to my attempt as I assumed that I may not pass, and told myself there was absolutely no pressure in finishing within the time, but more so truly having a go, learning and enjoying it.
Overall, use the flag function in the way that suits you. Just don’t mull over a question that you are unsure of as you do have a time limit.
Use the Post-Certification Feedback
After you have finished, you will be emailed a list of categories with percentages to show you how you scored. You will get this whether you have passed or failed. The idea is to give you an indicator as to where you could improve and therefore, focus your attention to then revise/ recap.
Despite passing, I know how useful the categories that I didn’t do as well in are to my work. Therefore, my action plan will be to go over the learning path to recap it.
In all, I did find this certification difficult, but not impossible. I really enjoyed the format of it and the fact that I could pick up a lot of information that ordinarily, I would have not. If you are a user of Alteryx Server, I would highly recommend having a go!
Good luck and happy learning!
Resources
Alteryx Server Learning Path
Alteryx Server Help
Alteryx Server Logs
