Working as an AWS Certification Subject Matter Expert

At Cazoo we make extensive use of Amazon Web Services infrastructure. We use a serverless architecture for the majority of our applications, built on AWS Lambda, API Gateway and DynamoDB. We value & encourage personal development, and for some of our engineers, that includes training and certification for AWS.

Hundreds of thousands of individuals have taken AWS certification exams, but few people know how these exams are developed. Over the last 3 years I have been working with AWS on the development of these exams, as an AWS Certification Subject Matter Expert (SME).

SMEs work with AWS to develop the certification exams, and SMEs come from both inside AWS as well as other organisations. Exam development workshops are held frequently, both in person and remote, for SMEs to come together to work on a particular stage of the exam development process. The types of workshop include:

• the job task analysis, where we decide on the topics which should be tested in the exam
• item development, where we write and review the items (questions) that will go into the exam
• standard setting, where a group of SMEs take the exam and determine what the passing score should be
• … and many more!

I recently travelled to Nashville to work on item development with a group of SMEs for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect — Associate exam. SMEs from all around the world met up at the AWS office and we spent 3 days coming up with new items for the exam, reviewing them, rewriting them, and approving some to go to the next stage, so they can be field-tested on exams for data gathering purposes. It was great to work together with the other SMEs, have the time to discuss ideas with each other and socialise outside the office too. Thank you to AWS for funding the trip to allow us to work together in person, and Cazoo for supporting me in my SME work!

This isn’t the first workshop I’ve taken part in, but is the first time I’ve been to one in person (we can thank the pandemic for that!). I’ve previously been involved with the exam development for 3 other AWS exams (Developer — Associate, SysOps Administrator — Associate, and DevOps Engineer — Professional) and have gained experience about the full exam development process over these workshops. Before becoming an SME I really had no idea about the amount of work that goes into developing these exams. There is a huge amount of thought, individual feedback, group discussion, editing, testing, and statistical analysis for every single item in each exam; it’s impressive, and really helps to ensure the quality of the exams.

If this sounds interesting, why not apply to be a Certification SME too? You’ll need to have experience using AWS, and hold the certification you’re interested in contributing to. There’s more information on the AWS website, as well as the full requirements and information on how to apply. If you’re selected, you’ll receive some training on the exam development process and then take part in your first workshop! As an SME you’ll have the opportunity to work with and learn from other experts in your field, get some exclusive SME swag, and have a great addition to your CV.

And to answer the question I get asked the most: what’s my top tip for passing the exams? Well I obviously can’t tell you exactly what’s going to be on the exam! But the best advice I can give is to study the exam guide in detail; every item we write for the exams is linked back to topics on the exam guide.