New MCSD ALM Certification - TFS, Visual Studio 2012

The new MCSD ALM certification from Microsoft is aimed at developers who want to test their skills in several enterprise areas including Team Foundation Server (TFS), software testing and delivering continuous value.

Most developers will be well aware of the MCSD certification which is known as the Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer, but few will have come across Team Foundation Server or Visual Studio 2012 testing in their certification material.

Until now, Microsoft has never put so much emphasis on software quality in their certifications and what better way to start by including Team Foundation Server. TFS is the enterprise source control and project management tool for development teams using Visual Studio. It's an absolute monster which easily warrants its own exam.

MCSD ALM stands for:

Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD): Application Lifecycle Management certification

Exams

The following 3 exams complete the certification:

70-496: Administering Microsoft Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2012
70-497: Software Testing with Visual Studio 2012
70-498: Delivering Continuous Value with Visual Studio 2012 Application Lifecycle Management

On the Microsoft learning website, it states that:

"Application Lifecycle Management certification helps you build the skills needed to deliver ALM solutions and provides a competitive advantage in the industry"

This is no overstatement! The importance of source control and delivery quality has never been so important in today's agile development era. Indeed, most IT frameworks including ITIL, PRINCE and MSF all focus on delivering reliable, cost effective services with quality being top of the list.