Studying for a Microsoft certification exam can be hard and daunting, but I finally took the opportunity to study hard in order to pass the 70-576 (PRO: Designing and Developing Microsoft SharePoint2010 Applications) Microsoft Certification exam, which I did January 10 with a score of 899 in total. I will not say it was an easy task, but in this blog post, I will try to summarize the resources I made use of to pass this exam.

Books
I always use books when preparing for Microsoft Certification exams, and if I cannot find a corresponding Microsoft Press book, I usually prefer books from Wrox and Apress. This was the case with the 50-576 exam, so I used the following books:

Professional SharePoint 2010 Development
Professional SharePoint 2010 Administration

I also found the following book, on Amazon, but the status on Amazon is currently unavailable and they do not know release date: SharePoint 2010 Developer’s Certification

MSDN
The Microsoft Developer Network provides the SDK documentation, and many technical articles about SharePoint 2010 development. This is a very good resource for learning all the corners of SharePoint 2010. I usually use the Microsoft Developer Network together with the books mentioned in the previous section. When I discover something unclear or something I do not understand, I go to the Microsoft Developer Network where I usually find all the information I need.

Online resources
There is tons of online resources besides the Microsoft Developer Network. Below are some of the resources I found very helpful during my study.

Study guide to the exam 70-576: Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Designing and Developing
This study guide was created by Pedro Pinto and covers almost everything in the exam. This is a highly recommended read if you are serious about passing the 70-576.

SharePoint on StackExchange
This Q&A site is a part of the StackExchange network and is widely known by developers around the world. You’ll find answers to most of your questions here.

Round up
I hope the information was helpful if you are considering passing 70-576. I would say it is highly recommended since you will learn a lot about SharePoint development. Have fun studying.

I am currently studying for the 70-576 exam which is titled “PRO: Designing and Developing Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Applications” and from the looks of the “Skills Measured” tab on the exam website, I will have a lot of reading and experimenting in front of me. Be prepared for some new blog posts on the way once I go through each subject carefully.
Since I already have the 70-573 exam (MCTS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Application Development), I will become a MCPD if I pass the exam mentioned above.

There are currently no Microsoft Press books available for the exam, so I will have to do with TechNet articles, resources from blogs and the “Professional SharePoint 2010 Development” book from Wrox. Although I found a study guide for the 70-576 exam by Pedro Henrique Araújo Rodrigues Pinto on his blog which might come in handy. The study guide can be found here.