Certification
Just got the good news
I passed the CLD exam. I didn't think so when I left the test...I cut it way too close, with the final vi only fully functional with about 5 minutes left (or I thought fully functional, I got dinged on a few functionality points that I thought I had left in working condition, but I'm not really suprised I didn't find every bug), but I tested and documented subvis as I went, so it wasn't an utter disaster. I lost the most points on documentation, and that's where there were the most tasks I intended to get back to when I ran out of time. Yeah..yeah..that's why you document as you go...
I'm not sure I have a ton of advice to add beyond what I've seen here, but my two cents:
* I'd say the practice tests are pretty representative of the difficulty level on the real exam. Some posters here said they thought the real exams were meant to be harder than the practice exams, but I think the ATM was definitely harder than the test I took.
* Don't overinterpret requested functionality: I added a UI behavior that I assumed was needed based on the machine being simulated, but I realized on the way home that there was a much simpler approach that was perfectly consistent with the requirements. I probably wasted a good 30-45 min doing it the way I did (sorry to be vague...I assume the test is still in use and we're not supposed to reveal too many details about it).
I also wanted to thank the various posters here for helpful advice, especially the CLD success package. I had also never used the VI analyzer before I read the suggestion here. I didn't end up having time to run it in the real test, but running it on my practice exams helped me notice quite a few bad habits of mine that I watch for now.
