I ‘m due to sit the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) 77-886 beta exam. I thought I’d share the list of resources that helped me with my revision.
To help I’ve copied in the Microsoft learning content from http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/Exam.aspx?ID=77-886#tab2
Creating and Formatting Content
- Navigate the SharePoint hierarchy.
- Basic tasks in SharePoint Server 2010: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/basic-tasks-in-sharepoint-server-2010-HA101839175.aspx#_Toc246753287
- Configure the Quick Launch for site navigation: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/configure-the-quick-launch-for-site-navigation-HA102130960.aspx
- Configure the top link bar for site navigation: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/configure-the-top-link-bar-for-site-navigation-HA102105259.aspx
- Manage lists and libraries.
- Lists: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/CH010372655.aspx
- Libraries: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/CH010372656.aspx
- Create, change, or delete a column in a list or library: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/create-change-or-delete-a-column-in-a-list-or-library-HA101782518.aspx
- Enable users to rate content: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/enable-users-to-rate-content-HA101791797.aspx
- Manage list items.
- Document management: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/CH010372621.aspx
- Set up a library to store image, audio, or video files: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/set-up-a-library-to-store-image-audio-or-video-files-HA101828004.aspx
- Manage document sets.
- Introduction to document sets: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/introduction-to-document-sets-HA101782466.aspx
- Create and manage document sets: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/create-and-manage-document-sets-HA101782480.aspx
Managing SharePoint Sites
- Manage pages.
- Creating basic pages and Web Part pages: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/CH010372750.aspx
- Creating and editing pages on a publishing-enabled site: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/CH010372753.aspx
- Administer a site.
- Create Content Organizer rules to route documents: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/create-content-organizer-rules-to-route-documents-HA101807927.aspx
- Manage alerts: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/manage-alerts-HA010378198.aspx
- Manage Web Parts on a page.
- Working with web parts: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/CH010374342.aspx
- Manage content types.
- Manage users and groups.
- Permissions management: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/CH010372659.aspx
- Create SharePoint workspace sites.
- Analyze site activity.
- Site analytics reports: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ecm/archive/2010/03/21/introducing-web-analytics-in-sharepoint-2010.aspx
- site analytics web part: http://www.sharepointedutech.com/2010/03/12/out-of-the-box-web-analytics-web-part/
Participating in User Communities
- Configure My Site.
- Collaborate through My Site.
- Boost collaboration through MySite: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/boosting-collaboration-with-wikis-blogs-my-sites-ratings-and-tags-HA101889364.aspx
- Tag and note content.
Configuring and Consuming Site Search Results
- Administer search at the site level.
- Enable content to be searchable: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/enable-content-to-be-searchable-HA010379092.aspx
- Search SharePoint for content.
- View search results.
- Perform advanced searches.
- Search for people.
Integrating SharePoint 2010 Services and Microsoft Office 2010 applications
- Configure SharePoint 2010 Services.
- Getting started with Excel Services: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/CH010373176.aspx
- Visio services: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/CL101794780.aspx
- Forms services: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/CH010372616.aspx
- Access services: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/CL101812259.aspx
- Run Microsoft Office 2010 applications with SharePoint 2010 services.
- Working with Office clients: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/CH010373147.aspx
- Create dashboards.
Hope you find this information helpful.
Wes is the Principal Solutions Architect at Content and Code in the UK. He's currently working on several SP2013 collaboration platforms and the CKSDev Visual Studio tools. 
Thank you, this was very useful!
Did you pass, and was the prep covering?
;0)
Hi Kim,
Yeah I passed
The guide should cover everything in enough detail to get a strong pass.
Cheers,
Wes
Great guide – I passed beta too.
hey Mary,
i am going to appear for the exam this week.Can you please let me know the type of questions in the exam it would be great help.I have read the guide but do i need to practice alot on the environment ??
thanks,
mamta
Thanks Wes
No book out for this yet so very handy.
Thanks for sharing this information Wes.
I’ve never sat a MS exam before so could you please tell me how the exam is structured please?
Thanks again!
The exam is a mixture of scenario and multiple choice questions. The multiple choice questions present four options to answer the posed question. The scenario based questions present a ‘real’ SharePoint environment to navigate around to perform the tasks. When in the scenarios be sure to read the task instructions carefully as sometimes the required action may need you to navigate to the page/site before performing the action. Also as SharePoint contains many ways to perform actions (like create a page) be sure to try another one if you find the option greyed out.
hi,
I am preparing for the exam..Can i get the sample paper online??
I did the training course as well.So the type of questions training material has..will it be same in the exam
thanks,
mamta
Hi Mamta,
Due to the nature of this exam being mainly scenario based I would suggest following the guide and practicing with a SharePoint 2010 environment should be enough. Microsoft provide a pre-built environment you can download from here: IW VM Download which should help if you don’t have access to an environment.
I actually think the scenrio based approach as a good thing to reduce the number of ‘cram and remember’ style PassMark type answer sheets produced, this leads to a memory based pass but not real depth in product knowledge.
Cheers,
Wes
Hey Mamta, what training course? Is there a decent SP reference book you could recommend?
Thanks
Mikey
Thanks alot Wes for the information.Even I was thinking how i am going to remember the stuff mentioned in the links.There is so much to remember and everytime i read something i forget about the previous one
.I will download and will practice more on the environment.I have Sharepoint foundation 2010 which has limited features as compare to Sharepoint server 2010.
I hope it would help me to clear my exams.
thanks,
mamta
Wes, your info and guide looks very interesting – thanks hero! Before I go into learning for the exam, am I right that this exam requires only proficiency in the SP web editor environment and nothing to do with Designer/Visual Studio?
Cheers, Mikey
Hi Mikey,
This exam covers all the topics that the ‘average’ SP2010 end user would need to know. There are one or two questions about things liked Managed Metadata (the admin screens) but i don’t recall anything SPD related.
Certainly NOTHING code/development based.
Cheers,
Wes
Hi Wes,
I’m working through your study guide and found a reference to SPD. In http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepoint-server-help/enable-users-to-rate-content-HA101791797.aspx
section: Add ratings to a page layout of a publishing page (“you must have…..Sharepoint Designer 2010..”)
No problem however, I have it, will be interesting to see if I can navigate around though!
Yeah I’m not sure that SPD will come up in the exam questions as that could be classed as power user or even a dev topic.
Hi Mikey,
Have you appeared for the Exam :77-886 ??
thanks,
mamta
No, not yet
Hi Wes,
where can i register for exams ??
thanks,
mamta
Most MS exam centres will probably provide the exam, I used the CertPoint link http://www.certiport.com/Portal/Pages/LocatorView.aspx
hey wes,
Do we have to buy MOS Voucher to appear for the exam ??
let me know asap.
It would be great help.
thanks,
mamta
Hi Was,
the link you have shared with me on IVM download is no longer available ..Can you share any other link if you have information on the same ??
thanks,
mamta
Hi Wes,
Thanks so much for the additional resources for this exam as I will be preparing to take this exam.
Do you know if this exam is still in Beta?
Thanks for your time.
-Julio
The exam is now fully available. Several of my company recently sat it and confirmed that the learning material is still valid.
Thank you for your help! I don’t know if it will work.
I must say that I just didn’t succed the test. And I am now going to retake it.
I did read the MOS study guide, and made all the excercises TWICE over a month. But the questions was almost everything else.
For example i had to insert a webpart I had never heard of, and that i couldn’t find! There were two there had a similar name, but not exactly that what they wanted.
And I had to do something at the Farm level, that I didn’t know what was either.
I would have prefered a test that was much more covered by the study-book. Otherwise how am I and others going to learn? I do not have access to Sharepoint other places than at a school I attend for the purpose.
Sorry to hear you haven’t found all the information useful in the guide. As you appreciate the SharePoint product is large and broad and the guide aimed to give people a core focus around those topics listed by Microsoft as the assessment criteria. As for access to a working SharePoint environment then i can point you to the MS Sales Demo http://mssalesdemos.com/DefaultAnonymous.aspx which has several virtual machines and scripts available to use.
Hope this helps.
Wes
Wow!!! Finally cleared the MOS SharePoint 2010 exam on 20th Jan 2013. It was kind of tricky and cleared it in the re-take exam!!!!
27 questions with 50 mins time
Congrats
Thanks, Wes!
Helped me a lot.