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I was taking exam 70-290
I had already taken a dozen of various tests successfully
(MS, Sun) before, so I did not read instructions but I was very attentive in
reading all warning and GUI texts during the test

Before having finished to answer (and even to read out) all questions and
having 90 min rest,
the test completed with "failed" result

I am sure I was attentive and believe it was some glitch in network and/or
testing software

Since it was quite unexpectedly, I did not write down the exact situation.
Anyway the rules state that I cannot get any notes from test room.

All my previous (all were successful) tests were through Vue. This last one
(failed) was migrated to Prometric (first one with Prometric)

I am not expert but I believe that there could be some (network) failure
and/or the format/explanations of GUI were not explicit (I am sure I was not
warned about exam being finished)

What are my possibilities to complain about the situation?
How can it be done?
Is there any sense to burn time on it (e.g. I waited for certificates by
post more than 1 year, etc.)?

Anyway I already paid agian to take the same exam once more

Firstly you should not have paid to take it again until you tried to resolve
the issue.

Secondly on this page http://www.prometric.com/Microsoft/default.htm at the
right there is a box called Questions. Choose the area of the world you are
from and contact them to register your complaint.

Good luck. It sounds like you have a case, but will require perseverence to
win.

M

--
Mitch Garvis, MCT
MCSA, MCITP, MCDST, MCTS
Microsoft MVP: Windows Server - Customer Experience
Visit my blog at http://blog.mitchgarvis.com
---
"Guennadi Vanine" <> wrote in
message news:86D0EC7F-163A-4BAD-9F6E-...
>I was taking exam 70-290
> I had already taken a dozen of various tests successfully
> (MS, Sun) before, so I did not read instructions but I was very attentive
> in
> reading all warning and GUI texts during the test
>
> Before having finished to answer (and even to read out) all questions and
> having 90 min rest,
> the test completed with "failed" result
>
> I am sure I was attentive and believe it was some glitch in network and/or
> testing software
>
> Since it was quite unexpectedly, I did not write down the exact situation.
> Anyway the rules state that I cannot get any notes from test room.
>
> All my previous (all were successful) tests were through Vue. This last
> one
> (failed) was migrated to Prometric (first one with Prometric)
>
> I am not expert but I believe that there could be some (network) failure
> and/or the format/explanations of GUI were not explicit (I am sure I was
> not
> warned about exam being finished)
>
> What are my possibilities to complain about the situation?
> How can it be done?
> Is there any sense to burn time on it (e.g. I waited for certificates by
> post more than 1 year, etc.)?
>
> Anyway I already paid agian to take the same exam once more

Mitch Garvis, thanks a lot

I complained to Prometric and recieved the Email answer from Prometric

"Please be informed that we have opened your exam and we have seen that you
did not read the tutorial. In this tutorial there will be an explanation
about the content of the exam. If it is possible to review your questions and
how to use this option.


Since you did not read this tutorial, we cannot rebook your exam without a
new payment.


In answer to your question about the notes: please be informed that the
policies for the Microsoft exams are:

All exams are CLOSED BOOK exams, candidate may ask the site Administrator
for an erasable note board (one erasable note board is allowed), but need to
hand this back in after the exam."

Damn! Can anybody explaint this logic - did I read Tutorial then I am
eligible for exam rebooking,
but if I did not, then ..???

Is it Prometric''s policy in earning money through candidate's trapping?

This was my first exam through Prometric

I have taken dozens of computer-based exams before from various other
providers in various countries and I was accustomed that it would have been
enough to read real-time GUI notes, warnings
I was also accustomed that irreversible actions are identified and
double-warned as such. Nothing of this kind happened!

I even was told by Testing Center staff that I did not need re-reading
instructions since it had been taking examы there many times before

While reviewing questions (with this Prometric) I had options to return to
ONLY
- to unanswered,
- to incomplete
- to marked
questions
..
Since there was no option to return to ALL questions and that was what I
wanted, I pressed "End reviewing" aiming to return to answering ALL questions
again.
No explicit warning that this would have ended the exam followed whatsoever!!!

I had plenty of time rest, 80% of marked, incomplete and unanswered questions
I even had not read all questions!

Why not to design more explicitly the guidance with "End exam" button
instead of convoluted "End of reviewing"?

Why to permit candidates to skip the Tutorial if it is so critical for
taking exam,
i.e. it is impossible to understand the convoluted meaning of exam navigation
(what contrasts with formats from other providers)????

Why not to send me this Tutorial by Email after my registration for exam?

Why NOT to align the GUI with common practices of other providers?

Another bewilderment is how to return to answering ALL questions???
There was no such option whatsoever

The format of exam is simply not user-fiendly.
It contrasts with all formats from other providers and contradicts to basic
principles of GUI design

There is no possibility to document any glitches or even any desire to
provide such opportunity from Prometric

Геннадий Ванин Guennadi Vanine - Gennady Vanin
MCSD .NET,MCST:SQL Server 2005, SCPJ2


"Montreal MCT" wrote:

> Firstly you should not have paid to take it again until you tried to resolve
> the issue.
>
> Secondly on this page http://www.prometric.com/Microsoft/default.htm at the
> right there is a box called Questions. Choose the area of the world you are
> from and contact them to register your complaint.
>
> Good luck. It sounds like you have a case, but will require perseverence to
> win.
>
> M
>
> --
> Mitch Garvis, MCT
> MCSA, MCITP, MCDST, MCTS
> Microsoft MVP: Windows Server - Customer Experience
> Visit my blog at http://blog.mitchgarvis.com
> ---

I wonder if you got a failure because you didn't read this "Tutorial",
tutorials are just that, if you know how to do something why should you be
required to take a tutorial?

"Guennadi Vanine" <> wrote in
message news:8FEED367-24AF-4E3A-9D36-...
> Mitch Garvis, thanks a lot
>
> I complained to Prometric and recieved the Email answer from Prometric
>
> "Please be informed that we have opened your exam and we have seen that
> you
> did not read the tutorial. In this tutorial there will be an explanation
> about the content of the exam. If it is possible to review your questions
> and
> how to use this option.
>
>
> Since you did not read this tutorial, we cannot rebook your exam without a
> new payment.
>
>
> In answer to your question about the notes: please be informed that the
> policies for the Microsoft exams are:
>
> All exams are CLOSED BOOK exams, candidate may ask the site Administrator
> for an erasable note board (one erasable note board is allowed), but need
> to
> hand this back in after the exam."
>
> Damn! Can anybody explaint this logic - did I read Tutorial then I am
> eligible for exam rebooking,
> but if I did not, then ..???
>
> Is it Prometric''s policy in earning money through candidate's trapping?
>
> This was my first exam through Prometric
>
> I have taken dozens of computer-based exams before from various other
> providers in various countries and I was accustomed that it would have
> been
> enough to read real-time GUI notes, warnings
> I was also accustomed that irreversible actions are identified and
> double-warned as such. Nothing of this kind happened!
>
> I even was told by Testing Center staff that I did not need re-reading
> instructions since it had been taking exam? there many times before
>
> While reviewing questions (with this Prometric) I had options to return to
> ONLY
> - to unanswered,
> - to incomplete
> - to marked
> questions
> .
> Since there was no option to return to ALL questions and that was what I
> wanted, I pressed "End reviewing" aiming to return to answering ALL
> questions
> again.
> No explicit warning that this would have ended the exam followed
> whatsoever!!!
>
> I had plenty of time rest, 80% of marked, incomplete and unanswered
> questions
> I even had not read all questions!
>
> Why not to design more explicitly the guidance with "End exam" button
> instead of convoluted "End of reviewing"?
>
> Why to permit candidates to skip the Tutorial if it is so critical for
> taking exam,
> i.e. it is impossible to understand the convoluted meaning of exam
> navigation
> (what contrasts with formats from other providers)????
>
> Why not to send me this Tutorial by Email after my registration for exam?
>
> Why NOT to align the GUI with common practices of other providers?
>
> Another bewilderment is how to return to answering ALL questions???
> There was no such option whatsoever
>
> The format of exam is simply not user-fiendly.
> It contrasts with all formats from other providers and contradicts to
> basic
> principles of GUI design
>
> There is no possibility to document any glitches or even any desire to
> provide such opportunity from Prometric
>
> ???????? ????? Guennadi Vanine - Gennady Vanin
> MCSD .NET,MCST:SQL Server 2005, SCPJ2
>
>
> "Montreal MCT" wrote:
>
>> Firstly you should not have paid to take it again until you tried to
>> resolve
>> the issue.
>>
>> Secondly on this page http://www.prometric.com/Microsoft/default.htm at
>> the
>> right there is a box called Questions. Choose the area of the world you
>> are
>> from and contact them to register your complaint.
>>
>> Good luck. It sounds like you have a case, but will require perseverence
>> to
>> win.
>>
>> M
>>
>> --
>> Mitch Garvis, MCT
>> MCSA, MCITP, MCDST, MCTS
>> Microsoft MVP: Windows Server - Customer Experience
>> Visit my blog at http://blog.mitchgarvis.com
>> ---

Hi,
my question was not about why I failed.
I failed because I had not finished answering question.
The exam was finished while I STILL had 90 min and 80% of questions being
marked, unanswered, incomplete and even some not read out

Unclear, ambiguous and absent instructions lead me to press the wrong button

I already repeated and passed this exam successfully with Prometric.

I do not know what Prometric answer did mean under Tutorial (that I had not
read)
There is no Tutorial during exam

There is a row of instructions before the exam that are not possible to skip
(without reading)

These instructions do not tell anything how to interpret buttons in "Exam
Overview" list form

That is, initially, I understood that "End overview" button leads to the
end of form with list of questions and to return back to answering the
questions
There is no EXPLICIT warning about the finishing of exam (irreversibly)
There was the warning about the end of "this section" of exam
(again I understood ""Exam Overview"" form under this "Section of exam")

There are no sections in that exam (70-290), i.e. the whole exam is taken as
one section, at least as it appears to exam taker

That was I complained to Prometric about (ambiguous instructions).
But Prometric answered me about impossibility to rebook the exam
refferencing to some Tutorial.
Practically Prometric inisisted on continuing with ambiguous and absent
instructions of exam

Then I asked where can I read mentioned Tutorial before exam, why it is
permitted to skip it, etc. And no nswer followed
I could not find that Tutorial and/or clear instructions on exam either

ERRATA:
Earlier I wrote that there was no button to return to answering ALL
questions.
Really there is such button. But I wanted to return to unanswered and
incompleted questions.
And such button is missing


"Michael Gossett" wrote:

> I wonder if you got a failure because you didn't read this "Tutorial",
> tutorials are just that, if you know how to do something why should you be
> required to take a tutorial?