Sitecore 10 Exam Competencies

 This is same as what is in Sitecore elearning curriculum but pulled it out as an open blog for public to benefit!

Each of the questions for the exam tests knowledge specific to the basic competencies that a Sitecore 10 .NET Fundamental Developer are expected to have to qualify as “certified.”

 

Competency 1: Sitecore structure & platform

A Sitecore .NET Developer must be able to describe the basic structure of the Sitecore Experience Platform (XP) product, define specific Sitecore terminology when used in context of Sitecore XP, and prepare their workspace for development tasks.

·        To meet this competency, you need to be able to

    • Define Sitecore-specific terminology in a Developer context, including Content Editor, Experience Editor, component, rendering, placeholder, template, layout, item, and serialization.
    • Differentiate between Sitecore MVC and Sitecore Headless Development methods, tools, and processes at a high level.  
    • Identify the different deployment options for a Sitecore Experience Platform environment (e.g., on-premise, containers, Managed Cloud).  
    • Install Sitecore Experience Platform on a development workstation without the use of containers.
    • Create a .NET solution with the appropriate projects for your development method. 
    • Execute development tasks assigned from a development plan for a Sitecore environment.

·        Additional resources: 

o   Content Editor

o   Experience Editor

o   Sitecore XP Downloads

Competency 2: Security & user management

A Sitecore .NET Developer must be able to configure the environment and user security settings, create and manage users and roles, and develop workflows within Sitecore.

·        To meet this competency, you need to be able to

    • Create users and roles within the Sitecore platform.
    • Configure the security roles to meet the needs of the business and use cases of the environment.
    • Configure item security properly for existing and future items.
    • Manage permissions for items, roles, and users.
    • Identify when security rights are conflicting and resolve the conflict.
    • Use role inheritance to simplify role creation and management.
    • Use the Sitecore publishing features to publish items and sites to the appropriate databases.
    • Configure item workflows for Content Authors, Editors, and Publishers.

·        Additional resources:

o   Security

o   Securing the Experience Manager

o   Workflows

Competency 3: Item management

A Sitecore .NET Developer must be able to create and manipulate items within the Sitecore XP environment using both Content Editor and Experience Editor. 

·        To meet this competency, you need to be able to

    • Define Sitecore-specific terminology in a Developer context. Terms include standard values, insert options, item GUIDs, fields, field types, source values, inheritance, component definition items, layout definition items, placeholder settings items, and package.
    • Add items in multiple areas within the content tree, such as templates, component definition items, layout definition items, and placeholder settings items.
    • Create templates, standard values, and set insert options to match the data structures outlined in a development plan.
    • Recognize the difference between the standard Sitecore databases used, such as Web and Master.
    • Locate where search indexes are managed.
    • Use Sitecore packages to transfer Sitecore items and environment changes to another Sitecore environment. 
    • Install a Sitecore package.

·        Additional resources:

o   Data Templates

o   Managing Items

Competency 4: Layouts & placeholders

A Sitecore .NET Developer must be able to create a layout and placeholders in the Sitecore environment with corresponding items within their development project. 

·        To meet this competency, you need to be able to

    • Create layout definitions items within Sitecore and set the presentation details for a layout. 
    • Create a corresponding layout file within your ASP.NET project. 
    • Explain the difference between a static and dynamic placeholder and the purpose of each.
    • Set presentation details on a template item. 
    • Create a placeholder settings item.
    • Set Allowed controls on a placeholder settings item.
    • Define a placeholder on a layout, both dynamically and statically.

·        Additional resources: 

o   Sitecore Layouts

o   Versioned Layouts

o   Dynamic Placeholders

Competency 5: Components, controls, & renderings

A Sitecore .NET Developer must be able to create and manage components using either Sitecore MVC or the Sitecore ASP.NET Core Rendering SDK. 

·        To meet this competency, you need to be able to

o   General:

      • Differentiate between the different rendering definition items in Sitecore, such as view, controller, and JSON rendering items.
      • Set the compatible renderings on a rendering definition item.
      • Control component usage by configuring the Datasource Location and Datasource Template fields. 
      • Set up additional control properties and component parameters 
      • Use caching controls on a rendering item to improve environment performance.
      • Build components that utilize the Rendering Contents Resolver to access additional information from the Sitecore platform, such as content tree structure and system-based templates.
    • Sitecore MVC:
      • Create view and controller renderings.
      • Differentiate between static component binding and dynamic component binding with placeholders.
      • Explain the purpose of Sitecore MVC field helpers.
      • Render Sitecore fields as editable in Experience Editor by using Sitecore MVC field helpers. 
    • Sitecore ASP.NET Core Rendering SDK
      • Create and register model-bound view components, custom view components, and partial view components.
      • Explain the purpose of Sitecore tag helpers.
      • Rendering Sitecore fields as editable in Experience Editor by using Sitecore tag helpers in component views.

·        Additional resources: 

o   Sitecore MVC

o   Sitecore Headless Development

Competency 6: Sitecore Content Serialization

A Sitecore .NET Developer must be able to use Sitecore Content Serialization (SCS) to manage content and item changes among a team of Developers.

·        To meet this competency, you need to be able to

    • Locate and connect to the source control location for your development project.  
    • Install the Sitecore Command Line Interface (CLI).
    • Log in to Sitecore from the CLI.
    • Configure a Serialization module with included paths and rules.
    • Execute the CLI commands to push and pull content item from Sitecore. 
    • Use serialization packages for continuous integration.
    • Install Sitecore for Visual Studio (VS).
    • Use Sitecore for VS to push and pull content items from Sitecore.

·        Additional resources: 

o   Sitecore Content Serialization

o   Sitecore Command Line Interface

o   Sitecore for Visual Studio

Competency 7: Containers

A Sitecore .NET Developer must be able to understand the purpose of the Sitecore Container Repository (SCR), deploy a Sitecore environment to a set of Docker containers, and develop within a containerized Sitecore installation.

·        To meet this competency, you need to be able to

    • Prepare the files necessary to deploy Sitecore XP to containers.  
    • Launch a Sitecore environment with docker-compose. 
    • Set up a Sitecore solution with your own Docker images based on Sitecore-provided images.
    • Develop and debug within a Sitecore environment running on containers.

·        Additional resources: 

o   Container Development

o   Sitecore Support for Containers

 

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