The following is a message from Ben Guterson at Redmond. If you meet the requirements (please read them very carefully) then this is an outstanding opportunity to be involved. If you know of someone who may qualify please pass this message on to them. They don't have to be members of VANTUG (if not why not :)).
I am a project manager with the Microsoft certification team, and I’m wondering if you would have interest/availability to participate in a five-day session, February 5 through February 9, in Redmond to create objective domains for two Longhorn Technical Specialist exams (TS: Windows Server 2007 Network Infrastructure, Configuring and TS: Windows Server 2007 Applications, Configuring); or for a three-day session, February 12 through February 14, in Redmond to create objectives for one Longhorn Professional exam (Pro: Windows Longhorn Server Administrator). The sessions are designed to flesh out the basic scoping of the exams and enumerate a detailed definition of skills/product expertise exam candidates should have--basically, we will be creating the specs for the exams. A facilitator will guide the group through exercises that will move us from a simple exam title to a fully fleshed out domain of objectives that we can eventually test candidates on—these sessions are the crucial first steps and will completely determine the direction for development of the exam questions.
The requirements from you are simply your time, expertise, and your ability to remain engaged and active over the course of five full days or three days, depending on the session--we need folks who will not be distracted by other work during the eight hours a day we'll be meeting; we also need folks who are comfortable working with a group of other subject matter experts and are able to contribute consistently and productively across the full session length. There is no prep required, just five or three days sequestered away in sunny Redmond, WA! Compensation will be $4k for the five days or $2.4k for the three days, plus T&E.
Regarding technical aptitude, we need people who know Longhorn inside and out--if there is the slightest question about this in a prospective attendee's mind, then she/he is not a person who should be in our session.
Please let me know if you are interested and available.
Thanks,
Ben Guterson
Cheers
Graham Jones
President, VANTUG