On July 17, after months of studying, I took the Google Professional Cloud Architect certification exam. It was not a smooth experience. Let me explain.
Proctoring Software Setup
The exam takes place online with a proctor who constantly observes you via your laptop’s webcam. Special software called Sentinel is installed on the laptop, which prevents you from switching pages. Sentinel controls the microphone as well as the webcam so the proctor can listen to sounds in the room. The exam consists of fifty multiple-choice questions and lasts a maximum of two hours. During the exam, it is important to look at the screen the whole time and not move around too much, otherwise the proctor might think you are cheating. So, no problem, then.
The exam was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., and the exam proctor had given me instructions to have the computer ready to start at 6:45 p.m. This period was to be used to validate my identity and to scan the room using the webcam to ensure there were no answers written on the walls or ceilings, or hidden web cloud gurus under my desk whispering the answers to me.
Sentinel software is quite intrusive and requires administrative rights on the machine. It disables virus scanning and firewalls during its operation. This is why the proctor recommends not to use a company laptop, but rather a personal laptop over which you will have full control. I had the choice of two laptops, my wife Marilyn’s Dell laptop or my old MacBook that I bought in 2010 when I went to Costa Rica, but that’s another story. I chose the Dell laptop.
I logged in and began the validation step where the software tries to recognize a human face. A red box around the face means it is still looking and a green box means it has found one. Without a green box, the exam cannot continue.
I just had the red box. The software advised me to change the lighting so that there was no light behind me. I went to the other side of the table, closed the shutters, adjusted the direction of the ceiling spotlights but to no avail. The software did not recognize me as a human being. My frustrated face remained in the red box. It was now 8:05 p.m., 5 minutes after the start of the exam.
I pressed the “Help” button in the chat window. The answer was: a support person will be available to you soon. I waited five minutes. No answer. I thought maybe I should start the process again. I clicked the “Exit” button. He replied, “Are you sure you want to exit? I was hesitant. Maybe I should wait a little longer. After all I had paid $200 USD for the exam.
I tried calling the review company by phone but all I got was a message telling me to use the chat window so I waited 5 more minutes and then I left the exam. It was now 8:20 p.m. I went upstairs to get my MacBook and decided to check the company laptop while I was there. There was an email from the assessor stating that the exam had been rescheduled for 9:00 p.m. Hopefully my second attempt with the MacBook will go better.
I unplugged the Dell, removed it from the room, and plugged in the MacBook. I installed Sentinel software. It was 8:30 p.m. I still had 15 minutes to wait before I could begin the pre-exam checks. I was thirsty but didn’t want to have a drink because I wasn’t allowed to leave my seat to go to the bathroom once the exam started.
Finally it was 2045 and I was able to start. I looked at the screen and the box around my face changed from red to green. Success! I was ready for the ID check and room check.
Pre-exam Security Checks
A message appeared in the chat window: hold your passport in front of the webcam. It was good. Then I had to walk the laptop around the room, pointing the webcam at the floor, ceiling, walls. It took a while because the room where I took the exam was the ground floor of the chalet, which has an L-shaped kitchen, dining room and living room. The proctor wanted me to wait 10 seconds for each position, which took about 5 minutes.
At the end I looked at the chat window and it told me that it had lost video connection so I had to do the grand tour again, luckily this time successfully.
Final checks involved looking behind the laptop. This is not possible with a webcam itself. He suggested I use my cell phone camera in “selfie” mode to see the cell phone from different angles, but it wasn’t clear. So I decided to use a shaving mirror to allow him to see the sides and move the laptop back to make sure no other devices were connected or answers stuck behind it the computer. Finally, we were done. I removed my passport, turned off the cell phone, put the mirror back in the bathroom, leaving only the laptop and a glass of water on an otherwise empty desk.
It was 9:20 p.m. The proctor said he would add twenty minutes to my exam time. I could now begin the exam.
Finally The Examination Starts
With the software, you can mark a response as complete or for review. I completed all 50 questions marking 13 for further consideration in about 1 hour 30 minutes. I then reviewed the marked questions, changing only two answers.
So I had 15 minutes left for a final once-over to make sure I had checked my response for the few questions for which you had to choose 2 or 3 correct answers from the 4 or 5 options. With 5 minutes left, I clicked the “Submit” button with my fingers crossed.
Next, I completed an online survey about the exam experience. I was expecting to see the exam result, but it simply stated that the exam had been sent to Google for verification and that I would receive my results in 7-10 days.
Getting The Exam Results
On Monday, one of my colleagues told me that I could see the provisional result of my exam by logging into the assessors’ website and looking at previous exams. The result was positive! I was both relieved and happy. It would be another two years before I would have to go through that experience again.
Yesterday I received an official confirmation of the result and was able to upload my certification and submit my details to the Google Professional Cloud Architect register.
