Video summary

Как стать сертифицированным DevOps-инженером

Main summary

Key takeaways

Educational

Main ideas, concepts, and lessons

  • Purpose of the webinar

    • Announce how to prepare for the new “certified DevOps engineer” exam tied to Yandex Cloud certifications.
    • Share the exam’s internal development process, exam mechanics, and preparation “life hacks.”
    • Provide guidance so participants can pass successfully and receive the certificate.

  • What the “ideal certified DevOps engineer” should be

    • Cloud-specific certification: knowledge must be centered on Yandex Cloud services.
    • Experience requirement: practical work with cloud/DevOps tools for at least 6 months to 1 year (more is better).
    • DevOps tooling knowledge:
      • Focus on Yandex Cloud DevOps tools
      • Also understand relevant open-source DevOps tools
    • Theory is included:
      • The exam has a dedicated theory domain
      • Expect questions about the DevOps methodology as well.

  • Why certification matters

    • Benefits for individuals:
      • Helps with career advancement
      • Fills knowledge gaps
      • Reinforces learning (reviewing topics systematically)
    • Benefits for employers:
      • Partners look for Yandex Cloud certificates as proven skill validation
    • Certification is:
      • A difficult and proctored exam (hard to cheat)
      • Designed so passing indicates you are truly competent with the platform/services.

Exam structure and mechanics (detailed)

  • Exam format

    • Total questions: 65
    • Duration: up to 90 minutes
    • Minimum passing score: 35
    • You don’t have to answer all questions at once:
      • Answer what you know first
      • Return later to questions you need to think about

  • Proctoring (mandatory for all exams)

    • Exam is taken in a secure, controlled environment with no cheating and no hints.
    • Requirements include:
      • Workspace inspection
        • Must show your whole workspace/camera view
        • Ensure nothing hidden (no clues)
      • Second camera
        • Installed/positioned as required
      • Pre-check
        • Test your OS compatibility
        • Verify the Examus secure browser works correctly
      • Bring passport
        • Identity verification is required
        • Missing passport means the exam cannot be guaranteed as valid/cheated-free because identity can’t be established
      • Quiet environment
        • No radio/interruptions
        • Avoid colleagues appearing in the camera view
    • Recording and verdict
      • The process is recorded
      • Live proctors watch and decide pass/fail for proctoring
      • If controversial cases occur, the team reviews the video manually

  • Psychometrics and question quality control

    • A psychometrician ensures test quality and statistical validity:
      • difficulty calibration
      • discrimination (separates different knowledge levels)
      • reliability/consistency
    • Workflow includes:
      • Pilot exams
      • Analysis of how learners answered
      • Calculation of coefficients used to:
        • keep strong questions
        • modify/refine questions
        • remove questions that are too easy/hard or otherwise not meeting quality criteria
    • This is described as an ongoing continuous improvement process.

Domains/topics covered

  • The final competency map resulted in 9 themes overall.

  • The webinar highlights four main domains with sample questions:

    1. Basic Yandex Cloud infrastructure
    2. Containerization
    3. Orchestration
    4. CCD configuration (mentioned as one of the exam’s key topics; also associated with CD/pipeline configuration)

  • Specific emphasis mentioned:

    • Databases are included but with fewer questions (than the more foundational topics).

How the certification is developed (methodology / pipeline)

The exam content is created through an iterative, multi-stage process:

  1. Determine competencies

    • Research includes target audience study
    • Involvement of partners and clients
    • Competency map creation:
      • initially had about 10 topics
      • then refined into the final structure (ended at 9 themes)
    • Competencies are expressed as work tasks (practical job-like tasks), e.g.:
      • Setting up CD / CD pipelines
    • Open-source DevOps components are included as part of preparation.

  2. Convert work tasks → questions

    • Questions are created based on work tasks.
    • Each question goes through multiple circles/iterations before becoming final.

  3. Question validation loop (per question)

    • A. Test developer validation
      • Confirms the question meets exam development guidelines/standards
    • B. Psychometrician validation
      • Confirms quality criteria from a test-design perspective
    • C. Architect review (Nursultan)
      • Ensures technical correctness and depth of coverage
      • Can demand refinements even after earlier approvals
    • If needed, the question may return back to earlier stages and be revised again.

  4. Pilot exams

    • Pilot exam participation: 150+ people
    • Psychometrician reviews pilot results:
      • refine question difficulty and quality
      • remove weak items or adjust items

  5. Target level

    • Not designed primarily for juniors.
    • Oriented to:
      • Middle-level
      • sometimes Junior-mid
      • sometimes mid+ areas are reflected.

Free preparation resources and tools (instructions/list)

  • Preparation materials

    • A collection of free courses for DevOps engineers on Yandex Practicum
    • Preparation also uses documentation (explicitly recommended, including “concepts” sections)

  • Use the “concepts” section

    • For most Yandex Cloud services, documentation has a Concepts section
    • This is recommended as required background

  • Don’t rush

    • Recommended preparation time: at least 2 weeks (even if confident)
    • Suggested approach:
      • study materials
      • do a trial/practice exam
      • review topics again afterward

  • Take the trial exam released with each new exam

    • Trial exam is essentially the same format as the real one
    • It demonstrates:
      • question mechanics (single-choice / multiple-choice)
      • time expectations
    • After passing practice, you get results showing:
      • which topics you struggle with
      • which topics you’re ready for

  • Technical readiness for proctoring

    • Pre-test:
      • OS compatibility
      • Examus secure browser
      • potentially run the test system once (or a few times for safety)
    • Ensure a compliant workspace:
      • quiet place
      • no distractions or visible interruptions

  • Minimum score requirement

    • Plan to score ≥ 35

“Life hacks” and “what NOT to do” (key points)

  • Life hacks for success

    • Check the competency list to identify gaps
    • Study the documentation concepts section
    • Use the trial exam to understand question mechanics and diagnose weak topics
    • Schedule prep time (2+ weeks), then review
    • Verify proctoring setup in advance to reduce anxiety

  • What not to do

    • Don’t rely on memorizing every parameter/flag/options
      • The emphasis is on understanding concepts
    • Don’t underestimate Kubernetes
      • Expect many Kubernetes-related questions
    • Don’t panic about proctoring
      • Issues are largely mitigated by pre-testing Examus browser and setup
    • Don’t forget the basics that can invalidate testing:
      • passport
      • compatible browser/OS
      • workspace compliance

Examples of question types (what they illustrate)

  • Application Load Balancer health checks

    • Health status checking:
      • the load balancer periodically checks target HTTP/HTTPS resources
      • excludes instances that fail health checks
    • Purpose: confirm conceptual understanding of Yandex Cloud services and DevOps tool context

  • Dockerfile behavior

    • Question about missing CMD / missing runtime arguments:
      • container termination with an error is discussed as the expected behavior
    • Purpose: practical correctness, not interview-style trivia

  • Kubernetes scheduling rules

    • Ensuring two pods do not run on the same node:
      • use anti-affinity rules
    • Purpose: ability to apply Kubernetes mechanisms, not just guess

  • Gitflow theory

    • Why use tags rather than branches:
      • tags mark a permanent reference point for commits
    • Purpose: recognizes common DevOps practice knowledge for middle/mid+ levels

Logistics: pricing, promo, scheduling, retakes (instructions)

  • Exam pricing

    • Standard cost: 8,000 rubles
    • Promo offer for webinar participants until March 31:
      • price reduced to 1,600 rubles

  • Promo code process

    • Promo code must be activated before March 31
    • Code is sent by email (mentioned as an “Fп letter”/email letter) toward end of the week
    • Promo activation happens via the exam purchase flow

  • Scheduling

    • Create a personal account on STXM platform
    • Exam schedule is visible there ~3 months in advance
    • Specific exam date is chosen via the StartExam platform account

  • Retake

    • Retake exam is paid
    • Discounts may be offered periodically (anniversary discounts, newsletter-driven offers)

  • Rescheduling

    • Rescheduling is generally not possible unless you reschedule properly
    • You can reschedule up to 24 hours in advance
    • If an exception is needed, participants must email the certification team (email on the website)

  • Examus availability on Linux

    • For now only macOS and Windows
    • Linux support is being worked on; updates will be announced when available

Featured speakers / sources

Speakers in the webinar

  • Nursultan Kolniyazov — Solutions Architect (Kubernetes development services); responsible for competency map & certification process; developed questions; participated in competency map debates.
  • Ekaterina — certification lead (also mentioned as someone who has passed the exam).
  • Katya — mentioned as certification lead (likely referring to Ekaterina / same role in different wording).

Sources referenced

  • Yandex Cloud (services and platform used as the certification basis)
  • Yandex Practicum (hosts the free preparation courses)
  • Examus secure browser (used for proctored exam)
  • STXM (account platform to access scheduling)
  • StartExam (platform where the exam is taken)
  • Documentation “concepts” sections for Yandex Cloud services
  • Certification blog / study research on career benefits (QR code reference)
  • Psychometrician (role/person type; described as a dedicated expert ensuring test quality)

Original video