hello!
I recently took the INCOSE knowledge exam for ASEP certification on June 24th. For the past 50 days, I fought against myself and studied to prepare for this exam, and fortunately, I was able to pass in one attempt.
In this post, for those of you who are curious about the INCOSE Knowledge Exam preparation process, I will share how I prepared for the exam and key information related to the exam.
Study Guide for ASEP-INCOSE Knowledge Exam
1. Study period and time
- I studied intensively, on average, 3 hours a day for a total of 50 days.
2. Study materials
- Systems Engineering Handbook 5th Edition: I read chapters 1.1 through 4.3 twice. Since English is not my native language, I used Google Translator and ChatGPT to translate it into Korean and then study for efficient learning.
- Udemy course: I took the course ‘Product Development & Systems Engineering (INCOSE / 15288)’. This lecture by Christopher Olson was very helpful in understanding the abstract content of the SE Handbook in more detail. It was difficult to watch the entire video of the lecture, so I only read the transcript.
- LearnSE.com: I solved INCOSE Knowledge Exam Practice Questions from chapters 1.1 to 4.3. Although the questions on this site are different from the actual exam questions, they helped me focus on studying and understanding the content of the SE Handbook.
3. Knowledge Background
- Relevance to SE Handbook contents: Although I have little SE work experience, I have automotive-specific system engineering experience such as A-SPICE, ISO26262, and ISO/SAE21434.
- Test Experience: I solved all the exam questions in the first 1 hour and 50 minutes, and then solved the ambiguous questions again for the remaining 40 minutes.
4. Useful information about exams
- Question Type: Exam information provided on the INCOSE website (https://www.incose.org/docs/default-source/certification/incose-certification-knowledge-exam-update-wright-20150327.pdf Unlike ?sfvrsn=8c8096c6_0), there was no multiple-choice problem, and 120 questions were asked to choose one out of four options.
- Main Question Chapter: Chapter 2 of the SE Handbook, Process-related problems accounted for more than half of the total, followed by Chapters 3, 1, and 4, in that order.
- Key understanding: Because the SE Handbook’s wording is not expressed literally in the questions, it is important to understand key concepts and terms rather than memorizing the contents of the SE Handbook.
- Exam Scope: Chapters 1 to 4.3 based on SE Handbook 5th Edition. In other words, it seems to be based on the 4th SE Handbook.
- Additional exam time provided: Non-English speaking test takers will be provided an additional 30 minutes beyond the standard time.
- Problem flagging function: You can flag issues that need review and check back later.
5. Other contents
- INCOSE non-members can also take the test: You can take the test without INCOSE membership, and you can sign up for membership and go through the ASEP certification process later.
- Equipment Required: To take the test, you will need a laptop with a camera and a smartphone or tablet. You will be proctored by two cameras during the exam.
- Total Cost: The total cost for ASEP certification is $435, which includes $175 for the INCOSE membership fee, $180 for the ASEP application fee, and $80 for the INCOSE Knowledge Exam.
During my last exam, I really thought I was going to fail. This is because less than half of the questions were solved with confidence that the answer was correct. I think I probably got lucky with a lot of the problems I took.
Preparing for the INCOSE Knowledge Exam was quite stressful. Because the certification is not widely recognized in the field I work in, I often felt like giving up whenever I had a hard time studying.
But in the end, I was really happy that I passed the exam in one attempt. What I learned from this experience is that sometimes you don’t know how well you can do. I hope you, like me, have the courage to challenge to the end even in the face of uncertainty.
I sincerely hope that you will prepare thoroughly for the exam and pass the exam at once. The test preparation process can be overwhelming at times, but the sense of accomplishment you feel after enduring the process is indescribable!
If you are interested in other articles about Study Guide, please refer to the links below!