Preparing for Your Professional Cloud Architect Engineer Journey («GCPPCA»)

• Listing the five domains covered on the Professional Cloud Architect certification exam
• Identifying gaps in your knowledge and skills for each domain and create a study plan

Learners explore the breadth and scope of the domains covered in the exam. Learners assess their exam readiness and create their individual study plan.

0 Introduction to the Professional Cloud Architect Certification

• Role of a Professional Cloud Architect and scenario introduction*
• Certification value and benefits
• Certification process
• Describe the purpose and benefits of the PCA certification.
• Explain the certification process

1 Designing and planning a cloud solution architecture
Scenario: Defining initial technical and business design considerations for Cymbal’s migration to a cloud solution

• Identify considerations involved in designing solution infrastructure that meets business and technical requirements
• Describe options for designing network, storage, and compute resources leveraging Google Cloud
• Explain the elements of a migration plan
• Recognize the potential for future solution improvements
• Determine the skills you need to develop in order to design and plan solution architecture leveraging Google Cloud

2 Managing and provisioning a solution infrastructure
Scenario: Provisioning and deploying the cloud solution per Cymbal’s requirements

• Identify considerations involved in configuring network topologies, individual storage systems, and compute systems
• Determine the skills you need to develop in order to manage and provision solution infrastructure

3 Designing for security and compliance
Scenario: Identifying the security and compliance considerations pertinent to Cymbal’s cloud solution

• Explain recommended design practices to ensure security across a cloud solution
• Recognize aspects of designing for compliance
• Determine the skills you need to develop in order to apply Google’s recommended approach to designing for security and compliance

4 Analyzing and optimizing technical and business processes
Scenario: Analyze costs, KPIs, etc. and identify opportunities for optimization 

• Describe the technical and business processes involved in solution production
• Identify ways to optimize processes and develop procedures to ensure reliability of solutions in production
• Determine the skills you need to develop to optimize technical and business processes involved in producing a cloud solution

5 Managing implementation/Ensuring solution operations and reliability
Scenario: How the PCA helps establish best practices for Cymbal’s solution deployment and ongoing operations

• Describe best practices for development and operations teams to ensure successful solution deployment
• Explain methods to interact with Google Cloud programmatically
• Explain methodologies for managing configuration and code updates and tools available for monitoring and analyzing KPIs

6 Your Next Steps

• Learn how to break down a case study to pinpoint business and technical requirements, and find differentiators
• Finalizing your study plan
• Creating a weekly study sheet
• Registering for the exam
• Create a personalized study plan
• Review next steps

Cloud professionals who intend to take the Professional Cloud Architect certification exam

To get the most out of this course, participants should have 3+ years of industry experience including 1+ years designing and managing solutions using Google Cloud.

Products

• Google Cloud Armor 
• Cloud CDN 
• Cloud Console
• Cloud DNS
• IAM
• Cloud Interconnect
• Cloud Load Balancing
• Cloud Shell
• Network Service Tiers
• Networking
• Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)

Not covered
This course is not an exam “cram session.” It doesn’t by itself prepare you to take the exam. It is a tool to help prospective exam candidates better understand the Professional Cloud Architect certification and find any gaps in their knowledge, so that they can create a personalized study plan to remedy those areas.