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AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02)

AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02)

The AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02) certification validates an individual’s ability to design, develop, deploy, and maintain cloud-based applications on the AWS platform. It demonstrates proficiency in utilizing AWS services, implementing CI/CD workflows, and identifying and resolving application-level issues. This certification serves as an excellent entry point for those pursuing a career in cloud development or advancing within the AWS certification path. The DVA-C02 exam is designed for professionals who are actively involved in development roles. It assesses a candidate’s capability to:

  • Develop, test, and debug cloud-native applications on AWS.
  • Package and deploy applications using CI/CD pipelines.
  • Secure application code and associated data.
  • Monitor, troubleshoot, and resolve operational issues within AWS-hosted applications.

– Experience Requirements

Candidates should have a minimum of one year of hands-on experience in developing and maintaining applications utilizing AWS services.

– Recommended General IT Proficiency

Prospective candidates are expected to possess:

  • Proficiency in at least one high-level programming language.
  • A strong understanding of the application lifecycle and management.
  • Foundational knowledge of cloud-native application development.
  • The ability to build and maintain functional software solutions.Familiarity with modern development environments and tools.

– Recommended AWS Knowledge

Candidates should be able to:

  • Develop secure, scalable applications using AWS SDKs, APIs, and the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI).
  • Implement and manage CI/CD pipelines for deploying applications on AWS infrastructure.

Exam Details

AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02)
  • The AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02) is an associate-level certification designed for individuals in developer roles who work with cloud-based applications on AWS.
  • The exam is 130 minutes long and consists of 65 questions, presented in either multiple-choice or multiple-response formats.
  • Candidates can choose to take the exam at a Pearson VUE testing center or opt for the online proctored mode, depending on their convenience.
  • The certification exam is available in several languages, including English, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Simplified Chinese, and Spanish (Latin America).
  • Exam results are reported using a scaled scoring system ranging from 100 to 1,000, with a minimum passing score of 720 required to achieve certification.

Course Outline

The exam covers the following topics:

1. Learn About Development with AWS Services (32%)

Task statement 1: Develop code for applications hosted on AWS.

Knowledge of:

Skills in:

Task Statement 2: Develop code for AWS Lambda.

Knowledge of:

Skills in:

Task Statement 3: Use data stores in application development.

Knowledge of:

Skills in:

  • Serializing and deserializing data to provide persistence to a data store
  • Using, managing, and maintaining data stores
  • Managing data lifecycles
  • Using data caching services

2. Understand About Security (26%)

Task Statement 1: Implement authentication and/or authorization for applications and AWS services.

Knowledge of:

Skills in:

  • Using an identity provider to implement federated access (for example, Amazon Cognito, AWS Identity and Access Management [IAM])
  • Securing applications by using bearer tokens
  • Configuring programmatic access to AWS
  • Making authenticated calls to AWS services
  • Assuming an IAM role
  • Defining permissions for principals

Task Statement 2: Implement encryption by using AWS services.

Knowledge of:

Skills in:

  • Using encryption keys to encrypt or decrypt data
  • Generating certificates and SSH keys for development purposes
  • Using encryption across account boundaries
  • Enabling and disabling key rotation

Task Statement 3: Manage sensitive data in application code.

Knowledge of:

Skills in:

  • Encrypting environment variables that contain sensitive data
  • Using secret management services to secure sensitive data
  • Sanitizing sensitive data
AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02)

3. Overview of Deployment (24%)

Task Statement 1: Prepare application artifacts to be deployed to AWS.

Knowledge of:

Skills in:

  • Managing the dependencies of the code module (for example, environment variables, configuration files, container images) within the package
  • Organizing files and a directory structure for application deployment
  • Using code repositories in deployment environments
  • Applying application requirements for resources (for example, memory, cores)

Task Statement 2: Test applications in development environments.

Knowledge of:

Skills in:

  • Testing deployed code by using AWS services and tools
  • Performing mock integration for APIs and resolving integration dependencies
  • Testing applications by using development endpoints (for example, configuring stages in Amazon API Gateway)
  • Deploying application stack updates to existing environments (for example, deploying an AWS SAM template to a different staging environment)

Task Statement 3: Automate deployment testing.

Knowledge of:

Skills in:

  • Creating application test events (for example, JSON payloads for testing Lambda, API Gateway, AWS SAM resources)
  • Deploying API resources to various environments
  • Creating application environments that use approved versions for integration testing (for example, Lambda aliases, container image tags, AWS Amplify branches, AWS Copilot environments)
  • Implementing and deploying infrastructure as code (IaC) templates (for example, AWS SAM templates, AWS CloudFormation templates)
  • Managing environments in individual AWS services (for example, differentiating between development, test, and production in API Gateway)

Task Statement 4: Deploy code by using AWS CI/CD services.

Knowledge of:

Skills in:

  • Updating existing IaC templates (for example, AWS SAM templates, CloudFormation templates)
  • Managing application environments by using AWS services
  • Deploying an application version by using deployment strategies
  • Committing code to a repository to invoke build, test, and deployment actions
  • Using orchestrated workflows to deploy code to different environments
  • Performing application rollbacks by using existing deployment strategies
  • Using labels and branches for version and release management
  • Using existing runtime configurations to create dynamic deployments (for example, using staging variables from API Gateway in Lambda functions)

4. Understand Troubleshooting and Optimization (18%)

Task Statement 1: Assist in a root cause analysis.

Knowledge of:

Skills in:

  • Debugging code to identify defects
  • Interpreting application metrics, logs, and traces
  • Querying logs to find relevant data
  • Implementing custom metrics (for example, CloudWatch embedded metric format [EMF])
  • Reviewing application health by using dashboards and insights
  • Troubleshooting deployment failures by using service output logs

Task Statement 2: Instrument code for observability.

Knowledge of:

Skills in:

  • Implementing an effective logging strategy to record application behavior and state
  • Implementing code that emits custom metrics
  • Adding annotations for tracing services
  • Implementing notification alerts for specific actions (for example, notifications about quota
    limits or deployment completions)
  • Implementing tracing by using AWS services and tools

Task Statement 3: Optimize applications by using AWS services and features.

Knowledge of:

Skills in:

  • Profiling application performance
  • Determining minimum memory and compute power for an application
  • Using subscription filter policies to optimize messaging
  • Caching content based on request headers

AWS Certified Developer – Associate Exam FAQs

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DVA-C02

AWS Certification Exam Policy Overview

Amazon Web Services (AWS) enforces a standardized set of policies and procedures to ensure a secure, consistent, and fair certification experience for all candidates. These policies cover critical areas such as exam retakes, unscored questions, and score reporting, helping maintain the integrity of the certification process.

– Exam Retake Policy

Candidates who do not pass an AWS certification exam must observe a mandatory waiting period of 14 days before attempting the exam again. There is no limit on the number of retakes, but each attempt requires payment of the full exam registration fee.

– Scoring and Exam Results

The AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02) exam is evaluated on a pass/fail basis, with results determined by a scaled scoring system ranging from 100 to 1,000. The minimum passing score is 720. This score reflects your overall performance and determines whether you have met the required competency level, as defined by AWS experts in alignment with industry best practices.

AWS uses a compensatory scoring model, meaning you do not need to pass each individual section of the exam. Instead, your total score across all sections determines the outcome. In some cases, your score report may include a section-wise performance breakdown, giving insight into strengths and areas for improvement. Scaled scoring allows AWS to normalize scores across different versions of the exam, ensuring fairness regardless of slight variations in difficulty among test forms.

AWS Certified Developer – Associate Exam Study Guide

AWS Certified Developer – Associate Exam Study Guide

Step 1: Understand the Exam Objectives Thoroughly

Begin your preparation by reviewing the official AWS DVA-C02 exam guide. This document outlines the domains covered in the exam, such as application development, deployment, security, monitoring, and troubleshooting on AWS. Each domain is broken down into specific tasks and knowledge areas. Take time to understand what’s expected in each domain so you can focus your study on the most relevant topics. A clear grasp of the exam blueprint ensures you don’t miss any critical concepts or skills.

Step 2: Use Official AWS Training Resources

AWS offers official training content tailored to the DVA-C02 certification. These resources are curated by AWS experts and align directly with the exam objectives. Begin with the “Developing on AWS” course, which provides a solid foundation in developing cloud applications using AWS services. These instructor-led or on-demand training modules can help you build a strong conceptual understanding of how AWS services integrate within application development workflows.

Step 3: Leverage AWS Skill Builder

The AWS Skill Builder platform is a powerful tool for certification preparation. It offers a wide range of free and paid digital courses, interactive learning paths, and role-based learning experiences tailored to cloud developers. Explore the dedicated DVA-C02 learning plan to follow a structured curriculum, helping you stay on track while building expertise in each exam domain.

Step 4: Practice with AWS Builder Labs, Cloud Quest, and AWS Jam

Practical experience is crucial for success in this exam. Use AWS Builder Labs to perform hands-on exercises that simulate real-world development tasks on the AWS platform. Complement this with AWS Cloud Quest, a gamified learning experience that lets you solve cloud challenges in a role-specific virtual environment. Additionally, participate in AWS Jam events, which offer scenario-based challenges that mimic complex AWS problems—perfect for reinforcing applied knowledge.

Step 5: Join Study Groups and Online Communities

Collaborating with peers can significantly enhance your learning experience. Join online study groups, forums, or local AWS user communities to discuss difficult concepts, share resources, and stay motivated. Platforms like Reddit, LinkedIn groups, and re:Post by AWS often host active discussions and allow you to learn from others preparing for the same exam.

Step 6: Take Practice Exams to Assess Your Readiness

Regularly evaluate your progress by attempting AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02) practice tests. These mock exams simulate the actual test environment, helping you become familiar with the question formats and time constraints. Analyze your results to identify weak areas and revisit those topics before the actual exam. Use reputable platforms that provide explanations for answers, so you can understand the reasoning behind each solution.

Step 7: Review, Revise, and Schedule the Exam

As your exam day approaches, revise key concepts, review notes, and revisit difficult questions from your practice tests. Ensure all exam logistics are sorted—whether you’re taking it online or at a testing center. Once confident in your preparation, schedule the exam through the AWS Certification Portal and take it with a calm and focused mindset.

AWS Certified Developer – Associate

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