My Step-by-Step Study Plan for Passing the Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305) Exam

If you’re reading this, you’ve likely reached a pivotal moment in your cloud career. For me, that moment came while working as a solutions architect at a consultancy. I was already a certified Google Cloud Architect, but I was facing a clear market reality: the demand for Azure expertise far outstripped the GCP work coming our way. I knew the core architectural concepts were transferable between clouds, but knowing it and proving it to a client are two different things. I needed to demonstrate credibility and fluency in the language of Azure. That’s where the Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification came in. For me, it was also a personal test. Having recently switched careers to become a solutions architect (you can read about my journey from zero experience to cloud solutions architect), passing the AZ-305 was my way of validating that choice—proving that my skills were truly adaptable and that I could architect solutions on the platform my clients needed most.

This certification is far more than just another line on your resume. It’s a rigorous validation of your ability to translate complex business requirements into secure, scalable, and resilient cloud solutions. It signifies a shift in mindset—from configuring individual services to orchestrating them into a cohesive, well-architected whole. It’s the definitive step toward becoming a key technical decision-maker, the person in the room who designs the blueprint for cloud success.  

This guide is the culmination of my own journey to earning this expert-level certification. I’ve distilled my research, my study plan, my successes, and my near-misses into a comprehensive, step-by-step roadmap. We’ll deconstruct the exam, adopt the right mindset, assemble the ultimate resource toolkit, follow a detailed 8-week schedule, and master the strategies you’ll need for exam day. Let’s begin.

First, Understand Your Mission: Deconstructing the AZ-305 Exam

Before you can conquer the AZ-305, you need to understand the battlefield. This exam is a different beast than many other certifications, with a specific focus and a distinct set of expectations.

Who This Exam Is For (and Who It Isn’t)

Microsoft is very clear about the intended audience for this exam: it’s for seasoned IT professionals. Candidates are expected to have advanced experience and knowledge of IT operations, including networking, virtualization, identity, security, business continuity, disaster recovery, data platforms, and governance. In short, you’re expected to walk in with a strong conceptual understanding of how all these pieces fit together to form a complete solution.

A crucial point of clarification is the Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) prerequisite. To officially earn the Azure Solutions Architect Expert badge, you must have an active AZ-104 certification. However, a common misconception is that you must pass the AZ-104 before you can even attempt the AZ-305. This is not the case. You are free to sit for the AZ-305 exam at any time, but Microsoft will only award you the expert certification once you’ve passed both exams. This offers some strategic flexibility in how you plan your certification path.  

This distinction is more than just a logistical quirk; it highlights the symbiotic relationship between the two certifications. The AZ-104 exam validates your hands-on, operational knowledge—the “what” and “how” of configuring Azure resources. It requires you to know the details of the Azure portal and the specifics of implementation. The AZ-305, by contrast, tests your strategic and conceptual knowledge—the “why” and “when” of architectural design. It’s less about knowing every checkbox in the portal and more about understanding which service to choose to solve a specific business problem. This aligns perfectly with the Solution Architect role, which bridges business requirements with technical implementation (to understand how this differs from Technical Architect responsibilities, see Solution Architect vs. Technical Architect: Which Path is Right for You?). Many candidates find success by taking these exams in close succession, using the fresh, detailed implementation knowledge from the AZ-104 as a direct foundation for the architectural principles tested in the AZ-305.

The Four Pillars: A Breakdown of the Skills Measured

The AZ-305 exam is structured around four core knowledge domains. According to the official study guide, which was last updated on October 18, 2024, the breakdown is as follows:

- Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions (25–30%)
- Design data storage solutions (20–25%)
- Design business continuity solutions (15–20%)
- Design infrastructure solutions (30–35%)

Exam Format & Logistics

Knowing the practical details of the exam can significantly reduce day-of anxiety. Here’s what to expect:

• Question Count: 40–60 questions.
• Exam Duration: 120 minutes of “seat time” for answering questions, with a total appointment time of around 140 minutes to account for reading the NDA and providing feedback.
• Passing Score: 700 out of a possible 1000.
• Question Types: The exam uses a variety of formats to test your knowledge, including standard multiple-choice, drag-and-drop questions where you build an architectural diagram, and the notoriously challenging case studies, which present a detailed business scenario followed by a series of related questions.

Microsoft also provides an “exam sandbox” that allows you to demo the user interface and question formats before your test. I highly recommend spending some time here to get comfortable with the environment.

The Architect’s Mindset: My Core Philosophy for Success

Passing the AZ-305 requires more than just memorizing facts about Azure services. It demands a fundamental shift in how you approach technical problems. You have to learn to “think like an architect.”

It’s Not What You Know, It’s How You Think

I had my big “aha!” moment with this when studying for my Google Cloud certifications. The “Engineer” exam was tough because it was all about memorizing specific commands. But I found the “Architect” exam easier. Why? Because it wasn’t about memorization; it was a test of reasoning. The AZ-305 is exactly the same. It’s designed to test your design reasoning—your ability to analyze a set of requirements and justify why one solution is superior to another for that specific context.  

I treat it like designing a custom PC build. You have to weigh the components based on the primary use case. If you’re building a gaming PC, you’d think a top-tier graphics card is the obvious choice. But that isn’t always the best answer. Some games are more CPU-intensive, and overspending on the GPU would be a waste. The architect exam is the same puzzle. You will frequently encounter questions where multiple answer choices are technically viable. An Application Gateway and Azure Front Door can both provide web traffic load balancing. Azure SQL Database and SQL Server on a VM can both host a relational database. The key is to dissect the scenario for the critical constraints. Does the solution need global reach? Choose Front Door. Does the business need to use existing on-premises licenses? SQL on a VM with Azure Hybrid Benefit might be the answer. The exam is a constant exercise in identifying the best fit, not just a possible fit.  

Balancing the Scales: The Art of the Trade-Off

At the heart of every architectural decision is a trade-off. A solution that is optimized for performance might be prohibitively expensive. A highly secure design might introduce operational complexity. The AZ-305 will relentlessly test your ability to balance these competing requirements.  

For example, a case study might specify a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of less than 15 minutes and a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of near zero. This points toward a sophisticated, geo-redundant, active-active architecture. However, if the same case study includes a business requirement to “minimize costs,” that high-end solution becomes the wrong answer. The correct choice will be the one that meets the minimum required RTO/RPO at the lowest possible cost, even if other options offer better resilience. This is the essence of the architect’s mindset: finding the optimal balance point within a given set of constraints.

The Well-Architected Framework (WAF) as Your North Star

So, how do you develop this way of thinking? Your guide is the Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework (WAF). Honestly, when I was studying, I didn’t get bogged down in memorizing every detail of the framework documentation. Instead, I focused on deeply understanding its five core pillars. These pillars, along with the concepts from the Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF), became my mental model for every problem. The WAF is built on these five pillars:

- Cost Optimization
- Operational Excellence
- Performance Efficiency
- Reliability
- Security

When you’re faced with a complex scenario question, you don’t need to recall the entire WAF document. Just use these five pillars as your checklist. Consciously evaluate the potential solutions against them. Which option provides the most reliability for the cost? Which is the most secure while remaining operationally manageable? Framing your decisions through the simple lens of these pillars will consistently guide you toward the answers Microsoft is looking for.

Building Your Arsenal: My Focused Resource Strategy

Everyone learns differently, and for me, a structured, phased approach worked best. Instead of jumping between dozens of resources, I built my plan around a few high-quality ones, each with a specific purpose. Here’s the three-tier strategy that got me through.

Tier 1: The Foundation - A Comprehensive Online Course

For me, the starting point is always a structured online course. I’d had great success passing my Google Cloud certs this way, and I applied the same logic here. A full course, like the specializations available on Coursera, forces you to go through every single exam objective from start to finish. It builds the complete picture before you start drilling down into individual topics. This ensures you don’t have any major blind spots in your knowledge and is ideal for anyone aiming to design and implement advanced Azure solutions.

Tier 2: Targeted Review - John Savill & Microsoft Learn

Once I had the full foundation from the course, my next step was to consolidate and reinforce. This is where John Savill’s famous AZ-305 Study Cram video on YouTube comes in. It’s the perfect high-level overview to connect all the dots. After watching it, I’d use Microsoft Learn to dive deep into any specific topics where I felt my understanding was weak. This combination is incredibly efficient—a broad review followed by surgical deep dives into the official documentation.

Tier 3: Validation and Final Polish - Practice, Practice, Practice

This is the final and most critical phase. My entire strategy here revolved around the official Microsoft Learn Practice Assessments. My rule was simple: I wasn’t ready to book the exam until I could consistently pass the practice test three times in a row with a score of 80% or higher. This isn’t just about knowing the material; it’s about getting used to the question style and time pressure. As a final step, a day or two before the exam, I would watch John Savill’s cram video one last time to get all the key information fresh in my mind.

A Critical Warning: The Siren Song of “Exam Dumps”

As you search for study materials, you will inevitably come across websites offering “exam dumps” or “braindumps.” These are collections of questions and answers supposedly harvested from actual exams. You must avoid these at all costs.

Using dumps is not a shortcut; it’s a trap. Here’s why:

• It’s an Ethical Violation: Using brain dumps is a direct violation of the Microsoft Certification Program Agreement you sign before the exam. If caught, your certification will be revoked, and you could be permanently banned from all future Microsoft exams.
• They are Unreliable and Outdated: The AZ-305 exam content is updated periodically to reflect the rapid evolution of the Azure platform. Dumps are often full of incorrect answers or questions from retired versions of the exam. Relying on them is a massive gamble.
• They Destroy Real Learning: Most importantly, dumps encourage the exact opposite of the architect mindset. They promote rote memorization of answers without any understanding of the underlying concepts. You will fail to learn the “why” behind the solutions, leaving you unprepared for the nuanced, scenario-based questions on the exam and, more critically, for the challenges of a real-world architect role.

Legitimate practice tests are designed to be learning tools. They challenge you to think and provide detailed explanations to build your knowledge. Dumps are simply a failed attempt to cheat the system. Don’t fall for it.

My 3-Phase Battle Plan

Rather than a strict week-by-week schedule, I broke my preparation into three distinct phases. This allowed me to be flexible but still ensure I covered all my bases. I recommend dedicating around 10-15 hours a week, but the key is to master each phase before moving to the next.

Cracking the Code: My Strategy for Every Exam Question Type

The AZ-305 uses a mix of question formats, each requiring a slightly different strategy. Here’s how I learned to tackle them.

The Case Study Gauntlet

Case studies are the ultimate test of the architect mindset. You’ll be presented with a detailed scenario spanning multiple tabs of information, followed by several questions related to it. They can be intimidating, but a systematic approach makes them manageable.

Read the Question & Requirements FIRST: This is the single most effective tip. Before you read a single word of the case study’s backstory, jump to the first question. Understand exactly what it’s asking. This primes your brain to scan the text for specific keywords and constraints, turning a passive reading exercise into an active search mission.

Skim the Tabs: Once you know what you’re looking for, do a quick scan of the tabs (“Business Requirements,” “Technical Requirements,” “Existing Environment,” etc.). This gives you a mental map of where to find different types of information.

Hunt for Keywords: With the question in mind, read the case study text. Actively hunt for keywords related to the question. Are they asking for a database solution? Look for words like “RTO,” “RPO,” “minimize costs,” “data sovereignty,” or “scalability”. These are the constraints that will lead you to the correct answer.

Heed the “No Going Back” Rule: This is a critical piece of exam logistics. The case study section is self-contained. Once you have answered all the questions associated with a case study and clicked to move on, you cannot return to it. You cannot flag these questions for later review. You must be confident in your answers before leaving the section.

The “Best” Answer Puzzle

As mentioned earlier, many questions will present multiple plausible options. To dissect these, I developed a mental checklist to apply to each potential answer:

1. Does this solution meet all of the stated technical requirements?
2. Does it also satisfy the crucial business requirements (e.g., “minimize administrative effort,” “use existing licenses”)?
3. Is it the simplest effective solution, or is it over-engineered?
4. How does it align with the principles of the Well-Architected Framework?

Walking through this checklist will almost always illuminate the subtle reason why one answer is better than the others.

Visualizing the Solution (Drag-and-Drop)

For drag-and-drop architectural diagram questions, resist the urge to start moving pieces immediately. Take 30 seconds to mentally whiteboard the solution. Think about the flow of traffic, the layers of security, and how the components connect. This brief planning phase will help you avoid simple mistakes and build the diagram correctly the first time.

The Final Boss: Your Game Plan for Exam Day

You’ve put in the weeks of hard work. Now it’s time to execute.

The 24-Hour Countdown

Your goal the day before the exam is to be calm and confident.

• Book your exam strategically: This is a small but powerful tip. I always book my exams for a time of day when I know I have the most mental energy. Whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, schedule the test for your peak performance window.
• Prepare your space: The day before, get your exam environment ready. If you’re taking it at home, this means clearing your desk, ensuring you have good lighting, and letting your family or roommates know you can’t be disturbed. A comfortable and quiet space minimizes stress.
• Run your system check: If you’re taking the exam remotely, don’t wait until the last minute to test your setup. Run the required system check from the exam provider (like Pearson VUE) a day in advance to sort out any technical issues with your webcam, microphone, or network.
• Do a light, final review: A quick pass over your notes or re-watching John Savill’s cram video is perfect.  
• Do not cram new material: This will only increase anxiety and lead to burnout. Trust in the preparation you’ve already done.  
• Focus on your well-being: Get a good night’s sleep, eat a healthy meal, and hydrate. Your brain is an organ; treat it well.

In the Arena: Exam Day Tactics

• Time Management: With 2-3 minutes per question on average, you need to maintain a steady pace. If you’re completely stuck on a question, make your best educated guess, flag it for review (unless it’s in a case study), and move on. Don’t let one difficult question derail your entire exam.
• My “Open Book” Strategy for Microsoft Learn: I took the AZ-305 when it was still a closed-book exam, but the rules have changed. Now, you have access to the Microsoft Learn documentation during the test. This is a powerful tool, but only if you use it strategically. My approach for open-book exams is this:
  • Use it to confirm, not to learn. If you’re 90% sure of an answer but want to double-check a specific detail (like a service tier’s exact RPO), a quick search is perfect.
  • Flag it and move on. If you read a question and have no idea what the answer is, do not try to find it from scratch in Microsoft Learn. That’s the fastest way to lose time. Make your best guess, flag the question, and come back to it at the very end if you have time to spare. Searching for a nuanced architectural answer under pressure is incredibly difficult and a massive time sink. Your primary goal is to answer every question you do know first.
• Final Logistics: A simple but crucial tip: when you register for your exam, use a personal Microsoft account (MSA), not your work or school account. If you change jobs, your certification records tied to an organizational account can be lost and become unrecoverable.

Conclusion: Welcome to the Club

Earning the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s a challenging endeavor that will test your knowledge, your problem-solving skills, and your dedication. But I also want to be completely transparent: I didn’t pass on my first attempt. I failed, and my immediate reaction was to book the exam again for the very next day. And I passed.

That first attempt wasn’t a failure; it was the most valuable practice test I could have ever taken. It gave me a crystal-clear, personalized report of my exact weak spots. If you don’t succeed on your first try, don’t be discouraged. View it as the final, most crucial piece of your study plan. It tells you precisely where to focus your last-minute revision.

Passing this exam doesn’t just give you a new certification badge; it fundamentally changes how you think about technology and its role in solving business problems. The journey doesn’t end here. The certification is valid for one year and can be renewed annually with a free, unproctored online assessment. This model encourages continuous learning, ensuring your skills remain sharp and relevant in the ever-changing world of cloud computing.

If you’re still early in your cloud architecture journey, you might find it helpful to read about becoming a cloud solution architect from zero experience or understanding the differences between solution architect and technical architect career paths.

Congratulations on committing to this path. You are investing in yourself and taking a significant step forward in your career. I hope this guide serves you well on your journey.

Now, I’d love to hear from you. What are your favorite study resources? What tips and tricks have you discovered? Share your experiences in the comments below and let’s build a community of learning together. Good luck!