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AWS Developer Associate (DVA-C02) Study Plan

6-Week Comprehensive Study Schedule

Week 1: Core Development Services

Day 1-2: AWS Lambda Deep Dive

  • Lambda execution model and runtime environments
  • Event sources and triggers configuration
  • Function development best practices
  • Hands-on: Build serverless REST API with Lambda + API Gateway
  • Lab: Event-driven file processing with S3 triggers
  • Review Notes: 01-lambda-fundamentals.md

Day 3-4: Amazon API Gateway

  • REST API vs HTTP API vs WebSocket API
  • Authentication and authorization strategies
  • Request/response transformations and validation
  • Hands-on: Secure API with Cognito User Pools
  • Lab: API Gateway with Lambda authorizers and CORS
  • Review Notes: 02-api-gateway.md

Day 5-6: AWS SDK and Programming Best Practices

  • SDK configuration and credential management
  • Error handling and retry strategies with exponential backoff
  • Pagination and response handling
  • Hands-on: Build Python/Node.js applications with AWS SDK
  • Lab: Implement robust error handling and logging
  • Review Notes: 03-aws-sdk-best-practices.md

Day 7: Week 1 Review

  • Practice questions on core development services
  • Build end-to-end serverless application
  • Review lambda performance optimization

Week 2: Data Storage for Applications

Day 8-9: Amazon DynamoDB Development

  • Table design and partition key strategies
  • Global Secondary Indexes (GSI) and Local Secondary Indexes (LSI)
  • DynamoDB operations: Query, Scan, BatchGetItem, TransactWriteItems
  • DynamoDB Streams and change data capture
  • Hands-on: Design and implement DynamoDB data model
  • Lab: Build real-time application with DynamoDB Streams + Lambda
  • Review Notes: 04-dynamodb-development.md

Day 10-11: Amazon S3 for Applications

  • S3 operations via SDK (PUT, GET, DELETE, LIST)
  • S3 event notifications and integrations
  • Multipart uploads and transfer acceleration
  • Pre-signed URLs for secure access
  • Hands-on: Build file upload/download application
  • Lab: S3 event-driven image processing pipeline
  • Review Notes: 05-s3-application-integration.md

Day 12-13: Amazon RDS and Aurora

  • Connection management and connection pooling
  • RDS Proxy for serverless applications
  • Database authentication with IAM
  • Read replicas and failover scenarios
  • Hands-on: Connect Lambda to RDS with RDS Proxy
  • Lab: Implement database failover handling
  • Review Notes: 06-rds-aurora-development.md

Day 14: Week 2 Review

  • Practice questions on data storage services
  • Design polyglot persistence architecture
  • Optimize database access patterns

Week 3: Application Security

Day 15-16: AWS IAM for Developers

  • IAM roles for applications and services
  • Policy evaluation logic and debugging
  • Cross-account access patterns
  • STS and temporary credentials
  • Hands-on: Implement fine-grained IAM policies
  • Lab: Cross-account resource access
  • Review Notes: 07-iam-for-developers.md

Day 17-18: Amazon Cognito

  • User Pools: authentication and user management
  • Identity Pools: federated access to AWS resources
  • Cognito Sync and AppSync integration
  • Custom authentication flows with Lambda triggers
  • Hands-on: Build authentication system with Cognito
  • Lab: Social login integration and user attribute management
  • Review Notes: 08-cognito-authentication.md

Day 19-20: Encryption and Secrets Management

  • AWS KMS integration in applications
  • Encryption SDK and client-side encryption
  • AWS Secrets Manager and Systems Manager Parameter Store
  • Certificate Manager for SSL/TLS
  • Hands-on: Implement end-to-end encryption
  • Lab: Secrets rotation automation
  • Review Notes: 09-encryption-secrets.md

Day 21: Week 3 Review

  • Practice questions on application security
  • Design secure application architecture
  • Implement security best practices

Week 4: Application Integration

Day 22-23: Amazon SQS and SNS

  • SQS queue types: Standard vs FIFO
  • Dead letter queues and message handling
  • SNS topic types and subscription filtering
  • Fan-out patterns and message routing
  • Hands-on: Build decoupled microservices with SQS/SNS
  • Lab: Implement retry logic and error handling
  • Review Notes: 10-messaging-integration.md

Day 24-25: AWS Step Functions

  • State machine design and workflow orchestration
  • State types: Task, Choice, Parallel, Wait, Map
  • Error handling and retry configurations
  • Integration with AWS services and human approval
  • Hands-on: Build complex workflow with Step Functions
  • Lab: Implement long-running business process
  • Review Notes: 11-step-functions.md

Day 26-27: Amazon EventBridge and Kinesis

  • EventBridge custom buses and rule patterns
  • Schema registry and event discovery
  • Kinesis Data Streams for real-time processing
  • Kinesis Analytics for stream processing
  • Hands-on: Build event-driven architecture
  • Lab: Real-time data processing pipeline
  • Review Notes: 12-eventbridge-kinesis.md

Day 28: Week 4 Review

  • Practice questions on application integration
  • Design event-driven architecture
  • Implement messaging patterns

Week 5: Deployment and DevOps

Day 29-30: AWS CodeCommit, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy

  • Git workflows with CodeCommit
  • Build specifications and custom environments
  • Deployment configurations and strategies
  • Blue/green and rolling deployments
  • Hands-on: Set up complete CI/CD pipeline
  • Lab: Implement automated testing and deployment
  • Review Notes: 13-ci-cd-services.md

Day 31-32: AWS CodePipeline and CloudFormation

  • Pipeline orchestration and stage management
  • CloudFormation template development
  • Stack management and drift detection
  • Cross-stack references and nested stacks
  • Hands-on: Infrastructure as Code deployment
  • Lab: Multi-environment deployment pipeline
  • Review Notes: 14-pipeline-infrastructure.md

Day 33-34: AWS Elastic Beanstalk

  • Application deployment and configuration
  • Environment management and scaling
  • Configuration files and customization
  • Monitoring and troubleshooting
  • Hands-on: Deploy web application with Elastic Beanstalk
  • Lab: Blue/green deployment with Beanstalk
  • Review Notes: 15-elastic-beanstalk.md

Day 35: Week 5 Review

  • Practice questions on deployment services
  • Design CI/CD architecture
  • Implement deployment best practices

Week 6: Monitoring, Debugging, and Optimization

Day 36-37: Amazon CloudWatch

  • Custom metrics and alarms configuration
  • Log aggregation and analysis
  • CloudWatch Insights and queries
  • Application Insights and synthetics
  • Hands-on: Implement comprehensive monitoring
  • Lab: Custom metrics and automated scaling
  • Review Notes: 16-cloudwatch-monitoring.md

Day 38-39: AWS X-Ray

  • Distributed tracing implementation
  • Service maps and trace analysis
  • Sampling rules and performance optimization
  • Integration with Lambda, API Gateway, and ECS
  • Hands-on: Implement X-Ray tracing
  • Lab: Performance bottleneck identification
  • Review Notes: 17-xray-tracing.md

Day 40-41: Performance Optimization and Cost Management

  • Lambda performance tuning and cold start optimization
  • DynamoDB performance and cost optimization
  • S3 performance optimization and intelligent tiering
  • API Gateway caching and optimization
  • Hands-on: Optimize application performance
  • Lab: Implement cost optimization strategies
  • Review Notes: 18-performance-cost-optimization.md

Day 42: Final Review and Exam Preparation

  • Complete comprehensive practice exam
  • Review weak areas and key concepts
  • Practice exam timing and strategy
  • Final preparation and confidence building

Daily Study Routine (2-3 hours/day)

  1. 45 minutes: Read AWS documentation and study materials
  2. 75 minutes: Hands-on labs and coding exercises
  3. 30 minutes: Practice questions and concept review
  4. 15 minutes: Note-taking and summary creation

Hands-on Lab Projects

Week-by-Week Lab Focus

Week 1: Serverless Foundation

  1. Serverless REST API: API Gateway + Lambda + DynamoDB
  2. Event-driven processing: S3 events + Lambda + SNS
  3. Authentication integration: Cognito + API Gateway
  4. Error handling patterns: Dead letter queues and retry logic

Week 2: Data-Centric Applications

  1. Multi-table DynamoDB design: Complex queries and relationships
  2. File processing pipeline: S3 + Lambda + Rekognition/Textract
  3. Real-time data streaming: Kinesis + Lambda + DynamoDB
  4. Database integration: RDS Proxy + Lambda connection pooling

Week 3: Security Implementation

  1. Fine-grained access control: IAM policies and roles
  2. User authentication flows: Cognito User/Identity Pools
  3. Encryption everywhere: KMS integration and secrets management
  4. Security monitoring: CloudTrail + GuardDuty integration

Week 4: Microservices Architecture

  1. Decoupled services: SQS/SNS fan-out patterns
  2. Workflow orchestration: Step Functions complex workflows
  3. Event-driven architecture: EventBridge custom applications
  4. Real-time processing: Kinesis analytics and Lambda

Week 5: DevOps Integration

  1. Full CI/CD pipeline: CodeCommit + CodeBuild + CodePipeline + CodeDeploy
  2. Infrastructure as Code: CloudFormation template development
  3. Multi-environment deployment: Dev/Test/Prod pipeline
  4. Automated testing: Unit tests + integration tests in pipeline

Week 6: Production Readiness

  1. Comprehensive monitoring: CloudWatch + X-Ray + alarms
  2. Performance optimization: Lambda + DynamoDB + API Gateway tuning
  3. Cost optimization: Reserved capacity + resource optimization
  4. Production troubleshooting: Log analysis and debugging

Practice Exam Strategy

Target Scores by Week

  • Week 3: 60%+ on practice exams
  • Week 4: 70%+ on practice exams
  • Week 5: 80%+ on practice exams
  • Week 6: 85%+ consistently on all practice exams

Comprehensive Study Resources

👉 Complete AWS Study Resources Guide

For detailed information on courses, practice tests, hands-on labs, communities, and more, see our comprehensive AWS study resources guide which includes: - AWS Skill Builder free courses and exam prep - Top-rated video courses (Stephane Maarek, Adrian Cantrill, etc.) - Practice test platforms with pricing (Tutorials Dojo, Whizlabs) - AWS Free Tier details and hands-on lab guidance - Community forums (r/AWSCertifications) and study groups - Essential AWS CLI and tools - Pro tips and budget-friendly strategies ($45-85 total)

Key Exam Topics Summary

Core Development (32%)

  • AWS SDK best practices and error handling
  • Lambda function development and optimization
  • DynamoDB design patterns and operations
  • API Gateway configuration and security

Security (26%)

  • IAM roles and policies for applications
  • Cognito authentication and authorization
  • KMS encryption and secrets management
  • Application security best practices

Deployment (24%)

  • CI/CD pipeline implementation
  • CloudFormation and infrastructure as code
  • Deployment strategies and automation
  • Environment management and configuration

Troubleshooting (18%)

  • CloudWatch monitoring and logging
  • X-Ray distributed tracing
  • Performance optimization techniques
  • Cost optimization strategies

Free Hands-On Labs

Practice with real AWS environments using these free resources:

Official AWS Labs

Developer-Focused Resources

Free Tier Practice

  • AWS Free Tier - 12 months free + always-free services
  • Lambda: 1M free requests/month (always free)
  • DynamoDB: 25GB storage + 25 WCU/RCU (always free)
  • API Gateway: 1M API calls/month free for 12 months

Final Exam Checklist

Technical Preparation

  • Hands-on experience with all core services
  • Understanding of AWS SDK error handling patterns
  • Knowledge of security best practices
  • Experience with CI/CD pipeline implementation

Exam Day Strategy

  • Time management: 2 minutes per question
  • Read questions carefully for specific requirements
  • Eliminate obviously incorrect answers
  • Choose AWS best practices when multiple options work
  • Flag uncertain questions for review if time permits