How to Clear the AWS Certified Developer Associate Exam on the First Attempt

Category	Details
Exam Code	DVA-C02
Number of Questions	65 (50 scored + 15 unscored)
Question Type	Multiple-choice & multiple-response
Duration	130 minutes
Passing Score	720 / 1000
Format	Online or test center
Cost	$150 USD
Validity	3 years
Languages	English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish (LATAM), Portuguese (Brazil)

Domain	Weightage
1. Development with AWS Services	32%
2. Security	26%
3. Deployment	24%
4. Troubleshooting & Optimization	18%

Why this matters: The percentage tells you exactly where AWS asks the most questions. If you are short on time, put most of your effort into serverless, DynamoDB, S3, Lambda integrations, IAM, and CI/CD workflows; these dominate the exam.

AWS Developer Associate Syllabus

The DVA-C02 exam goes deep into how applications are built, deployed, and monitored on AWS. Instead of trying to learn every service, focus on the topics below; these make up almost all real exam questions.

1. Serverless (High Priority)

This is the heart of the exam. Know how to build and connect serverless components.

• Lambda (versions, layers, concurrency, event sources)
• API Gateway (REST vs HTTP APIs, throttling, authorizers)
• Step Functions (standard vs express workflows)

2. Security

AWS expects developers to build secure apps by default.

• IAM roles, policies, permissions
• KMS (key management, encryption)
• Secrets Manager vs Parameter Store
• Cognito authentication flows

3. Data Stores

Be confident with NoSQL, caching, and storage.

• DynamoDB (GSI, LSI, partitions, streams, TTL)
• S3 (storage classes, versioning, lifecycle rules)
• RDS basics
• ElastiCache (Redis, Memcached)

4. CI/CD & DevOps

AWS tests whether you can ship and update applications reliably.

• CodeCommit
• CodeBuild
• CodeDeploy (deployment strategies: blue/green, rolling)
• CodePipeline
• CloudFormation & SAM basics

5. Messaging & Event-Driven Apps

A big part of building distributed apps.

• SQS (standard vs FIFO, visibility timeout)
• SNS (fan-out patterns)
• EventBridge (rules, event buses)
• Kinesis basics

6. Compute & Containers

Less weight than serverless, but still important.

• EC2 basics
• Elastic Load Balancer
• Auto Scaling rules
• ECS (Fargate vs EC2 mode)

7. Monitoring & Troubleshooting

Expect scenario-based questions here.

• CloudWatch Logs & Metrics
• CloudWatch Alarms
• X-Ray (tracing)
• CloudTrail

These topics cover 90% of the real exam pattern. If you master these areas, the certification becomes much easier to crack.

Topics You Can Safely Skip for AWS Certified Developer Associate Exam

Spend 0–10% of your time on these, as they are unlikely to appear on DVA-C02.

1. Deep Networking (Transit Gateway, Direct Connect internals): basic VPC concepts are fine, but advanced WAN/Direct Connect ops are out of scope.
2. EMR / Hadoop internals & Spark tuning: big-data cluster ops are more relevant to Big Data / Speciality exams.
3. Redshift internals & complex warehousing design: simple RDS knowledge is enough for this exam.
4. Glacier deep-archive lifecycle details: understand S3 storage classes at a high level; deep Glacier operations seldom appear.
5. Kubernetes cluster administration (deep EKS ops): basic ECS/EKS concepts ok; cluster-level admin tasks are out of scope.
6. Advanced CI/CD tooling outside AWS (Jenkins pipeline internals, GitLab advanced ops): focus on AWS Code* services and CI/CD principles.
7. Machine Learning service internals (SageMaker advanced model tuning): only basic integration/use-case level appears, not ML engineering depth.
8. Speciality / Professional-level topics (Advanced security architecture, Compliance frameworks in depth): high-level security best practices matter; deep governance/compliance is for higher-level certs.

30-Day Study Plan for AWS Certified Developer – Associate

Preparing for the AWS Certified Developer Associate exam requires a structured approach. This 30-day study plan breaks down key topics, hands-on practice, and mock tests into manageable weekly goals, helping you stay focused and confident throughout your preparation.

Week 1: Core AWS Services & Serverless

• Focus on Lambda, API Gateway, S3, DynamoDB, EC2 basics.
• Hands-on: Create simple serverless apps connecting Lambda → API Gateway → DynamoDB.
• Practice: CRUD operations on DynamoDB, S3 object storage & lifecycle rules.

Week 2: Security & IAM

• Learn IAM users, roles, policies, and permissions.
• Study Cognito, KMS, Secrets Manager, Parameter Store.
• Hands-on: Encrypt data in S3, configure IAM roles for Lambda, rotate secrets.

Week 3: Deployment & CI/CD

• Focus on Elastic Beanstalk, CodeCommit, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, CodePipeline.
• Hands-on: Deploy a sample app via CodePipeline and monitor logs.
• Learn environment configuration and versioning basics.

Week 4: Monitoring, Troubleshooting & Mock Tests

• Study CloudWatch, X-Ray, CloudTrail, logging, and metrics.
• Practice identifying and debugging errors in Lambda, API Gateway, and DynamoDB.
• Take mock tests, analyse weak areas, and revise.

Daily Routine Tips:

• End each week with 1 mini mock test for that week’s topics.
• 1–2 hours of theory + 1 hour of hands-on labs.
• 30–60 minutes of revision or flashcards daily.

Mock Test Strategy for AWS Certified Developer Associate

Mock tests play a crucial role in preparing for the AWS Certified Developer – Associate exam. They help you understand the exam pattern, evaluate your knowledge, and identify areas that need improvement. Following a structured mock test strategy can significantly increase your chances of passing the exam on your first attempt.

Key Steps for an Effective Mock Test Strategy:

1. Take Full-Length Practice Exams: Simulate the real exam by attempting full-length tests under timed conditions. This helps improve speed and accuracy.
2. Analyse Your Performance: Review explanations for both correct and incorrect answers. Focus on understanding why certain answers are correct.
3. Focus on Weak Areas: After each test, revisit topics where you scored low and strengthen your understanding through targeted study.
4. Use Multiple Question Banks: Practice with different mock exams to expose yourself to a variety of questions and scenarios.
5. Simulate Exam Day Conditions: At least once, take a full-length mock exam in a distraction-free environment to replicate the real exam experience.

By integrating mock tests into your study plan, you will gain confidence, improve your time management, and ensure you are fully prepared for the AWS Certified Developer – Associate exam.

Exam-Day Tips for AWS Certified Developer – Associate

Follow these strategies to maximize your score on the exam:

1. Stay calm and methodical, don’t rush; logical reasoning often leads to correct answers.
2. Review key concepts quickly before the exam, focus on weak areas and high-weight domains.
3. Start with familiar questions to secure marks early and build confidence.
4. Manage your time effectively, 130 minutes for 65 questions means ~2 minutes per question.
5. Flag tough questions and return to them later to avoid getting stuck.
6. Read each question carefully, watch for “NOT,” “EXCEPT,” or scenario-based nuances.
7. Use elimination techniques for multiple-choice and multiple-response questions.

Conclusion

At Intellipaat, we offer a comprehensive AWS Certified Developer Associate Training that will allow you to learn various vital aspects of AWS, such as Elastic Cloud Compute, Virtual Private Cloud, Simple Storage Service, auto-scaling, load balancing, Aurora database service, and more. You will also work on several AWS projects that will validate your skills. So, what are you waiting for? Enrol in our AWS Developer Certification Training to fast-track your career.

Frequently Asked Questions