Once you sign up for the program you will be asked to provide a set of documentation.  This documentation will include a resume/CV/work history, a summary of the project you will present, and a write up of how you meet each of the competencies. 

One thing you should consider as you put together your documentation is how to make the information as efficient as possible for the reader.  The documentation will be the first impression you make on the board and I guarantee they will read every word.  Recognize that the board will have up to 12 candidates in a week.  If you multiply your documentation by 12, you will realize that the board has a huge volume of documentation to read before they start seeing candidates.  I am a fan of getting the right amount of information into the documents to demonstrate your competencies and NO more than necessary. 

The documentation step also presents the first choice you will need to make as part of the process - you need to choose a project that you will present.  I encourage candidates to find a project where they can best show off all of the competencies.  Realize that the first component of the Board questioning will be about your project and how you demonstrated meeting the competencies as part of that project.  Sometimes that might be a project that is a couple of years old and it may not represent the largest project you have worked on.  Additionally, the project should have been successful.  I also encourage candidates to reuse artifacts if possible from their project as long as it represents their work (not absolutely as full author, but where you directed the efforts and was responsible for the artifact).  The goal is not to make additional work for the candidate, but to provide the best set of information about the project that demonstrates the competencies of the candidate. 

The write up of how you meet the competencies should be your opportunity to present yourself - don't be afraid to brag a little bit about your abilities and why you should be an MCA.  When I am on the board, I tend to focus on this document because it is the best "holistic" view of the candidate.  Review the competencies again and make sure you are addressing each competency.  Your resume/work history should be a fairly straightforward document.

This post is part of a series of articles about the MCA program.  The opinions here are solely my own and may not reflect the opinions of Microsoft or anyone affiliated with the MCA program.