AZ-305 study scenarios: three design profiles
How you should study for AZ-305 depends on which kind of decision you are used to making. The exam asks which service meets a requirement, not how to configure it, across four domains: infrastructure solutions 30 to 35%, identity, governance and monitoring 25 to 30%, data storage 20 to 25% and business continuity 15 to 20%. Microsoft does not publish the duration or question count on the exam page, so confirm both when booking.
Example profiles, not real people. The profiles below are illustrative planning examples built from the official exam outline. They are not reviews or reports of anyone’s result.
The study plan is four weeks at 8 to 10 hours a week, with design exercises in place of labs. The scenarios below show how that baseline shifts. Hour figures are planning assumptions.
The AZ-104 holder who configures well and designs rarely
Starting point. Knows how to build the thing in the portal or CLI. Has seen Azure Policy, backup vaults and virtual networks from the operator’s side.
Where the time goes. The new material is mostly decision-making plus services AZ-104 barely touches: relational database tiers, Cosmos DB consistency levels, data integration, messaging versus eventing, API Management and migration planning. Those cluster in the 20 to 25% data storage domain and the 30 to 35% infrastructure domain.
The trap. Choosing the most capable option. Answers hinge on the stated requirement, such as the recovery objective, cost or operational overhead, and the correct choice is often the simplest service that meets it.
Order. Quick pass over identity and continuity, then data storage, then infrastructure.
Time budget. A reasonable planning assumption is 32 to 40 hours over four weeks, with roughly 9 to 11 on data and 11 to 13 on infrastructure, following the weights.
The application developer who designs services but not landing zones
Starting point. Has chosen databases, queues and hosting for applications. Has not shaped management group hierarchies, access reviews or disaster recovery plans, and may not hold AZ-104.
Where the time goes. Identity, governance and monitoring (25 to 30%): Entra ID, Conditional Access, managed identities, Key Vault, Policy and log routing. Business continuity (15 to 20%) is also new: RPO and RTO mapped to Backup, Site Recovery, zones and paired regions.
The trap. Treating those two as ops topics. Questions that look like application design often turn on a governance or identity detail.
Order. Identity and governance, business continuity, then a lighter pass over data and application architecture.
Time budget. A reasonable planning assumption is 32 to 40 hours, with about 14 to 18 on identity and continuity together. If AZ-104 is also missing, add that exam’s preparation, because the Expert credential is awarded only once both are held, as the prerequisites page explains.
The network or identity specialist who designs in one lane
Starting point. Designs hub-and-spoke networks, ExpressRoute links or Entra tenants for a living, and has a strong opinion about private endpoints.
Where the time goes. Data storage (20 to 25%) and the application architecture and migration objectives that sit in infrastructure. The plan suggests compressing week 1 for people who design identity professionally, then spending the time on unfamiliar areas such as data integration, caching and migration planning.
The trap. Over-weighting the home lane. Networking is one of four sub-areas in the largest domain, not the whole of it.
Order. Data, application architecture and migrations first; identity or networking as a confirmation pass.
Time budget. A reasonable planning assumption is 28 to 35 hours, which is the four-week baseline with one week roughly halved.
The three AZ-305 profiles compared
| Profile | Front-load | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| AZ-104 holder | Data storage, infrastructure | Picking the most powerful service instead of the fitting one |
| Application developer | Identity and governance, continuity | Treating governance and RPO and RTO as operations trivia |
| Network or identity specialist | Data and application architecture | Over-investing in the home lane |
How to check which AZ-305 profile fits before booking
Run through the prerequisites self-check first; several “no” answers mean AZ-104 material comes before design material. Then take the sample questions and, for each miss, write which requirement you overlooked. The exam format page explains case studies and the scaled score. Use the study plan with the hours above and sit a timed practice test before booking.
If you are also considering the DevOps expert track, the AZ-400 hub covers the DevOps Engineer Expert exam.